SCAB Report

Championship

Galactic Soup Bowl

Fighting Pacifists Prevail, Claim Fifth Championship

Northwestsoutheastern joins Puke as holders of the most SCAB championships, capping an undefeated season with a dominating playoff run and another performance in the final that was, eventually, overwhelming. That's of course following on their lopsided back-to-back championship wins in 2005-2006, but after they were upset in the final last year by Holy Grail.

The game looked like it might be even an inadvertent blowout from the beginning, when, after the Pacifists scored on a long opening drive, twice converting third downs with pinpoint passes from quarterback Constantine Angst to wide receivers Cale Dommage and Efren Defoe, Angst capping it off with a one-yard plunge, they held the Cavalry to -4 net yards on the next possession, then scored again on a blocked punt returned from the Cavalry two-yard line. The Cavalry was in a 14-0 hole after the first two possessions, one their own.

But then the Galloping Ghosts showed what made this their breakout season and got them to this championship. They answered with a ten-play, 75-yard drive, looking every bit as potent as Northwestsoutheastern. Cavalry quarterback Artie Time scrambled for 14 yards on one play, threw for 12 yards to wide receiver Dan Singh on another, running bank Colt Front ran for 12 yards, and running back Jason Tale ripped 18 yards off on a run. Time threw to tight end Barry Cade to cover the last four yards to the end zone.

Northwestsouthern struck right back, looking again like the juggernaut they've been in the tournament, after a kickoff return that set them up at their own 48. Running back Rip Bonaparte had a nine-yard run, and Angst passed to Defoe for 14 yards to the Cavalry two, then to Bonaparte for the touchdown.

The Cavalry then moved the ball impressively again, but the Pacifists finally stalled them at the Pacifist 45. Then came another kind of stunner. The Cavalry brought on kicker Burt Call for a 62-yard field goal attempt. He made it! After a touchback on the kickoff, Northwestsoutheastern's first play from scrimmage at their 20, the Galloping Ghosts intercepted Angst at the 31. The Ghosts were held, but turned that into another field goal, this one from a mere 37 yards. It was 21-13 and the Cavalry were very much in it, especially when the clock helped them by ending the next Pacifist drive to their 14-yard line for the half.

In the third quarter, the Pacifists, after stopping the Ghosts, drove again to score, but Cavalry minimized the damage by holding to a field goal. The big play of the drive was a 16-yard run by Bonaparte. With third down and three on the Cavalry six, the Pacifists showed surprising caution in choosing to go for three over seven. Kicker Ewan Mee made the 23-yarder, scarcely more than extra point distance.

And that's when the Cavalry made it a real game, and possibly the scariest it's been for the Fighting Pacifists all year. They took a poor kickoff return and field position, from their own 14, and turned it into a stammering drive, twice converting third downs. After two straight incomplete passes, then a holding penalty that them moved back to their own eight, Time hit wide receiver Bill Toupee for a 30-yard completion. Again after two incomplete passes and another third down, Time slipped the Pacifist coverage again by scrambling 12 yards. Tale then ran for another 12. After an incompletion and a penalty on the Pacifists, Toupee came up big again, very big, covering the 33 yards to the end zone on the catch from Time. Suddenly it was 24-20 and the Galloping Ghosts were very much the specter of Holy Grail in last year's championship, and of their own thrilling upsets at each step of this tournament.

And they had more in store. On Northwestsoutheastern's next possession, two plays after a 19-yard pass to Bonaparte, Angst went long for Defoe, but the Ghosts intercepted him again on their own 14-yard line. The Cavalry had the ball back and the chance to take the lead.

That's when the Galloping Ghost ride ended and turned back to the inexorable Fighting Pacifist's. They sacked Time for a 13 yard loss, forced the Cavalry to punt, and it was muffed badly, setting up Nwse on the Cavalry 27. When the Cavalry held to a fourth down at the 22, the Pacifists showed even more guts in this situation by going for it. Running back Elvis Eros perhaps capped all the remarkable we're just going to run it at you performances by both of these teams in the tournament: it was just 18 yards, by comparison to others, like his own 66-yard TD run last week against Bleeding Heart (apart from Eros and Bonaparte's dominating performances in their playoff games, the Cavalry's Tale broke two 40+ yard runs to accomplish fourth quarter turnarounds in both their tournament games), but on this fourth down, carrying to the Cavalry four-yard line and setting the Pacifists up there, it was huge.

Angst missed on a pass attempt, then the next play ran it in for the score, to put the Pacifists up 30-20.

Then it spiraled downward for the Ghosts, as they got risky and it backfired. After a trade of possessions, they were three and out from their own 49 and decided to try a 66-yard field goal! The much more likely miss gave the Pacifists the ball there and they struck in just three plays this time. The last one was the bulk, 36 yards from Angst to Defoe, the real dagger to the heart. Defoe was named the game's MVP.

Again, the Cavalry's desperate measure only made it worse, as they went for it on a fourth down from their own 24. They failed, turned it over to the Pacifists, and after a Defoe ten-yard catch and two incompletions, Defoe put the icing on the cake with a catch in the end zone covering 14 yards.

The Ghosts played impressively against the Pacifist rush, and their own Tale led all rushers with 63 yards. But the Pacifists held the Cavalry to just 151 yards passing, while Angst threw for 290 yards and three TDs, despite the two interceptions. Angst, the Demetrius Award winner, also had the two TDs and 30 yards rushing.

10 Clan:
Ca 8 1 0 12 3 0
IO 8 1 0 11 3 0
Bf 8 1 0 11 3 0
Bu 6 3 0 7 5 0
LB 5 4 0 8 5 0
MV 3 6 0 5 6 1
Fl 3 6 0 5 7 0
Gr 2 7 0 2 10 0
HP 1 8 0 3 9 0
UF 1 8 0 1 11 0

Little 10:
KT 8 1 0 12 2 0
Br 8 1 0 9 4 0
Bd 5 2 2 5 5 2
SS 5 3 1 7 4 1
MS 5 4 0 7 5 0
SP 5 4 0 6 6 0
PU 4 4 1 6 4 2
CU 1 7 1 2 9 1
Wh 1 7 1 2 9 1
GJ 0 9 0 0 12 0

10 Pack:
Nw 9 0 0 15 0 0
Cr 8 1 0 11 3 0
HG 6 2 1 10 3 1
Pb 6 2 1 8 3 1
DS 5 4 0 8 4 0
SB 3 6 0 4 8 0
AT 3 6 0 4 8 0
DG 2 7 0 2 10 0
MO 1 8 0 3 9 0
Fm 1 8 0 2 10 0

Non-Conference:
BH 8 1 0 12 2 0
LW 7 2 0 9 4 0
St 7 2 0 9 4 0
OL 6 3 0 7 5 0
OD 4 5 0 5 7 0
Pk 4 5 0 4 8 0
Ox 3 5 1 4 7 1
UP 3 5 1 3 8 1
So 2 7 0 2 10 0
Pe 0 9 0 1 11 0