Manhattan 14
Nashville 20
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Maniacs' Latest Bid TrashedThe curse struck Manhattan again, adding a dramatic flourish by taking them to the last play of the game. And the Trash is back. For the second playoff game in a row, the best team in the East was outplayed for more than a half and had to battle back, in this case from a 17-point deficit. After Nashville got a 38-yard field goal from K Victor E. Garden in the 4th quarter, Manhattan burned up the last 6 1/2 minutes driving 78 yards in 13 plays, but RB Duane DeTubb was stopped on a run at the 2-yard line as time expired. Manhattan's defensive pace backfired on them, for while they were effective at limiting the Trash's yardage, Nashville found opportunities, particularly with QB Warren Peace and RB Jesse Little-Longer, and as they have done for the past 9 games, the incredible streak which took them to the Southeastern Division title and now all the way to the Hyperbowl. In the 2nd quarter, moments after opening the scoring with a 21-yard Garden field goal, Nashville recovered a fumble by Manhattan RB Bud Hole. Peace connected with Little-Longer on a 30-yard pass play that set up a 2-yard TD pass to RB Keil Dover. In the 3rd quarter, on a fake punt play, Little-Longer ripped 38 yards on a run, then scored from 1 yard after Peace carried for 7. Manhattan QB Lance Boils completed 20 of 31 passes for 240 yards and a TD, and WR Ezra Doctrine-House caught 9 passes for 120 yards and the TD. By comparison, Peace was just 15 of 26 for 226 and a TD, with an interception, and Nashville star WR Eubie Gutnau had just 4 catches for 36 yards. The Trash gave up numbers to the key Maniacs, but scrapped out another victory, and now have a shot at a 3rd Hyperbowl victory. They were champions in 1996 and '97.
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Las Vegas 20
Monterey 23
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Jacks Win in Las Vegas with Long ShotTo know just how shocking it was Monterey won, you had to first get over the shock of how they did it. With the scored tied at 20, and 32 seconds left, the Jacks set up for a 66-yard field goal, apparently as just a last ditch effort to avoid overtime. But K Orson Beanbag nailed it, and just like that Las Vegas fell and Monterey was Western Conference champions. The kick reclaimed the game that Monterey dominated. Having already stunned the Sinners with the strike capability of rookie and All-West WR Ira Fuse, along with QB Heller Highwater and RB Buster Hymen, Monterey had to find out again that Andy Christ and the Sinners don't die. Like the monster in a slasher movie, Las Vegas kept coming back. A 41-yard punt return set up a 4-yard TD pass to TE Morgan Mindy to tie it at 17 in the 3rd quarter, and on their next drive Vegas RB Buster Gutt had a 24-yard run to set up 24-yard Cleet Face field goal to give Vegas the lead. It was the Jacks who found themselves having to come back in the 4th quarter, and they did so with a 15-play, 80-yard drive to a Beanbag field goal to tie the game. Beanbag must have thought that was as much heroics as he needed, but that was the possession just before the incredible game-winner. The game was worthy of a Hyperbowl itself, as the Jacks proved they were as electrifying as the Sinners, if not more so, a rival star not just in the Western Conference, but the same division. Vegas scored in just 3 plays from scrimmage at the start of the game, but the Jacks answered in 5 plays, the TD a 34-yard pass from Highwater to Gutt. Highwater passed for 228 yards and 2 TDs, to 120 and 2 TDs for Christ. Monterey's Fuse caught 7 passes for 106 yards and a TD, while former West MVP, Vegas WR Jason Rainbows, had just 2 catches for 17 yards, though a TD. Hymen rushed for 86 yards, and veteran RB Vito Power, adde 47. Vegas kept up here, as Gutt rushed for 65 and RB Drew Blood had 77 rushing and 41 receiving. Monterey, with wins in 1976 and '78, the first multi-Hyperbowl winner, returns with another double Hyperbowl winner, Nashville, ensuring that a team will join Flagstaff and Chattanooga as 3-time winners.
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