Horrors can't survive Projects

The game went much the same way as the season finale disaster, which Amityville lost 52-7. Turnovers, short possession, bad punts, field position in favor or Manhattan for short drives. The only difference was Amityville forcing field goals this time instead of allowing TDs. Manhattan kicker Cappy Collarneck hit five field goals of seven attempts. The Horrors hung tough about their goal line, and were scrapping for survival.

But survive they could not. While they brought the Manhattan offense way down from their previous output, and much closer to themselves, allowing QB Oliver Klozov 167 yards passing, All-East wide receiver Jason Skurtz 63 yards receiving, the Horrors fared even worse against the Manhattan defense. QB Houghton Holler passed for only 89 yards and was picked off once; East MVP RB O.J. Didit rushed for only 66 yards; and star WR Hugo Gurl had 64 yards receiving.

Manhattan led only 9-0 at the half, but at the start of the third quarter, held Amityville to a three and out, then on the punt, Gurl returned 43 yards to the Amityville eight yard-line. RB Avery Nastibooy scored on the next play, on a run. Manhattan would add two more field goals in the quarter to stretch the lead to 22.

Then Amityville put together the best drive of the game so far, by either team, at the end of the third into the fourth quarer. They covered 80 yards in 9 plays, the big one a 44-yard run by Didit following a 10-yard sack of Holler. They capped it with a 7-yard TD pass from Holler to tight end Ivan Tukacherdikov. It looked like the Horrors were going to make a game of it. The Projects responded with a 17-play drive to kill the time, the chances and the hopes of the Horrors. The were two fourth-down conversions on the drive, including the scoring play, a one-yard run by Nastibooy.

Yankees ride ends at Homes

All the talk of Connecticut's offensive weakness, despite their impressive season record, was justified. Mobile shut down the Yankee rushing game as well as the passing game that had received the criticism, while the Homes got 289 yards and two TDs passing from QB Jethro Ittaway, and two more TD runs from him.

The Yankees scored first, on a 3-yard pass from QB Phil Anders to WR Wayne Wayne Goaway, after a 45-yard punt return from RB Jason Tale. The Homes answered in seven plays, including passes of 16 yards to WR Jeff Uckendick and TE Jorge Girl, with a five-yard run by Ittaway. Mobile added a 43-yard Robert Ducky field goal in the second to lead 10-7 at half.

Mobile then scored on their first two drives of the second half to take control of the game. The first was eight plays ending with a 15-yard Ittaway pass to RB Everett DeMall; the second was seven plays, including five completions by Ittaway capped by the three-yarder to Girl. The Yankees got a second score on a short drive following a 17-yard punt return and a personal foul penalty on Mobile. Anders ran it in from eight yards. But they could sustain nothing else, and Mobile had one more solid drive in the fourth quarter to put it away, topped by a 16-yard run by Ittawawy on fourth down.

Mobile will travel to Manhattan for the Eastern Conference Championship. The last time they were in the conference championship was in 2015, also at Manhattan, a year after they won the East and the Hyperbowl.

Stars out of reach for Sinners

Las Vegas opened the game with an eight-play, 80-yard drive, with West MVP QB Hugh Jorgen completing four of four passes, including a 33-yarder to WR Hugh Ken Blomey and the seven-yard TD to TE Yadier de Yada. For any wonder about whether Jorgen and the Sinners could get in a shootout with the Stars, it was a stinging affirmation.

Little Rock answered with offense: an eight-play drive of their own, with QB Harlan Daggers throwing for 20 yards to WR Jack Sorbetta, TE Barry Spritzer running for 19 yards, and Daggers capping it with a 15-yard pass to All-West WR Eton Bayer-Wolff. The teams traded punts, then Vegas punted again, and it looked like the Sinners might be able to play some defense with Little Rock too. The Stars scored on their next two drives in the second quarter, and on their first two possessions in the third, the latter just a three-play blitz with a 43-yard run by RB Terrell Blaizer. And it just got worse from there.

In their regular season meeting, Daggers went off on the Sinners for 154 yards rushing. Whether that had an effect here, causing Vegas to worry too much about that and play worse against the pass, Daggers certainly showed that he could burn them as bad or worse with passing it around to everyone else. While Blaizer and Rass were effective rushing, too, the former had 46 yards receiving, the latter 86 and a TD. Sorbetta had 96 yards receiving and a TD, Bayer-Wolff 66 and a TD. The Stars showed their development as a team offense is not flukish and was not even hurt by the layoff of the wildcard weekend. They head to their second straight Western Conference Championship where they hope to take the next step to the Hyperbowl.

Potatoheads flip over the Logs

What a difference a player makes? When Lincoln beat Idaho 38-7 in the season, Idaho was without RB Ruud van Nastibooy. This time he was back. Did that account for a 73 point swing? The Potatoheads even brought in one of Van Nasitbooy's replacements, RB Lou Netique, for four plays for 65 yards, including a 43-yarder for a TD. Van Nastibooy rushed for 88 yards and 2 TDs. RB Roy Dreige busted the first big rush of the game, a 27-yarder, thanks to a crushing block by van Nastibooy. West MVP TE Hans auf der Butt rushed for two TDs, including a 23-yarder. Alak Kittiporn, supposed to be the number two WR, had six catches for 130 yards and a TD, while the number one, Howied Wonder-Warr didn't have a catch. QB Dan Smother-Falker threw for 258 yards and a TD and rushed for 42. It looked like the Potatoheads were just warming up.

And the impressive total-team offense of the Logs evaporated. Lincoln QB Jason Butterfleis had only 94 yards passing and two interceptions. The backfield of Rip Bonaparte and Lou Spowells was held to 53 yards rushing, and star WR Ewen Husarmi had only 47 yards on four catches. Idaho did to Lincoln pretty much what they did to Boulder the last game of the season, not just brush them aside, but humilate them. The big guns are blazing, as Idaho joined Little Rock and Manhattan as the principals continuing from last season with domination in the playoffs.

Now Idaho must travel to Little Rock this time for the rematch of last year's Western Conference final.