In D.A N/a Police Dolts 2-0 Tempo Ray Mutineers

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The two teams in the East with wins in Week 1 met at The Cell. The 2003 encounter between the teams had been extremely close with a last minute touchdown giving victory to the Mutineers. With a new coach at the helm and fresh off a convincing win over the Fabienettes, this game shaped up to be a tight one. Despite the Mutineers fans being banned from the ground, there were still 8,000 more supporters than the gate could handle. This may well have been due to an unexpected increase in the Dolts fanbase that occured spontaneously and surprisingly just before the game was due to kick-off. The inspired hand of chaos was surely afoot.

The Mutineers won the coin toss and elected to receive what turned out to be a deep kick. They faced a more complex defence than the Dolts had put out in any previous match with a short front line but a solid second line of defence. Any defence is always helped when the offence sputters though. While the blockers up front pushed through the weak front three, Savogand Thrall the team captain High Elf Blitzer was adding to the claims that he suffers from fumbleitis. The all-time fumble leader added th 16th of his career to pause the attack before anything much had got going. This let the Dolts secondary push forwards to form their line more aggressively over the half way point. There wasn't a full momentum shift but in a game of field position, the home side hadtaken the upper hand. When there are enough defenders to threaten the ball in the backfield, the offence typically becomes more cautious and this happened for the Mutineers. Savogand managed to collect the ball and move it into the center of his team's territory with his team-mates consolidating his position.

The consolidation failed to work. The Dolts have an array of potential ball tackling stars on their team. The side had only managed 5 tackles in all of 2003, a league low and this is something that the team has been training heavily on during the pre-season camp and had two in the last game. "High" Lady Venice the Witch Elf picked up her first tackle of the season to add to Savogand's collection of fumbles by racing round the blindside of the High Elf and ripping the ball free from his grasp. The top scoring Dolt from 2003, Salina Black was the perfect recipient of the loose ball and the player with the pace to score on the counter-attack. A problem with any player of geniune pace is that it is difficult for team-mates to keep up. The home side found that out the hard way thanks to Mutineers Chaos Warrior Warring Slapp, their first round Krush pick. Slapp achieved his first career tackle at the exact same moment as his first career Casualty with an horrific blitz on Salina Black. Following the match, it was discovered that only the cool work of Apothecary Elrond "Blessed Hands" that kept Salina's career intact.

It seemed that the danger had been averted for the Mutineers but individual errors cost them dear. First up Savogand Thrall fell over while trying to dodge through tackle zones and then Zzharg Zzhargson the Chaos Dwarf who had led the league in blocking ratio in 2003 failed to secure the position around the ball. The Dolts were able to sweep in and brush the Mutineers aside. Having secured possession, a quick pass from High Elf Thrower Tylana Sureflight to Ghoul A'Argch was enough to defeat what remained of the visitors defence. Four rushing yards later, it was 1-0 and the first ever touchdown by the Dolts against the Mutineers. It was A'Argch's first career score.

With no more substantial play before the interval, the Dolts went in one-up at the half. The Mutineers struggled mightily in this fixture last season and their only loss in the 2003 regular season was to the All-Stars who at the time were coached by the current head coach of the Dolts, Unfavourable. The Mutineers will have been disappointed by their lack of offensive production in the first half but the Dolts defended aggressively and it paid off.

The start of the second half saw the Mutineers come out in spread formation on defence but pressed high on each flank. The strategy very nearly paid off when Dolts High Elf Thrower Thaleus Thunderarm gathered the ball but was unable to find any protection. The pacy Savogand Thrall made him pay for that by dodging a couple of tackle zones and blitzing the Thrower with a knock-out shot. It seemed as though the visitors had come out of the traps hard to start the second half but "High" Lady Venice put paid to the mini-revival with a tackle on Savogand, a hit that was followed up by a dangerous foul from Lineman Rob "Bitch" Lanc that Badly Hurt the Mutineers captain and allowed the home side to re-establish their offense. For all their struggles in the game, the Mutineers were not named the best defence in 2003 for nothing. They attempted to press forward despite the loss of the captain and were rewarded with yet another tackle, this time from rookie Chaos Warrior, Warring Slapp. He dropped the Witch Elf and the ball found its way to the ground with numerous players gathered for the impending scrum.

There was no scrum though. Mutineers Goblin Fester Rustblade is designed for this sort of situation. The diminutive player snuck his way past six tacklers to make an astonishing play, collect the ball and make towards the Dolts end zone. Unforunately for the Goblin, the scouting report on him is accurate when it says that he can't take a hit. Lineman Bobby "Blue" Eyes was the man to supply that hit. Rustblade's plucky play was ended and the Dolts were finally able to consolidate. The march up the field began with the regaining of possession by Lady Venice. Despite throwing bodies in the way and laying down numerous tackle zones, the Mutineers could not make any further impresion and the march ended with a second score that confirmed a Dolts victory and a serious challenge to the Mutineers hold over the Eastern Conference.

The win for the Dolts marks the first time that the Mutineers have lost a game against an Eastern Conference rival. The Dolts defence was stiff with a clear emphasis on tackling. The Mutineers were restricted to the fewest yards ever, just 6 on 2 carries. The play was helped somewhat by the enormous 65 Blocks thrown and 38 knockdowns, an All-Time record for both Blocks and Knockdowns. The Dolts were sorely lacking physicality last season and perhaps the improvement in this area will give them the impetus they need to challenge for post-season honours.

Injuries: None

Team	CAS	Rush	Blocks	Downs	Pass	Stand
Dolts	1	33	65	38	12
Mutineers	1	6	40	17	35

MVPS: "Rob's" Gay Dad, Toxix

Best Players

"High" Lady Venice: 1 TD, 2 Rushes for 18 Yards, 9 Blocks, 2 Downs, 2 Tackles, 3 Stands, 1 Fumble