Tempo Ray Mutineers 2-0 Junior Wildmen

Week 3 06/09/03

Referee: "Huge" Malice

Weather: Bright

Gate: 28k

The most eagerly awaited match of the season so far saw 28,000 bloodthirsty fans crowd into the Mutiny Island stadium on a beautiful sunny day. The two pre-season favourites clashed with many pundits predicting the result could be a pointer to the eventual destination of the league trophy. Neither side had tasted defeat prior to kick-off and so a victory for either would be a massive morale booster as well as a huge step towards the post-season. The tension was palpable around the island and it erupted even before the game had started when scuffles between the two rival sets of fans held up the opening kick-off.

When order was finally restored, the game began with the Wildmen kicking off and Savogand Thrall, the Wildmen possess the most feared blocking trio in the league in Horny Wildmen, Mr Wildman and Woody Wildman. The Minotaur, Troll and Treeman are so intimidating that they can defeat their opposition through malice alone. Indeed, the Mutineers seemed to abandon their central push strategy that had served them so well against the Fabienettes in favour of a flank assault to avoid the behemoths. The Wildmen were so determined to press forward with their physical dominance that they did not employ a secondary defence at all with the entire defensive line pushed up towards the line of scrimmage.

It was clear that the Mutineers were not intimidated when both Horny Wildman and Mr Wildman were blocked to the ground by Chaos Dwarf Zzharg Zzhargson and Toxix the Wight respectively. Without those hulks standing in the way, the Wildmen's defence looked fragile. Having gained the early initiative, the Mutineers attacked down the right flank of the defence led by Savogand Thrall the High Elf Blitzer and backed up by a small posse of blockers. The fearsome looking front line of the Wildmen was slow to react thanks to the aggressive blocking of the Mutineers own front line warriors. For the third game running, this mighty blocking unit was seemingly not ready as play passed them by. A hasty re-formation of defensive positions was needed leading to some Wildmen dropping back from the front line including Amazon Thrower Lisa Furykup who tried but failed to bring Savogand Thrall down. Once that effort had failed, the High Elf had an open backfield to run into. Without cover in the deep and having been out-blocked on the front line, the Wildmen simply could not maneouvre themselves into position to attack the ball. In such a high pressure match, Savogand could hardly have found it easier to score his opening touchdown of the season.

The earlier scuffles during the pre-match entertainment made the 1-0 scoreline more ominous for the away team. Their effect left the Wildmen with only a third of the first period left in which to equalise before half-time. In expectation of a brutal assault, the Mutineers deployed in three ranks in an effort to slow the attack down and hold out for the remainder of the half. Sensing the urgency required if a score was to be possible before half time, Lisa Furykup took the kick-off on the run. A quick pass later and the ball was in the hands of Speedy McSpeedy the High Elf Catcher, high on confidence thanks to 2 TDs in the last game against the Mugaz. Speedy, renowned for his pace, looked the surest bet for an equaliser before half time but it would depend on his blockers managing to create a hole. Once again, they failed to fire with only Human Lineman Brian O'Hanrahanrahan laying a succesful block down. The Mutineers front line was un-dented with two reserve ranks of defenders left to stand in the way. Cautiously, the Mutineers stood off and waited once again for an assault. It didn't materialise as the Wildmen floundered following a series of failed blocks. Their inability to push through gave the defence the confidence it needed to end the drive. Beastmen Kotek Gorefest hitting a head-first tackle on Speedy to effectively end the play for the half.

Trailing at the half for the first time, it was fairly clear where the Wildmen needed to improve. Whatever was said at half time certainly fired up the blocking unit who came out to face the Mutineers three rank defence in brutal fashion. Early inroads were made by the team captain Mr Wildman as the Troll threw a series of devastating blocks which took Toxix the Wight and Kotek Gorefest the Beastman completely out of the game. Horny Wildman the Minotaur weighed by knocking Dwarf Runner Gunnar Gunnarsson out of the match. Three players light in the early going meant the Mutineers defensive skills would be severely challenged for the remainder of the game. The only chink of light seemed to be the failure of Thrower Lisa Furykup to cleanly take the ball. With a sloppy pick-up the drive was momentarily delayed. News from the away dug-out would have given the Mutineers renewed hope had they been able to hear. The tackle that ended the first half had knocked out Speedy McSpeedy and he had been unable to recover to take his position on the field.

Perhaps realising the extra responsibility that Speedy's absence carried, Lisa Furykup finally took possession of the ball and headed for the large pocket created by the Wildmen's series of devastating blocks. Such a turn around in the blocking from failing to put any Mutineers away to laying them out with seeming ease. The coachings staff must fume at the inconsistency from such clearly talented players. Under this amount of pressure, the defence began to wilt. Dropping back further and further into their own half as the offence drove on step by step with Lisa Furykup at the helm it could only be time that prevented a touchdown.

Into the last quarter of the game, Mutineers were throwing themselves sacrificially to prevent further rushing forwards. The hits had dried up as the defence tied up tackle zones and threw some blocks of their own. Kerval Axebreaker the Dwarf bringing down Minotaur Horny Wildmen despite the horned beast being over three times his height. The blocking from the Wildmen was still fairly succesful but perhaps tiredness was preventing them from causing any long term damage. The drive was stagnating and it was up to Lisa Furykup to do something about it. A call to Human Catcher Mr Cock Knocker was answered as he sped off into open play. Lisa took aim, waited and then dropped the ball behind herself embarassingly. Not needing a second invitation, Mutineers captain Savogand Thrall reacted first to put pressure on the ball, knocking Furykup away and taking possession for the home side.

Having seemed in such a confident position, an individual error had halted the Wildmen's drive. All their players were in the opposition half and they had no-one with the pace to be able to catch Savogand Thrall in full flight. The counter-attack was well and truly on in the dying moments of the game. With an open backfield once again, the Mutineers captain burst in for his touchdown of the game. The Elf even had time to wave to fans in the crowd before putting the exclamation mark on a hard earned win. A combination of desperate defence and an individual error combined to give the Mutineers the first victory for the Eastern Conference in a cross-conference match. The Wildmen for their part will surely not be able to believe they had thrown a point away at the end. The Mutineers only had six healthy bodies on the field yet still had enough about them to pull off a rapid counter-attack to clinch a thrilling victory.

Injuries: None

Key Stats

Team
CAS
Rush
Blocks
Downs
Fumbles
Mutineers
1
32
35
20
4
Wildmen
3
17
36
19
0

MVPS: Rip Sorepain, Mr Stumpy

Best Players

Savogand Thrall: 2 TDs, 2 Rushes for 32 yards, 5 Blocks, 2 Downs, 1 Tackle, 4 Dodges
Horny Wildman: 1 CAS, 9 Blocks, 6 Downs, 4 Stand
Mr Wildman: 2 CAS, 6 Blocks, 4 Downs, 3 Stand


Results