Scarbringer Savages 2-2 The Darkstalkers

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The two lowest ranked teams from 2003, the Savages and the former Mercenaries, now Darkstalkers met at The Savage Land to the lowest attendance of the season so far. These sides met in week 3 of 2003 finishing up with a final score of 2-2. The Darkstalkers have changed a lot since then, with a new name for the franchise, new ownership and a different coach. The changes have made a real difference, the franchise had never won a game until last week and the thrashing of the Fabienettes. The Savages are stil winless this term but are coming off another creditable performance against the All-Stars. Until last week's matches, some unkind pundits had suggested that this might be a wooden spoon decider but it is clear that both sides have made genuine progress since the 2003 season.

As if to emphasise those improvements, the Savages opening kick-off was perfectly accurate. It stuck the ball dead center of The Darkstalkers formation with the massed front defence threatening to chase it through. Throughout 2003, The Mercenaries, as they were then would launch every attack through their Thrower, Alec von Tasslebine. His instantaneous reaction to the ball coming his way was to pass it out to an attacker on the wing. This was the case again, but as with so many times in 2003, the pass did not find the hands of a receiver. Instead, it merely served to place the ball in a position where the eager defence could make a play on it. The Savages defence made that play through Stinky the Skink. Stinky is small enough to squeeze through the tighest of holes to get involved in the action. This time, the action was to slip in, pick up the ball and make a quick pass as his team-mates pushed past into Darkstalkers territory.

Stinky's pass was accurate and the recipient, Mithdithius the High Elf, was easily able to gather it in. He had made it onto enemy ground but there was a sense of isolation as the rest of the team found it difficult to get far enough off their blocks to provide effective support. That isolation made Mithdithius vulnerable and it was Alec von Tasslebine who sought to redeem his wayward pass by taking advantage of that vulnerability. He blitzed in, but it was a horrible effort. Alec is not known as a heavy hitter and found himself on the brunt of a stunning counter from the High Elf. The failed blitz allowed the Savages to redouble their attack, Mithdithius dropped back to hand-off to a charging Stinky. The Skink took over possession at high speed and continued to race down his side's left flank. His pace was such that there was no way that his fellow Savages could keep up. Indeed, almost no-one on the pitch could match him. There was only one player in a covering position for the visitors and that was the "Sewer King", Screech Johnson. The Skaven Blitzer was selected in this season's Krush for partly just this reason. He showed decent sideline-to-sideline speed in cutting off Stinky's angles and bringing him crashing down and the ball free.

The surge had been stopped by Johnson but the ball was still very deep in The Darkstalkers' half. The first player to reach it in the second phase was the team's all-time top scorer with 7 of their 8 touchdowns, Gutter Runner Splinter. On this occasion though Splinter was not up to the task. He could not pick the ball up and fumbled it dangerously. The danger was in the second player to reach the neighbourhood of the ball, Mithdithius. He showed better poise in collecting the bobbling ball but that poise did not carry through to his next action, a pass. It could have been a crucial one but instead Mithdithius let the rock slip embarrassingly from his hands and drop down right next to him. With neither of these players able to sort their game out, Screech Johnson stepped up. He secured the ball and stepped away from the immediate threat. Belaying his rookie status, he made a sensible rush into midfield to allow his team a chance to gather themselves.

Fighting off a blitz from Casius Slay, Johnson bought enough time for Splinter to get back upfield. The Gutter Runner snatched the ball greedily and burst past a somewhat static Savages line. The Savages are a quick team but they do not have anyone who is quite as fast as Splinter. The Gutter Runner eluded all efforts to chase him down and showed just why he is such a large part of the scoring game for The Darkstalkers by streaking across the line and opening the score in rapid fashion.

There was less than a quarter of the first period to play when the touchdown was scored and this prompted some booing from the meagre crowd. That condemnation seemed only to fire up the home side though. A top heavy defence but with deep cover was breached with surprising ease. A short kick was collected by Skaven Thrower "Fur" Tooth who reacted with his trademark quick pass to rookie Catcher Lobo La'Grange. A relay style move that must have been worked on at the training ground was set up, Lobo pelted downfield as fast as he could, catching up with and handing off to Stinky as he began to tire. Stinky took up the high pace running and single-mindedly struck towards the goal line. The only Darkstalkers player to offer resistance was Alec von Tasslebine. He attempted to match Screech Johnson's earlier tackle but just did not have the pace, finding himself over-exerting and slipping in front of Stinky. Without a sideways glance, the Skink equalised as time expired in the first half.

1-1 at the half did not really express how the game had been played. The half was played mostly in the visitors territory and it was only the calm play of Screech Johnson that had kept them in the game. On the other hand, the erratic play of Alec von Tasslebine had done little for the Darkstalkers cause. It would be difficult to predict what would happen in the second period and that is just how these two sides like it.

The Darkstalkers offered a different look to start the second half, with their serious firepower posted deep. This did lead to some hestitation from the hosts. "Fur" Tooth again picked up the initial running for the team but this time decided to head for a relatively safe pocket behind the front line. Neither team managed to get much of a push up front but the Savages had slightly the better of it thanks to rookie Rat Ogre and first round Krush pick, Veh'nomm who Badly Hurt Hobgoblin Trevor Da Trevor. The hit certainly did not inspire the blocking unit though who failed to come up with another knockdown anywhere across the line. For their part, the Darkstalkers could not generate any pressure up the middle so a bit of a stalemate ensued.

Being the sort of player that always likes to make things happen, "Fur" Tooth attempted to create something out of nothing. He managed an accurate pass to Stinky but the Skink did not have his eyes on the ball. That was fairly understandable though as his eyes would have been drawn to the site of Screech Johnson who had stepped up from his safety slot to put a hit on Stinky. The strike Badly Hurt Stinky and Johnson again showed his composure by stopping to collect the ball. This time he could not hold onto it for long. There were no gaps to break into and Blacktooth Bob saw to it that he couldn't make that break with a frontal hit that dislodged the ball. With the attention of those in attendance distracted, few were able to witness the recovery of Stinky who was able to get to his feet despite taking such a hurtful hit. Not only that, Stinky was able to be aware enough to launch the ball downfield.

A free ball deep in Darkstalkers territory meant that it was a straight footrace to get to it. The Darkstalkers player that made the greatest effort was Alec von Tasslebine but again he let his side down. He was unable to slip a tackler and fell onto the turf. The player that was able to make it was a surprising one. Goblin Scratchy Ratwort appeared from what seemed like nowhere to zoom in on the loose ball. Ratwort, a late round pick, repaid the coach's faith in him by taking the ball on the run and slipping through tackles to take the Savages into the lead.

Having been behind and now leading, the Savages had made an impressive comeback. A change of emphasis was necessary for the visitors and they generated it. Taking the play to a more physical level, The Darkstalkers turned to more of a power game. The charge down the right flank was led by Black Orc Krump Forznit. He clearly relished the freer role, his blitz Badly Hurting "Fur" Tooth and opening up a space in the front-loaded defence. It was not a space that could be exploited instantly though due to a fumble from Alec von Tasslebine. The delay was only momentary though as Screech Johnson took the game into his own hands. He collected the ball himself and surprised the crowd by completing a quick pass to Splinter. It was not a game breaking move though as the Savages own Skaven Blitzer, S'lip D'isc broke in to hit Splinter before he had a chance to turn upfield.

With the offense stalled, Stinky looked to do what he does best and slip into a tight spot. The slipping was fine but not when it came to the ball, it slipped away and gave the visitors another chance to attack. Screech Johnson was not about to pass this opportunity up. He capped a fine game by collecting the ball under pressure, allowing the blocks to develop in front of him and then moving through the Savages backfield at pace. With blockers taking on the covering players, Screech was not touched as he equalised at 2-2.

Again, there was hardly any time left to play following The Darkstalkers score. This time though, the relay play did not quite work. "Fur" Tooth and Lobo La'Grange both performed as required but Stinky was not there to take his part. That was thanks to Krump Forznit with his second casualty of the game. Mithdithius was the back-up player to Stinky but he lacks the pace of his Skink team-mate. Perhaps that was on his mind when he attempted to take up his section of the relay but in any case, he fumbled the hand-off and that ended any chance of a score. The game ended just as it had done so this time last year in a 2-2 draw. A second consecutive 2-2 draw shows that the Savages have got scoring power and enormous rushing potential but that they really need to tighten up at the back. Their all-action play can leave them exposed and lacking cover but it is definitely exciting. The Darkstalkers followed up their big win last week with a decent showing here, Screech Johnson performed admirably and looks a real player for this team. Their former talisman Alec von Tasslebine is perhaps finding the going a little too hard. The Darkstalkers were a top team when it was Screech involved but looked tired and slightly lacking in class whenever Alec was on hand.

Injuries:

None

Key Stats

Team	CAS	Rush	Att	Blocks	Downs
Savages	1	57	11	36	17
Darkstalkers	3	39	5	36	18

MVPS: Mithdithius, Bob "The Hair"