No Talent All-Stars 0-2 KoPite MuGaz

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The defending champion Mugaz were at the All-Stars for the first game of the 2004 season. The Mugaz had won the 2003 Championship somewhat surprisingly, having come from being virtual unknowns to defeating the Mutineers in the Final. This season, everyone will know what to expect. The Mugaz are the team to beat for the entire league and they can expect teams to prepare for them this time round. The All-Stars have experienced some turbulence since the 2003 season where they lost in the semi-final to the Mutineers. A falling out between the team ownership and their head coach saw Unfavourable leave for the Dolts. It remains to be seen whether they can reproduce the form which took them to the post season last year under the new coaching regime. Starting out against the Mugaz is not an easy task but it was clearly one that drew the attention of the public as 6,000 fans had to be turned away at the gates, the game was the most heavily subscribed regular season match for either team. The only losses the Mugaz have suffered were home and away against the All-Stars last season.

The coin toss was won by the Mugaz who elected to receive. The All-Stars lined up with a modified version of the eye formation which seemed to put off the Mugaz strategy. Dark Elf Thrower Arda was certainly confused, his attempt to field the kick-off was poor. The first contact with the ball for the reigning champions was a fumble. The All-Stars couldn't take advantage though as Krush signing Garek Hornskull introduced himself to the league by falling over in his first attempt to make a Block. The fall gave the Mugaz the opportunity to establish a base within the All-Stars half. Two groups raced down the field, the first consisted of the two Norse Catchers Sami "The Hoop" and new signing Henrik Bjornstad-Ibson and the second was larger, the right flank group containing five players. The All-Stars didn't even attempt to cover both groups, the deeper lying group of Norse catchers was targetted. Kaneris N'Gillthrog, the Ogre Blocker and reigning Most Violent Player produced the first Casualty of 2004. Henrik Bjornstad-Ibson was the unfortunate recipient of the blitz which apothecary Mr Jekyll later confirmed to be a twisted elbow, giving him a 60% chance of making the next fixture.

The loss of Henrik forced attention to the right hook move that was developing. The All-Stars didn't have enough cover down that flank and were still rooted to their original defensive positions. This was always going to be a problem once Arda had got hold of the ball. Even though the ball was deep in Mugaz territory, the right flank pressed on in the knowledge that Arda is the current Golden Arm and is a devastatingly effective passer. The deep cover of the All-Stars was compromised by Sami "The Hoop" who took some revenge for his collegue Henrik by knocking out All-Stars Chainsaw wielder Kirk Angel. It was no real surprise when Arda finally made his move. The Dark Elf ran straight up a passing lane and launched a beautiful bullet pass into the hand of receiver Salogel Litefoot. The High Elf Catcher has created something of a buzz in the pre-season build-up after being selected in the first round by the Mugaz and he made absolutely no mistake with his first meaningful action. Salogel turned gracefully and without a single All-Stars player in his path, finished off the first touchdown of the season to launch the Mugaz bid for a repeat championship.

With a score half way through the first period, there was still time for the All-Stars to trouble the score card themselves before the break but they were up against the second ranked defense in 2003 and the leading team for tackles by quite some way. The All-Stars have never been known for their ability to score breakaway touchdowns so perhaps with this in mind, the Mugaz lined up with a fairly aggressive front, offering strong cover in the middle to combat the push that the All-Stars strength can generate. High Elf Thrower Thaleus Thunderarm fielded the Mugaz kick and made straight for the sanctuary of the powerful front line unit. Inevitably, the All-Stars front line pushed forward. There are very few blocking units that can cope with the All-Stars opening surge but against the tenacious Mugaz defence it wasn't enough. Lineman Dioufi took advantage of the push by skirting round the outside of it and reaching Thaleus. The Mugaz led the league with 17 tackles in 2003 and they started this season where they had left off the last. Dioufi clattered Thaleus to the ground and wrenched the ball free. This time, Dioufi's team-mates could not follow up but the point was made that the tough tackling that had characterised their title run last season was still firmly in place.

Though they hadn't managed to take possession of the ball, the Mugaz had stopped the momentum of the All-Stars drive before it had begun. Thaleus was able to recover to move the ball away from Dioufi but found Sami "The Hoop" coming through the All-Stars lines to record the second tackle in quick succession. This tackle brought the half to an end. Having lost both games against the All-Stars last season, the Mugaz will have been pleased by their first half performance but aware that they could not rest on their laurels as they came out for the second half.

Thaleus Thunderarm received the deeper second half kick-off for the All-Stars and once again made his way up to midfield. This time, the All-Stars front line showed why it is so dangerous. Garek Hornskull showed why he was worth a second round pick with a devastating headbutt on Dioufi. The Mugaz Lineman was hurt so badly that it was only thanks to medical care that he was able to recover at all and eventually came to some hours after the final whistle. The blow encouraged the All-Stars players and Thaleus completed his fourth career pass to first round pick Svetlana Domina the Witch Elf. Unforunately for the home side, Svetlana seemed unprepared for the ball and did nothing with at all except watch as Sami "The Hoop" crashed in for his second tackle of the game.

This time though, the All-Stars seemed more prepared. Thaleus was first to the ball, he grabbed it and ran towards the front line and the protection of Kaneris N'Gillthrog. Salogel Litefoot was the first on the scene, taking possession and looking like a scoring threat. Norseman Samuel Magnusson had other ideas and showed that it is not just the Mugaz who can tackle. He hit Litefoot from the High Elf's blindside and caused the first fumble of Litefoot's fledgling career. Having pushed up to hit the ball carrier, the Mugaz defence were slightly out of position and the All-Stars had a real chance to drive down the field. That drive never materialised though due to bad luck. Thaleus ran over a mine that had been carelessly left some time during the off-season. The explosion knocked Thaleus to the ground and turned the ball over. Norse Lineman Oyvind Stravengar was the greatful recipient, gaining his first rushing yards after having been picked in the third round of Da Krush.

There was no quick strike options so both sides consolidated in front of each other, trying to squeeze the gaps and prevent the other team from gaining an opportunity to make a break. Salogel Litefoot took over possession but it didn't last for long, a blocking scramble left the ball down, consecutive fumbles from High Elf's and a Casualty. Salogel and Thaleus both suffered fumbles and All-Stars Human Blitzer was Badly Hurt by Sami "The Hoop" who picked up the second Casualty of his career and the first Mugaz Casualty of 2004. The jostling didn't stop there. The remainder of the half was dominated by blocking and maneouvering but eventually it was the Mugaz who emerged on top despite two more fumbles. Sami "The Hoop" squirmed free from the pack and into All-Stars territory. A hand-off later and Salogel Litefoot was free in the backfield. Again un-opposed, the High Elf ran in his second touchdown in the dying moments of the game to wrap up a hard fought 2-0 victory. The game was close with better fortune, the All-Stars could have found themselves in position to equalise in the second half but were out-maneouvered in the late game blocking battle. The Mugaz will be pleased with the performance of Salogel Litefoot. The first round pick made a powerful impact on the game with his two touchdowns. If he can provide the kind of return that his compatriot Speedy McSpeedy has made for the Wildmen, the Mugaz may be an even bigger threat than they were in 2003. The rest of the league has been warned.

Injuries: Henrik Bjornstad-Ibson - Twisted Elbow

Key Stats

Team	CAS	Rush	Blocks	Down	Pass	Tackles
All-Stars	2	18	43	22	5	1
Mugaz	1	37	42	31	6	4

MVPS: Grak Hedsplitta, Vood Azizpour