Adelaide Owls @ Duvall Dragons 

Saint George’s Field was about 5,000 over capacity as both fans from Duvall and Adelaide flooded the stands to watch their teams face off in what seems to be a new chapter in their once dormant and one-sided rivalry. The Dragons started out proving that their rivalry was still one sided, and quickly went up two touchdowns before Adelaide could get anything going, their first coming on the first drive of the game on a pass from QB Harold Bauer to TE Adrian Herbert, and the second came off a ADL RB Timmy Whittle fumble that turned into a short run by DUV RB Carson Adams. The Owls quickly recovered from their mistake and sent Whittle into the endzone on a 12 yard rush to cut the lead to 7 before the end of the quarter
END OF Q1: 14-7 DUV
Adelaide kept their momentum rolling into the second, turning the first Dragons punt of the game into a score to tie the game, thanks to a 5 yard pass from QB Terry Rogers to WR Ray Rowe. Duvall was forced to punt once more, and Adelaide once again scored off of their punt, this time on the punt return by Whittle, to take the lead 21-14. Duvall had about 4 minutes left to cut the lead, and they took their time marching down the field, slicing and dicing their way through the Owls defense. With only 20 seconds left on the clock, Bauer found WR Abram Radcliff for the TD to enter halftime tied at 21 apiece.
END OF Q2: 21-21 TIE
If you thought that the first half was a barn-burner, the third quarter was something else. The Owls made no haste in retaking the lead, as on only 3 plays, Rogers found WR Herbie Kynaston on a 56 yard pass to go up 7. On the Dragons net offensive drive, they committed an error of their own, with Bauer throwing a pick towards DB Gerrard Cooper, with Cooper taking it to the house for the Owls, increasing their lead to 14. Duvall shook it off, as Bauer led the Dragons on another drive, resulting in a rushing TD by Adams to make the game 35-28.  After that, the Owls and Dragons both added a score to their tally, with Adelaide’s coming on a Rogers TD pass to Whittle and Duvall’s coming on a Adams rush, keeping the game within a touchdown as the game entered the 4th quarter
END OF Q3: 42-35 ADL
The Owls started out driving in the fourth, but were forced to put after failing to convert on a 3rd and 1. The Dragons took over, and they found their way to the endzone on a QB dive by Bauer to tie the game up at 42. The two teams went back to back on touchdowns again, with Adelaide retaking the lead on a TD pass to TE Nicholas Armbruster and Duvall tying it up again on a pass from Bauer to WR Alvin Paul. It was then the Owls’ ball with 5 minutes left, and they eventually made it to their 29 before being stopped on third down. K Ben Conner stepped out to take the field goal, but slipped on the kick and the ball sailed wide and short, with the Dragons taking over with less than 2 minutes to go. With little time and on third and long, Bauer threw a dime to Radcliff for a 40 yard gain, putting them in field goal range with a little under a minute left. Running out the clock, and the rest of the Owls’ timeouts, the Dragons then turned to rookie kicker Jem Wyatt for a 34 yard field goal. The young rookie didn’t melt under pressure, as he nailed the field goal to send the Dragons to their third straight Cup
FINAL: 52-49 DUV 



Ellesby Mariners @ Hadley Gatekeepers
 
Things got off to a rough start for the Gatekeepers. Immediately after receiving the kickoff, QB Jack Reuter attempted to hand the ball off to RB Clint Atwood, but the handoff was muffed, and the resulting scrum saw Ellesby come out with the ball. Ellesby made quick work with the opportunity, as two plays later RB Wendell Ellis scored on a 5 yard run to score the first points of the game. Hadley couldn’t seem to get it together this quarter, as their potent offense was held scoreless through the first quarter. The Mariners on the other hand scored another TD before the end of the quarter with a pass from QB Matt Kollen to WR Dan Hersch, extending their lead to 14
END OF Q1: 14-0 ELB
The 2nd quarter was a complete reversal of the 1st quarter, as the ‘Keepers gained their momentum, making their way past midfield for the first time in the game, going all the way for a TD on a 35 yard rush by Clint Atwood. Ellesby couldn’t get anything going in this quarter, being held scoreless by the Hadley defense for the rest of the half. The ‘Keepers turned the tables on the Mariners, as they tied up the game at 14 with a Reuter TD pass to WR Andrew Padmore with about 6 minutes left in the half. Both teams trotted back into the locker rooms tied at 14 as the half expired
END OF Q2: 14-14 TIE
Ellesby was still stuck on their second quarter mindset, as their first possession in the second half went nowhere and punted it back to Hadley. Hadley couldn’t do anything with it as well, which was the story of the third quarter. The two teams went back and forth punting the ball to the other team, but Hadley managed to add a score with their third drive of the quarter, with a Clint Atwood rush to take the lead by 7.
END OF Q3: 21-14 HAD
The Mariners got their mojo back when the clock started on the 4th, as they finally made it to the redzone, tying the game on a 2 yard pass from Matt Kollen to Wendell Lewis. Hadley was forced to punt once again, and the Mariners used that opportunity to retake the lead with a 15 yard Wendell Lewis rushing TD. Unfortunately for the Mariners, they left time on the clock for the ‘Keepers, as in the 4 minutes remaining they scored with only 30 seconds left on a Jack Reuter pass to WR Jimmy Hoek. Ellesby took the ball back and kneeled out the remaining of regulation, as the two teams headed into the first sudden death game in playoff history.
END OF REGULATION: 28-28 TIE
The rules for the sudden-death overtime were simple: there was a coin toss like the beginning of the game, which was won by Hadley, who chose to receive. The first team to score any points, whether it be by a touchdown, field goal, or safety, will win the game and advance to the Cup. If the 15 minute quarter ran out before anyone could score, a second overtime period would begin like the start of a new quarter, and the game would continue from there. The Gatekeepers came out swinging after the kickoff, quickly making their way past midfield and looked to easily win the game. It was not that way, as they stalled out on their drive and punted from the 47. The Mariners took over on their own 23, as they made it to second and 3 before Wendell Lewis took the handoff and ran right and down the sideline, dodging past defenders to a walk-off touchdown for Ellesby, becoming the last of the original 8 teams to appear in the Escalian Cup and playing in their own stadium. 
FINAL-OT: 34-28 ELB 



8th Escalian Cup Preview: Ellesby Mariners @ Duvall Dragons 
Duvall is back once again to assert their dominance and become one of the elite teams of the league. But the underdog in the Mariners are playing in their home stadium as the away team, so expect a large amount of Ellesby fans to ruin the Dragons’ plans and potentially continue their Cinderella run to the Cup
Escalian Sports Magazine Preview: Just because the Mariners are riding in hot, doesn't their hot streak will last throughout the Escalian Cup, as the Dragons will kill their steam and will run away with their second straight Cup. 37-20 DUV 

Last edited by DireBear (10/17/2020 7:03 pm)

8th Escalian Cup: Ellesby Mariners @ Duvall Dragons



Ellesby’s Seashore Park was expanded to nearly 60,000 seats, and Mariners fans came in droves sporting their royal and gold, significantly outnumbering the home team in the Dragons. The Mariner’s de facto home game didn’t start well for them, as they received the kickoff and failed to cross the 50, punting it to Duvall. Harold Bauer and the Dragons went to their old ways of carefully driving down the field, scoring their first points on a Carson Adams rushing TD. The Mariners got the ball again, but more of the same happened as their first drive, and they punted it back to the Dragons. Duvall was still making their way down the field when the first ended.
END OF Q1: 7-0 DUV
Continuing what they started in the 1st, the Dragons eventually found the endzone on a 20 yard pass from Bauer to TE Adrian Herbert, but only extended their lead to 13 because of the missed PAT. Something finally sparked in the Mariners offense, as QB Matt Kollen found WR Dan Hersch on a 56 yard pass to cut the lead to 6. Their defense made a key stop against the potent Dragons offense, stopping them on a 4th and inches to take over on their 46. RB Wendell Lewis took care of the situation, with him taking the ball on three consecutive plays to take the ball to the house, with the Mariners going up by one, which happened to also be the last score of the half as the Mariners trotted into the locker room with momentum into the second.
END OF Q2: 14-13 ELB
Duvall didn’t make the same errors as the Mariners did on their first possession in the half, and they managed to score thanks to a 16 yard rush from Adams. The Mariners struck back on their next drive, taking their time as they chewed up half the clock in the third to finally score on a TD from Wendell Lewis. Duvall quickly retaliated before the end of the quarter, with Bauer finding TE Herbert once again to retake the lead.
END OF Q3: 27-21 DUV
The Dragons continued to run on their momentum from the third, as they took advantage of a Mariners punt to score another TD on a 31 yard pass from Bauer to WR Alvin Paul. Ellesby thrice made it into their redzone after the Dragons’ touchdown, but failed to find the endzone and scored two field goals to cut the lead to 5. They did manage to stop the Dragons from scoring anything during that time, but after their third field goal, Bauer found WR Abram Radcliff for 68 yards after three plays to put the nail in the coffin for the Mariners, as they were unable to catch up to the Dragons before the game clock hit 0, and Duvall will walk away as the first back-to-back champions since the 1961-62 Kierport Knights.
FINAL: 41-30 DUV


This time, Harold Bauer takes home the MVP honors, becoming the fifth player to have won both the regular season MVP and Escalian Cup MVP awards. “Sorry for crashing the party Ellesby,” he said after his 236 yard, 3 TD performance, “but if you can’t win in your own stadium for the Cup, you might not be ready to win it yet. Just a thought. Anyone, I’m going back to celebrating with my team, something I hope we’ll be able to do next year.” 

UP NEXT: 1967-68 Offseason

Well I took a 2 week break from this, but now I'm back with the 1967-68 offseason!

1967-68 Offseason:

1968 Entry Draft:
1st - Ashonta: QB Daniel Haumann (Great Plains Provincial)
2nd - Augusta: LB Rodney Cree (Great Plains Provincial)
3rd - Orcaster: RB Eric Seymour (Argil A&M)
4th - Tallokope City: WR Aaron Minnett (Taerrisia Provincial)
5th - Saint Blaise: OL Jeremy Rothbauer (Pascoa Provincial)
6th - Homestead: OL Dennis Broadbeck (Tallokope Provincial)
7th - Kierport: OL Ted Moores (Kier University)
8th - Norfolk: RB Bruno Fontaine (University of Argil)
9th - Adelaide: DB Dominic Fried (University of Huron)
10th - Hadley: OL Jacob Bonnaire (Triplet Lakes University)
11th - Ellesby: DB Fabiano Caron (Bristol University)
12th - Duvall: LB Harrison Jensen (Bristol University)

Player/Coach Movement:
Ashonta decided to clean out its front office, firing both HC Jerrod Auburn and GM Peter Kurz, with Auburn leading the Miners to a seemingly fluke playoff appearance in 1965, but all together put up a 15-29-3 (0.341 WIN%) record in his 4 years as a coach. No one could pinpoint he exact reason why Kurz was let go, but most thought it had to do with the floundering 1st overall pick in 1964, Damien Dircksens, who was driven out of the league this season due to horrible play and off-the-field issues, among others. The Miners hired Bristol University HC Isidor Engel, who has the Blues to 5 conference titles and a national championship appearance in his 7 years as head coach. Owner Michael Warrick has taken on the role of GM as well, but he assures that it will be temporary until they find someone “competent enough to run a football team.” 

Retirements:
A lot of star players decided that the 1967 campaign would be their last. Some key players that called their careers over include: 

Phillip Keyes (LB ELB 1955-1960, ADL 1960-1967): The first ever Defensive Player of the Year and Escalian Cup MVP may be one of the EFL’s first true defensive stars, as his arrival in Adelaide for the 1960 further propelled them to the first Cup, where they won in dramatic fashion thanks to the Owls’ defense.  

Derrick Acker (RB KIE 1954-1967): Playing for 13 years in the running back position, Acker leaves the field as the EFL’s all-time leading rusher at 8,026 yards, 1961 Regular Season MVP, 2nd Escalian Cup MVP, among the other awards he won. If there were a hall of fame, Acker would surely become a first ballot hall of famer along with his partner in crime Paul Dane, who’s hoping to stick around for another year or two before retiring. 

Eddy Belmont (RB NOR 1960-1967): Belmont surprisingly decided to retire after the 1967 season, citing his injuries as wearing down his ability to play. He took the league by storm in 1960 as a rookie, winning Rookie of the Year and nearly single-handedly kicked off the Lumberjacks as a franchise, leading them to two Escalian Cups and winning the 5th Escalian Cup, taking home Cup MVP honors as well. He leaves as the second highest in career rushing yards, trailing Derrick Acker at 7,893 yards. 

Martin Hartell (RB ADL, 1958-1967): Hartell was a key part of the Owls’ early success, but floundered towards the later half of his career, retiring after an injury to his leg this past season allowed Timmy Whittle to shine on offensive, knowing his position is now in “good hands," as he put it. He finished his career 6th all-time in career rushing yards at 6,569 yards.  

Joseph Haley (DB ELB 1955-1967): Haley has been a cornerstone of the Mariners defensive unit, but his hard-nose playing style was taking a toll on his body, and playing for the Cup in front of his home fans was a fitting end for his career. 

Amaro Zimmerman (RB ORC 1956-1967): Seemingly a one-year wonder, the first ever Offensive Player of the Year quietly put up great seasons after his 1960 outing, but could never get into the likes of Acker and Belmont.

Uniform Changes:

Duvall added their second star to their crest after their win in the Cup last season, their only change made to their classic uniforms.

Orcaster made the only other change, "upgrading" their popular black alternate to their primary home jersey and demoting their previous home kit to alternate status.

League News:
One major vote that passed by an overwhelming majority was the establishment of a League Hall of Fame, which would be located on a plot about two blocks away from Hadley’s famous Sapphire Star Hotel, where the league has held its drafts since 1961, and is more historically significant to the league’s history as Commissioner Merrill gathered the owners at the hotel to found the League. The Hall is slated to be finished by 1972, where the first class will be inducted. No hints were given as to how many would be inducted nor who would be eligible, as Merrill only said “Once the Hall is complete the induction process will then go underway” in reference to those previous questions.  
One last announcement was made, as the vote for the 10th and 11th Escalian Cup host would take place next offseason. The vote for the 10th vote will be open to the other 4 teams that tied with Tallokope City for host (being Homestead, Saint Blaise, Hadley, and Orcaster) and the 11th will be open to all cities that were in the 9th host vote. 
One major question was that of expansion, to which the commissioner responded that the owners were considering it, but for now are against it until any of the 4 expansion teams show some sort of success either on the field or in ticket sales, as the 4 teams range from painfully mediocre to bottom feeders and the only team showing some sort of popularity are the Miners, who is still looking for finances for a new stadium. The 9th Escalian Cup being held in Tallokope City may bring in more fans to the Anchors and to the league in general, and hopefully spark more interest in teams further east.


UP NEXT: 1968 Season

Great job with the Racer uniforms.

I know this is a little late, but could we get a basic rundown of major events in Escalia’s history?