Happy Thanksgiving to all my Americans out there (or Happy Thursday for everyone else)!

1969 Playoffs: 

Ellesby Mariners @ Ashonta Miners 
Nearly 55,000 rabid fans packed into the small Brown County Stadium to see the newly competitive Miners take on the perennial North Division runner-ups in the Mariners. The first quarter was a heavy defensive battle, with neither team making it past midfield and punting to the opposition on their first drives, and the only points put up this quarter was a FG by Ashonta. The once sturdy Miners offensive line nearly crumbled under the weight of the Mariners defensive line they faced only one week prior, and the Mariner offense saw the same offensive production as they had last week.
END OF Q1: 3-0 ASH
Ellesby’s play managed to get progressively better this quarter, as they scored the first TD of the game on a 25 yard pitch to RB Wendell Ellis. The Miners almost reached the endzone on a 60 yard pass from QB Daniel Haumann to WR Jordan Samson, but the Mariners stopped them on the 10 and Ashonta kicked another field goal to cut the lead to 1. The Mariners kept some of their momentum running as they were determined to extend their lead before halftime, and got within the 30 on a 20-yard pass from QB Matt Kollen to WR Sal Reeves with 20 seconds left in the half, but were stopped on both 2nd and 3rd down, and settled for 3 to take a 10-6 lead into halftime
END OF Q2: 10-6 ELB
Ashonta began with the ball this half, and immediately made a splash with an 87-yard TD by RB Leonard Arts on the first play from scrimmage. Unfortunately for them, that was about all the momentum they had for this quarter, as any other attempt resulted in either a punt or on one drive K Mariano Montaña sailed a 34 yard kick wide left. Those extra points could have come in handy, as Ellesby got past midfield and got into field goal range before being stopped by the Ashonta defense, tying the game up with a field goal of their own as the last points in the quarter.
END OF Q3: 13-13 TIE
Something struck the Miners offense, as they finally caught fire this quarter. After the Mariners scored their game-tying field goal, Haumann and his back drove down the field bit by bit with little resistance from the Mariners defense, capping off their drive with a 2 yard rush up the middle by Arts. One stop by the Ashonta defense later, the ball was worked almost effortlessly by Haumann, who increased the lead to 14 on a 6 yard pass to TE Bradford Bonnet. The Miners put the nail in the coffin two possessions later, with Haumann throwing a 17 yard dime to WR Marty Farmer, though Montaña had his luck carry over from the 3rd and missed the PAT. It didn’t matter too much, as Ellesby was held off long enough for the Miners to run out the clock and advance to their first Escalian Cup.
FINAL: 33-13 ASH 



Norfolk Lumberjacks @ Adelaide Owls 
In what was the most anticipated game out of the two semi-finals, Adelaide and Norfolk QB’s Terry Rogers and Nathan Slezak faced each other in their first postseason matchup after splitting the Norfolk QB job a few years back, and a reinvigorated ‘Jacks defense has stopped most opponents this season. Their defense kept up their work in the first, stopping the Owls on their first drive and only holding them to 3 all quarter. Norfolk’s offense got off to a slow start, as Slezak could not find his receivers and turned the ball over twice; once on an interception by DB Xavier Castelo, and the other when NOR RB Bruno Fontaine fumbled the ball while being tackled by LB Jamie Thatcher. Adelaide only got the aforementioned 3 points off those takeaways, but still held the offense to a goose egg.
END OF Q1: 3-0 ADL
The Owls slipped through the cracks of the Lumberjacks defense on their first possession this quarter, as Rogers showed why he earned MVP honors this year, tearing through the cracks to find WR Herbie Kynaston on a 18 yard TD pass, though K Ben Conner missed the PAT, only extending their lead to 9. Norfolk finally found their way past midfield, skipping the redzone entirely on a 56 yard run from Fontaine to make the game 9-7. Both defenses held strong until the end of the half, preventing the other from scoring as both offenses trotted off to end the first half.
END OF Q2: 9-7 ADL
Although Rogers seemed to keep finding gaps within the Lumberjacks defense, the rest of the offense looked extremely sloppy. On three straight possessions, the result was either a punt or a turnover, with second year RB Timmy Whittle fumbling the ball twice on successive drives. The Lumberjacks did manage to take advantage of one of those fumbles, taking the lead with a 45 yard field goal by K Isaac Brandt. The defenses still held strong, and no one could find the endzone for the last half of the quarter.
END OF Q3: 10-9 NOR
The fourth was a back and forth type of quarter where neither team really made any advancements from last quarter, and it remained much of the same show. It wasn’t until Norfolk got the ball back with around 6 minutes left where they finally put away the game, with Slezak leading a charge downfield toward the endzone and saw him sneak into the endzone on a 1 yard plunge. The Owls still had no answer for the defense, and time wound down to 0, where Norfolk players charged the field to celebrate their first trip back to the Escalian Cup in 5 years
FINAL: 17-9 NOR 



10th Escalian Cup Preview: Norfolk Lumberjacks @ Ashonta Miners 
The league’s hottest offense in the Miners and the hottest defense in the Lumberjacks square off in Orcaster to decide which side is better. ASH QB Daniel Haumann has greatly improved since his rookie season last year, and the added weapon in WR Jordan Samson helped them climb above Hadley and Ellesby for the North Division title. Norfolk’s defense, held up by rookie DL Darren Abrahams and DB Moe Spencer, have held most offenses speechless, while their offense isn’t anything to scoff at either; Nathan Slezak proved himself as starting QB with new RB Bruno Fontaine picking up where Eddy Belmont left off when he retired.
Escalian Sports Magazine Prediction: Ashonta’s inexperience comes to kick them in the rear, as Norfolk will hold them off long enough to hoist their 2nd Cup. 21-13 NOR
This is Norfolk’s 3rd appearance in the Escalian Cup, where they lost to Kierport in the 3rd while beating them in the 5th Cup. This will be Ashonta’s first appearance in the Cup in their 6th year of existence. 

10th Escalian Cup: Norfolk Lumberjacks @ Ashonta Miners 


Speedway Sports Park was the loudest it has ever been when the Miners and Lumberjacks took the field for the 10th edition of the Cup. A record-breaking 61000 fans packed tightly in the bleachers as Ashonta kicked the ball off to Norfolk to begin the first half. The Lumberjacks had a better first drive than previous attempts, reaching the endzone on their first try on a 15 yard pass from QB Nathan Slezak to WR Al Hartman. The Miners unfortunately had to punt away the ball on their first, but did recover two drives later when they got past the 30, but the Norfolk D stopped them again and scored their first points of the game on a field goal. The Lumberjacks received the ball back and made their way to the 29 yard line before time in the first ran out.
END OF Q1: 7-3 NOR
The Lumberjacks quickly got to 4th down, and K Isaac Brandt nailed a chip shot in to increase their lead to 7. Ashonta got right back in the game, as QB Daniel Haumann led the team on an 80 yard drive that took almost the rest of the half, which they tied the game on a 5 yard rush from RB Leonard Arts. Norfolk tried to get one last score before the half ended, but time ran out before they could get into field goal range.
END OF Q2: 10-10 TIE
The third got off to an extremely slow start, as both offenses could not convert on third down and punted the ball away to the other team, only for them to do the same. This formula was broken twice, the first time when Haumann attempted to throw to WR Jordan Samson but the pass was broken up and tipped by NOR DB Ryan Travis and intercepted by NOR DB Moe Spencer, and the second when Norfolk passed midfield and scored a field goal to retake the lead. Ashonta was held scoreless throughout the 3rd, but they looked to be on the charge as they crossed midfield as the third quarter turned into the fourth.
END OF Q3: 13-10 NOR
On the first play of the quarter, Haumann found Samson on a quick 2 yard slant, and then Samson went running 50 yards past the Norfolk secondary and dove into the endzone to avoid being taken down by S Tom Nifterick, giving the Miners the lead for the first time in the game. The Lumberjacks didn’t let that score go unanswered, as Slezak led his team into the endzone, but were stopped short of the endzone and scored another field goal to cut the difference to 1. With 5 minutes left in the game, it was anyone’s left to win, and Haumann and the Miners looked to put the game away in their favor. He found his favorite receiver in Samson three times on this drive for 60 yards, and capped off the drive with a 4 yard pass to WR Marty Farmer for the TD. Down by two possessions and with only 2 minutes left, the Lumberjacks tried to get the game within reach, but their hopes were quickly dashed as a short pass intended for RB Bruno Fontaine instead ended up in the arms of Ashonta LB Eric Hamilton, who downed himself to give the Miners their first Escalian Cup in franchise history
FINAL: 24-16 ASH 



WR Jordan Samson won the MVP award with his 126 yard, 2 TD performance, with most citing the 52 yard dash to the dive into the endzone as the moment where he “sealed” his MVP award. “I never expected to turn this team around this much” he said in a post-game interview, “coming here was a great move, and this team has improved a lot since it came into the league 5 years ago. There’s more to come from us, trust me.” 

Congrats Ashonta for your first ever EFL champion! You deserve it

Congrats to Ashonta! nice seeing a new winner in a very good game. 
 

Favorite Team: The Gatekeepers. They turned out to be my favorite team visually, with their double blue and ingenious logo. Truly timeless.

Least Favorite Team: The Knights. Being our main rival, I never shed a tear when their “dynasty” collapsed the second Gideon Skeates went full gorilla-man at the third championship. Plus, their uniforms are basically Purdue, lol.

Questions:
1. When would the league nest be interested in expansion?
2. What does the name Escalia mean?