The narrative going into this series was a lot less about who would win and a lot more about whether Miami could even win a single game against Texas. That narrative was thrown out the window almost immediately, though, as Miami went into halftime of Game 1 with a 12-point lead, with former Redback B/ZB Gerald Hartline scoring 36 of the Palms’ 70 points and swallowing up nearly every pass that came his way on defense. Texas fought back in the second half, narrowing the lead to 2 before who else but B/K Semarias Garcia and W/ZB Larry Whitt scored a 3-point goal and a 5-point bucket respectively to give the Redbacks a six-point Game 1 win. While obviously a win is a win is a win, it really felt like a loss for Texas; the six-point margin of victory was the slimmest they’d had all year, and they hadn’t been down by 12 points at any point in a game in over fourteen months. The Redbacks got a slightly less gut-wrenching win in a rather boring Game 2, but for Miami (and pretty much every dashball fan outside the Lone Star State), there was hope.
A good villain, though, knows exactly how and when to destroy that hope. As Texas head coach Josh Hunter told his players before Game 3, a 3-0 deficit is a million times worse than 2-0, and if the Redbacks could come out, play hard, and grab a win on the road, they’d be in firm control and would only need to avoid four consecutive losses (which they hadn’t done in eight years) to clinch a three-peat. Earning a road win is easier said than done, except if you’re the Redbacks, who made it seem easier done than said. That number one defense shut down all facets of the Palms offense, out-working, out-hustling, and simply outplaying Miami. They made time for a few highlight-reel plays too, including a spectacular fingertip save by Garcia and the most meme-worthy play of the night, where W/C Elide Amigazzi swatted a W/ZB Terry Rothgeb pass so hard that it broke Rothgeb’s nose and sent him reeling to the floor. Rothgeb did actually stay in the game, but it didn’t help the Palms, who set a new NDL postseason record by scoring only 79 points. Game 4 would be slightly less embarrassing, but it would be no more a win than any other team had managed against Texas all year, and with another unexciting but dominant win, the Redbacks completed an unprecedented 62-0 season and earned an unprecedented fifth First Trophy.
ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth wrote:
