Nashville at California

This is another game where the stat sheet definitely doesn’t tell the whole story. Just looking at the box score, you’d think that the Tuts were the dominant team on the field. They outgained the Demons by over 100 yards, held them to only a single third-down conversion all game, and picked Elise Beaumont off for only the second time in her career. So how, then, did California come out on top? Two words: turnovers and penalties. The Demons were able to score 10 points off of Nashville fumbles, and the Tuts were flagged for 13 penalties over the course of the game. Still, Nashville had a chance at the end of the game. They scored with thirty seconds remaining to make it a one score game, but unfortunately weren’t successful on their onside kick attempt. Final score: CAL 29, NSH 24

New York at Las Vegas

Oh, this one is embarrassing. And painful. Very, very painful. For BOTH teams. In fact, the whole game can probably be summed up by a sequence of events at the end of the first half. After failing to convert on 3rd and inches, the Bandits punted the ball away with 27 seconds left in the half. It’s a touchback, so the Defiant get the ball on their own 20. On first down, Lukas Barella scrambles with the ball, gets hit and drops the rock. The Las Vegas defense recovers with 20 seconds to go. They immediately try for a field goal, which misses wide right. New York takes possession pretty much where they started….and Barella IMMEDIATELY coughs up the ball again. This time, Raleigh Cooper actually gets the ball through the uprights.

So yeah, this may have been the sloppiest game in New York’s history. By the end of the third quarter, they had a total of 89 yards through the air. And Las Vegas seemed to be content with playing down to the level of their competition. John Cameron started to show the rust from not starting for multiple seasons, only throwing for 216 yards, and the Bandits rushing game was clearly in no rush. In fact, they were apparently stuck in New York traffic all game, averaging a putrid 0.7 yards per rush. Yes, you read that stat right. In fact, the only thing that DID go right, for either team, was New York’s special teams play. Emmett Smith was 3/3 in field goal attempts including a career-long 55-yarder. His kicking would actually prove to be the difference maker in the game, as Cooper missed two out of three attempts (granted, one of those he immediately got a mulligan on). That extra three points would have made a lot of difference, as New York’s defense was just enough for the Defiant to eke out the win. Yes, you also read THAT right. After opening the season 8-1, the Bandits are now 1-3 over their last four games, and seem to be in free fall.

The Defiant weren’t able to celebrate their unlikely win, unfortunately. Quarterback Lukas Barella’s knee buckled while being sacked at the end of the third quarter, and he would have to be taken off the field in the medical cart. MRIs after the game confirmed the worst. Barella has torn his ACL, and will miss the rest of the season. Final score: NYD 23, LVB 17

Chicago at Montreal

After being highly active at the trade deadline, Chicago is clearly intent on making a playoff run. That starts with a key matchup against the Royal. The Outlaws were obviously intent on making sure that Montreal’s star running back Vito Ligustica was contained for most of the game, frequently stacking the box and daring Tyron Appleby to throw the ball. The strategy seems to have paid off, as Ligustica was held to just 51 yards, his lowest total of the season. And while Appleby WAS able to throw on the Chicago secondary, their gameplan was clearly thrown off without Ligustica’s contributions, especially as the game wore on. Montreal actually led for a while, but the Outlaws scored 21 unanswered points over the second and third quarters to take command of the game. The Royal had a good chance to tie the game, getting all the way down to the CHI 11 yard line with a minute 37 to go, but an interception sealed the win for Chicago. Final score: CHI 24, MTL 17

Grand Rapids at Colorado

First, the bad news. Christina Carson has now failed to top 200 yards passing for the third game in a row. She’s been passed on the leader boards by both Kiedo Masquarde and Darius Smith, and her former iron-tight grip on the league’s MVP award seems to be slipping. The good news, however, is that her passing acumen wasn’t really needed in this game. Efren Frank was able to run all over the Dragon’s defense, racking up a team record 165 rushing yards. Grand Rapids managed to keep the game tight, allowing no more than a one score lead for most of the game. But they weren’t able to score much themselves, having to rely on Earl Holley to kick multiple 50+ yard field goals. Their final drive fell ever so close, with tight end Francis Meyer being tackled down two yards short of the goal line. But it wouldn’t have really mattered, as the Crushers had already pulled too far ahead by then. Final score: COL 27, GRD 16

Texas at Downriver

Hulk…..SMASH!!!!

Final score: TEX 76, DWN 27 (that’s not a typo)

Okay, okay, you want a bit more? Well, Jacqueline Knight scored a 101 yard kickoff return touchdown the very first time that the Ramblers touched the ball in the game, and everything went downhill for the Waves from there. Faster than you can say “Detroit bankruptcy”, Texas had gotten out to a 14-3 lead, picking off Aspen Redfield and scoring another TD on their first play from scrimmage. It was literally the Jackie Knight show, as she caught three TD passes in the first quarter in addition to her return touchdown. With the game already well in hand, Calder got pulled halfway through the third quarter. But the Ramblers weren’t done yet. Kai Koa came out and threw three touchdowns himself, redeeming that awful five interception game from earlier in the season. He was seven for seven for 131 total yards, earning the first perfect passer rating in Ramblers history. Unfortunately, the extreme lopsidedness of the game does overshadow the fact that Aspen Redfield had his best game in Waves blue, passing for 295 yards and 2 TDs.

Baltimore at North Florida

The losers of five straight, the Renegades come into today’s contest in desperate need of a win. Fortunately for them, the 3-10 Baltimore Ponies are coming into town, so they stand a decent chance. Ryan Buoniconti came out firing bombs like the desperate fur he was, passing for three 60+ yard touchdowns in the first half. The final one of these, an 88-yarder to Olen Reuyters, was the longest pass of both his and Reuyters’s careers. Reuyters’s 160 total yards was also a career high – an impressive feat, considering he was on the Outlaws during their Furbowl-winning season in 2017. Needless to say, it was also the best game of Buoniconti’s career, right when it was needed. And it nearly wasn’t enough. Those three first-half touchdowns were all the scoring that the Renegades would manage. The second half was entirely the Pony Show. Jillian St. Claire threw for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to bring the game within five points, and they had a chance to go for the win at the end of the game. But she threw an interception on a fourth down attempt, allowing North Florida to finally get its win. Final score: NFR 21, BAL 16

Miami at Easton

While Texas might have completely roflstomped its opponents this week, Easton might have actually had the most impressive defensive performance. For all of its scoring frenzy, the Ramblers still allowed Downriver to score 27 points. The Bald Eagles D, however, was absolutely dominant, completely blanking the Tropics. There have only been two shutouts all season, and Miami has been the victims of both of them, falling to Baltimore 16-0 in week 10. The scoring mostly happened on the ground, with Bruce Staples and Susan Forester combining for three rushing touchdowns. By the fourth quarter, it seems like the game had devolved into a glorified game of catch between Miami QB Raoul Fernandez and Easton backup Michelle Housley. Each team traded interceptions back and forth and back and forth, with no team getting even close to the opposing end zone. Finally, to add insult to the already lopsided score, Fernandez was tackled for a safety on the final play of the game before the kneeldowns. Final score: EAS 30, MIA 0

Richmond at New Orleans

It’s safe to say that in any other year, we’d have been talking up Kayla Colt as the presumptive favorite to win Rookie of the Year. She came out today again the Flames, and proceeded to break pretty much every Corsairs single-game rushing record: rushing attempts (30), rushing yards (155), rushing TDs (3) and longest rush (an 81 yard touchdown run in the first quarter). With today’s total she passes 1000 yards for the season, and it’s safe to say that we have a new superstar in the making. Unfortunately, her success puts an end to Richmond’s three-game win streak, as they were down 30-7 by halftime. The Flames played better in the second half, scoring a pick-six off of Flip Penguinator and throwing for a touchdown in garbage time, but it was too little too late for this week. Final score: NOC 44, RIC 24

Players of the Week:

Offensive: Kayla Colt (RB – NOC): 155 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs, and one catch for 18 yards
Defensive: James Demers (LB – NYD): 6 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks and a forced fumble
Special Teams: Jacqueline Knight (WR – TEX): two kickoff returns for 141 total yards, including a 101 yard return TD
Milestones (not already mentioned):

Charmaine Baldrick (WR – NSH) has her first 1000-yard receiving season
Honor Matari (WR – NOC) has his first 1000-yard receiving season
Kiedo Masquared (QB – NSH) passes his previous career high in passing yards
Ray Bray (LB – NFR) had his first career interception
Alvaro Serrano (CB – TEX) had his first 2-pick game
Mylene Jean (WR – CAL) set a California single-game record with 150 receiving yards, breaking her previous record from Week 4