#5 Bangkok Blue Demons at #2 Singapore Flames
Bangkok Blue Demons 14-4
2nd round playoff game
This game started poorly for the Blue Demons who went 3 and out in their first three possessions, allowing the Elephant Riders to gallop to 17 unanswered points and eat up nearly 13 minutes of game time. Despite facing an uphill battle, the scrappy Demons fought on. It took only 2 plays to see major results as QB Justgivea Yuengling aired it out to the side to star HB Blue LaNuke who beat the entire ER defense all the way to the endzone. It's plays like that that make you wonder if he's the "Blue" in Bangkok Blue Demons.
This seemed to immediately fire up the rest of the team. The very next play saw special teamers David Puddy and Devil LaNuke teaming up to force and recover a fumble on the kick-off. The Bangkok passing game got Blue Lanuke into striking distance and before you know it the Demons are back in the game, 14-17.
Apparently the Demons like to play with their prey, because after a great 58 yard gain by WR Skarch Firststep(CB Bernie Sapp had a tremendous come from behind tackle to save the score), they promptly fumbled the ball on the next play and spent the rest of the 2nd quarter doing the three downs and done routine. Luckily for them, their defense played well and limited the damage to 3 points off a Luis Linguini field goal.
The second half began with both defenses playing well and the teams fighting for field position. A major Bangkok lucky break came again on special teams when LB Macel Leadbetter and SS Gobstopper again forced a turnover deep in ER territory on a fumbled punt return. Two plays later chalk up a passing TD on a nice QB Yuengling throw.
After that, the battle was on and the two squads went up and down the field well into the 4th quarter, trading big play after big play, score after score. The Elephant Riders had the lead, but the Demons were right behind them. It was anybody's game, with the pace favoring the Elephant Riders.
Than BAM! The hearts of the Elephant Riders were shattered. Two caught passes were fumbled, and both brought back for touchdowns. The one fumbled by WR Benny Cunningham was especially painful, as he had was looking at around a 20 yard gain when he was tackled. The first fumble took the wind out of the Riders, the second was the nail in the coffin. The fought back to score again, but the momentum was Bangkok's. Final score 45-40.
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Singapore Flames 16-2
2nd round playoff game
This was a game of entirely different halves. The Cheap Toys dominated the first half, shutting down the Flames offense and racing off to a 13-0 lead. At halftime, it was hard to conceive of Singapore winning this game, in order to avoid a blowout loss, they would have to play much better.
And better they did, receiving the ball to start the 3rd, the spent 8 plays marching down the field to the endzone much to the spectator's delight. The rest of the quarter saw the teams jostling for field position, and towards the end, the momentum started to swing Singapore's way, with the Flames advancing with inches of a touchdown as the clock wound down.
RC Apodaca busted in for the score to start the 4th, and suddenly the Flames were winning 14-3, could they hold on for the victory? QB Allan Czervik intended to put them to the test, using a series of crisp short and mid range passes to move his team down the field for a score to regain the lead. But CB Celtic Raider had an immediate answer returning the ensuing kickoff over 96 yards for a touchdown. But Leikneih Ecstacy decided to give Singapore management a massive heart attack by missing the extra point. Game tied 20 - 20, with less than 8 minutes to go.
QB Czervik and star HB Hal Hunter went to work and got them withing striking distance at their opponents 34 yard line, but after still needing 8 yards on fourth down and less than 3 minutes to play, the Thailand coach made a curious call to punt the ball instead of going for a long kick or going for it. It backfired on them, because the Flames saw their chance and took it, getting deep into Cheap Toy territory to allow Ecstasy to redeem himself by kicking the gaming winning field goal. Final score 23-20.
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Prediction:
I've been around long enough in this league to know that Zeta is stacked season after season with title contenders, sometimes down to the 7th or 8th seed. There is an elite cadre of teams, all capable of beating each other with a lucky bounce here or there. Take the two games these two teams just played to get here for example. Both teams could have just as easily lost as won, that's how tight and competitive this conference is. If someone told me I'd be writing this prediction about Metalheads versus Gold Rush, or Elephant Riders versus Cheap Toys I wouldn't have doubted them for a second. There are some great teams in Zeta, and it's an absolute dogfight to get to the conference title game. Congratulations to both the Blue Demons and the Singapore Flames for making it this far... I'm sure it was a tough getting here.
If you examine the two teams history against each other, you begin to realize how difficult it is to forecast a winner:
Season 1: Singapore over Bangkok 6-3
Season 2: Bangkok over Singapore in regular season 13-10. But the Flames triumph in 1st round playoff matchup 22-7.
Season 3: Flames beat the Blue Demons 20- 13.
Season 4: Blue demons return the favor 19-12.
Season 5: Flames get their biggest win yet 44-23.
So the matchups are currently in Singapore's favor 3-2, but the pattern seems to suggest that it might be Bangkok's turn to triumph. Both teams are more than capable, it will be about who makes less mistakes. I'm not anywhere near 100% on this guess, but my gut instinct is telling me the Blue Demons are going to win another game on the road for their finest season ever. BLUE DEMONS BY 3
Bangkok Blue Demons 14-4
2nd round playoff game
This game started poorly for the Blue Demons who went 3 and out in their first three possessions, allowing the Elephant Riders to gallop to 17 unanswered points and eat up nearly 13 minutes of game time. Despite facing an uphill battle, the scrappy Demons fought on. It took only 2 plays to see major results as QB Justgivea Yuengling aired it out to the side to star HB Blue LaNuke who beat the entire ER defense all the way to the endzone. It's plays like that that make you wonder if he's the "Blue" in Bangkok Blue Demons.
This seemed to immediately fire up the rest of the team. The very next play saw special teamers David Puddy and Devil LaNuke teaming up to force and recover a fumble on the kick-off. The Bangkok passing game got Blue Lanuke into striking distance and before you know it the Demons are back in the game, 14-17.
Apparently the Demons like to play with their prey, because after a great 58 yard gain by WR Skarch Firststep(CB Bernie Sapp had a tremendous come from behind tackle to save the score), they promptly fumbled the ball on the next play and spent the rest of the 2nd quarter doing the three downs and done routine. Luckily for them, their defense played well and limited the damage to 3 points off a Luis Linguini field goal.
The second half began with both defenses playing well and the teams fighting for field position. A major Bangkok lucky break came again on special teams when LB Macel Leadbetter and SS Gobstopper again forced a turnover deep in ER territory on a fumbled punt return. Two plays later chalk up a passing TD on a nice QB Yuengling throw.
After that, the battle was on and the two squads went up and down the field well into the 4th quarter, trading big play after big play, score after score. The Elephant Riders had the lead, but the Demons were right behind them. It was anybody's game, with the pace favoring the Elephant Riders.
Than BAM! The hearts of the Elephant Riders were shattered. Two caught passes were fumbled, and both brought back for touchdowns. The one fumbled by WR Benny Cunningham was especially painful, as he had was looking at around a 20 yard gain when he was tackled. The first fumble took the wind out of the Riders, the second was the nail in the coffin. The fought back to score again, but the momentum was Bangkok's. Final score 45-40.
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Singapore Flames 16-2
2nd round playoff game
This was a game of entirely different halves. The Cheap Toys dominated the first half, shutting down the Flames offense and racing off to a 13-0 lead. At halftime, it was hard to conceive of Singapore winning this game, in order to avoid a blowout loss, they would have to play much better.
And better they did, receiving the ball to start the 3rd, the spent 8 plays marching down the field to the endzone much to the spectator's delight. The rest of the quarter saw the teams jostling for field position, and towards the end, the momentum started to swing Singapore's way, with the Flames advancing with inches of a touchdown as the clock wound down.
RC Apodaca busted in for the score to start the 4th, and suddenly the Flames were winning 14-3, could they hold on for the victory? QB Allan Czervik intended to put them to the test, using a series of crisp short and mid range passes to move his team down the field for a score to regain the lead. But CB Celtic Raider had an immediate answer returning the ensuing kickoff over 96 yards for a touchdown. But Leikneih Ecstacy decided to give Singapore management a massive heart attack by missing the extra point. Game tied 20 - 20, with less than 8 minutes to go.
QB Czervik and star HB Hal Hunter went to work and got them withing striking distance at their opponents 34 yard line, but after still needing 8 yards on fourth down and less than 3 minutes to play, the Thailand coach made a curious call to punt the ball instead of going for a long kick or going for it. It backfired on them, because the Flames saw their chance and took it, getting deep into Cheap Toy territory to allow Ecstasy to redeem himself by kicking the gaming winning field goal. Final score 23-20.
------------
Prediction:
I've been around long enough in this league to know that Zeta is stacked season after season with title contenders, sometimes down to the 7th or 8th seed. There is an elite cadre of teams, all capable of beating each other with a lucky bounce here or there. Take the two games these two teams just played to get here for example. Both teams could have just as easily lost as won, that's how tight and competitive this conference is. If someone told me I'd be writing this prediction about Metalheads versus Gold Rush, or Elephant Riders versus Cheap Toys I wouldn't have doubted them for a second. There are some great teams in Zeta, and it's an absolute dogfight to get to the conference title game. Congratulations to both the Blue Demons and the Singapore Flames for making it this far... I'm sure it was a tough getting here.
If you examine the two teams history against each other, you begin to realize how difficult it is to forecast a winner:
Season 1: Singapore over Bangkok 6-3
Season 2: Bangkok over Singapore in regular season 13-10. But the Flames triumph in 1st round playoff matchup 22-7.
Season 3: Flames beat the Blue Demons 20- 13.
Season 4: Blue demons return the favor 19-12.
Season 5: Flames get their biggest win yet 44-23.
So the matchups are currently in Singapore's favor 3-2, but the pattern seems to suggest that it might be Bangkok's turn to triumph. Both teams are more than capable, it will be about who makes less mistakes. I'm not anywhere near 100% on this guess, but my gut instinct is telling me the Blue Demons are going to win another game on the road for their finest season ever. BLUE DEMONS BY 3
Last edited Oct 26, 2008 01:44:53
