More than 27,000 fans watched the Darkmire Carnosaurs take on the Asgard Raiders at the Bog this past Tuesday, and while many of them had bundled up for the uncharacteristic blizzard conditions that were prevailing, the start of the game saw the snow and wind pass on down the coast, leaving a clear, if chilly sky above the stadium.
The norsemen won the coin toss and set their offense to receive the first kickoff. What they weren't counting on was that the Carnosaurs wanted the ball even more than they did. Off like a shot on the blitz, Reedrush retrieved the ball and slinked in behind several saurus for protection. The Raiders crashed on them like surf on the shore, and soon enough Reedrush emerged from the wall of reptiles to scramble in for a quick touchdown.
As the saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." The Raiders were far more watchful on their next drive. Egor Longrow was first to field the ball as his teammates brought their collective strength to bear against a line of powerful saurus. waiting for an opening, Longrow found his target downfield and Kari Quickstride made certain of the catch. Several skinks went after Quickstride, but the wily runner had no trouble escaping their coverage, and just like that the game was tied at one.
Not being fooled again simply wasn't enough for the Raiders. On the ensuing kickoff, it was their turn to catch the Carnosaurs' offense flat-footed, as they stormed over midfield and practically hurled themselves at the freshly-kicked football. A mess of bodies both reptilian and mammalian followed, with Reedrush the skink eventually emerging with the prize. Clearing a path for his smaller teammate was Threehorns, who seriously mashed lineman Tyr Warriov, leaving it to the apothecaries to patch the mangled man back together. With time too short for another touchdown before half, Reedrush simply lobbed a pass to teammate Mudrunner to pad his stats a bit.
After the break, with the lizardmen receiving, the ball came to Windwhip, who fell in behind his line of massive saurus and the mighty kroxigor known as Grimjaw the Wise. The Carnosaurs churned through sections of the Norse line like so much butter, but was stripped of the ball by a desperate lineman's long reach. Egor Longrow once again got his hands on the ball and found one of his team's hired journeymen in the open. The man known simply as number six charged past any likely defenders in the Carnosaurs' backfield, and put the Raiders on top with their second score of the match.
The Raiders' kick was high on the next kickoff, and Reedrush fielded it well, hoping to get a jump on the defense and pull his team even on the scoreboard. Again, the mighty Threehorns took it upon himself to clear the way, running over lineman Sigfinn Runwald who would not return for the remainder of the game. The lizardmen made their push, but in the crush of bodies, Reedrush was taken down with injuries that will sideline him for a week at least. Egor Longrow found the lost ball and lobbed it downfield, away from everyone, and as it bounced, forgotten, on the pitch, the final whistle sounded the 2-1 victory for the Asgard Raiders.
Match MVPs were Egor Longrow of the Raiders, whose unshakable resolve led his team to the win, and Wildfang of the Carnosaurs, who made his presence well known on the line all day.
As the playoffs approach, we begin to see who the contenders are, who the pretenders are, and who the return-to-senders are as well. There are still challenge matches yet to be played, though, so don't go thinking there won't be a few surprises!
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