After a few hiccups, we're back, with news out of the MMBBL's 2008 Spike! Tournament playoffs. Our first such match takes place at magnificent Fjord Stadium, where the Deathdealer Division-leading Smash and Go'nads played host to the Blackwater Bilgerunners to determine who would advance to the semifinals.
Receiving first, the dwarves surprised many by fielding their highly dangerous, considerably illegal deathroller on the opening drive. The Skaven had a surprise or two of their own, however, and started their defense off with a blitz, hoping to get their claws on the ball before the slower dwarf team could organize. Their priorities began to shift from scoring to survival though, when Cludge Slamboni drove his deathroller right over top of the rat ogre O'Rattigan, who was injured but cared for well by the Skaven apothecaries.
The Skaven renewed their assault as they took a run at Dick Gozinia, the ball carrier. Dick's presence of mind served him well, and he managed to dump the ball off to blitzer Stu Padasso. Meanwhile, the Skaven began to lose the numbers game as the fantastically deranged troll slayer Gil T. Azell began knocking Bilgerunners out left and right. Still, the remaining rat-men got their acts together and knocked the ball loose from Padasso, and it fell at the feet of Gimpy the linerat, who launched a beautiful pass downfield to Twinkletoes. The gutter runner must not have seen it coming, though, and the ball was dropped and back up for grabs.
The knockout parade continued, first when Jenner turned the lights out on line dwarf Drew Peacock, and then as Gil T. Azell and Adam Meway relieved linerats Twistknee and Squeesplat of their senses, respectively. the Go'nads seemed intent on getting that ball back to Stu Padasso, and eventually, Adam Meway managed a handoff to him in sight of the goal line. Padasso huffed, puffed, and brought the house down, delighting the roaring dwarf crowd with the first score of the match.
After such a struggle, there wasn't nearly enough time for the Skaven to score before halftime. Fivel Mausketrap did manage to toss a completion, but no points came of the effort. At halftime, the Smash and Go'nads held a 1-0 lead.
The iron resolve of the dwarves was evident as they took the field again - doubtlessly their coaching staff drilled it into their thick skulls that leading by one point is not good enough. On the other side of the field, it's likely that simple subtraction prevailed in the locker room, with the Skaven aware that they were sitting at something like minus-1. On the kickoff, Fivel Mausketrap fielded the ball once more, and found Dingleberry with a spiraling beauty of a pass. The dwarves were playing an active defense, and a surprisingly mobile one at that. Runners Dick Gozinia and Adam Meway were on the field, with the former giving his all to block Dingleberry's path to the end zone. Dingleberry managed to slip past the dwarf runner, only to be hit by his counterpart Adam Meway and launched into the bleachers. Meway picked the ball up and the active defense became offense once more.
Charging downfield alongside his teammate, Dick Gozinia called for the ball just as Adam Meway needed to get rid of it. Gozinia caught the quick pass, put his head down, and made his way into the end zone as time ran out on the Blackwater Bilgerunners. Undefeated in the regular season, and so far in the playoffs as well, the Smash and Go'nads are the first team to advance to the semifinals!
MVPs of the match were the Smash and Go'nads' Adam Meway, and the Blackwater Bilgerunners' Twinkletoes. Of note as well for the dwarves was the play of Stu Padasso, who made a habit of getting his hands on the ball, no matter who seemed to have it at the time.
Next up, the Bloodbath Division-leading Fly-by Knights take on the surprising Pancake Valley Shortstacks! And let me tell you, folks, it's a wild one!
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