QFL Football Fever

 

Recap

Field goals galore - Basterds are QFL World Champions!

The Jetto Basterds upset the previously undefeated Flash 80s 25-17 at Fever Bowl IV and became the first QFL expansion franchise to win the Bill Walsh Trophy at the end of their first season of existence.

"It's absolutely amazing. Can't describe my feelings right now even after some hours of heavy party," coach jetto said the morning after the game.

The Flash 80s (7-1) had staged a late fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Basterds (6-2) in week 6 of the regular season but failed to produce a deja-vu when a deep pass on fourth-and-long deep in their own territory fell incomplete 48 seconds from time.

"Well, to be honest, we didn't care too much about this week-6 game at all but trust out process," coach jetto said when asked what effects the experience from that previous encounter might have had.

The Flash 80s had been the comeback kids of the season, having trailed at some stage during six of their seven wins. But it was the Basterds who managed to come back from deficits three times in a highly entertaining and thrilling affair at the Eyebowl.

As expected, both teams displayed terrific defensive performances. Still, their offenses racked up over 600 yds combined and totalled ten scores, seven of which, however, came by means of field goals.

Neither quarterback actually had stellar numbers but the Basterds QB (15-of-29, 231 yds, TD, INT) did enough to bring their kicker in position to split the uprights on a Fever Bowl record six occasions.

The Basterds kicker, who had missed only one of 15 field-goal attempts prior to the Fever Bowl, scored from 44, 41, 43, 50, 34 and 48 yds out after he had also converted his only extra-point attempt. By this, he accounted for 19 points, two more than the opposition's total.

Deservedly, the Basterds' Field-Goal Die was named "Fever Bowl IV Most Valuable Die" by his coach after the game: "It is the FG Die. Not only because he was just perfect but also because his passion for the game led me to call many more field goals than I actually wanted. Usually, I prefer a much more aggresive approach."

The Flash 80s had a promising start into the game, recovering a fumble on the third play of the game followed by a 5-play, 51-yd scoring drive. Set up by a 44-yd pass, their RB ran in from 4 yds out to draw first blood for the Flash 80s.

Thing could have gone even worse for the Basterds as their QB threw an interception on their following possession, giving the Flash 80s the ball near midfield. But the Basterds defense then stood tall and subsequently forced a three-and-out.

The Flash 80s got another chance to double their lead when they reached the red zone on a 43-yd pass with the final play of the first quarter. However, the Basterds pass defense made amends with an interception near the goal line and returned it 26 yds out of trouble to their own 30-yd line, setting a new Fever Bowl record for the longest defensive play.

A minute later, on the third play of their following possession, the Basterds QB threw a quick pass to a receiver who then romped all the way down to the end zone for a 61-yd TD to tie the game - the longest pass play in Fever Bowl history.

The Flash 80s seemed to have a hard time to recover from this setback as they failed to produce a first down with their following three possessions, allowing the Basterds to score two field goals and take a six-point lead 96 seconds before halftime.

However, on the second play of their ensuing possession, the Flash 80s RB caught the Basterds defense off-guard and broke through their secondary to a stunning 75-yd scoring run, reclaiming the lead for his team with 72 seconds left in the first half.

Knowing that the Flash 80s would get the ball to open the second half, the Basterds decided not to run out the clock and take the minimum deficit into the locker room. Instead, they got themselves in position with a 39-yd pass followed by a 13-yd run and claimed a two-point halftime lead on their kicker's third field goal with time running out.

The Basterds seemed to have their momentum going when their run defense forced and recovered a fumble just inside the Flash 80's red zone two minutes into the second half. However, they could not capitalize as their QB was sacked and lost the football on the ensuing play.

In total, the Flash 80s defenders registered a Fever-Bowl record five sacks and also had one interception, two fumble recoveries, ten tackles-for-loss and eight pass deflections.

The Flash 80s rewarded themselves with the longest possession of the game in terms of time of possession, finishing a 9-play, 44-yd drive with a 45-yd field goal to reclaim the minimum lead for a second time.

On that drive, the Flash 80s QB had seven of his Fever Bowl record 33 pass attempts of which, however, he completed only 13 for 160 yds and had a pair of picks of which the latter would prove especially costly.

The Basterds quickly recovered from their latest setback, opening their ensuing possession with 24-yd run followed by a 29-yd pass, thus setting up yet another field-goal attempt.

A few plays later, with 5:24 left in the third quarter, the Basterds kicker not only set a new Fever Bowl record with his 50-yarder, 1 yd short of his two longest career field goals, he also claimed the lead for his team a third time - and this time for good.

Following a three-and-out forced by their defense, the Basterds had their lengthiest possession, taking the game into the fourth quarter and extending their lead to five points on a 34-yd field goal, their kicker's shortest attempt of the day.

During this stage of the game, the Flash 80s found it hard to get the ball from the Basterds. They did constantly manage to keep the opposition far enough from their goal line but the field goals kept coming and, in between, their offense could not produce against the fierce Basterds defense.

Their ensuing possession ended in disaster when their QB's pass was intercepted at their own 38-yd line. The Basterds could not get a new first down after taking over but did get their kicker in position yet again for a 48-yarder with which, for the first time, they put a TD (plus two-point converstion) between themselves and the Flash 80s with 11:12 left to play.

Even though giving up two bombs and a very long TD run, overall, the Basterds defense had a terrific day at the office, producing two interceptions, a fumble recovery, three sacks, 11 tackles-for-loss and 14 pass deflections.

Even though they would not score again and in spite of the Flash 80's well-documented comeback qualities, the Basterds never really got in danger as their defense held firm, won the field-position battle and would not let the Flash 80s get past their own 28 for the rest of the game.

The game was all but over when, following a big sack on second down, a deep pass on 4th-and-16 was broken up and with 48 seconds on the clock, the Basterds took over on downs at the Flash 80s 21-yd line. After a quick pass and a save run for a new first down, their QB knelt down and the Basterds left the Eyebowl in triumph.