QFL Football Fever

 

Recap

Moles win on the road

They were outgained, outpossessed, battered by a fierce pass rush and had to face an early 10-point deficit but MoRe's Moles scored 24 unanswered points and pulled out their first road win in franchise history defeating frontmodes Kobras 26-17 at the Snakepit Arena.

The Moles' defenders sealed the victory when they stopped the Kobras' runner at his own 1 and then sacked the quarterback in the endzone for a safety with a little less than six minutes left to play. The Kobras tried to fight back but a 30-yd field-goal attempt went wide and the Moles kneeled down to run out the final minute.

The Kobras' passer threw for 232 yds setting a new franchise record. (Two of his passes led to touchdowns even though they are not credited as touchdown passes.) Their running backs averaged a solid 4.6 yds per carry. Their defense registered eight sacks setting a new QFL record. They outgained the opposition 345-301 yds and outpossed them by more than three minutes. And yet it was not enough to beat the Moles.

The Kobras had three kicks blocked - a field-goal attempt and two punts deep in their own half. Their kicking miscues contributed greatly to the Kobras' defeat as the two blocked punts led to ten points for the Moles in the second quarter.

The Kobras had a strong start into the game with an 8-play, 75-yd scoring drive capped by a 12-yd pass that was fumbled, recovered and advanced for 19 yds to the endzone. After forcing a three-and-out, the Kobras took over at the 50-yd line and reached the 12 before settling for a 30-yd field goal.

When the Moles missed a 25-yd field goal, momentum seemed to remain completely on the Kobras' side but the first of three second-quarter kick blocks sounded the bell for the turnaround. At first, a three-and-out led to only a field goal cutting the Moles deficit to a touchdown and the Kobra's blocked 34-yd field-goal attempt was not penalized by the Moles. But the second punt block led to a 2-yd touchdown run to tie the game at 10-10 just before halftime.

Overall, the Moles' running backs ran for a combined 222 yds and three scores making up for their passing attack that contributed only 81 yds.

Both offenses struggled early in the second half before the Moles led a 60-yd touchdown drive capped by a 21-yd touchdown run with two minutes left to play in the third quarter.

On their ensuing drive, the Kobras cruised 62 yds to the Moles 18 from where they went for it on 4th-and-3 but were stopped for a turnover on downs. Three plays later, a Moles runner romped for 78 yds to the endzone to give the Moles a 24-10 lead with 10:48 left to play.

The Kobras needed only a minute to respond. A short completion was fumbled near midfield and again recovered and advanced for a touchdown. After a Moles punt, they got the ball back at their own 10 with 6:12 left to play but two plays later, the Moles' defense sealed the victory.

Overall, the Moles' defense contributed four sacks, a fumble recovery and a safety.