QFL Football Fever

 

Recap

Reds booed out of Stanley Park as dieselz win Australia

duffeldoffel's Reds (4-2) were booed out of Stanley Park by their former fans as they lost their final game at their old virtual facility to zugschefz dieselz (5-1) who claimed the Australian Division title with a 34-27 win over the reigning QFL World Champion.

With this win, the dieselz also took revenge for two losses suffered during the last season including the Fever Bowl. Both clubs are set to meet again at The Station in a divisional-playoff game next week.

Coach duffeldoffel offered his heartfelt congratulations to his interim counterpart Buvag who had coached the Reds to victory over MoRe's Moles in week 3 during duffeldoffel's absence.

Still, the Reds' coach left Stanley Park fuming because of the reactions of the home crowd.

"Who the f*** do they think they are?" duffeldoffel ranted during the postgame presser. "We brought glory to this rotten place, got me? We were giving it all for these idiots each and every time. Who the f*** do they think they are booing us out-a here? They ain't nothing, got me?"

"You ain't nothing!" duffeldoffel added towards the Reds' ex-fans.

While the Reds are moving up north to ANewFIELD for next season and have already played a QFL Cup game at their new stadium, dilapidated Stanley Park was to be demolished right after the regular-season finale.

Coach duffeldoffel made clear that there is no love lost between himself and the Reds' former fans in the southwest.

"It's a damn good thing we're out-a here for good. They're losing way much more than we are, got me? They're forfeiting all the glory they'll ever have, you better believe me! It's too bad we don't get to play a postseason game at ANewFIELD this year but anyway, if we get to win another championship this year - and mark my words, we WILL bounce back from all this shit! But it's not gonna be for these morons out here. They can go to hell! It's gonna be for our new fans at our new beautiful place. And that's the bottom line 'cause I said so!"

The Reds had a pretty good start into the game scoring TDs with each of their first-quarter possessions with a dieselz' TD in between to give the Reds a 21-7 lead. Their QB threw TD passes for 60 and 3 yds. In between, their RB ran in from 7 yds out. But these would remain the Reds' only TDs during the second half of the regular season.

Both clubs traded FGs in the second quarter before the dieselz would go on to score 24 unanswered points to put the game away.

From the middle of the second quarter, it was a game of total dieselz' domination. With 3:12 minutes left to play in the first quarter, the dieselz' RB scored his second TD finishing a beautiful 9-play, 80-yd drive with a 14-yd home run. The dieselz got the ball back quickly, and their RB set up another score with a stunning 52-yd run to the Reds' 2-yd line.

The dieselz' RBs finished the game with 35 carries for 181 yds and two scores.

Two plays later, the dieselz' QB found a receiver in the endzone. As the dieselz missed and extra point and failed on a two-point conversion, the Reds managed to save a 24-22 lead into the locker room but not for long.

With two passes for 15 and 55 yds, the dieselz' QB led his team to the Reds' 10-yd line. The Reds' defense then stood tall but with a 37-yd FG, the dieselz finally took the lead for good.

The Reds' defense did their best to win the game forcing five turnovers, however, they were let down by their offense who scored only 13 points off turnovers.

Even though the Reds surrendered an all-time franchise high 494 yds, their defense finished the regular season tops of the league with 257.0 yds per game. The dieselz' offense finished the regular season in first place as well setting a new QFL record with 404.0 yds per game.

The dieselz' punt-return team had mixed results. They muffed two punts - one of which led to a Reds' FG - but also had a 57-yd punt-return TD to extend their lead to 32-24 in the third quarter. The Reds' return team were responsible for a score also when their return man was caught in his own end zone for a safety early in the fourth quarter.

Late in the third quarter, the dieselz' QB threw his first interception of the season and he had a second one in the fourth quarter but the Reds' offense could not capitalize.

The dieselz' QB finished the regular season with a QFL-record 1411 yds winning the QFL passing title even though the Reds' QB finished the season once again as the most effective passer with a 103.6 rating.

Curiously, the Reds stayed on the ground during the second half with their QB dropping back to pass only twice (one sack, one incompletion) trying to apply a similar tactic as during their Fever Bowl win over the dieselz last season when they had only one pass attempt during the first half.

Late in the game, the Reds had one more scoring drive in store but they covered only 38 yds with 11 plays taking four minutes from the clock before settling for a 37-yd FG. They got the ball back with 1:48 left to play but went 4-and-out and even lost a fumble sealing victory and the divisional title for the dieselz.

While the Reds have lost consecutive games for the first time in franchise history and scored no TDs in eleven of twelve quarters, the dieselz ride a four-game winning streak going into their playoff rematch and must be considered favorites to return to the Fever Bowl.