Kobb's Khorne vs. Monk's Marauders
For the first time in a long time, no inducements owed either way in this match. Khorne elects to kick and, in a departure from the norm, lines up only 9 men on the line, leaving Speedy and New TAB deep.
M1: Three human work together to take down a warrior on one side, freeing a line for a catcher to run downfield. Three more knock down New NATAB on the other side. The human A5 thrower picks up the kickoff.
K1: Several humans get knocked down along the line. Speedy knocks over the deep catcher, and New TAB holds the deep safety position.
M2: Two beastmen get knocked down, and a catcher moves down the opposite sideline from the down catcher, who stands up and retreats toward midfield.
K2: A lineman gets knocked out. A warrior runs toward the thrower with the ball, who hasn't budged. The ogre gets stunned. The downfield catcher gets knocked over, but takes New TAB with him. A beastman runs back as a second safety as Speedy runs back toward midfield to shadow the other catcher.
M3: Fritz gets knocked out, re-evening the sides. Another beastman goes down. Speedy tackles his catcher as he tries to dodge away.
K3: The minotaur stuns a lineman. A warrior stuns the thrower, sending the ball beside a blitzer, the minotaur, and a beastman.
M4: The catchers dodge from their blockers. A blitzer picks up the ball and ends up beside a warrior.
K4: The minotaur injures a lineman. Several blocks against the ball-carrier fail. New NATAB falls over trying to block a blitzer.
M5: The blitzer hands the ball to a catcher, who runs in the score.
K5: A quick snap pushes most of the Khorne players over the center line. A human gets knocked out. New TAB picks up the ball and tosses it to Fritz, who fails to catch it.
M6: The team starts to converge around the loose ball.
K6: A firm-standing blitzer just won't go down. An attempt to pick up the ball sends it back a square into the hands of Speedy.
M7: The human blocking goes far better than the preceding Khorne blocking. Speedy and another beastman go down.
K7: A couple of humans are stunned.
M8: A beastman gets pushed onto the ball, sending it through the human line toward their backfield, and a couple of beastmen waiting there. Pushing a human onto it sends it a few more yards toward the end zone, instead. A lineman kills himself knocking over New NATAB.
K8: The minotaur continues his habit of being wild, so a warrior knocks out the ogre, instead. New TAB makes a couple of dodges, picks up the ball in a couple of tackle zones, makes the dump-off pass... only to have the beastman standing there who can score flub the catch.
Halftime Score: Mork's Marauders 1 - 0 Kobb's Khorne
K9: Another lineman is injured. The ogre gets stunned again. The minotaur is too busy pissing to blitz. Four beastmen run downfield on the edges. A warrior runs up the middle. New TAB picks up the ball.
M9: A blitzer knocks himself out trying to blitz New TAB.
K10: A lineman gets knocked out. New TAB runs to midfield and tosses a short pass at New NATAB, which scatters off the field and gets tossed back to the Khorne backfield.
M10: A catcher picks up the ball and runs it toward the end zone.
K11: Morale broken, a couple of players run back in a token effort at resistance.
M11: The catcher runs in the score.
K12: The minotaur kills the ogre, who the apoc saves. Four beastmen and a warrior run forward similar to before.
M12: Some positional moves.
K13: New TAB runs forward, lobs the ball to Fritz, who takes in the score.
M13: With the last knocked out player standing up, the humans are back to their full eleven on the pitch. Khorne lines up in an odd FFB, with the Minotaur and three warriors on the wings. The kickoff gives Khorne a blitz, allowing a warrior into the backfield and Fritz to get beside where the ball will land, but it bounces away from him. New TAB is injured and almost suffers a broken neck, but the apoc fixes it. The A5 thrower picks up the ball and tosses it to a catcher near midfield, who runs it downfield.
K14: Speedy knocks over the ball carrier. A rookie picks up the ball and goes for the long bomb, but is intercepted by an A4 blitzer on the line.
M14: The ball ends up in the hands of a catcher near the end zone.
K15: A half-hearted chase
M15: The catcher runs in the score.
K16: The minotaur kills the ogre again... it takes this time. New TAB tosses to Soft Hands, who manages a catch.
M16: Nothin'.
Final Score: Monk's Marauders 3 - 1 Kobb's Khorne
Thoughts: This game was *insane*. I almost tied at the half. I had a great drive going in the second half. Nurgle kept making sure that good went to bad quickly and, by the end, I had to go for broke to have a shot at the tie, which went as poorly as high-risk plans tend to. On the other hand, New TAB made some impressive moves at times, and the minotaur double-killing the ogre at least appeased the Blood God.
Both Monk and I had 43% possession. Ball position was 50-50. I had 116y combined, he had 114y. Which makes me feel like, if not for the five casualties I inflicted, this game wouldn't've been close at all.