HBL - A New Beginning
Fresh off a bye week as well as a rejuvenating Turkey Bowl game at
Lewinsville last week, HBL Football returned to yet another site of former
glory--Centre Ridge Field--as the regular season resumed with Game 11. Also
making a return was the game's most vocal receiver, Macky Lopez. Macky
wasted no time in putting forth a notable quote--walking from his car to the
field, he spotted Ric: "Hey, you still owe me a breakfast, Ric." The newly
lightened mood of HBL Football that shone through in the Turkey Bowl was
clearly present for this game as well, from start to finish.
Manny, Donnie, JP, Ric, and Macky took the field in the Orange jerseys,
going up against Rich, Cesar, Steve, Nick, and Mike--Macky's visiting cousin
from the Philippines, who donned Blue. Orange won the toss, but as is
usually the case, deferred.
Cesar got started at quarterback for blue, and wasted no time testing out a
rusty Macky at cornerback. Going up against his older cousin, Mike made the
most of his first HBL game as he caught the first two in a row on Macky, and
moving his team to midfield. Moments later, Cesar opened things up with a
long strike to Rich for the first touchdown of the game. It was Blue drawing
first blood, 7-0.
Manny quarterbacked most of the game for Orange (see "Did you notice?" for
more on the other Orange QBs), and engineered a beautiful opening drive.
With JP calling much of the offense, Orange looked to spread the defense out
with play action. The drive culminated in a corner fade to Ric to tie the
score, 7-7.
When Blue resumed control of the ball, it was the beginning of the Nick
Liggins show! Nick, who would go on to have three huge touchdown catches for
Blue, caught his first one on a long bomb from Cesar to put his team up
14-7.
Donnie scored on Orange's next drive to tie, hauling in a corner pass from
Manny. Inspired, and with the game locked at 14-14, the Orange defense stood
up on the ensuing drive, and and stymied Blue for the first failed forth
down conversion of the day. Then they made them pay for it, with Manny
hooking up with Macky to give Orange it's first lead, 21-14. It was a lead
they would never lose.
Blue came back to tie the game, with Cesar connecting on another long strike
to Nick. But with the game tied at 21-21 and less than two minutes to go in
the half, Manny looked to make a move. Getting close to midfield, he found
Ric on the sideline. Ric made a beautiful diving catch, dragging both feet
across the sideline rope. After an earlier sideline catch that was ruled out
of bounds, this one would not be denied. With under a minute to go, Manny
capitalized and hit Macky in the endzone to regain the Orange lead going
into the half, 28-21.
As Blue tried to mount a quick strike in the waning seconds of the first
half, it became apparent that the clock had somehow stopped on the 1-minute
mark. Did it taint Orange's go-ahead touchdown? Not at all--the clock had
clearly been working when there was were 4 minutes left, and the touchdown
came well within that timeframe. What it does mean is that if some HBL Santa
Claus is listening out there, the league could definitely use a new kitchen
timer for Christmas!
The second half began with Orange extending their lead, 35-21, scoring on
the opening drive. Blue held in as best they could, switching to a soft zone
after falling behind by two scores. The zone defense finally resulted in
their first stop of the game, but with only 5 men, it was far too porous to
contain the likes of Macky and Ric on this day. Both would go on to score 3
touchdowns each, as the Orange lead became insurmountable midway through the
second half.
Frustration never got the best of Blue, however, despite the interceptions
and the deficit. It seemed the overriding spirit of the league was very much
on everyone's mind, and players stayed loose--enjoying the game and
encouraging teammates and opponents alike. Blue DID go on to keep it
respectable--with Nick's three touchdowns and another two from Rich. At one
point, both teams even lost track of the score, relishing in making a play
for the here and now, and simply having a good time. When it was all said
and done, Orange came away with a 56-35 victory. But HBL Football came away
with a rejuvenated core of dedicated players, and a return to a familiar
field.
Next week, Game 12 will also be played at Centre Ridge.
Final Score
Orange 56 - Blue 35
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Did You Notice?
-- Nick, Macky and Ric each scored 3 touchdowns, leading the game.
-- Donnie led the game in rushing, picking up 25 yards on only 3 attempts.
-- On both JP and Donnie's first quarterbacking attempts of the game, they
threw interceptions. For Donnie, it was his one and only passing attempt.
-- Rich had the game's only sack, and was only 5 yards away from being a
safety.
-- Macky's endzone interception was returned for 30 yards down the sideline.
Had he not been stopped by Cesar and Steve, he may have had the longest
interception return in HBL history--he picked Steve's pass off more than 6
yards deep in the endzone.
-- Nick's touchdown catch over Manny was poetic--looking back at the falling
Iron Man to make sure he was alright while securing the ball away.
-- JP completed a 25-yard pass on the game's only flea-flicker.
-- Rich had 2 pass deflections that were nearly intercepted: one on a batted
Manny pass at the line, the other a deflected screen that stayed on his
fingertips until he fell to the ground.
-- Manny threw all 8 touchdown passes for Orange.
-- Cesar threw 3 touchdowns, while Steve threw the other 2 for Blue,
respectively.
-- Ric's diving sideline catch kept a last-minute drive alive, and was the
catalyst for Orange taking the lead for good going into halftime.
-- 4 of the 5 Orange players had interceptions, while 2 of the 5 Blue
players did the same.
Quote of the Game:
-- "Hey, you still owe me a breakfast, Ric." (Macky, walking to to the
field before the game.)
-- "Sorry I made you bend over..." (Manny, apologizing for throwing a low
pass to Donnie)
-- "You better kiss me before you bend me over the next time." (Donnie, in
response)
-- "I'll bring you flowers." (Manny, in response, likewise)
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