Can Orange Get It's Second Win Of The Season?
In another five-on-five matchup that saw Daniel as rotator, Game 4 was a
defensive struggle that stayed reasonably close throughout. Eric, Manny,
Donnie, Steve and Ric made up the Blue Team, while Cesar, JP, Rich, Nick and
Aaron B. took the field as Orange. Daniel began the game on defense, taking
the offensive side in the second half.
Orange started off looking strong with Cesar at the helm. Mufasa connected
with rookie of the year front runner Nick Liggins on a 62-yard touchdown
pass on just the second play of the game. The Orange Team drew first blood,
7-0.
Eric started out as quarterback for Blue and engineered a long drive to
midfield, where it was Donnie Time--with #45 nearly equaling his jersey
number on an impressive 40-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
Cesar set up shop for Orange at their 20-yard line, but after only two
plays, it was Ric coming up with the game's first interception, putting the
ball back in the hands of the Blue Team. Eric would capitalize on the
opportunity, needing only three plays before completing a 20-yard touchdown
pass to Steve to give Orange its first lead of the game, 14-7.
Orange would recover, however, and Cesar orchestrated a nifty drive that
ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to JP.
With the game tied at 14, Eric began another lengthy drive. JP, still
feeling it from the touchdown moments earlier, reached up to intercept Eric.
Orange looked to cash in on their forced turnover, but it wasn't to be.
Steve, apparently still amped from his own touchdown catch, managed to pick
Cesar off on just the second play from scrimmage. We remained tied at 14.
Once again, Eric looked to take the lead. After driving to midfield, though,
the Orange defense became the first to hold and force a failed 4th down
conversion. JP took over quarterbacking at midfield, but his very first
pass--a sideline bomb to Rich--was tipped by Donnie and intercepted by a
diving Steve.
Donnie's defensive effort was rewarded on the next Blue drive, as Eric hit
him for a 40-yard touchdown catch to regain the lead, 21-14.
JP continued to commandeer the Orange offense, but after an impressive
drive, it was Eric with a costly interception. Just minutes away from
halftime, Eric made the most of his pick by hooking up with Ric on a
monstrous 60-yard touchdown catch to extend the Blue Team lead to 28-14.
The second half presented a chance for Blue to separate themselves on the
scoreboard, and this time, it would be with Manny taking the helm at
quarterback. A 99-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown scramble by
Manny to put Blue up 35-14 was bittersweet, however, as Eric was lost for
the game after rupturing his right calf.
Cesar took over once again for Orange, and looked to put his team back into
the thick of things. After a quick, efficient drive, Cesar found Rich in the
endzone for a 20-yard touchdown that brought the score to within two, 35-21.
When Manny's offense ran out of gas at midfield on just the game's second
turnover on downs, Cesar saw an opportunity to once again climb back from
the brink and make it a one-score game. But another brilliantly quick drive
to the redzone came to a crashing halt on the doorstep, as Ric intercepted a
tipped pass to Nick in the endzone.
Manny put together a long drive that had a happy ending for Blue, as he
found offensive rotator Daniel on a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Blue lead
extended to 42-21.
Orange wasn't ready to throw in the towel, however, and Cesar's hurry-up
offense once again netted a touchdown--this time by way of a 20-yard pass to
JP. The Blue Team led 42-28.
After nearly being knocked out by an ill-advised running block on Rich,
Steve settled in at quarterback for Blue, hoping to wrap the game up. The
one-time League MVP delivered, stringing together a long, time-consuming
drive, sealed by a 1-yard Daniel Ramirez touchdown catch. Despite making the
Jacked Up highlights courtesy of Dr. Evil, it was Steve who ultimately
delivered the knockout punch to the Orange Team, putting Blue up 49-28.
Cesar stayed in until the very end, driving the Blue Team to one last trip
to the endzone via a 5-yard touchdown pass to JP. With the score 49-35, Blue
needed only a few moments to run out the clock. With that, a quarter of the
regular season has been played in this 6th year of HBL Football.
Final Score Orange 49 - Blue 63
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Number for the Game: 7
7 people tried their hand at QB (Cesar, Eric, Manny, Daniel, Nick, Steve
& JP)
Three people caught 7 passes (Donnie, Rich & JP)
7 people caught a touchdown pass (Donnie, Rich, Steve, JP, Nick, Daniel &
Ric)
Did You Notice?
Daniel had 1 catch in the first half as rotator on all time offense.
He then tallied 7 catches and 2 touchdowns in the second half while filling
in for Eric after he was hurt early in the second half.
It is the end of week 4 and nobody has totaled 100 rushing yards for the
entire year yet.
Manny went 9 for 9 at QB through the first 17 minutes of the second half.
Records: Cesar is the only person to ever end a game with Negative
Receiving Yards.
Quote of the Game:
Sound did not get recorded on the video.. so no quotes could be heard
Play of the Game:
Steve - A pass from JP to Rich is
tipped into the air by Donnie and Steve makes a sliding grab for the INT -
Orange 14 - Blue 14
Eric to Donnie - Eric barely side steps a diving JP then sends a
short pass to Donnie who bolts down the left sideline that is left wide open
by a great block from Manny - Orange 14 - Blue 21
Ric - 35 minutes left, Blue looking to pull within 1 score, Ric picks
off a tipped pass in the endzone, Orange 21 - Blue 35
Rich - Steve runs towards Rich to block for Donnie. Rich simply sets
hit feet and down goes Steve - Orange 21 - Blue 35
Daniel - He makes a great off balance catch in the endzone to put
Blue up by 3 scores with 25 minutes left - Orange 21 - Blue 42
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