Game 13 - Saturday Dec. 10
The first true snow game almost wasn't--as the field at Centreville proved too icy. Quickly, the game was shifted to Centre Ridge, where the ground was considerably more user-friendly.
Blue started out with the ball, but turned it over on downs on their first series. Orange struck immediately with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Eric to Miguel, giving them the 7-0 lead.

Scoring went back and forth, with Miguel and Daniel doing most of the damage, until Blue took a 2-score lead late in the first half. Rich intercepted Eric one play after scoring a go-ahead touchdown, and Bagby converted on the next series to give Blue the only cushion of the game. It was short-lived, however, as Eric engineered a key drive in the final moments. With the clock sounding just seconds after the snap, Eric hit Ric in stride for a 40-yard clutch touchdown to end the half.

Orange began the second half with the ball and the momentum. After a lengthy drive, Eric hit Donnie over the middle for a fingertip touchdown catch to tie the game. Once again, both teams marched down the field and scored seemingly at will, the narrow field proving to be a speedway for any receiver having broken through the secondary.

Blue's defense threatened to take over the game in the second half, with tremendous pressure from Bagby, who logged a career-high five sacks in the game--missing a sixth by mere inches. Miguel became Orange's go-to player, however, utilizing incredible speed and elusiveness to keep plays alive and put points on the board.

Having fallen behind by a touchdown, Cesar worked the two-minute offense down into the redzone, where in the waning seconds of the game he found Steve for the tying touchdown. Ric, who dislodged the ball after the catch, initially thought Steve didn't have possession; but a quick review from those in the vicinity ruled that the catch was indeed made, and with the clock sounding just seconds later, the game ended in a tie.
 

Game 12 - Saturday Dec. 3
Blue started with the ball. There had been some confusion about teams, because Daniel was going to rotate. However, Scott showed up late, and somehow Daniel ended up on Orange. The teams ended up being, Eric, Donnie, Rich, Steve and Scott on Blue and Manny, Ric, Daniel, Bagby and JP on Orange. Blue turned it over on downs on the first series, and Orange did as well. Blue scored first, and ended going up 2-1; at one point Blue had a 3 touchdown lead, which was a surprised considering the speed advantage Orange had.

The biggest plays for Blue were a scramble by Eric that turned into about a 65-yard rushing TD. Eric rolled out right and ran for about 10 yards when Ric was coming straight at him. Ric went to tag Eric's arm but the timing was such that when Eric tried a juke, his arm move just enough to get away from Ric's tag. Needless to say they were both surprised and Eric just kept running to the end zone. Bagby was also near Eric but thought that Ric would easily make the tag and by the time he realized what had happened, it was too late.

There was an 80-yard TD pass from Eric to Donnie and a 98-yard touchdown pass from Eric to Steve, the longest in HBL history, after Rich intercepted Manny on the 2-yard line as Orange was going in for a score.

In the second half, Blue suffered a few turnovers allowing Orange came back strong. Though it took until the final minutes for Orange to complete their charge. Down by two scores and only ten or so minutes to go, Orange had the ball on the 30 yard line. Manny asked Daniel if he wanted to QB. Daniel stepped up to the challenge, throwing a quick pass to Bagby for the touchdown. Blue went 4 and out on their next possession and Orange was in business once again. Daniel told Ric to go long and hit him in the endzone for the tying score with just minutes to go. Blue again couldn't get a first down on their next set of downs, but as Manny was about to try run one more play for Orange to try for the win, the clock went off and the final regulation period ended. It was decided not to settle this one in OT and the game ended in a 42-42 tie.

Blue 42 - Orange 42

Game 11 – Thursday Nov. 22 - The Turkey Bowl
With Donnie getting to the field at 7:30am, we were able to make sure that the morning was spent playing football instead of finding  someplace for the Turkey Bowl. After several dicey hours of waiting for HBLers to show and watching a plethora of other people try to claim the field, the game was finally on. Blue, consisting of Cesar, Manny, Rich, Nick, Edwin and a guy who was accidentally thought to be invited, named Darius, started off with the ball. With Manny in control, they moved the ball down the field quickly and scored on a 40 yard TD pass to Darius.

With their first possession, the Orange team, comprised of, Jof, Christian, Steve, Daniel, Ric and Donnie, were only able to muster a few yard before turning the ball back over to Blue on downs. 1Play later though, Orange got the ball back when Daniel pulled in the first interception of the game. This started a string of 4 series in a row that ended in interceptions for Blue. Ric snagged the next two, Returning the last one for a TD. When the onslaught was over, Orange was up 21-7. ORANGE 21 – BLUE 7

Cesar took over at QB for Blue and got them into scoring position in just a couple of plays.  They ended the drive with a 15 yard TD to Manny. Orange struck back quickly with a 65 yard TD to Daniel. Blue scored twice more before the end of the half, one each to Nick and Rich. Sandwiched in-between those two scored was a long drive by Orange that was capped with a 1 yard TD pass to Christian. – ORANGE 35 – BLUE 28

The second half started with Darius’ wife joining in the fun and games. She started as rotator and switched over to the Blue team full time when Demetrius showed up and was assigned to the Orange team. After Orange was unable to do anything with their first drive, Blue quickly scored on a 15 yard pass to Darius’ wife. Blue’s comeback was complete. Orange seemed to be on a mission as Steve engineered a great drive to get the back up by one with a scrambling run by Steve himself for the touchdown. But it lasted only 1 play as Cesar found a streaking Edwin across the middle and 80 yards later the game was tied again. ORANGE 42 – BLUE 42

Ric then helped his team out in a big way. First he ended their next drive with a 4 yard TD catch from Steve. And one play after that, he got the ball back for them with his 3rd interception of the game. Which also set a new record for Interceptions in a season with 19. Just a couple of plays later, Steve found a wide open Jof in the endzone and that quickly, Orange was back up by 14 points. Rich and Daniel traded touchdowns for their teams before Ric pulled in his 4th and final INT of the game and extended the record. With just minutes to go, Steve ran for his second TD of the game to put Orange up by 3 scores. Blue never gave up and even quickly scored a touchdown just before the final bell tolled.

ORANGE 70 – BLUE 56
 

Week 10 | Saturday Nov. 12

Ten weeks into the year already. It seems like just yesterday the season started. The teams were fairly even on paper as Orange was made up of Duffy, Rich, Cesar, Bagby and Edwin. Blue’s team consisted of Manny, Donnie, Steve, Ric and Nick. With Manny’s nephew, Christian, rotating, the teams were sent and the game was on.

And like that, it’s half time with the score 35-21 and Blue having the lead. With Edwin needing to leave the game, Christian switched over to playing full time with Orange. Interceptions plagued Orange in the second half as they did the first. They were able to pull within 2 scores with 30 minutes left in the game, but an interception by Steve helped put Blue up by 3 and they never look back.

One thing of note was Duffy’s injury. Manny finally got revenge for Duffy sacking him so many time this year and drilled a bullet to Steve which Duffy thought he could reach over and around him to defend. The ball smacked head on into his finger causing a compression fracture. The Dr. said she stopped counting after 12 pieces in the x-ray.

Blue 63 – Orange 35
 

Game 9 | Saturday Nov. 5th
In a game that touted not only the return of Eric from many weeks of business travel also had the return of venerable veteran Ben Roa. With the teams set, Blue’s team consisted of Eric, Rich, Nick, Duffy, Jof, Liam, Scott and Ben. While Red was made up of Cesar, Manny, Donnie, Steve, Daniel, Edwin and Bagby.

Though it was a offensive struggle for both teams, there were flashes of the big play as Ric scored from 70 and 80 yards out and Bagby zipped pasted the Blue defense for a 85 yard TD.

Duffy continued his assault on the QB’s and set a new season sack record by recording 5 more and taking his season total to 18. Manny hauled in 3 of his own.

The only down point of the game was when Edwin caught a pass 3 yards out of the back of the endzone and received a mild concussion instead of a TD.

With time running down Bagby reached up and stole a TD and the win from Blue with an interception in the endzone that he returned all the way back 20 yards from pay dirt. Moments later, Blue scored on a pass from Cesar to tie the game up. The game ended soon afterwards and with several people unable to stay it was declared a tie.

When asked how it felt to be back Eric reported ”It was great to get out there after missing so many weeks.” While Ben said,” The pain that exists all over my body is the only thing I can relate to that damn Saturday morning!”

Blue 42 – Orange 42

GAME 8 | Saturday Oct. 29 -

One of the biggest turn outs in several weeks graced HBL Municipal Field this week. The teams turned out to be fairly close with Orange being comprised of Donnie, Rich, Steve, Daniel, Duffy & Liam. Blue was made up of Manny, Ric, Bagby, Jof, Nick & Manny’s Nephew Christian.

Orange started off with the ball and Steve at QB. Though it didn’t last too long as Ric pulled in a quick interception to start the game. Not to be outdone, Daniel pulled down an interception off an errant Manny pass just as quickly to get the ball right back. Orange took advantage of this interception and methodically headed towards the endzone, scoring on a pass to Donnie who dove for the endzone. 1 play later, Manny showed why he brought out his nephew as he hit him in stride for an 80 yard touchdown to tie it back up. The defenses stiffened and nobody was able to score for several drives. Orange even made a great stop at Blue looked to score as Steve sacked Manny on a 4th down play. Blue 7 – Orange 7

Blue finally took the lead for the first time in the game when Manny threw a strike to Ric for a 66 yard touchdown. Orange flipped it’s own offensive switch to “On” and in just a couple plays, Steve hit Donnie across the middle who then outran the Orange secondary for a 72 yard score. Defense again took over as Blue was unable to move the ball and went 4 and out. Then it turned into an interception-fest as Manny, Donnie, Nick & Rich each snagged one right after the other. With Nick returning one for a touchdown. Orange was able to finally get the ball moving just before the end of the half and scored just as the clock ran out. – Blue 21 – Orange 21

The second half started with Manny getting back into his groove. He quickly hit Bagby for a 20 yard touchdown. Orange answered with a drive of its own and Donnie’s 3rd TD of the game, a 6 yard toss. Bagby then scored his second TD of the game went Manny hit him from 30 yards out. The game then took a turn for the worse for Orange. Nick pulled in an interception during Orange’s next drive, his second of the game. Then something happened that hasn’t since HBL 2. After 3 plays and being stuck on their own 10 yard line, Blue PUNTED! Unfortunately, the field position didn’t help Orange as Manny pulled in yet another INT. And on the ensuing drive, he again hit Bagby for a TD, his third of the half. With time winding down, Orange tried hard to make things happen. And though they were able to stop Blue again and get the ball on downs, Manny pulled in two more interceptions to end the game with 4 total.

Blue 42 – Orange 28
 

GAME 7 | Saturday Oct. 22 -

With another week of cold, saturating rain pounding HBL Field at Centreville, players arrived to a surreal scene prior to game time--flooding. The low-lying field had borne the brunt of drainage from Rt. 28 in addition to the driving rains, and puddles abounded. So much so, that Game 7 was moved to higher ground at Centre Ridge.

Manny Mendoza, Donnie Conty, Daniel Ramirez and Cesar Galang took the field in Blue; as they prepared to take on the Orange team of John Duffy, Ric Igal, Liam DeSanto and Richard Friend.

Under chilly, wet conditions, both teams focused on ball control. As a result, the game saw a rare shortage of deep passing plays. Both offenses played smart, short-gain football, moving carefully downfield with safe crossing patterns and sideline routes. The first half was a veritable see saw, with neither team taking more than a one-score lead.

Defenses dictated this contest from start to finish, and the game quickly became a study in defensive strategy. Orange decided early to experiment, and in many situations, innovative strategies--while risky at times--paid off. Taking advantage of the narrow field (necessitated by the smaller turnout), Orange went with a rare 4-man zone defense. The thin zone was more of a disguise, however, as the true intention was made stunningly clear in the form of the pass rush. With Duffy set at the defensive end position and eager to blitz, Liam and Rich fanned out wide to cover the front, with Ric providing safety help. Upon the snap, however, Rich immediately pressed the line of scrimmage to provide containment as John rushed from the opposite side--with Ric sliding into the empty zone. Not only did the scheme eliminate Manny's opportunities to run, it helped John Duffy set a new single-game record of six sacks--giving him a league-leading 11 total sacks thus far.

But no defense is without its weaknesses--particularly one with only four defensemen. And it was just a matter of time before Manny and company found those weaknesses and exploited them. The Blue Team used Cesar's speed to their advantage on a number of occasions, as Galang found the gaps in the zone before the Orange defenders could close them. When Cesar lined up wide, Manny switched things up and found Donnie on the inside for substantial gains. Daniel had impressive stats of his own offensively, but it was on defense that he shone particularly--pulling in 3 interceptions when they counted most.

Blue relied on its solid defense and safe offensive strategy to extend a lead to 2 scores, finally notching a 70-56 win.

Blue 70 - Orange 56

GAME 6 | Saturday Oct. 15 -

The rain that drenched Game 5 gave way to mild temperatures and partly cloudy skies, but the battered and muddied field was still there for Game 6. Rich, Manny, Aaron Bagby, and Steve were on the Blue roster. Donnie and Ric were joined on the Orange team by Edwin and John, who wore the throwback HBL maroon jerseys.

We join the action already in progress…

About 10 minutes into the game, Orange is in possession of the ball with John at QB. Blue has already taken a trip into the end zone, and on this series, Orange would turn the ball over on downs. The rest of the 1st half became a classic HBL shootout. Steve led the way at QB for Blue with numerous 3rd and 4th down conversions, and was able to capitalize on every possession except for 1, beginning with a 35+ yard strike to Manny on a corner pattern. As Orange took possession of the ball, Cesar joined the game as rotator on offense. 3 plays later, Edwin cut the corner on a short route and took the ball 70 yards for Orange’s first score.

Anxious to get back on the board on Blue’s next possession, Steve took to the air. Only this time, an overthrown pass hit Ric in the numbers for an Orange interception and a defensive score. Back on offense, Steve turned a near-sack by John into a gain of about 40 after getting the ball to Rich down the right sideline. On their next set of downs, Steve tried twice unsuccessfully to connect downfield with Bagby, but mixed it up with an inside handoff to Rich for a gain of 6. Cesar converted on 4th down to keep the drive going, and on the very next play, Manny took a 20 yard pass into the end zone. Orange went right back to work, with John hitting Cesar, Ric, and Edwin in succession. With his passing game finding some tempo, John completed back to back 30 yard passes, one to Cesar for a 1st down, and the other to Ric for an Orange TD on a slant route. Then, in his only appearance as QB, Manny turns it right around with a play to Bagby 20 yards in the air, and 60 yards on the ground for an 80 yard Blue TD. And just when you think you’ve seen enough, John matches the Blue TD with another for Orange – a short pass to Cesar out in the flat, where Cesar looks the defense to the inside while he cuts outside and burns up the hash marks on his 80 yard 1-man race to the finish line.

3 plays, 3 passes, and 3 back-to-back touchdowns later, Steve takes matters into his own hands. Or feet, in this case. Faced with 3rd and 8 and an oncoming rush from John, Steve picks up 15 yards on the ground and sets up his air attack. However, the next 3 plays were all incompletions as Steve was unable to connect with any of his receivers. So he reconnected with his ground game on a keeper. As Ric blitzed on 4th down, Steve rolled right and scrambled through the defense for a Blue TD.

Orange didn’t bother to waste any time, and decided to just throw some points back up on the board rather than calling plays. So John hit Donnie on a down and OUT pattern, but instinctively, Donnie cut INside! Before he knew it, he was through the secondary, and in the end zone. TD Orange. As we proved before, two can play at that game – make that Blue can play that game, so Manny took off on a fly pattern and Steve got the ball to him just in time for Manny to break it for yet another 80 yarder.

THREE PLAYS, THREE PASSES, AND THREE BACK-TO-BACK TOUCHDOWNS LATER, we are in the Twilight Zone!! Not only that, but we are still only in the 1st half!! And so, Orange re-wrote the HBL record books and made it a FOURTH, and it might as well have been the 4th of July, because the fireworks were lighting up the sky. This time, Ric broke open behind the secondary, and took John’s pass all the way in for what was now becoming a routine 80 yard play.

The line of scrimmage may never be the same again.

Blue takes over and under Steve’s command, drives upfield on a series of short passes and 1st down conversions. The drive ends with Bagby all alone in the end zone for another Blue score. With time running out in the half, John overthrows Edwin, and Steve is right there to pick off the pass and return it for 20 yards. Two plays later, Steve hits Cesar coming across the middle for another Blue TD.

Ten plays into a 2-minute drill, Orange ends the half on a 20 yard TD pass from John to Ric.

Halftime Blue 56, Orange 49.

For the 2nd half of the game, the clouds opened up and the bright sun became a small factor. With Cesar now rotating on defense, the offenses found it more difficult to move the ball downfield quickly, as 3 receivers were now matched up against 5 defenders. But all players dug their cleats deep into the mud, as the game turned from quick-striking air-to-ground attacks to a 2nd half dominated by pass deflections, overthrown balls, and other incompletions.

Steve took over where he left off at QB for Blue, methodically hitting each of his receivers as they marched across midfield. Bagby 11 yards, 1st down. Manny 28 yards, 1st down. Rich 10 yards, 1st down. Then, as if a bad quarterback joke, the tide turned. Rich at the 10 bobbled, incomplete. Bagby at the 10 short, incomplete. Manny at the 10 overthrown, incomplete. Though the passing game persisted, the defense had strength in numbers. Blue’s 1st possession of the 2nd half ended up a turnover on downs. Orange took over with good field position, and John back at the helm. After sending Ric 5 yards down the sideline, John locked in on Edwin’s numbers four times straight, and systematically advanced Orange deep into unfriendly territory. Under the cloak of sunlight, the next play fell “off the radar screen”, but Orange succeeded in scoring.

Blue looks for immediate retribution, but plays it cool and it pays off. Two catches each for Manny, Bagby, and Rich brings them into scoring position, and the drive ends 80 yards later with Rich all alone in the end zone. On the next series for Orange, John was in peak form, completing 9 straight pass attempts, then making it 10 on a touchdown pass to Ric. Blue wasted no time getting back into scoring position, with pass plays of 15 yards each to Bagby and Rich, then 20 yards to Manny. The defense sprung into action, with a play inside the 10 broken up by Cesar and another at the goal line broken up by Edwin. But Manny got revenge by breaking free in the end zone. Blue’s momentum got them fired up on defense, forcing Orange to throw into double coverage. Steve got his hand on a ball that was certain to be a 1st down, and a pass rush by Manny forces a bad pass. Eventually, Orange got through the defense, as Ric beat his defender and scored again.

It was Rich who paved the way for Blue’s next score, with 2 big gains down the left sideline to get them quickly into striking distance. After being overthrown in the corner of the end zone, Manny tries for the middle where Steve finally finds him for the TD. Call it teamwork, or call it deception, but the next Orange possession ended with a twist. After connecting with Edwin and Rich 4 times each for receptions, it was Donnie who snuck to the back of the end zone for the Orange TD. Blue’s next possession was cut short with an interception by Ric, and Orange had only 30 yards between them and the goal line. A few plays into the series, a Hail Mary found Cesar in the end zone waiting to pick it off. But miraculously, Donnie recovered and pulled down a one-hander before it could land in Cesar’s waiting hands. What should have been a Blue interception turned out to be a 1st and goal for Orange. Two plays later, Edwin pulled a pass from John out of the glaring sun in the corner of the end zone.

In a series that began with irony, it was Blue’s turn to steal back an interception from the defense. This time, Donnie found himself the victim, as Bagby stripped the ball away from him on an underthrown pass. That play set up the rest of the drive, which ended with Rich deflecting a pass to himself – while falling – in the corner of the end zone.

Orange was only able to get two plays off before the clock ran out.

Game over.

Blue 84, Orange 84.

GAME 5 | Saturday Oct. 8 -

Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from their swift...blah, blah, blah...

Rain, rain go away, come again some other...blah, blah, blah...

HBL has never backed down from any weather and today was no exception. We've played in the summer heat and the winter snow, but today mother nature brought the rain. Mother nature lost.

Nine brave souls came out to battle each other and a downpour that the HBL hasn't seen in recent memory. The field had been soaked all night and into the morning with no end in sight. With the field ready the Blue team and Orange team took to battle.

Manny, Donnie, Ric and Aaron went up against Rich, Edwin, Jof and Liam. Cesar soon joined the foray as the offensive/defensive rotator. As the game progressed the rain kept coming and coming, the field was flooding and our clothes soaked by rain and mud. As we continued to play we all began to realize that no matter what the final outcome of the game, we were probably having the most fun we have had since childhood.

In the end we are all winners, except the battered and muddied field we left behind.

Blue 84 - Orange 56

GAME 4 | Saturday Oct. 1 -

On a mild first Saturday in October, Blue started out with the ball, as Orange deferred. After a brief drive, the Blue offense sputtered and the ball was turned over on downs.
Orange took over with Eric Espejo at quarterback. Efficiently, he took his team downfield to put the game's first points on the board. Blue answered quickly, however, with a beautiful, long strike from Cesar Galang to Jof Santos between two defenders, for Jof's first HBL touchdown.

The game would remain close throughout, as Orange couldn't pull ahead comfortably until late in the second half. Tied at 21 shortly before halftime, Orange took a one score lead into the half, hoping to add to it on the ensuing possession. They did just that—and with key touchdown strikes to John Duffy and Nick Liggins helping to cushion the lead, Orange held a two-score advantage for a good portion of the second half; going up by three after a Richard Friend interception negated a Blue drive at midfield, allowing Orange to move the ball once again from an assortment of quarterbacks, and score.

Notable in Game 4 was a return of the running backs—as Donnie Conty showed some nifty moves enroute to several big gain rushes. Cesar Galang continued to dazzle defenders on a number of designed scrambles. Also notable were the injuries: Donnie left early in the second half after reopening a large abrasion on an already banged-up right leg; and the usually durable Steve Kovach was felled when his right knee collapsed during a routine screen play.

The game ended on an interception returned for a touchdown by Daniel Ramirez, sealing the Orange victory.

Orange 84 - Blue 56

GAME 3 | Saturday Sept. 24 -

Week 3 in the HBL and the teams were picked by veteran Eric Espejo and Rookie Liam DeSanto. Eric’s team consisted of Gabe, Edwin, Manny, Rich, Miguel and Daniel. While Liam chose Cesar, Nick, Ric, Donnie, Steve and Jof. With Eric getting to chose first, Liam decided to defer at take the ball first in the second half.

The first half was nothing but scoring. After Blue had a turnover on downs on their first series, neither team did anything but score touchdowns until the last drive of the half. 9 TDs in all were scored, all quarterbacked by Eric for Blue and Cesar for Orange. Ric, Miguel and Manny each scored two, while Liam, Nick and Gabe each scored 1. The half ended with Blue on the verge of tying the game when Cesar snatched an interception in the endzone.

Halftime Orange 35 – Blue 28

The second half started with Orange trying to go up by 14 points. Rich had other plans as he pulled in an interception of his own, in the endzone no less. Blue had the same luck as Orange as Miguel wrangled his own interception in and gave Orange a second chance to go up by 14. This time they would capitalize. Just a few plays later, Cesar hit Jof in the endzone for a touchdown. The next two series were held down by great defensive stands as Orange had the “bend but not break attitude” and stopped Blue on downs as they were 10 yards from scoring. Then on Orange’s following set of downs, with Liam stepping in at QB, Manny stepped in front of a pass for Nick and intercepted. Blue was back in business. And with Manny in at QB, they quickly scored a touchdown on a pass to Daniel. They were back within 7 points and a single score. Orange 42 – Blue 35

Orange was unable to move the ball on their next series of downs and gave the ball to Blue after only 4 tries. Orange’s defense stiffened though and Cesar pulled in his second interception of the game. One play later, Cesar hit Ric for an 85 yard touchdown and a 14 point lead. Blue’s next series ended the same way as their last as Cesar snatched another interception. Cesar then hit Liam in the endzone to put Orange up by 3 scores with only 15 minutes left in the game. Orange 56 – Blue 35

The final minutes of the game were finished off with 2 mores scores by orange, one each to Steve and Cesar. And a score by Edwin for Blue. This put the final score at Orange 70 – Blue 42.
 

GAME 2 | Saturday Sept. 17 -

Could it be? Yes, week 2 already. With the season in high gear, 15 people showed up to play. The Blue team was set with Duffy, Rich, Manny, Gabe, Bagby and Cesar. The Orange team consisted of Eric, Edwin, Earl, Donnie, Daniel and Liam. Steve was set as rotator.

Today's game was a back and forth battle that wasn't decided until the last moments of the game when Eric hit Daniel for a touchdown to put Orange up by 14 points over Blue with just over a minute to play. Rookie Gabe Saclolo pulled down a record breaking interception that was returned for a touchdown on the last play of the game, but it still only pulled his team to within 7 points as the clock ran out.

Eric ran the offense for Orange, and initially started off on a bad note as Cesar corralled a quick interception. This allowed Duffy to quickly get Blue into the endzone on a short pass to Bagby. Eric took it in stride and moved Orange back down the field and tied the game up on a short pass to Earl in the back of the endzone. Orange then took over and quickly picked up a lead of 14 points when their defense picked it up—stopping Blue on 4 straight plays, and then with Daniel pulling in an Interception on the Blue's next set of downs. Eric ran in a touchdown of his own, and then hit Daniel in the endzone on the second set of downs following the interception. Orange 21 - Blue 14

Manny then shook off the cobwebs and pulled his team back into the game: first hitting Gabe with a TD pass, then pulling in an interception in the endzone as Orange looked to go back up by 2 scores. Instead, he lead Blue back down the field and hit Rich for a long touchdown pass and tied the game back up. The rest of the half was a flurry of scoring followed by defenses cracking down. Earl and Edwin scored for Orange while Steve pulled in touchdowns for both teams. After his last TD, Eric recorded an interception, and just a couple of plays after that, Manny pulled in an interception as well. However, Manny actually lateraled the ball this time to Cesar, who took off and scored bringing Blue to within a touchdown. A few plays after that, Manny logged his third interception of the half. But with only a minute to go, Blue was only able to run 3 plays before halftime. Orange 42 - Blue 35

Blue began the second half with the ball and immediately went downfield and scored a touchdown. Gabe pulled in a nice one-handed grab for the TD to tie the game up. One play later, Gabe gave Blue it's second lead of the game by snagging a one-handed interception and running it in for a touchdown. Orange refused to lie down and allow Blue to take over. Eric moved them right back into scoring range and hit Liam in the endzone to pull the game back into a tie. Manny stayed in at QB for Blue and looked to put them back up by a score. However, the drive stalled deep in Orange territory. On the ensuing drive, Eric hit Daniel for a 10-yard touchdown and a 7-point lead. More determined than ever, and with the game still within reach, Blue worked their way back down the field. Only this time it was Orange's turn to snag an interception in the endzone. The ball tipped off of two players before finally landing in Edwin's hands. Orange again moved back down the field and scored on a pass from Eric to Daniel with just over a minute to play, putting the game out of reach. Though no one played like it was over, as Edwin pulled down his second interception in as many series on the next play, and Gabe ended the game on the interception he returned for a touchdown. His second of the game and an HBL record.

Orange 63 - Blue 56

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005 - HBL Reveals It's New Website

There's a new look for HBLfootball.com, as you've undoubtedly noticed—one that was more than a bit overdue.

Co-commissioner Richard Friend went about updating the website during the offseason, and wound up redesigning the entire thing from scratch. "The main thing we needed to address was adding the new players. We've had a number of new players in the past couple of years who weren't represented on the site—that needed to change." In doing so, he seized the opportunity to expand the site both visually and functionally. "This was a chance to really showcase what HBL is all about; the videos, the football cards…the air of authenticity we put into making this league what it is."

Players will now have individual biography pages, showcasing their HBL Football card portfolios. The main player page has become a virtual player timeline, with football cards of every player showing when each entered the league. "It's pretty cool to see how the league has grown over the years, and this was a good way to achieve that."

In addition to the player updates, the website now enjoys a scope greater than ever before. A section dedicated to the HBL Bowl showcases the history of the league's pinnacle game, as well as a virtual representation of every nameplate on the trophy itself.

Stats and past newsletters will now be housed in a special Archive section, allowing for easier access to materials dating as far back as the league's second season. Current newsletters will now appear in the News section, in a more user-friendly, scrollable section where visitors can view recaps and news items all in one location.

Another key ongoing addition will be the HBL Films section, where Chief Statistician and webmaster Aaron Goodmiller will host video clips and interviews that can be downloaded anytime, anywhere. Raw game footage may eventually be posted in a Game of the Month format, according to Goodmiller, who has big plans for the site. In addition to videos, a Downloads section will contain photos, custom desktop wallpapers and more that players can choose from. "More content, more fun stuff to really broaden this league--for the veterans who've been here for so long, as well as for the new guys. We want them all to have a website that reflects the energy and commitment they've put in. I think we've done it."

Rich's design vision would not have been possible without the help of Aaron's programming and web hosting contributions, as well as the annual HBL video produced by league Co-commissioner, Eric Espejo. "Eric's videos always inspire me to push the design of the HBL materials even further," says Friend. "It was his latest work that gave me the boost I needed to really overhaul the site. And without Aaron's commitment to managing all things statistical, we wouldn't even have a website. Again, I want to thank those guys in particular for allowing me to do what I do--and all of the players for sticking with us and making HBL Football what it is today."

GAME 1 | Saturday Sept. 10 - Blue Wins Big In HBL Bowl Rematch

In a game that saw not only three rookies play in their first HBL Game, but a veteran come out of semi-retirement.  Sophomores Aaron Bagby and Nick Liggins picked teams for the first game of the year.  And with 18 people to chose from, the teams looked to be even.  For Blue there was Bagby, Donnie Conty, Daniel Ramirez, Gabe Saclolo, Edwin Pontanilla, Macky "Moss" Lopez, Steve Kovach, Eric Espejo and last years MVP Ric Igal.  Orange had, Nick, Cesar Galang, Jof Santos, Manny Mendoza, Earl Espejo, Liam Desanto, JP "Beamin" Lindo, Richard Friend and HBL original John Duffy.

With 18 players, having 2 people on the line still left 6 wide receivers and a crowded field as both teams found out early.  4 of the first 6 drives ended with interceptions. 2 for each team.  The closest any of them got to a touchdown was a pass from Eric to Daniel in the back of the endzone, just out of bounds.

Unfortunately, this would be the last time that Orange would score.  Blue tightened their Defense and pulled down 4 more interceptions before the end of  the game, one each by Eric and Macky, with Macky intercepting in the endzone.  And 2 by Ric, one of which he returned 85 yards for a touchdown.    Blue also posted another touchdown by Daniel on a pass from Eric as well to make the final score- Blue 49 - Orange 21