Warrior General Games

Props to RIP!

Tucson Times
August 12, 2008

Tucson: The Las Vegas Outlaws limped into NightHawks Den on Monday night with only one victory on the season looking for something, anything at all, positive that they could build on in an attempt to salvage their GLB Season 4. Instead they encountered a NightHawks rushing attack that stampeded them for over 400 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns. By the time the last seconds had ticked off the clock the Outlaws had suffered another embarrassing loss, this one 90-7 to the NightHawks.


In the post game press conference a somewhat surprisingly stoic Head Coach Pontiac refused to buy into the belief that his team had gotten past it's inconsistent offensive play with the performance. "You have to perform at a high level over a period of time before you can establish yourself among the leagues top offenses. We haven't done that yet". When asked about the 400 plus yards performance by the NightHawks running game Pontiac conceded "We dominated up front on the line opening up some huge holes. The backs did a solid job of hitting them and getting to the second level more times than not." He wasn't quite as positive regarding the NightHawks passing attack, "To many dropped passes. For ahwile there I thought we had signed 5 Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran to play receiver. We gave up a couple of picks that hurt momentum as well. Fortunately for us our defense got them back plus some."

Tucson's special teams got the lopsided track meet off to a quick start when return man David Palmer rambled 52 yards for the opening score and an early 7-0 lead for the NightHawks. "The first guy down over ran the kick." said Palmer, "Once I got past the kicker it was clear sailing."

The NightHawks added to their lead after their defense forced the Outlaws to punt from deep within their own territory setting the NightHawks offense up in a perfect scoring opportunity. They wasted little time in taking advantage when two plays later NightHawks receiver Neon Bodeaux ran right past a struggling Outlaws cornerback for a 11 yard touchdown connection with Tucson quarterback Stonewall Gunner.

Tucson's offense failed to take advantage of another golden scoring opportunity after NightHawks corner Kareem "INT" Jackson stepped in front of an Outlaw pass and came away with the interception. NightHawks Quarterback Stonewall Gunner returned the favor on the very next play when he tried to hook up with wideout Shayde Black. Instead the pass was picked off ending Tucson's chances of taking advantage of the Las Vegas miscue.

The defense took no chances on the next turnover when the Outlaws again tried to go to the air. This time it was John McNeeley who did the honors for the NightHawks jumping the pass route and taking it to the house for a 82 yard score putting Tucson up 21-0. The Outlaws could net only 9 yards on their next possession and were again forced to punt the ball back to Tucson. After a 38 yard return by Palmer set the NightHawks up at the Outlaws 47 yard line the Tucson offense made short work of making the score 28-0 when Tucson tailback Blake Cooter rambled off tackle for 35 yards and a touchdown.

The second quarter saw the NightHawks add to their lead when they put together a 10 play 52 yard drive that was capped by another connection between Gunner and Bodeaux when again Bodeaux took advantage of the smaller Outlaws corner on a fade pattern. Already up 28-0 with plenty of time left in the half the NightHawks again put together a drive this one covering 63 yards, all on the ground. All three Tucson tailbacks garnered carries with Blah Dow doing the honors on the touchdown punching it in from 3 yards out. DeadNutzOn missed the extra point leaving the Tucson lead at 41-0.

Just 7 plays later Tucson would again add to its lead when Dow powered his way through the Las Vegas defense breaking 4 tackles on his way to a 45 yard touchdown and a 48-0 NightHawks lead. "Other than the interception there weren't allot of negatives going into the locker room at half time," said NightHawks QB Stonewall Gunner, "we felt like we probably could have had allot more yards through the air but we thought we could fix that in the second half." Tucson OC Rip Urheadoff agreed with his QB adding, "We knew we had some mismatches in the passing game that we should be able to take advantage of if we could hang on to the ball."

Instead the NightHawks opened the second half with Gunner's second interception of the game after Tucson had reached Outlaws territory. Vegas was unable to take advantage though as the Tucson defense again came up with the big play. This time it was Cro Marty who broke on a Outlaws pass picking it off and returning it 18 yards to the Outlaws 31 yard line. It took 5 straight pass attempts before Gunner found See-You-In-The-Endzone for a 3 yard touchdown and a 55-0 Tucson lead.

Tucson's bid for the shutout ended on the next drive when the Outlaws put together a 10 play 61 yard drive to make the score 55-7. Tucson snatched momentum right back though when special teams star David Palmer took the ensuing kickoff and dashed 90 yards for the score making the NightHawks lead 62-7. The NightHawks would add another 3rd quarter score one possession later after mixing the pass and run to perfection to move 60 yards and make the score 69-7.

It took three fourth quarter rushing touchdowns to produce the final tally. First Dow capped a 6 play drive with a three yard touchdown run, his third of the night. After Kareem "INT" Jackson added his second pick of the night Blake Cooter equaled Dow's touchdown output on a 62 yard touchdown run. Not to be shut out of the chance to practice his endzone dance Tucson tailback Flash Rodgers closed the scoring with a 7 yard touchdown run to cap a 7 play 73 yard drive. Rodgers who finished the game with 135 yards rushing and a touchdown couldn't praise his line enough. "You wouldn't believe the size of the holes they were opening out there," said Rodgers adding "and the receivers did a great job blocking on the outside when we ran the sweep."

"There's still a long way to go in the season but I'm fairly pleased with where we are right now both as a team and where we stand in conference play." said Pontiac reservedly. "We still have allot of improvements we need to make on both sides of the ball." Asked about the success of Palmer in the game Pontiac actually broke a rare smile, "Deuce has worked hard to improve his return skills. He watches allot of game film to get ready to do his job and it obviously has payed off this year. He knows right now his playing time is limited to special teams so he's trying to make the most of it. Of course if he keeps up playing the way he did tonight we're going to have to start finding more ways to get the ball in his hands."


***Stat Of The Game***

We could go with.......
0.....the number of times Tucson backs were tackled for a loss.

.....or we could use.......
137....the number of pancakes the NightHawks amassed as opposed to 0, the number of pancakes the Tucson defensive line gave up

....though some people would go with....
33.....the number of tackles Tucson backs broke on the way to scoring 7 touchdowns

.....but I think I'll go with..........
12.......the number of sacks the NightHawks defense came away with. 6 of them by DE Quickly Sacked alone.

That's dedication lol.....I might make one up for tonight's game.

"Vegas lost... again. Look's like the mighty have fallen harder than a drugged prom date."

Tucson Times
August 15, 2008

NightHawks Find Clear Skies In Shutout Of Thunder

Tucson: The Tucson NightHawks had little trouble in dispatching the Chicago Thunder on Thursday night. Using a smothering defense and solid offensive play the NightHawks soared to a 23-0 victory over a Chicago squad that managed only two failed field goal attempts of offensive output.

NightHawks Head Coach Pontiac seemed pleased with the effort though he was quick to point out some shortcomings by the Tucson passing game "Our defense did a great job of holding Chicago in check," said Pontiac, "Our offense kept the chains moving and was able to put points on the board against a solid defense. Of course I'll have to look at the game film but it appeared we had multiple chances to put more points on the board than we did but were forced to settle for field goals". Tucson DC Moses was pleased with the play of his unit, "They went out there and made things happen. Nobody really had flashy numbers yet we were able to play assignment football and stop them when we had to." The NightHawks also continued to prove to be an opportunistic defense garnering two more turnovers, 1 through the air and 1 on the ground.

The NightHawks opened the game with the longest drive in number of plays, in team history. Mixing 14 rushing attempts with a sprinkle of 3 passes the Nighthawks drove the ball 80 yards and capped it off with a 6 yard touchdown run by Blake Cooter to take a early 7-0 lead. Cooter carried the ball 8 times for 41 yards on the drive.

The first quarter ended with the score the same as neither team was able to sustain a drive with the Thunder only able to net 5 yards in total offense in the 1st quarter.

The second quarter had a inauspicious beginning for the NightHawks. They opened the 2nd having driven to the Chicago 34 yard line when See-You-In-the-Endzone caught a pass from Tucson Quarterback Stonewall Gunner but fumbled the ball on the tackle losing it to the Thunder. Chicago put together one of it's two drives on the day and appeared, at least momentarily, as if it would seize momentum and cash in off the turnover. The Thunder used a mix of pass and run to reach the Tucson 29 yard line where the NightHawks defense stiffened and forced a 46 yard field goal attempt that was wide right ending the threat.

Tucson made the score 10-0 on a DeadNutzOn 49 yard field goal just a few minutes later. Key on the drive was a 8 yard carry on a toss sweep by Cooter to convert on a 3rd and 2 that put the NightHawks in field goal position. It was Cooter's second 3rd down conversion on the drive as he'd also took a toss for 9 yards earlier in the drive.

The score stayed the same to end the half. Though the NightHawks went to the Locker room with a 10 point lead the offensive players knew they'd missed some chances. "We missed some big opportunities in the first half, said Tucson QB Gunner, "I made a bad read that may have cost us one drive and we had a dropped pass on a 3rd down play that would have given us a first and goal. Coach let us know about it in the locker room too." The coach in question was OC Rip who said after the game "We're still shooting ourselves in the foot at times at times we can't afford." said Rip sounding frustrated. "We did better in the second half. We're not far off from where we need to be. When we learn to consistently finish drives this team will be hard to beat."

The NightHawks made the score 13-0 on their second possession of the 3rd quarter when DeadNutzOn hit his second field goal of the game, this one from 48 yards away. The drive was set up when John McNeeley picked off a Thunder pass and returned it 18 yards to give the NightHawks the ball at their own 40. "John made a great read on the route." Said Coach Pontiac. "He read the quarterbacks eyes and almost baited him into the throw. I thought for a second he might take it to the house."

Knowing they couldn't afford to fall much further behind seemed to light a fire under the Thunder offense. Using the pass as it's catalyst the Chicago defense drove the ball 70 yards down to the NightHawks 10 yard line where they faced a 3rd and 5. The Thunder opted to go with a swing pass to their tail back but the NightHawks defense sniffed the play out early with Strong Safety Curtis Lemansky flying up to stuff the play for a loss and force a Chicago field goal attempt. For the second time in the game the kick was wide right keeping the shutout intact.

Again the NightHawks followed the miss with a field goal drive of their own just as they'd done in the first half. Taking possession at their own ten yard line Tuscon drove the length of the field down to the Thunder 2 yard line before being forced to settle for DeadNutzOn's 3rd field goal of the game from 19 yards out to make the score 16-0. The NightHawks again used the run to grind out yardage on the drive with Flash Rodgers carrying the ball 5 times for 21 yards to lead the way.

Just two plays later the Tucson defense gave the ball back to the NightHawks offense for another shot at getting in the endzone when Anthony Hazelett forced a Chicago fumble that was recovered by linebacker Perry Hauge at the Thunder 20 yard line. It took the offense 4 plays, all on the ground, to punch the ball into the endzone with fullback Amos Moses doing the honors from 8 yards out to score the final points of the game.

Pontiac pointed out the strong play of his special teams and defense as well as the consistency of the NightHawks running game as keys to the victory adding, "You also have to give credit to your offensive line. Chicago has a very talented front 7 and to give our QB time to throw the ball and our backs room to run says allot about the job they did." Asked what he thought of the upcoming matchup against the Mad Dawgs Pontiac would only say "We've got allot of game film to watch before I could answer that question. I haven't really had the opportunity to see them play this season but I do know they have a very talented team with a defense that's as tough as any in the conference and a very physical running game."

***Stat of the Game***

.....We could go with......
0....the number of pancakes the Tucson defense allowed the Thunder offensive line......

....or we could go with.......
1.5......the yards per carry allowed by the NightHawks defense........

.....but I think I'll go with......
16....the number of broken tackles the Tucson backs and receivers accumulated against the Chicago defense.

good stuff PN, do you freelance?

In other news, an announcement was made today, naming Greenday4537 a genius for his amazing ability to predict the results of games. All day, people have been asking for his autographs and have been praising him. When asked how he came up with his amazing prediction for week seven, he replied, "I thought it was pretty obvious, but I guess not." It appears he will make another set of predictions later on today about the results of week eight. Crowds will be holding their breath, waiting in anticipation if Greenday4537 "The Genius" can come up with any more amazing predictions.

Originally posted by flyinillini98
good stuff PN, do you freelance?

No & while I'd love to take credit I will not, This was written by a friend & the team reporter. I'd post his name but I think he gets bombarded by people wanting him to do more of them. (he's all mine)

Midseason MVPs by dawgs1235

Offensive MVP- Speedy Steele HB

Averaging almost 5 yards a carry, he's been carrying this offense thus far. In a recent interview, Steele said, "I'm really glad to be making a positive contribution to the team. We've got a lot of work to do, but I can see a bright future here. We are going to keep working so hard for the money, so hard for the money."

Speedy noted that he was upset that management has yet to find him a solid back-up OG for him to run behind. "I don't get it, I can only break three or four tackles a run... there are 11 guys on the field at once! the guys in front of me are dieing of exhaustion!" k2baily responded by saying, "we are doing our best to bring in a new OG. the FA market is viscous right now. we've got the money to move players, we are just waiting for the right player to come along."

Defensive MVP- Bender Rodrigez FS

A new addition in the off season, Rodriguez has been a force in several game. With 55 tackles and less that 1 missed tackle again, he's proven himself a force to be reckoned with in the secondary. When notified he would be receiving this mid season honor, Rodrigez politely declined comment, citing he would be on the track working on his speed and agility.

Rodrigez he remains under a cloud of suspicion regarding his rapid 3 level growth near the beginning of the season. When asked about this, he only said, "what I do in the offseason in the privacy of my house is my own business!" After See--you In-your-End-zone was knocked out for the season on this play with a broken leg ( http://goallineblitz.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=96485&pbp_id=3691527 ) he accused Rodrigez of juicing, claiming "there's no way a guy at level 22 could come up with a hit like that... he was just 19 a few days ago. now I'm sidelined for the rest of the season, its not a level playing field." Rodrigez had no comment on the issue.

lol, like that one dawgs. Can we get a Tucson representative to verify "See you in the End zone"'s comments or is he still a little hazy about the whole thing?

Originally posted by flyinillini98
lol, like that one dawgs. Can we get a Tucson representative to verify "See you in the End zone"'s comments or is he still a little hazy about the whole thing?

Maybe contact his agent? Some lunatic named PNutt or something to that effect...

haha.

i'm pretty sure he's still a little hazy. that was a hell of a knock. I really think Rodrigez has been doing a little "boosting"

lololoolol