Ultimus Bowl VIII
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| Stadium | Burial Grounds, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Offensive MVP | Mat Akselsen, Quarterback (YKW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Defensive MVP | Brian Mills, Linebacker (NOLA) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ultimus Bowl VIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL) for 2023 (S8). The National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) champion Yellowknife Wraiths defeated the American Simulation Football Conference (ASFC) champion New Orleans Second Line, 24–13, to win their first Ultimus in franchise history. The game was played at Burial Grounds in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. This was the first time that an Ultimus Bowl was played in Yellowknife, the northernmost city to ever host the event, and the first Ultimus Bowl to be held outside the United States.
Contents
Background
Teams
The NSFC was represented by the number-one playoff seed Yellowknife Wraiths, while the ASFC was represented by their second seed New Orleans Second Line.
Yellowknife Wraiths
The Wraiths finished the regular season with a record of 11-3. They finished first in the NSFC and were granted home field advantage throughout the playoffs as they achieved the best regular season record in the league. They were led by last season's regular season Most Valuable Player Mat Akselsen, as he had yet another season worthy of the best dual threat in the league. Boss Tweed was a stalwart on the defensive side of the ball as he was named Linebacker of the Year at the conclusion of the season. Running back Ronny Rainey le the league in rushing touchdowns with 18 on the year. The Yellowknife Wraiths were the best on both sides of the football, putting up a league leading 31.9 points a game and letting up a league low 20.4 points a game. They had a running game that was also only second to the Second Line in rushing yards per game. The Wraiths went into the playoffs confident they could do some damage in the playoffs and finally get that elusive ring.
New Orleans Second Line
The Second Line finished the regular season with a record of 9-5, finishing second in the ASFC to the Orange County Otters who finished 10-4. They were led by Borkus Maximus III who had an efficient passing season as well as Darren Smallwood who was named the Running Back of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of the season. Led by Smallwood, the Second Line boasted the number one rushing attack in the NSFL with 120 rushing yards per game. They were 3rd in the league in points scored and on the defensive side of the ball they were 3rd in the league in points given up. Blackford Oakes who was named Defensive Back of the Year at the conclusion of the season, led the league in interceptions with 6. This was a well balanced team with a dangerous passing attack combine with the best running game in football and a stingy defence. Hopes were high in New Orleans that the Ultimus Bowl trophy would be coming home to the state of Louisiana at last.
Playoffs
The Wraiths started their playoff journey with a comeback for the ages against the 7-7 Hawks. The Hawks jumped out to a 21-0 lead and held on to a 21-7 lead going into half time. The Hawks desperately tried to keep the Wraiths at bay as they clung to a 24-21 lead going into the fourth. The fourth quarter the Yellowknife Wraiths smelled blood in the water as they scored 17 points unanswered in the fourth quarter against a gassed Hawks defence. The score was 38-24 Wraiths as the Hawks only managed 3 points in the second half. They ruckus crowd at Burial Grounds were eagerly awaiting the Ultimus Bowl, confident this current iteration of the Yellowknife Wraiths would bring the trophy home.
The Second Line started off on the road against the ASFC top seed Orange County Otters. This would be a tall task as the Otters had made the Ultimus the past four seasons. The Second Line jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held a 10-3 lead going into half time. Mike Boss answered back in the second half and tied the game with a touchdown pass to Carlito Crush. The Second Line showed some mental toughness as they answered right back with a touchdown of their own, with Borkus Maximus III firing into the endzone to the team's leading wide receiver Charlie Law. The fourth quarter was tense as Boss led the otters on a 8 play, 80 yard drive to tie the game at 17-17 with 2:37 to go in the game. With all three timeouts, the Second Line drove down methodically into field goal range for Peg Leg as he kicked a 46 yard field goal with 10 second left to go in the game. With that, the Second Line won the right to face off against the Yellowknife Wraiths in the Ultimus Bowl.
The Yellowknife Wraiths had faced off against the New Orleans Second Line two times in the regular season. The Second Line were outscored 74-20 between those two matchups. The Second Line knew they had a tall task going into the Wraiths home stadium and pulling off the victory.
Game summary
First Quarter
Ultimus Bowl VIII started off with a bang as New Orleans Second Line received the kickoff and immediately started with an 87 return. Their offence started off at the Yellowknife Wraiths 12 yard line. Unfortunately the offence completely bungled the opportunity going three and out and kicker Peg Leg proceeded to miss the 24 yard chip shot. The team exchanged a few punts but the Second Line managed to put together a long drive, striking first in Ultimus Bowl 8 by kicking a 45 yard field goal. The Wraiths responded by a long 93 yard drive, ending with a 4 yard rushing touchdown by Robby Rainey with 6 seconds to go in the first quarter. The quarter ended with the Wraiths leading 7-3.
Second Quarter
The Wraiths continued to score as Rainey ran for another touchdown, this time from 2 yard to give the Wraiths a commanding 14-3 lead. Borkus Maximus led the Second Line down the field in response, throwing a touchdown to Evans, his favourite redzone target. The score was 14-10 for the Wraiths as the game moved into halftime.
Third Quarter
The 2nd half started much like the first half, with a big return. This time it was Dermot Lavelle with a huge 49 yard return to start the Wraiths in Second Line territory. Three quick passing plays later, the Wraiths ending up capitalizing with a touchdown from Matt Akselsen to Kennedy to give the Wraiths a 21-10 lead. Later in the quarter Maximus was intercepted in Second Line territory to give the Wraiths the ball at the 25 yard line. The Wraiths managed a field goal and the quarter ended with the Second Line in a huge 24-10 hole going into the last quarter of the Ultimus Bowl.
Fourth Quarter
The Second Line managed to get a field goal with about 9 minutes left in the game. This made the score 24-13. Akselsen took the next Wraiths drive all the way into the Second Line redzone. The Second Line managed a shocking fumble recovery from a scrambling Akselsen, but the Second Line just could not capitalize. That was the theme of the game as the Wraiths put a stamp on the game and on the season with a 24-13 victory at home in Burial Grounds stadium in front of their adoring fans. Mat Akselsen was named the Ultimus Bowl VIII Offensive Player of the Game, while Brian Mills of the Second Line was named the Defensive Player of the game.
Game statistics
Statistical comparison
| Statistic | New Orleans Second Line | Yellowknife Wraiths |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 15 | 20 |
| Third down efficiency | 7/19 | 8/18 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| Net yards rushing | 55 | 128 |
| Rushing attempts | 18 | 37 |
| Yards per rush | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Passing – Completions-attempts | 25/50 | 20/39 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Net yards passing | 335 | 335 |
| Total net yards | 390 | 463 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-50 | 3-23 |
| Time of possession | 29:01 | 30:59 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
Box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Line (ASFC) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Wraiths (NSFC) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
at Burial Grounds, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
- Date: 28 January, 2024
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
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