Ultimus Bowl XXII
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| Stadium | The Dam, Orange County, California | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Offensive MVP | Franklin Armstrong, Quarterback (OCO) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Defensive MVP | Mo Berry, Linebacker (COL) | ||||||||||||||||||
Ultimus Bowl XXII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL) for 2037 (S22). The National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) champion Colorado Yeti defeated the American Simulation Football Conference (ASFC) champion Orange County Otters, 25-24. The game was played at the The Dam in Orange County, California.
Contents
Background
Teams
The NSFC was represented by the second ranked playoff seed Colorado Yeti, while the ASFC was represented by their top seed Orange County Otters.
Colorado Yeti
It came down to the wire for the Yeti in this season to make the playoffs. After an amazing start to the season beginning with a 5-0 run early on the Yeti were looking to be the top contending dogs for the division and the Ultimus from the start of the season. However there seemed to be some sort of collapse in the middle of the season as they dropped 5 of the next 6 games heading into the end of the season in a close race to being eliminated from playoff contention. Luckily the team was able to get it together with the last 2 games of the season with easy matchups against the bottom ranked teams of the leagues and defeated the Baltimore Hawks and Chicago Butchers who had a combined 4-22 record for that season. After an early collapse in the playoffs by the Yellowknife Wraiths the Yeti had an opportunity to seize and the proceeded to do just that.
Orange County Otters
The Otters were a team that had the playoffs in mind from the start of the season, going on multiple multi game win streaks winning 9 of the first 10 games of the season they were an early playoffs favorite for the ASFC. Throughout the season the defense is what really set the team apart from the rest as they led every defensive category in the conference. Also during this season was the emergence of rookie breakout superstar Tatsu Nakamura at running back. The Otters handled the business they needed to through the season and easily managed to make the playoffs.
Playoffs
The playoffs started off as expected with all top seeds proceeds with the victories, though some more tightly contested than others. The Yeti pulled the first upset when they took down the Seasonal Champion of the NSFL Yellow Knife Wraiths, the number 1 seed. It was a tightly contested game with the Yeti pulling off a strong defensive effort holding a 1 point lead for the final 10 minutes of the game. The Otters were a bit of a different story. They had a bye week in the opening rounds and would instead match up with the winnders of a close match up in the opening round over the San Jose Sabercats and Austin Copperheads who ended up winning by a field goal. But going into the ASFC championship secured a win where they scored 50 points as a team to put in their claim to contend for the Ultimus versus the Yeti.
Game summary
First Quarter
The 22nd Ultimus was under way quickly and Orange County boasted one of the best defenses and offenses in the league coming into this championship. They wasted no time early forcing a quick 3 and out in the first minute of the game. Quickly followed on by an quick paced rushing display as they converted a 40 yard drive led and cultivated by Rookie Running back Tatsu Nakamura who scored the first points of the Ultimus. The rest of the Quarter was managed well by the Yeti and quarterback McDummy until late in the run of a 7 minute drive they defense picked them off in the redzone stopping all momentum.
Second Quarter
The second quarter was pretty uneventful offensively as the defenses were on full display. Until it was halfway over Orange County got a huge play from Mongo who reeled in a 23 yard dime from Armstrong for the Touchdown and increasing the lead early 14-0. Down by two scores early and not looking well Colorado looked to get things moving. Clock managing and relying heavy on the run game they were still being stifled but managed to score their first points of the game with a 43 yard field goal from Silver Banana. The rest of the half just had the clock run off from Orange County who punted with about 10 seconds left in the half allowing the teams to go and figure out how to maintain and change the tempo for the second half.
Third Quarter
Orange County came out to make a statement after a strong first half and stifling defense limited the Yeti to just 3 points in the half. The offense came to make similar statements as they ran a show over the Yeti defense in a 14 play drive once again with Nakamura and capped off with a big touchdown from Ludicolo Bigby increasing the lead to 21-3. On the verge of being put out of the game for good Colorado came up big in the next possession and decided to air it out to great success. They capped off with the first touchdown of the game cutting the lead to 11, and maybe holding on for last hope of momentum to swing there way. Colorado forced a quick change of possession capped off by a sack from Immanuel Blackstone to end the 3rd quarter
Fourth Quarter
It seems that Momentum has swung Colorado stormed the field to open up the final quarter of this Ultimus and it was needed if they wanted a chance to come back and prove themselves. In a great display of pass and rush balance they were able to cap off another touchdown from running back Michael Vincent, followed by a 2 point conversion putting them in close contention now with making one of the greatest comebacks in Ultimus history. 18-21. Orange County wasted no time driving right back down the field and showing their prowess. However once they got in the redzone something on the Yeti clicked and the defense was able to lock it down. In a vital 3rd down Mo Berry got one of the biggest sacks of the game stopping the Otters hope of one more touchdown and limiting the team to just a Field Goal. 18-24. With 4 minutes left in the game all the pressure was on Colorado. They were off to a rough start but converted multiple 3rd downs to continue their drive, they got into the redzone with just under 2 mintues left in the game. After the 2 minute warning on a rough start to the new set of downs On 2nd and 4 in the final minute of the game. McDummy passed a gem of a ball to James Bishop who reeled in a 10 Yard touchdown to tie the game with 30 seconds left. The kick was good. Colorado had taken the lead. Being down by 3 scores they held all the composure and came back. It was now just a few plays to hold down by the defense and the journey would be complete, and they did just that, forcing multiple intercepts and an interesting call by the otters to run in the final 30 seconds, the Yeti were able to seal their victory and become the S22 Ultimus Champions. Franklin Armstrong was named the Ultimus Bowl XXII Offensive Player of the Game after putting up 195 passing yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Mo Berry the Yeti linebacker was named the Defensive Player of the game for his 7 tackle and 1 sack performance, that possibly led to the game clinching hold forcing the Otters to field goal instead of pushing for that one last touchdown.
Game statistics
Statistical comparison
| Statistic | Colorado Yeti | Orange County Otters |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Third down efficiency | 11/14 | 7/12 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 0/0 | 1/1 |
| Net yards rushing | 92 | 166 |
| Rushing attempts | 24 | 39 |
| Yards per rush | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| Passing – Completions-attempts | 18/32 | 18/26 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Net yards passing | 198 | 195 |
| Total net yards | 290 | 361 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-10 | 2-20 |
| Time of possession | 27:22 | 32:38 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
Box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeti (NSFC) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 25 |
| Otters (ASFC) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
at The Dam, Orange County, California
- Date: 24 January, 2038
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
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