|
|
Jason Levine battles Joe Powell in
the foreground while Bert Schoose tackles Ken Whitesell's puntless
wonders in the background. The old AH Football League hasn't
fared very well lately. |
Joshua Goittesman, a refuge from the
old AH Football League, checks out the home for retired NFL linemen
as the "grudge match" comes to its terrible end. Woe
is me. |
Grudge Match ... Much Ado About
Nothing
On Wednesday evening 26 contenders, more than the entire field
from 2008, gathered to test their mettle. The much anticipated
first round "matched pair" grudge match between perennial
champion Bruce Reiff and yesteryear's anti-hero resulted in the
CD's defeat 20-17, and immeasurable bragging rights for the Buck
Eyes booster. Bruce will tell you that Don scored late and the
game wasn't really that close, while Don wailed that the only
difference was that "lucky" Bruce made his close field
goal while Don missed his. And with that the gauntlet was tossed
for Grudge Match II. The distracted Reiff, sated by his latest
triumph, didn't have long to savor his win and soon succumbed
to the steady play of Bill Cleary.
By the end of the heat Kevin Keller and Bill Cleary, a pair
of former champions, faced off for a spot in the Final. Bill
was the first to put points on the board completing a Look-In
for nine yards with four minutes left in the first. Neither player
was able to find paydirt and had to settle for field goals as
the half closed with Bill ahead 10 to 3. On Bill's first possession
of the second half he went the distance and scored again with
another Look In pass. Kevin finally broke the goal line with
a Look In pass of his own to open the fourth quarter and with
four minutes left in the game, Kevin once again found the endzone
to tie the score at 17. However, the last possession was Bill's
and he converted a FG for the 20-17 win.
The second heat drew a much smaller field of 12 participants
and a correspondingly shorter path to the Final, but the battles
were no less intense. The last two standing were Erik Arneson
and Bert Schoose. The first quarter was a defensive struggle.
In the second, Bert went ahead on a 2 yard End Run with 6:15
left in the half. Erik avoided being shut out for the half only
by connecting on a 45 yard field goal with a minute left in the
half, bringing the score to 7- 3.Bert drove the distance of the
field to open the second half and scored with a 10 yard pass
for a 14-3 lead that held until Erik managed his first and only
touchdown on a 6 yard run midway through the final stanza, to
cut the lead to 14 - 10. But Bert wasn't finished and with 3
minutes left iscored his third touchdown to seal the game and
advance to the Final.
The Final pitted two veteran ball-control coaches. After trading
punts, Bill capitalized on his superior field position to hit
a Stop & Go to the 5, from where he scored to end the quarter
up 7-0. Bert's field position problems were not over. A penalty
on the kickoff pinned him back to his own 5 yard line. Another
exchange of punts followed but this time Bert got the best of
it when Bill picked the wrong time to be daring and was dropped
for a safety on a fake punt. Bert drove down the field with the
ensuing free kick and scored a touchdown on an end run with 6:15
left in the half. Bill was immediately intercepted on a 9G and
the Down and In pass once again put Bert in the red zone - scoring
on a Button Hook pass to go up 16 to 7 as the half ended.
Bill was having a tough day with the Option pass and threw
another 9G interception on his first possession of the second
half. Bert, however, was unable to capitalize on the turnover
and Bill once again found himself in possession with a little
under six minutes left in the quarter. A Stop and Go pass and
two end runs moved Bill quickly down field into scoring position,
but in the end Bill had to settle for a field goal. As the fourth
opened, Bert drove the field and dove for the score with QB Keep
to extend his lead to 23 - 10. The kickoff found Bill starting
on his own 10. Undaunted, he moved quickly using the Down and
Out pass and several End Runs for big gains. A sack of 15 yards
seemingly crushed his hopes, but on fourth and long he connected
with a Down and In pass to stay alive. The end zone remained
beyond his reach though and he had to settle for yet another
field goal with 7 minutes left. Bill's defense dug in and managed
to get him the ball on his own 45 with five minutes to go. Finally
hitting the Option coupled with the Stop and Go pass, Bill found
himself on the 10, but he could not crack Bert's tough goal line
defense and his last field goal attempt sailed wide, sealing
his fate.
|
|
Bert Schoose polishes off Bruce's
caddy ... |
... before toppling two-time champ
Cleary for the title. |
|