Mahalo nui loa RedNU. Was pleasantly surprised by the details and loved the Ebou Darian accent from one of the Leave it to Beaver's employees. Also, it was not my intention to detract from any other team's good news. Just one more tidbit here tho so......and now this!

The after game pres conference was alive with camera flashes and excitement as PCP coach Phaldun and backup QB Tony Strait sat down to face an avalanche of questions from MFN media personnel. Drafted in 2024 by the Twisters, his numbers supported the typical backup QB that any team would desire. Being released by the Twisters late in the 2027 season, picked up by the Riptide, and spit back out in week two of 2028, Strait never had a regular season start until this week of the 2028 season with the Phantoms. In regard to questions about his first regular season start being the best game of his career, Strait was humble in his answers giving credit to the solid offensive line and elite level receivers / running backs that surround him...........

The conference was briefly interrupted by the loud swinging bang of double doors as Harry Knopp came sprinting in from the locker room knocking MFN media personnel left and right until he reached the table.

Knopp: "COACH! Please coach I have learned my lesson. I swear I will be a good boy here, now, and every day after I PROMISE!"

Phaldun: "Ahem........... I don't know how you escaped your bindings, but we will deal with that later. Security! Please escort our new.......um.... backup QB back to the locker room.

Three buff men, who could qualify as linemen, seize control of Knopp and begin dragging him away as the former number one draft pick flails his limbs about uselessly.

Knopp: NOOOOOOO! You can't do this to me! I'm an Elite League Champion! Let go of me right now! I'M AN ELiiiiiite leeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaague chaaaaaaaaammm....................................." Knopps raging voice echoes as he is dragged further away.

Phaldun: "Any more questions?"

THREE OVERTIME GAMES ADD DRAMA TO NIGHT

This was a bad night to get home from work late. Sorry folks, the write-up for easily the most exciting night of football action this season is getting done in abbreviated fashion as I’m going on hour 17+ today and heading to bed. Feel free to chime in with stuff that I've missed.

Doing a quick scan of things though, I see three games that went to overtime, including narrow wins by the Dragons over the Spartans and the Assassins over the Red Rocks in a couple of headline contests. No decision in the Wallabies-Cobras game though as BearDown’s crew rallies from down 24-6 with just over 12 minutes to play to take me to OT (nice comeback, sir!) where next to nothing happened in the extra 10 minutes. The Wild got a game-winning field goal from George Gandy inside the 2-minute warning to take down the Geechee. Gandy had 5 field goals on the night. Steven Jimenez had a 373-yard, 5-TD night slinging the rock as the Maine Event rolled Reno. The Americans and the Golden Pterodactyls each had some awesome defensive performances…Rochester holding Aspen to 4 first downs and Star City holding Tennessee to just 90 yards of offense. California continues to win.

And then there was Parlor City recently-promoted QB Tony Strait who went full Captain Insano against the Stampede, throwing for 693 yards – no, that ISN’T a typo – and 6 TD’s in his second game since tagging in for Harry Knopp, who made an entrance into the game just long enough to fling an interception before being tackled by his own offensive line and stuffed inside an equipment trunk on the sidelines. A total of 823 yards of offense for the Phantoms.

Several new teams are now playoff bound. In the Stars Conference, we have post-season spots going to Rochester and Tallahassee still. In from the Stripes Conference are Columbus City, Milwaukee and Glendora.

Sorry to not get to everyone's game tonight, but those were the things that popped as I scrolled and clicked. Like I said, if you had some bit of novelty or weirdness, chime in!

Hey at least Knopp was a perfect 1 for 1 in completions. RedNU don't worry about making us feel like we are watching NFL Primetime after every week. We all love it no doubt, but you cannot make yourself feel like it is another job you must do when you get home. Years ago, I used to play this PC game called EVE Online. Probably one of the best sandbox style games ever. It is immersive, very fun, and very addictive, but when you get too deep in it.....and you gotta keep the resources from your planets coming in......so your faction can keep their space station running..... then you gotta worry about this.... and that... plus fight off invaders coming through a wormhole into your territory............... you must also coordinate with other players to be on the game at the same time..........it becomes too much.............you start to loathe the game............it starts feeling like...............work. After I quit playing that game............it was a refreshing sigh of...........much more free time. Dont get me wrong, keep the MFN Primetime shows coming for us, but if it begins to feel like work...... its ok to back off a bit.

I’m not sure how it happened and neither are coaches on either side of the field. The Islanders picked up their second win of the season despite the fact that they were beat in first downs (6-19), out-gained (162-345) and out-gunned (19-34 138yds 3 int 1 TD to 30-44 283 yds 3 int 1 TD).

The offense only managed to convert one third down try and still managed to put 13 points on the board. Enough to tie, but not to win.

It came down to special teams and defense to give them the win. Rodney Burt took one of his two interceptions 39 yards to the house, while Greg Wade had a 110 yard kickoff return for a score. If not for the huge first quarter this game would have been very different.

T-MINUS TWO WEEKS

There isn't much football left, but there is still a lot for several teams to play for as divisional titles and wild card berths remain up for grabs in both conferences. Since I'm just now getting around to looking at last night's games (thank you once again master's program...), in lieu of a roundup, here's a look ahead to how the remaining playoff hopefuls sit.

In the Stars Conference, Toronto (9-5) is currently 1 game up on Lyon (8-6) for the divisional lead. They can clinch with a win this week when they host the Kings in a key head-to-head. Toronto will also face Perth (8-5-1) at home to close out the year. Lyon goes to Aspen (3-11) for its final game of the regular season.

Parlor City (11-3) and Salem (10-3-1) are also locked in a divisional battle. As with Toronto-Lyon above, the two combatants face off in Week 15 with Parlor City hosting. The defending league champs also have a game at Arkansas (4-9-1) on the schedule. Salem ends with a home game against the playoff-hopeful Boise Burn (9-5). The Burn host playoff-bound Columbus City (11-3) in their Week 15 contest.

Maine (10-4) closes out with home games against the Islanders (3-11) and Tennessee (4-10) and should be in decent shape when it comes to the wild card race.

In the Stripes Conference, the only remaining divisional battle is between Coos Bay (9-5) and surging California (8-6). Unlike the other divisions yet to be decided, these two have already played their home-and-away series. Coos Bay closes at Rochester (13-1) and at home against Brooklyn (3-11). California tries to gain ground with a home game against Milwaukee (12-2) followed by a road contest at Natchitoches (4-10)

Also in the wildcard hunt are Perth (8-5-1), which saw its chances slimmed with an upset loss to Reno win Week 14. The Wallabies host Santa Fe (3-11) but then have to make the road trip to Toronto. Canton (8-6) draws a pair of 6-8 teams to wrap up the regular season. They begin by hosting San Diego in Week 15 before ending things on the road in St. Louis. Charleston (9-5) is the final team fighting for one of the two coveted wild card slots. The Geechee have the opposite of Canton’s schedule, hosting St. Louis in week 15 and heading on the road to San Diego in Week 16.

WILDCARD WEEK OVERVIEW...

Parlor City Phantoms (12-4) at Salem Witches (12-3-1, -1)

Last meeting: Salem won 30-3 in Week 15

Injuries of significance
Parlor City: LDE-Todd Taber (79 default), quest.; RDE-John Snyder (84), quest.; CB-Martin Michel (60), quest.
Salem: FB-Scott Kubik (64 default), quest.; DT-Henry Parrish (84), doubt.; MLB-David Madson (82), quest.; MLB-Joshua Hymes (87), quest.

Two Shula Division teams will square off for the third time this season with Salem attempting a season sweep against the defending champs. Franklin Ray leads the Witches’ offense with more than 1,900 all-purpose yards and 9 TD’s this season and receives support with dual-threat man Roy Hitt (11 TD’s). The Phantoms enter with the No. 2 passing attack in the league and the No. 2 overall offense at a smidge under 473 yards per game. Salem counters with the No. 7 offense in the league. Neither squad has been exceptionally consistent on defense, so the guess here is for a high-scoring affair.

Maine Event (12-4) at Toronto Spartans (11-5, -2)

Last meeting: Toronto won 32-15 in Week 8

Injuries of significance
Maine: RDE-Thomas Goodwin (92 default), quest.; MLB-William Minor (64), quest.; WLB-Matthew Warren (70), quest.
Toronto: RT-David Geer (91), out.

Toronto dominated the regular-season meeting between the two teams thanks to a 438-yard passing performance from Nathaniel Finley (who, it should be noted, was also intercepted 5 times that game...). Finley produced 4,896 passing yards in the regular season. Adam Bennett (7 TDʻs, team-high 899 receiving yards) is a target to keep watch over. While the Spartans may not have expected to play in the opening round when picked to win it all this year, they do bring the No 5 offense and No. 7 defense into the game, which is a good recipe for success. Maine will rely upon the quarterbacking skills of Steven Jimenez, who carries a 91.58 season rating into the contest, spreading his passes around well. The Event feature the No. 4 defene in the league vs. the rush, but there may be some concerns at the No. 30 pass defense carried into the contest.

Canton Crush (10-6) vs. Milwaukee Wild (12-4, -10)

Last meeting: Milwaukee won 65-10 in Week 4

Injuries of significance
Crush: RG-Michael Stearns (73 default), quest.; DT-Christopher Campbell (85), quest.
Wild: LDE-Thomas Lucas (86), quest.; RDE-Kenneth Phillips (73), quest.; SLB-Jose White (86), doubt.; MLB-Joseph Joseph (92), quest.

Parcells Division rivals face off for the third time. After splitting their games in Weeks 2 and 4 of the regular season, weʻll see which side gets ahead and continues its journey through the post-season. With the largest spread of the wild card week, the boys in Vegas are pretty certain the answer is Milwauee. When youʻre talking about the Crush, youʻre talking about Kevin Sanchez, who has lit up defenses to the tune of 1,793 all-purpose yards and 15 TDʻs this season. For the Wild, it is a two-headed monster as John Richardson has a 94.41 QB rating and a 28-11 TD-Int split for the year. Philip Gordon is a backfield beast, averaging 6.6 yards per carry on the way to 1,317 rushing yards this regular season. Eric Hasler has 8 picks for the year. The key in the contest will be Cantonʻs ability to slow down the Wild offense. Milwaukee brings the No. 4 offense but only the No. 26 defense to the field, so limiting the Wildʻs chances and capitalizing will decide if we get a game thatʻs more like Week 2 (a 29-12 Canton victory) or the week 4 blowout.

Charleston Geechee (11-5, -2) at Coos Bay Red Rocks (10-6)

Last meeting: Charleston won 8-6 in Week 3 of the 2026 season.

Injuries of significance
Geechee: RB-Richard Shewmaker (83 default), doubt.
Red Rocks: RB-Mark Smith (65), doubt./IR; RG-Timothy Lopes (82), quest.; SLB-John Autrey (78), quest.

The only wild card week meeting featuring teams that didnʻt see each other this season is also picked by the suits in Vegas to be the only contest featuring an away-team win. To do that, however, the Geechee will hae to do without Richard Shewmaker, who is listed as doubtful after racking up nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards this season. That will be much easier with Edward Jackson under center. The former Arkansas Razorback holds a 119.1 season rating and a 38-11 TD-Int split, helping give the Geechee the No. 6 offense in the league this regular season. The Red Rocks, back in the postseason after a one-year absence, give the ball to Elmer Montgomery and get out of the way. The rookie out of SMU was selected at No. 5 by the Wild, but was moved as part of a blockbuster deal that saw the Red Rocks send No. 1 picks in ʻ28, ʻ29 and ʻ30 back to the Wild. The Rocks also shipped a round 4 for a round 5 in ʻ29 as part of that deal. Montgomery has produced 2,000+ yards of offense this season. Coos Bay also features the leagueʻs No. 8 defense.

Phantoms stop Salem
Parlor City intercepted Salem twice in the final two minutes, nearly returning one to the endzone for a score as the Phantoms closed with a flurry of 10 points to pull away from the Witches, 26-13. It was the first time in three meetings that Parlor City was able to find the winning formula against Salem. Edward Huff ran for a 36-yard touchdown to open the scoring for the defending champs and Manuel Williams added a 48-yard field goal. William Bingham drew Salem closer with kicks in the second and third quarters, but saw his effort negated by Williams early in the fourth as Parlor City rebuilt a 16-6 lead. Jonathan Embreeʻs 40-yard TD pass to Roy Hitt midway through the fourth quarter pulled the Witches to within 3, but the team couldnʻt get moving on its next possession before the late miscues proved decisive.

Spartans run away from Maine
Willie Coyne threw three TD passes in the first half and Ernest Corder returned an interception 8 yards for a fourth quarter TD as the Toronto Spartans dominated from start to finish in a 31-7 thrashing of the Event. The Spartans allowed just 3 first downs and held the Event to a minus-3 rushing yards in the contest as they out-gained Maine 357-154. Toronto ran 82 offensive plays to just 48 by the Event. Coyne finisbed 34-for-50 through the air for 278 yards.

Milwaukee goes Wild
The Wild scored the first 26 points and never looked back as they scored a decisive 39-14 victory over the Crush. John Richardson threw a 17-yard TD pass to Donald McDuffie to open the scoring and James Wood added a second-quarter run of the same distance as George Gandy scattered four field goals throughout the first half to create the breakout lead. Canton got on the board just before halftime on an 18-yard TD pass from Joseph Burke to Matthew Marty. Burke added a 67-yard scoring strike to Phillip Ary on the first Crush possession of the second half, but 26-14 was as close as Canton would get. Gandy stopped the rally with a 52-yard boot. Wood added a 3-yard TD run to get the Wild back to 36-14 and Gandy closed it out from 54 yards away for his sixth field goal of the contest. Rocky Barnes had 100 yards on 18 carries for the Wild.

Red Rocks stifle Charleston
Coos Bay held Charleston to just 201 yards of offense and kept the Geechee off the scoreboard until less than 9 minutes remained to be played as the Red Rocks scored a 16-7 victory in wildcard week. Elmer Montgomery got Coos Bay out to a fast start with a touchdown run of 2 yards just minutes into the game. Robert Ponce added kicks of 40 and 34 yards to give the Rocks a 13-0 hafltime lead. Heʻd kick another field goal from 33 yards to up the Coos Bay advantage to 16-0. John Wilson broke away for a 66-yard catch-and-run for the only Charleston points of the night. Montgomery finished with 114 yards on 20 rushing plays. He also caught five passes for a team-best 41 receiving yards.

Forgot to mention how Embree's first INT led to Parlor City's opening touchdown.
Embree was at his worst on the most important stage.

Parlor City Phantoms (13-4) at Rochester Americans (15-1, -2)

Last meeting: Rochester won 21-17 in Week 11
Injuries of Significance
Parlor City: WR-Lawrence Owen (94), quest.; DT-David Bigby (75), quest.; DT-Gary Wheat (72), doubt.; CB-Martin Michel (60), quest.; CB-Larry Bock (82), quest.
Rochester: RDE-David Andress (88), quest.; SLB-Steven Williams (88), quest.; CB-Brandon Robertson (79), quest.

It took an Americans TD with less than 2 minutes to play to lift Rochester past Parlor City in the regular season. The Phantoms, who got here by doubling up Salem 26-13 over wildcard week held a nearly 16-minute time of possession edge over Rochester in their inaugural contest. Alexander Thomas has a QB rating of 107.95 for the Americans to pace the offense, which ranks ninth in the league. The Americans’ defense is No. 4 overall this season.

Toronto Spartans (12-5) at Tallahassee Talons (15-1, -7)

Last meeting: Tallahassee won 27-15 in Week 12.
Injuries of significance
Spartans: RB-Mark Dahl (83), doubt.; RT-David Geer (91), out.
Talons: LT-Jack Tarter (82), out; C-Glenn Pelletier (76), out; LDE-Brandon Zamora (76), quest.

Toronto rolled by Maine 31-7 to reach this position, but now finds itself a one-touchdown underdog at the Talons. Tallahassee enters the game led by Anthony Dunn and his 1,700+ yards this season, that included 1,153 yards along the ground. Francis Jimerson (9 TD’s) gives the backfield a bit of a double threat, which is understandable since the team is the No. 1 rushing threat in the nation.

Coos Bay Red Rocks (11-6) at Glendora Dragons (15-1, -7)
Last meeting: Glendora won 33-7 in Week 5
Injuries of Significance
Red Rocks: RB-Mark Smith (65), doubt/IR; RB-Elmer Montgomery (89), quest.; RG-Timothy Lopes, (82), quest.
Dragons: None.

Coos Bay used a smothering defensive effort to smother Charleston 16-7 in the first round, but faces a more prolific scoring threat this week. That attack starts with Glendora QB David Puddy, who has flung the rock for 5,875 yards and 51 TD’s (against just 21 interceptions. Sean Salerno is the prime target with 70 receptions for 1,079 yards and 10 TD’s. But don’t fixate too much on Glendora’s flashy offense, which is the league’s best, because the defense is ranked No. 2 in the EFL.

Milwaukee Wild (13-4) at Columbus City Assassins (13-3, -2)
Last meeting: Milwaukee won 22-10 in Week 9.
Injuries of significance
Wild: SLB-Jose White (86), doubt.
Assassins: LDE-James Nagy (74), quest.; RDE-Adam Robinson (83), quest.

The Milwaukee Wild raced out to a big league and never looked back in a 39-15 win over Canton in the wild card round. Now they get an Assassins squad that it defeated 22-10 in Week 9. In that contest, which saw the Wild pull away from a 10-10 tie with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Assassins found themselves boxed in pretty good on offense in that contest, but hope that Ralph Blake and his 1037 rushing yards in the regular season will be enough to get the game flowing their way. Columbus City ranks No. 11 in offense and No. 10 on defense.

Parlor City Phantoms (14-4) at Tallahassee Talons (16-1, -2)
Parlor City gets here by running past the Americans 38-12 and now stands just a win away from a possible title defense. The Talons needed a 29-yard Justin McCord field goal with less than 40 seconds to play to break a tie game. Toronto had trailed by 10 with 8 minutes and change to play but had fought back to tie it up on the first play after the 2-minute warning. These two teams met in Week 4 with the Talons taking a 21-11 win at home.

Milwaukee Wild (14-4) at Glendora Dragons (16-1, -4)
Glendora burned past Coos Bay in the conference semifinals, owning a 529-179 yardage advantage in a 27-6 win. Now they get the Wild, 16-10 road warrior winners over the Assassins in a contest that saw all its points scored in the first half. Milwaukee’s D never allowed the Assassins across midfield from the 5-minute mark of the second quarter until an untimely interception injected some late-game drama into matters. Adding to the drama of this game is the fact that the Wild are the Dragons’ only loss of the season, 31-24 in Milwaukee back in week 7.