FIVE YEAR FLASHBACK (part 3 of 3)

22. RT Hal Kinney became the second O-lineman off the board when his name was turned in by the San Diego Riptide. It has been a good return on investment with Kinney starting all 82 games that he has appeared in during his career. In 5,591 career plays, he has allowed 36 sacks and 153 tackles while being whistled for just 19 penalties.

23. RB Jason Moreira went to Boise and has played his career there. Has 70 starts, 85 appearances that have produced 1,351 carries for 4,602 yards and 17 TD’s, as well as 236 receptions for 1,645 and 7 additional TD’s.

24. TE Michael Chery was Glendora’s first selection of the first round. He’s started 84 of the 94 games he has played in, accounting for 492 receptions for 5,286 yards and 24 TD’s.

25. MLB George Gosney went to Parlor City with the 25th pick. Has been a starter in 71 of 91 contests. Has had 8 forced fumbles and 9 interceptions to go along with 548 tackles and 7 sacks.

26. WR Todd Spooner was another Glendora pick in round 1. Unlike Chery, just two picks earlier, Spooner didn’t hit as well. Has 77 appearances, but only 25 starts, including just a postseason appearance last year and no appearances to date in 2028. The stat line shows 177 receptions for 2,314 yards and an impressive 24 TD’s. Also owns a punt return for a TD in his career and has carried the ball 44 times for 176 yards.

27. SLB Albert Harshaw was drafted by Maine but now plays for Natchitoches, his third team in the league. As one would expect from such a stat, Harshaw has been a role player throughout much of his career, starting just 27 of the 84 games he has appeared in. He has forced 4 fumbles and intercepted 3 passes (1 for a TD) while accounting for 268 tackles and 3 sacks.

28. WR Jack Curry was Tallahassee’s late Round 1 selection and he’s earned his paychecks with 65 starts in 88 appearances. Has 189 receptions for 2,305 yards and 18 TD’s receiving the ball, with his best year (59 receptions) coming in 2027.

29. FS John Cooper got his name called by Rancho Cucamonga and has stuck with the Cobras, starting 59 games in 92 appearances. Has only 1 interception to show for his career, but has forced 8 fumbles while keeping opponents to a meager 50% catch-against rating. Owns 334 tackles and a sack for his career as well.

30. WLB John Byer was selected by Reno, but now calls Coos Bay his home, though he has yet to appear in a game during the 2028 regular season. He has started 27 of 70 appearances for his career. The damage line includes 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 138 tackles and 3 sacks.

31. MLB David Madson earned Salem’s 31st selection back in 2023 and has played for the team the entirety of his professional career. Has started 48 out of 94 games that he has appeared in during that time, producing 3 forced fumbles, 9 interceptions (5 of them last season), 3 sacks and 253 tackles. Owns 1 pick-six in his career.

32. RB Rocky Barnes was the final pick of the first round by the Milwaukee Wild. He has started 37 of 79 games, rushing 900 times for 4,522 yards and 19 TD’s. Add in 276 receptions for another 2,259 yards and 18 TD’s receiving to go along with a kick return and a punt return TD in his career and you have fine point production out of the last slot in the first round.

HITT AND RUN SAVE WITCHES FROM TWISTERS

If only Arkansas had someone named House that I could have dropped a reference for, this would have been a wizardly write-up for oooh’s and Oz. Instead, we’ll just talk about the enchanted 24-17 win that the Salem Witches posted over the Twisters thanks to a late 6-yard TD run from Roy Hitt. The score came with 92 seconds to play and broke a 17-17 deadlock that had existed throughout the fourth quarter.
Hit was the star of the night, scoring twice for Salem despite having just five carries. But he managed to do 85 yards worth of damage on those carries to carry the night. Jonathan Embree added 239 passing yards as the Witches remain half a game in back of Parlor City in the Shula Division chase.

Snappers 19, Thunder 14…Larry Wright hauled in a 46-yard TD pass with 8 minutes to play that proved to be the game winner as Natchitoches rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to take the win from Tacoma. Defense carried the day for the Snappers, who held Tacoma to just 66 yards of offense after the intermission, 43 of which came on a single drive that ended with a missed Thunder field goal. Jason Rodriguez threw for 226 yards and 2 scores for the Snappers.

Event 44, Cobras 13…Maine jumped to a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back as they powered their way to their eighth win of the year. Steven Jimenez threw for 254 yards and 4 TD’s, including two to Stephen Maya in the win. Anthony Ford threw for 323 in the loss for the Cobras, who tried just six rushing plays for the game.

Americans 27, Islanders 3…Rochester got 3 TD’s and 257 yards through the air from Alexander Thomas and used and nearly 2-to-1 yardage edge to comfortably sink the Islanders. Michael Love caught two passes, both touchdowns, for 81 yards for the Americans, who intercepted Hawai’i QB Keith Scott 4 times in the contest.

Crusaders 20, Red Rocks 9…Mark McNamee ran for a touchdown and Duncan Meyer added a short TD reception as California got an absolute must win over Coos Bay. California jumped to a 10-0 lead after Meyer’s 6-yard TD catch with 1:13 left in the first half, but the Crusaders relaxed a little too soon, enabling Coos Bay to execute a 4-play, 75-yard drive and earn a 32-yard Lance Poe TD reception before the half. Kevin Cooper’s sack of California’s Jacob Perez early in the second half made it anyone’s game at 10-9, but that was it for the Rocks. Lloyd Braun added a late third-quarter FG to stretch the lead to 4 and then McNamee delivered the dagger just after the 2-minute warning.

Dragons 57, Bandits 3…Glendora exploded for 634 yards of offense and held the Bandits to just 94 on the night in an absolute blowout of the ugliest manner. David Puddy was 37-for-45 for 431 yards and 4 TD’s. Sean Salerno had 137 receiving yards and 2 TD’s while Kenny Sowers caught 10 ***** for 102 yards. Sowers also rushed for 108 on 15 carries.

Assassins 21, Stampede 13…Craig Puga knocked down a pass intended for Irving Covarrubias with 1 minute to play to prevent a possible overtime scenario and secure victory for the Assassins. Columbus City’s Scott Lake scored on a 4-yard TD run with less than 9 minutes to play to provide Assassin fans with a little insurance and an 8-point lead, but it appeared the Stampede were on their way to forcing a possible overtime until they failed to crack the end zone on 4 tries from the Assassins’ 3. Matthew Race with 5 catches, 133 yards and 2 TD’s for Columbus City.

Geechee 31, Hefty Buffalo 9…John Wilson finished with 105 yards receiving and a score while Edward Rogers ran the ball just twice for 71 yards and a score to help lift Charleston to a decisive win. Thomas Burkart had 285 passing yards in defeat for Fort Drum, which surrendered 8 yards per play to the Geechee offense.

Wild 33, Riptide 18…James Wood ran for 90 yards and 2 scores as the Milwaukee Wild outdistanced San Diego on the scoreboard. Both QB’s threw for 258 yards in the contest and Isidro Turner had 7 receptions for 105 yards for the Riptide, but it was Milwaukee that made more efficient use of its opportunities to improve to 8-2 on the season.

Golden Pterodactyls 31, Tennessee 0…Star City capitalized on three Tennessee turnovers and unleashed a horde of frustration as it recorded its highest point total in more than five years. George Parker ran for 2 scores and Donald Trujillo ran for a third. Roy Luna added 130 receiving yards in the contest while the Golden Pterodactyl D never gave up an opportunity. After a late first quarter field goal attempt sailed wide for Tennessee, Star City held its opponent to negative yardage on 5 different possessions. The 31 points scored were the most by a Golden Pterodactyl team since Week 4 of the 2022 season when the team scored 41 in a loss to the Twisters.

Kings 16, Wampas 3…Brett Lally hayled in a 74-ytard pass for the only touchdown of the night as Lyon shut down Aspen in a divisional contest. Lyon keeps pace with Toronto atop the Halas Division at 7-3 for the year. The two teams face off next in Week 11.

Spartans 27, Marauders 16…speaking of Toronto, they might have been guilty of looking ahead a week as it took the team a while to shake free from Reno. The Spartans scored on a pair of first-half running plays by Mark Dahl and Carlos Prado, but let their guard down and surrendered a pair of field goals in the final minute of the first half to lead by just a 14-13 spread at the half. The score stayed that way until Milton Sheets’ 46-yard FG late in the third quarter, but it wasn’t until Adam Bennett’s 91-yard touchdown reception with less than 11 minutes to play that Spartan fans could relax. Bennett finished with 163 receiving yards as Nathaniel Finley threw for 293, but only the one score.

Talons 26, Burn 7…Tallahassee jumped to a 17-0 halftime lead and wasn’t challenged over the final 30 minutes to comfortably beat Boise. Jesse Hahn threw for 275 yards and 2 TD’s for the Talons. Michael Belli had exactly 100 yards receiving in the contest.

Phantoms 51, Bulldogs 10…Harry Knopp went crazy, throwing for 504 yards and 6 TD’s as the Phantoms spun the scoreboard like a pinball machine against Bennington. Edward Huff finished with 194 receiving yards and 2 TD’s on 9 receptions to help the defending league champs roll their way to 8-2 on the year.

Wallabies 17, Crush 13…Rick Mayon returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown as an opportunistic Perth defense came through in a 17-13 Wallabies win to lift the team to a 7-3 mark. Thomas McDaniel will be kicking himself for a spell as the Canton wide-out dropped a late pass at the Perth 23 that could have sprung him for a TD. At the very least it would have easily converted the 4th-and-3 play and set the Crush up with a fresh set of downs. Instead, the Wallabies were able to run out the clock and secure the win.

I'm in the urban sprawl that is Oahu. Actually live pretty right in the heart of everything now near Chinatown and Aloha Tower. Great location for the foodie in me, horrible for my budget and waistline.

I bring students down to Big Island every January and we fly in to Kailua-Kona...always love making that trip and heading up to Waimea.

SPARTANS TOP KINGS, GRAB LEAD IN HALAS

Carlos Prado ran for a touchdown and David Becerra caught a 9-yard pass for another as the Toronto Spartans jumped to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back in a 23-9 victory. After the early fireworks, Wendell Jessen’s three field goals cut the gap to 14-9 with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Spartans added a Milton Sheets 28-yard kick with under 10 to go and capped the night with a 4-yard Shawn Auer scoring reception. Nathaniel Finley had 212 yards passing as the Spartans, at 8-3, grabbed the divisional lead with five games to play. That could have huge implications as the wildcard fight in the Stars Conference is starting to look like a cage match to the finish.

Americans 21, Phantoms 17…In another of the night’s headliner games, Kerry Elmore hauled in an 18-yard touchdown reception with 90 seconds to play to give Rochester the win over Parlor City. The touchdown pass was a measure of redemption for American QB Alexander Thomas, who threw a pick-six to the Phantoms’ Kent Mahood with 6 minutes left in the contest to temporarily give Parlor City the lead. Guillermo Jordan ran for 116 yards, including a 95-yard TD for the Americans. Harry Knopp threw for 262 yards but was intercepted twice in the contest. Rochester is now 10-1 on the year, Parlor City is 8-3.

Wild 28, Witches 23…Milwaukee scored touchdowns in every quarter to skate past the Witches, who were harmed by a trio of interceptions. James Wood and Philip Gordon each ran for a score while Gordon and Richard Bird both caught John Richardson TD passes. Bird had 12 receptions for 121 yards total. On the Salem sideline, Jonathan Embree threw for 335 yards and a trio of scores. Edmond Walker pulled in two of those TD passes as part o fa 1786-yard receiving night.

Stampede 20, Coyotes 17…Eddie Orvis put the Coyotes in front 10-3 with a 9-yard TD reception, but St. Louis countered with 17 straight points, including a pair of James Palmer-to-Duncan Cisco touchdown passes. Cisco finished with 253 all-purpose yards on the night to power the Stampede. Orvis tried his best to match for Mt. Washington, ending the night with 8 receptions, 179 yards and both Coyote TD’s.

Talons 31, Golden Pterodactyls 13…Tallahassee owned a ***-186 yardage advantage as they rolled to their 10th win of the season. Jesse Hahn threw for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Talons, but was also guilty of throwing 4 picks. Hahn’s night included the dubious distinction of being intercepted twice on the same series after Star City’s Albert Hite was stripped of the football attempting to return the first one.

Snappers 23, Wampas 0…Natchitoches held Aspen to just 115 yards of offense to roll to a shutout victory. Frank Turner had TD receptions of 70 and 9 yards for the Snappers while John Brandt rushed for 119 yards

Crusaders 26, Event 20…John Lennon picked off a pass and returned it 36 yards for a score to help California break away from a 13-13 tie and pick up a win over Maine. George McKay’s 49-yard reception with just under 9 minutes to play brought the Event back to within three, but a Lloyd Braun chips shot from 18 yards out gave the game its final margin as the California defense held for the final 4 minutes.

Red Rocks 13, Wallabies 10…Elmer Montgomery ran for a 4-yard score and Robert Ponce added field goal kicks of 36 and 40 yards as Coos Bay opened a 13-0 halftime lead and then protected it against Perth in the second half. Donald Schott had an 8-yard reception to get the Wallabies on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter and the team added a 40-yard kick with just over 5 minutes to go in the contest, but Coos Bay held on downs just outside of FG range late before Perth’s final possession ran out of time near midfield. Both teams are 7-4.

Assassins 6, Riptide 3…Harold Hill kicked a pair of short field goals as Columbus City survived a 202-yard night offensively to hold off the upset-minded Riptide by a 6-3 count. Credit the Assassin defense, which limited San Diego to 154 yards of offense as the contest was one long field position slog. Craig Puga’s recovery of a fumbled punt helped set up the first of the Assassins’ two field goals.

Cobras 37, Bandits 6…Michael Mullens caught a pair of first-quarter TD passes, then ran in from 3 yards out early in the second quarter as Rancho Cucamonga exploded to a 31-3 halftime lead in this blowout of the Bandits. Mullens ended the contest with 139 all-purpose yards while Anthony Ford was 28-for-40 with 283 yards and 3 TD’s to show for his night. The Bandits have now dropped five straight.

Bombers 9, Thunder 6…David Key out-kicked Tacoma counterpart Ralph Mucci to help lift Brooklyn to only its second win of the season. In a game featuring just 320 total yards of offense, special teams and turnovers played a premium.

Burn 16, Islanders 13…Nathan Rizzo’s 56-yard field goal at the 2-minute warning enabled Boise to burn the Islanders in a narrow contest. Hawai’I’s final trip with the football got as close as the Burn 35 with a minute to play before a holding call followed by a false start backed the team into a 1st-and-25 hole from midfield that they could not recover from to try a potential game-tying kick. Kenneth Gonzales had a 355-yard passing night for the Islanders, but only had 1 TD pass to show for it.

Geechee 16, Tennessee 6…Richard Shewmaker’s 63-yard catch and run in the third quarter accounted for the only touchdown of the game, but Everett Lor added kicks of 50, 28 and 57 yards to help Charleston dodge an upset bid from Tennessee. Tennessee had field goals from Randy McFarren from 49 and 32 yards away in the second quarter to open a 6-0 lead early.

Hefty Buffalo 15, Crush 13…Leonard Womack’s 28-yard field goal with less than 40 seconds to play lifted Fort Drum to an unexpected win over Canton. Thomas Burkart was 27-for-31 for 191 yards for the Hefty Buffalo, who won for only the third time in 11 outings this season. Womack was a perfect 5-for-5 in the kicking department. His game-winner was his only kick from inside 50 yards in the contest.

Twisters 22, Bulldogs 8…Arkansas held Bennington off the scoreboard until surrendering a late safety to Ernest Teague and then a 55-yard Mark Larkin reception in what was otherwise a commanding performance. The Twisters owned a +3 takeaway count in the game and transformed the miscues directly into 10 points, including Joseph Ray’s 1-yard dive across the goal line for the team’s only touchdown. Andrew Matthews added five field goal kicks throughout the contest as the Twisters led 16-0 at the half.

Dragons 33, Marauders 3…David Puddy threw TD passes to a trio of different receivers and Stephen Riley kicked four field goals as Glendora delivered mathematical elimination from the postseason to the Marauders. It was another stellar offensive night for the Dragons, who rolled up 651 yards in the contest to the Marauders’ 161. Puddy delivered 550 yards through the air with Sean Salerno pulling down eight ***** for 184 yards and a score. Kenny Sowers also topped the century mark with 7 receptions for 130 yards and a TD.

That was 1 wild sequence. I missed the fumble when I was watching and saw we had the ball back ... And on the very next play it was picked off again. We were brutal in the red zone this game; will have to clean that up for when we play @ Toronto next game!

We nearly pulled off the upset, but came up short. Again.

Mmmmmmmmmerica has defeated me two years in a row! Good game tho ;)

At least you aren't in their division. :/

KNOPP FOUND UNCONSCIOUS IN STRIP CLUB, MISSES GAME

On a night where the league could be celebrating its first divisional champion of the season in Milwaukee, or another post-season qualifier in Glendora, all eyes were thrown to Parlor City, where reports are that quarterback Harry Knopp was found passed out in the early morning hours inside local establishment Leave It To Beavers, a popular gentlemen’s club.

“At approximately 2:30 a.m., we received a call regarding unresponsive individuals and, along with paramedics, were dispatched to the scene,” said Parlor City police chief Rob Enbanks at a press conference. “Upon arrival, they immediately began to treat 4 individuals for possible overdose symptoms.”

Enbanks refused to clarify the nature of the overdose, calling it a “matter of ongoing investigation.” The other three individuals present are believed to not be connected with the Phantoms organization. One source indicated the other three were employees of the establishment.

“Yeah, they worked there,”said one Leave it To Beavers employee, who requested anonymity out of fear of being terminated. “It was like neopolitan ice cream, there be black and white and pink everywhere around him.”

Parlor City General Hospital Chief of Medicine A.K. Payne acknowledged that four individuals, including Knopp, were admitted. He declined to mention their condition, citing patient privacy laws, remarking instead that all four are listed in stable condition.

Knopp, after a stellar start to the season, had begun to worry some folks around the Phantoms main office for what had been perceived as a return to bad habits. Known as a wild gunslinger who fired 38 and 32 interceptions in his first two years with the league, Knopp appeared to have things under control in 2028 after leading the Phantoms to the title last season. Through the first seven games, he had tossed only two picks. Over the last month, however, there had been a relapse as he misfired six times over the span of four games.

And now this.

For their part, team officials were keeping things pretty tight lipped regarding the former No. 1 draft pick out of Kansas. No comments were offered with regard to either Knopp’s condition, the incident or his future with the ball club.

“Obviously he wasn’t in the game tonight,” Phantoms head coach Phaldun said when asked about Knopp. “We needed to give (Tony) Strait a chance to see if he could produce the numbers for us.”

He did. The backup torched his former team to the tune of 421 yards passing and 4 TD’s as Parlor City won in a 48-10 rout of Arkansas. His QB rating of 152.2 for the game topped anything Knopp had put up in his career. Elsewhere on a crazy day in the league…

Wild 16, Hefty Buffalo 15…David Frazier’s 24-yard touchdown reception with less than 6 minutes to play capped a 10-point rally to lift the Milwaukee Wild over Fort Drum and to the Parcells Division title. John Richardson threw for 290 yards for the Wild, who trailed 15-6 entering the fourth quarter.

Talons 27, Spartans 15…Francis Jimerson ran for a pair of touchdowns and Jesse Hahn hit Michael Belli for a 31-yard scoring strike as Tallahassee overcame five Milton Sheets field goals in a 27-15 win over Toronto in one of the night’s marquee games. Nathaniel Finley threw for 317 yards and a score in the loss for the Spartans.

Witches 17, Crush 10…Jonathan Embree hit Edmond Walker and William Graves with touchdown passes to keep Salem within half a game of Parlor City in the divisional standings. Embree ended the night 25-for-35 for 182 yards. Canton has now dropped 3 straight.

Riptide 25, Stampede 3…Timothy Beltran kicked 6 field goals, 5 of them from beyond 50 yards, and San Diego’s defense limited the Stampede to just 149 yards of total offense in a one-sided affair. Tommy Corning added 107 yards and the game’s only TD on 35 carries for the Riptide.

Assassins 51, Tennessee 14…Columbus City scored on all but one possession in the second half to steamroll Tennessee by a 51-14 score. Ralph Blake ran for 189 yards and a score while quarterback Michael Hardnett lit up the airwaves for 350 yards and 4 TD’s in the contest.

Burn 19, Marauders 8…Jason Moreira hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass as part of a 13-point Boise fourth quarter to enable the Burn to dodge a Marauder upset bid by a 19-8 final. Reno owned the line of scrimmage, outgaining Boise 264-131 in the contest, but couldn’t make up for four interceptions that prematurely ended possessions and helped enable some of the Burn scores. Chad Curran had a sack for a safety for the Marauders.

Wallabies 12, Kings 9…Adam Donnelly’s 20-yard chip shot field goal with just over a minute to play broke a 9-9 tie and allowed Perth to topple Lyon in a kickers’ duel. Defense ruled the day as the two teams combined for less than 400 yards of offense.

Crusaders 13, Bombers 0…William Wilks pulled in a 16-yard touchdown pass and Lloyd Braun tacked on a pair of field goals as California opened a 13-0 halftime lead and maintained it throughout the second half. The Crusaders held Brooklyn to just 155 yards of offense in the contest and didn’t allow the Bombers across midfield until less than 6 minutes remained in the contest.

Thunder 13, Bandits 10…Ralph Mucci’s 42-yard field goal with less than 5 minutes to play was the difference maker in a 13-10 Tacoma victory. Donald Vargo ran for a touchdown on the Thunder’s first possession of the game, but Santa Fe answered back with a Mark Smith 5-yard rush later in the quarter. From there, defense and the kickers took over. Erik Cole had 190 yards passing on a 22-for-32 performance for the Thunder.

Dragons 37, Cobras 6…David Puddy did David Puddy things as the Glendora Dragons burst to a 31-0 halftime lead and coasted their way to a guaranteed spot in the postseason. Puddy finished 34-for-47 for 443 yards and 4 TD’s. What’s more, the Dragon defense picked off Cobra QB Anthony Ford 4 times, souring a 287-yard night for him. Sean Salerno had 155 yards receiving. Kenny Sowers added 185 all-purpose yards for the Dragons.

Red Rocks 27, Islanders 9…Elmer Montgomery ran for two scores and caught another as part of a 250-yard night as Coos Bay rolled past the Islanders to move to 8-4 on the year. Kenneth Gonzales threw for 332 yards for Hawai’I, but got no help when it came to making receptions in the end zone as the Islanders were held without a TD for the sixth time this season.

Bulldogs 17, Golden Pterodactyls 0…Bennington held Star City to 179 yards and 8 first downs while recording the team’s first shutout victory since Dec. 21, 2025. Mark Larkin ran in from 4 yards out to open the scoring late in the first quarter. Howard Price caught a short flip at the goal line for another TD to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 intermission lead. Andre Obando added a third quarter kick in the win.

Geechee 21, Coyotes 12…Touchdowns beat field goals and that’s what happened when Charleston got three of the former to Mt. Washington’s four of the latter. That said, the game was tight late into the third quarter when perhaps the most bizarre play of the night unfolded. With the Geechee up 14-9, but buried deep in their own end of the field, Edward Rogers took a 3rd-and-1 rushing play off the left side, where he got smacked 2 yards in the backfield, dropped the ball, had it bounce directly back into his hands and had the whole field open up like the Red Sea parting for an 85-yard race to paydirt to blow the contest open.

Event 29, Wampas 6…Steven Reichert hauled in a 13-yard TD pass while Jerome Dishman added a short touchdown run to help lift Maine over Aspen. Harold Cuthbertson did his part by sprinkling in five FG’s throughout the night as the Event improved to 9-3 overall.

Americans 33, Snappers 16…Jerry Hale’s 85-yard punt return for a touchdown was part of a 20-0 first half as Rochester bulled past the Snappers by a 33-16 final. Alexander Thomas threw TD passes to Adam McCurdy and Bobby Garcia to help the Americans improve to 11-1 on the season. The team has now won eight consecutive games. Jayson Blake had a 76-yard TD run for Natchitoches, which did halve the Rochester lead in the third quarter to 20-10 before the Americans re-exerted themselves.

[Editor's note: Regarding tonight's headline story, Phaldun PM'd me to let me know what he was doing and said he wanted to have some fun with it, so there you go...]