It was a hot and humid day out on the fields at the Rose Garden, and while it may be early in the season, we are starting to see some teams come together and rise to the top, while others are off to some not so stellar starts. It seems like every session the early weeks always provide more questions than answers, and that is why we here at the Sentinel love doing this! We get to make observations and recap the games! We of course leave the predictions and observations to our overlord, the godfather (sorry Topper, you’re not our overlord anymore since you offloaded the league to that tyrant Jeff Krol)! With that said, let’s take a look at some games this week!

 

Breakfast Club

Steph Infection 48, Dri’s Company 40

Breakfast Club is back, and it did not disappoint! This matchup perhaps is a harbinger of a potential championship game as these teams went back and forth the entire game! Steph made the wise call to take Garrett Beesing as her QB and followed it up with taking his bromance in BC, Langley and the two showed off the connection early and often. Dri is a first time captain, taking on her lover Garrett in the first game, but she showed she knows how to draft. Normal QB Sean is on sabbatical, so Bobby McConnell stepped in and delivered strike after strike. Stoner Dave was a great choice, and he showed off his freak athleticism time and time again to move the ball down the field. Steph infection has some new names, but they look talented! In the end, Dri’s Company had a shot to tie the game on the last play, but the ball hit the ground and Steph infection starts their season off with a big win!

 

D1

Sticky Bandits 35, Eyes Downtown 32

The only undefeated teams in D1 faced off on Saturday and defense was hard to come by.  Although that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone with Bobby McConnell and Mike Thomas throwing!  Amber and Kayla from Eyes Downtown were as effective as ever, and the Sticky Bandits defense struggled to contain them for much of the game.  Bobby was his usual efficient self for most of the game, but made one key error at a big moment and Brandy Clarke was able to intercept him in the end zone for one of the only stops of the day.  That play proved to be the difference in the end as the Sticky Bandits eventually got a two score lead and were able to run the clock from there.  

 

D2

Freeballers 43, Can’t Touch This 20

In a game maybe the result isn’t a huge surprise, but the score certainly was, freeballers came out looking a little pissed off about their performance week one, and Matt Kieta in his usual fiery fashion made sure every field heard him yelling! As previously mentioned, Freeballers struggled week one against a veteran Mavericks team, but righted the ship quickly, and gained some chemistry with new QB Dave Eickoff, who was sharp and on target all game as he found Matt, Scott and the usual crew all game. Ryan and CTT looks to have some new players, one of which we are pretty sure can bench press a small sedan. Did you see this guy? We need a name, because he might be the highest muscle mass this league has ever seen! I think this game really came down to comfortability the Freeballers have, and their strong defense stepping up. I think as CTT works out the kinks, they will be a force down the stretch. 

Mavericks 62, The Untouchaballs 30

This will not go down as an upset by any means, given Mavericks start to the season, but holy moly did we never expect that score! The Untouchaballs had week one off, so there is always a bit of a feeling out period, and unfortunately they had to go about it without Mel Linsmair, one of the best females this league has. Burr struggled early, while Jordan Lawson seemed to take some disrespect with his power ranking, showing the whole TSL he is back and means business. Led defensively by George Lombardo, Mavericks made countless stops and made every play on offense and looked unstoppable. The same couldn’t be said for Burr and their offense, but they got a bit of their groove in the second half after falling behind 38-0. I definitely can’t wait to see the rematch!

 

D3

The Malones 48, Bullet Club 39

The start of this game could not have gone worse for BC, or better for TM, as Dylan Jaloza threw an early pick-6 and another ensuing pick on the next drive, giving TM an early two score lead before anybody had time to blink. BC battled back though, with George Lombardo and tall guy Nate finding openings to move the ball and keep the game within reach. Finally getting a defensive stop on the second half, Dylan was composed and collected, moving the team down the field and scoring to take a 1 point lead. TM would score a gender to go ahead 9, and on a last gasp, BC couldn’t score the required gender, and TM held on. This felt like the game of the day for D3!

Buffalo Vice 34, Topper’s All-Stars and Todd 25

Well, the positive we can say here is that Topper scored more points this week! He also looked pretty good throwing the football, and his weapons out there played tough. Missing tall Aaron, the height was squarely focused on Drew Colosimo, and he played like the D1 all-star he is. Drew was all over the field on both sides of the ball. BV came in without their starting QB, but no Andy Clark, no problem it seems! That is because they enlisted the help of Frank Laudico, local badass who likes to get under peoples skin. Frank was smart as usual, getting the offense to move like chess pieces and keep TASAT on their toes, and hitting Caitlin Mason countless times for big chunks. Big tall guy for BV, who is also super friendly, was just too much, and BV pulled away to secure their first D3 victory. I told everyone it wouldn’t take long!

 

D4

Tater Tots 57, Roaring 20’s 16

It seems as though Tater Tots has found their QB1 of the future with B, and boy are they in good hands. The lady Tots players have seems to master the out and up, resulting in multiple touchdowns to distance the Tots from Roaring 20’s. The 20’s are still learning how to play TSL football, but they showed glimpses of progress, and out best recommendation is keep throwing the backwards hat guy. This team is young with a lot of potential, and with a lot of games left, maybe they will get going and be a threat when the games really matter.

PWI 24, Cobblestone 14

There is nothing we want more than Daryl Carr superstar to rack up some wins, but that proved to be difficult against a stout PWI team that seems to keep getting better and better. Buddy Lee leads the way for PWI, with a fun affable bunch of guys and gals, and they just know how to play their game. Nothing flashy, but Addison and Alex were all over the place making plays, while Buddy played relatively mistake free. It came down to which defense was stronger, and PWI locked it down to get a comfortable win. 

 

D5

Powerpuff girls 42, Not So Sticky 34

The Powerpuff Girls put on a show Saturday, bouncing back from a week one loss to look like the team we expected them to be.  With Maddie Norton intercepting deep balls and Kyle Conniff taking full advantage of all his talented ladies, Not So Sticky was in a little over their heads in this one.  NSS did flash some girl power of their own though with Christine Krol throwing a nice TD to "don't call me just a QB" Mike Thomas, but it was too little too late.  

Gucci 35, Come From Behind 14

This matchup was the latter of the doubleheader for CFB, and they were without Paul “gunslinger” Lovullo, and unfortunately for CFB, they were playing ironman all game. This game started as a very back-and-forth affair, with each QB turning it over and each getting in the endzone a couple times for a very close halftime score. Big Thomas Fields could be seen in the back of the endzone, making passing lanes tougher than normal with the length he has. It looked like CFB just ran out of gas in the second half, and struggled to keep up as Kelly Kane and co pulled away for a comfortable win. 

 

D6

Balls Deep 18, Blitzkrieg 16

Balls deep came in missing half their guys that included their starting QB. It was a very low scoring game with both teams delivering some great defense, and both teams enlisting the bend but don’t break motto. Blitzkrieg got out to an early lead, getting the ball to dark hair girl with the headband, and Alicia (we think this is her name) put pressure on the brand new Balls Deep QB all game. Balls Deep utilized their ladies to perfection in this game, making big chunk plays to move the ball down the field, and finally punched the ball in the endzone. BD finally took a lead midway through the second half, and with a chance to take the lead late in the game, BK came up just short and BD was able to run the clock out. 

Sausage McMuffins 48, Dogg Pound 8

This was a game that shows the growth new team need coming into the TSL. SM has a session under their belts, and showed it, getting countless stops on defense, and taking advantage of the short fields they got, scoring at will, starting with a gender touchdown on the very first drive. SM was relentless on defense, led by Ricky, who is arguably too good to be down in D6! DP had to switch QB’s due to injury, and we certainly hope their QB is okay! DP started to hit some deep shots in the second half, and finally broke through at the end of the game. I think they have a lot to learn, but once they figure it out, they have all the athletes, both male and female, to be a contender in the future!

 

Bonus game! Angry bird 1, TSL 0

For those that missed this matchup, the angry bird chirping at the TSLers stood firm and tall in the face of adversity, and let everybody know who was boss. As people continued to approach, the bird sat in a great defensive position and warded off all the people passing by. We even got info that some of the players were scared of the bird! If that is not a win for the bird, nothing else will be!