Mayemi Locks Up Playoff Spot With Last-Second 2-1 Win Over Port Arthur Wrights
The
Mayemi Nereid-fins have earned a playoff spot in the
Bonehead League Season 3, with a thrilling
2-1 walk-off win over the
Port Arthur Wrights. Catchers Devyoryn Achyrn and Falyn Woodyl chipped in the TDs for Mayemi on a day when Skylar Thornson led all throwers with a season-high 4 completions. Thrower Agnash Bonebreaka had the lone touch down for the Wrights, who out-blocked Mayemi 28-21 but could not withstand the Nereid-fins high-flying aerial attack on the final drive.
Thornson looks down field before throwing one of his four completions on the day
“Great game by Skylar today,” said Mayemi Coach Mickon McDenial. “I know a lot of fans were excited about our passing game returning to those days of Marynthrow glory when we
added Danyla, and we’ve definitely given them that. It’s just that … she’s … uh … not actually the one throwing the ball.”
Mayemi found paydirt first, when Achyrn scored off a hand-off from Marynthrow on a broken play in the first half. The play came after Thornson hit Woodyl with a perfect pass on a deep in cut in Port Arthur Territory. However, when Woodyl tried to spin away from Urul Elfeater, the orc blitzer grabbed the elf by the hair, kicked him in the back of the knee, and brutally yanked him to the pitch.
In a heroic game-saving maneuver, Thornson quickly scooped up the ball right from under Elfeater’s’s green, piglike nose and tossed another perfect pass back to Marynthrow near midfield. Marynthrow then handed the ball to Achyrn who raced across the pitch and outran the pursuing orcs to score the game’s first TD.
Achyrn scores to give Mayem the 1-0 lead
“Hey, let’s not overlook Danyla’s contribution on that play,” said Coach McDenial. “That was a heck of a hand-off she made there. You wanna talk about quick release and accuracy? That hand off was so accurate it was like she … uh … handed him the … uh … ball. So yeah, no big throws from her yet, but you have to admit the rookie’s a great hander off-er … er.”
The Wright’s evened the score late in the second half on a long drive after mishandling the kickoff in a series of blunders that almost led to disaster. After a deep kick put the ball on the edge of the Wrights’ goal line, orc thrower Slip Ryfinger failed to gather the bouncing ball, kicking it into the end zone. Woodyl, seeing a chance to ice the game, raced up-field, dodged away from a big-un blocker, a goblin, and Ryfinger, and dove onto the ball to try to put Mayemi up 1-0. As Woodyl flew though their air toward the ball, however, Ryfinger lowered a steel-padded elbow into the back of his head, knocking the elf unconscious.
When Woodyl’s limp, KO’d body fell on it, the ball squirted out of the back of the endzone and in to the crowd, who promptly threw it up field. The Wright’s other thrower, Bonebreaka, was then able to gather it and slowly march into Mayemi territory amidst a cage of slavering, elf-stomping big-un blockers.
To help those big-uns carve a path, Port Arthur had also contracted Bomber Dribblesnot for the match, and the diminutive goblin delivered. What he delivered, of course, was a series of explosions that cratered the pitch, blasted shrapnel into the stands, and sent elves flying. Nonetheless, enough Mayemi defenders caught up to Bonebreaka to keep him from running out the clock before scoring to assure a tie. So it was Bonebreaka evened the score with 30 seconds left in the game.
Bonebreaka stomps across the goal line for the tying touchdown late in the second half
“Normally, orcs aren’t known for their offense,” said Mayem captain Rahor Mossheart after the match. “But I have to say on that drive, their offense was downright …” the elf then mimed removing a pair of spectacles as the scribes groaned in anticipation of his final word “… explosive.”
With just seconds left on the clock, the Nereid-fins needed to strike fast if they were going to pull out a win. As Achyrn tried to coral the ball off the kickoff, Thornson set up a few yards to his right, and the Nereid-fins sent three players on deep routes into Port Arthur territory, setting up the classic elven last-second “Hail Fairy” play.
Spinning away from hard-charging orc lineman, Gob Bumuncher, Achyrn scooped up the ball and then handed it to Thornson. Scanning the field, the elven thrower spotted Woodyl blanketed by orcs in triple-coverage. Thornson threw a perfect jump-ball pass to Woodyl, who out-leaped the orcs to high-point the ball and come down with the catch.
Growling and gnashing their teeth, the three orcs closed in on Woodyl like fist crushing a daisy. But as they swung their mailed fists and lowered their shoulder spikes, Woodyl ducked and spun away, leaving them with nothing to hit but each other. Orcs smashed into orcs with a rattle and screech of metal on metal, and Woodyl sprinted across the goal line for the winning touchdown just as time expired.
Woodyl shows off his vertical leap as he goes high to catch the winning TD pass amidst triple coverage
“Triple coverage, quadruple coverage, whatever,” said Woodyl after the game. “It really wouldn’t matter how many of those foul savages you put around me on that play. For in the end, fists of steel are no match for nerves of steel.”
The win places Mayemi firmly in second place in the Warpstone Division, completing an undefeated regular season at at 4-2-0. Finishing behind the
Stratford Ratbags (6-1-0), the Nereid-fins earned their first playoff spot, but they’ll head into the post-season shorthanded. Star blitzer Jaylyn Killyps went down with a shoulder injury on the last play of the game when big-un blocker Urk Stik-shaka grabbed him by the wrist and thrashed him about the pitch like small child throwing a tantrum with a rag doll—except in this case the child was giggling wildly and shouting, “elfy go smash-smash!”
Still, Coach McDenial says the team is ready to put its best foot forward in the playoffs. “You know the way it goes with these guys,” he said. “There are no excuses. Not even that old ‘the orc smashed my homework’ excuse. So it’s just next elf up.”
