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1. 1. OWCC Season 8, Semi-Final

The veteran Expats had missed(!) the playoffs last season and not done well lately in general, so after winning the bye this season they were hungry for this game, and kept themselves at a lean 11-man roster, already down to 5 Sauri as their defensive specialist Wrodge-Tackler Saurus was out MNG. But the 15-game Gorers had already made a name for themselves by making post-season and then winning the quarter-finals in their 1st Season in the majors, and were no less eager to continue. Down a bit in TV, they fired their 13th player last-minute to go from 140 to 200k in inducements - a Wizard and a Dirty-Tricks card.


The Expats won the toss, and Turn 1 Blitzed and KO'd the Gorers' intimidating Block/Claw Mino - and that might have made all the difference.

After that, the 1st-half momentum seemed all with the Expats - and luck, as they KO'd a rookie Beastman, and even succeeded in surfing a mis-labeled St 4 beastman, succeeding with 2 Pushes on 2x 1d - ulp, phew! But Turn 5 the Gorers broke out the Wizard, blowing a hole open to the ballcarrier for a 3d and recovering midfield. The Expats KO'd a Wrestle Beastman and Broke-Tackle to blitz and knock the ball loose, but a quad-Both-Down on a Skink block (BH'ing the DT-ss'er) ended their turn before they could recover. The Gorers used a 1d to help re-recover the ball to end Turn 6, but the Expats' luck and momentum held after all, and they BT'd again to blitz, Pushing the ballcarrier into the Frenzy Saurus who found the Pow, and the Expats recovered and advanced the ball to the 7, 1 Turn left to score. Gorers pulled out their last (Dirty Trick) card, a Pit Trap, but an Ag 3 skink was there to score with 2 RR's remaining, 1-0.

Turn 8 kickoff the Mino slept on, no changes.

By 2nd Half the Mino woke up along with the other Gorers, and the Expats knew that was bad news, already down 1 player, the DT-ss Skink. The Gorers wasted no time in targeting the +St MB Saurus with the Mino and pushing up to the LoS, but in the first 3 turns he only found a Stun and a Wild Animal Fail, then was Stunned himself by that same +St Saurus - still they broke up the side behind a loose screen with some fancy 3+ dodging. But the Expats found a Break-Tackle seam in the screen and a Pow on the ballcarrier, and the ball fell OB and sailed 11(!) squares to the far, empty side of the field, where only a +Ag Skink could scamper to recover to end Turn 3, using the 2nd-to-last RR to advance to 16 squares from the score. Turn 4 the Gorers could only pressure with their St 4 Beastman, but the Expats mis-positioned to properly address that pressure, and a Turn 4 3+ dodge (using the Gorers's 2nd-to-last RR) plus GFI knocked the ball loose again, BH'ing the +Ag Sure Hands Skink. Again the Expats mis-positioned slightly, leaving the door open for another Gorers 3+ dodge GFI blitz - but that took their last RR, and somehow the 3d Block missed. That lone threat was surfed to end Turn 6, and with no one else within range, the game was effectively over - the Expats ran (as best they could) from the Mino and Turn 7 used their last RR to try to handoff to a rookie Saurus, then that Saurus succeeded in the T16 no-RR pickup for the gratuitous 2nd score (& MVP for the skill) to end the game, 2-0.”