SEAON 9

Round 1: Beards with Muddled Start to NWBL

The Box Elder Beards had their pre-season opening this round against the Otter Chaos squad led by Veteran Coach Razmus. The match-up was one where the Otters came in with significantly more experience as a squad and as such Box Elder was able to acquire the services of star player Mighty Zug. The beards received and quickly set to work turning the match into a center field slugfest, with Box Elder eventually starting to come out on top and solidify a strong position along a sideline. Turn 6 of the drive rookie runner Belli Bonlinn saw a crease and sprinted upfield trying to pull away. He never saw the hulking Otter Warrior that blasted him into the sidelines, the ball being hurled by the fans onto the opposite end of the pitch. A lone warrior was in perfect position to scoop up the ball and begin his jaunt to the endzone with dwarves trailing in pursuit.

The second half the Beards still held a strong numbers advantage, and the possibility of a draw of even a win were well within their reach. The Otters secured the ball and attempted to take an edge, but were quickly surrounded. The carrier was first dropped by Beard Slayer Arngrim Addar, but the Otters managed to recover it only to be quickly dropped again by Arngrim. The ball still bouncing free, an agile Beastman managed to recover again with the ball surrounded by the opposition. This time the carrier finished in the direct line of sight of a Mighty Zug who came barreling down the field to smash the opponent. The Star tripped inches in front of the carrier and in the chaos the beastman managed to sprint away from the Beard defense. Box Elder still managed to knock loose the ball, and recover it in scoring range, but an agile Warrior was able to shut down their hopes of the draw, dropping the Beard runner in the closing turns.

Coach Buck’s Comments:

“Coach Razmus is a talented player, with a talented team. They’ll do big things in the league this season, I’m sure of it. We’re still working through some of the kinks, and I’m glad to say we’re healthy, and know the things we need to work on. Belli got a little excited when he saw the endzone, and just didn’t see that Warrior until it was too late. I’m proud of the work of Arngrim, our Slayer. He showed he’s ready to play today. He managed to take out their troll early in the 1st half, and dropped the ball carrier twice. You may have noticed he also was one of the guys chasing down their Warrior into the endzone after the crowd chucked the ball. He’s got a motor and we’re grateful to have him around. I wouldn’t change the call to have Zug go after that ball carrier. He was right in his sights, and had he taken him down the ball would’ve been clean and clear for us to pick it up and run it in for a score. Even the pros can make a mistake. We almost had the draw at the end. Again, we did some solid things today, and I’m proud of the guys. We’ll get better. Hats off to Coach Razmus and his squad.”

Round 2: Beards Roll Brutez in Pre-Season

From the word go, the Beards were able to impose a strong advantage against the Kunning Brutez in their pre-season contest for Round 2. Two Brute Black Orcs were immediately stretchered off the field, one knocked unconscious and another seriously injured. The Dwarves methodically pressed the numbers advantage, working up a sideline until they were able to secure a score on the final turn of the half.

The second half, the Beards started with a 2 player advantage, with the Brutez down a goblin and Black Orc. Turn 3 Arngrim Addar widened that gap, as he forearm shivered Black Orc, Punch, with so much force that his heart stopped on the field, and he was pronounced dead. Down by 3 players now, with the Beards slowly swarming around the ball carrier, the Brutez attempted to lob goblin carrier, Ulmug Dreadtyrant, past the defense. He had the distance, but he twisted awkwardly as he flew, landing with a disturbing crank to his neck to the side. Medical officials pronounced him dead on impact. The ball fortuitously landed in the hands of Dwarf Runner Belli Bonlinn. On Belli’s sprint to the endzone, his brother Bim managed to seriously injure another Black Orc, Vigor, who was stretchered off after a violent 3 vs 1 mauling. The Brutez finished the match with 5 injured players, 2 of those being serious injuries, and 2 being deaths.

Coach Buck Comments:

“Obviously this is more of the outcome we’d hope for compared to our performance in the last round. The guys were fired up to play this match. You could feel it before we took the field, and it showed in the aggression of their play. I think this Black Orc squad may have had the same experience we had last round against the Otters - just caught off guard by the speed of the game by a team that already had gotten their feet wet a bit. When I watched the goblin sail through the air though, I thought they may just tie it even after all the carnage we’d caused, but the way he hit, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. Another standout performance by Arngrim. His first death under his belt, plus a Black Orc to boot. That’s no small accomplishment. We’re ready to go for the regular season.

Round 3: Beards Stumble to Start, but Recover Amid High Hat Woes

The Beards took on the High Elf Hightown High Hats in round 3, and got away with what easily could’ve been a much different match. The Elves got an early jump on the ball, and were able to send a few players in while the kick sailed through the air, but Belli Bonnlinn was able to recover the kick and set to work mowing into the High Hats. Everything appeared to be going to plan, until the elves exposed a gap and blitzed through to get a hit on Belli. He stumbled and the ball bounced through the scrum into the exposed rear. The Elves had a clean chance at the ball, but couldn’t get a hold as it bounced away, and was recovered by Belli the following round. The Beards were able to re-establish, and set a cage down a sideline aiming to score at the end of the half. The High Hat defense wasn’t going quietly though, and they fought to screen off the endzone. The screen nearly complete, one final dodge was all that was needed, but the elf blitzer couldn’t escape the grasp of a Beard Blocker. Bellis sprinted in for the score.

The second half both teams took the field at full strength, with the Beards kicking off to the High Hats. The kick landed directly at the edge of the field, and the elves struggled to pick it up, needing some extra encouragement from the sidelines. They aligned in a wide formation with the ball in the able hands of a talented catcher. The Beards also stayed wide in their defense patiently waiting for the Hats to commit. The High Hats struggled with small errors though, and found themselves in a position where they needed to play mistake-free, but after moving a screen player to press an edge, a block failed, and the carrier was left exposed. The Beards charged the opening and managed to drop the carrier and recover the loose ball, while aggressively marking any potential pursuit. Blitzer Hurgren Huldek was able to seal the game with the final score 2-0.

Coach Buck Comments:

“We got lucky there, we really did. The score board makes it look like we coasted through that game, but this one easily could’ve gone the other way, and I credit myself for that error. We were confident we could hold the line, but we just didn’t and when I saw that blitzer slip through that exposed corner I knew we were in trouble. You don’t want to win on luck, but that High Hat missing that pick up was huge for us. We were able to recover and get back on track, but that was a close call. For Elves they seemed to be having their own struggles in the things they normally excel at. I wish we could’ve done more with the numbers game. It’s tough to play an elf team 11 on 11, and that’s how it was basically this whole game. We need to do better with that. Next we have the Despoilers, and they’re a real talented crew. I know we’re up to the task, but we have to get better.


Round 4: Despoilers Rally from Dominate Beard First Half for the Draw

Round 4 of the NWBL Stannum Division featured a marquee matchup for the Beards against the red hot Doubtsplained Dispoilers. The Dispoilers arrived at the arena looking like a group of seasoned veterans, led by their tandem of standout bull centaurs, Bentley Waldan and Reid Ogyvan. The Beards were up to the task though and received the ball and began their methodical offense, trading shots with the Dispoilers when it was most to their advantage. The shots landed true and in the first half the Beards managed to knock out one of the prized bulls, and put away Chaos Dwarf Blocker Clayton Ijunt, a crucial piece of their interior line. The Dispoilers did manage to surround blitzer Hurgran Huldek and even the numbers a bit as he was stretchered off the field with a KO, but it cost them an ejected hobgoblin for their trouble. As the numbers started to swing in the favor of the Beards, they were able to press an edge and secure a score late in the 1st half.

The second half started with Dispoilers receiving the ball down men. The kick was deep, and the Beards immediately set to work trying to capitalize on the advantage. They aggressively marked into the Dispoiler line, and sent players into the Dispoiler half to fight for the ball. Here the tide turned, and the Dispoilers began to chip away at the Beards. One of the pressuring blitzers was sent off the field, followed by another long beard shortly after. The pressure slightly reduced, it seemed as if there may be a lane for the Dispoilers and they took the chance, hurling the ball down field in the hope that they would be able to recover it as it was unlikely the intended receiver would come down with the ball. The ball landed just past midfield. The Beards attempted to rally, but were too tied up to chase until the Dispoilers had recovered the ball and ran in for the score, ending the match in a draw.

Coach Buck Comments:

“This one hurts a bit. We executed our plan so well in our first half, and we went into the locker room, so confident that we could put this game away. After the opening kick, I felt even stronger about that. It was so deep, and with our players in position to put on a lot of pressure as we got a jump on the snap. I think one of the pivotal moments was when Hurgren got dropped as he was sprinting for their carrier. Him being unable to help up out down there was huge. Then when Borack got dropped by their bull just a moment later we were out leveraged to one side. Had Borack been there just to stand up we still could’ve put up a pretty solid fight, but that wasn’t the case. Hats off to the Dispoilers for their play today. Going into the locker room at half I felt so confident, I may have started celebrating too early. I think we all did, and were humbled for it.”

Round 5: Beards Grind Nippon Night-Runners to 2-1 Victory

The Beards Round 5 opponent was the Skaven Nippon Night Runners, sporting a full set of 4 skilled Gutter Runners. The Night-Runners posted a 3-3 draw with the High Hats in their previous match, so although their record may not appear impressive, they definitely have the capacity to score and score quickly. The Beards received and set to work in their usual manner, slowly working their way up the sideline. Turn 1, the Beards had a linerat stretchered off the field, but that was most of the damage the Skaven would take for the match. The Beards gradually worked up the field with Belli crossing the endzone turn 8, according to plan.

The rats received to start the second half, and immediately went on an aggressive offensive. They sent two Gutter Runners deep and were able to score on their turn 3 after an early bobbled handoff. This left the Beards with 6 turns to push for the 2-1 win. The ball was kicked deep and the Night-Runners knew this was what they were made for. The Beards managed to recover the ball, but were quickly under heavy pressure in their backfield. They managed to clear it away and set to work progressing the cage, while the core of their players tied up would- be pursuers. In the end the Beards were forced into a turn 7 side cage, but with nearly every Night-Runner marked to prevent the sack. A failed dodge left Belli with another jaunt into the endzone to seal the 2-1 win.

Coach Buck Comments:
“This is a win, but I really feel this is a missed opportunity for our guys. For some reason we put on the kid gloves with these rats. We had a lot of shots, and we just couldn’t get them off the field. I don’t know that our guys realize we’re playing the Nasty Boiz next round, and we really needed a few of our guys to show they can hit. That didn’t happen today. I’m all for sound play: we moved the ball well, we played defense well, but you have to play this game with a little nastiness and we just weren’t up to it today. I don’t believe we gave up a shot on the ball today, which is great, especially with all those Gutters running all over the place. Also we put them in a position on their defense where essentially they had to score early, which I felt comfortable with. The deep kick worried me, but we got out of it. Good things for sure, but we needed to do better on removals today.”

Round 6: Beards Upset Division Leader Nasty Boiz

For Round 6 of the NWBL the Beards were slated to play the undefeated Nurgle Nasty Boiz who have been on a tear through the division from the start. They also are the team of runaway league MVP Pestigor Spleenslaughter. The Beards elected to recruit the services of the chainsaw wielding Helmut Wulf to bring up the difference between the two teams. The Beards received and the Wulf immediately set to work putting his saw to the Boiz downed Rotspawn and sending him to the sidelines. The Beards secured the ball and continued to work effectively removing a key Bloater by the hands of Trollslayer Arngrim Adder. With the numbers advantage, the Beards were able to slowly pull themselves forward and break through the final defensive screen for a Belli Bonnlinn score turn 8.

The second half was marked by a deep kick and an early failed block by a Nurgle Bloater. This allowed the Beards to aggressively engage and to start to put pressure toward the ball. The Boiz were able to stabilize, and secure their ball behind a wall of Nurgle players, but they struggled to knock the Beards off their feet. The carrier moved from one sideline to the other, then back again looking for a crease, but never finding anything promising. Eventually the push was made late in the half, but the Beards were in position to capitalize on the carrier tripping as he tried to pull away. Belli was able to recover the dropped ball, and sprint away to kill the clock, winning the match 1-0.

Coach Buck Comments:

“Our guys played one of our best games this round, and we needed everything to work to have hoped to pull away from here with a win. The Nasty Boiz are undefeated for a reason: and it isn’t just their roster. They have great players for sure, but their tactics are top notch, the way they were shifting around the scrum, and timing their hits. Everything had to go just about perfect for us and it nearly did. Likely the biggest swing was the removal of Grimrot Turn 1. If that beast is around we likely just get caught up in a scrum fight the whole half. Arngim taking out that Bloater was also a big deal. Their half starting the way it did put them behind big time. Spleenslaughter took shots too, and each time I held my breath hoping our guy would get up, and we managed to just about every time. Like I said, we needed everything to work out for us to get this win, and it did. Really proud of the guys for this one.

Round 7: Beards Slow Grind Elven Tree Friends

A blizzard set the scene for the round 7 match of the Box Elder Beards and the Elven Tree Friends. The Tree Friends were coming in down men heavily from their previous contest, fielding only a lone Catcher, Wardancer and Treeman as their positonals. The Wardancer, Lifty, is easily one of the most skilled players in the division, and his presence alone would keep the Beards on their toes. The Elves received to start with the dwarves playing a patient defense, hoping to start to get a lead on player-count that they could leverage to their advantage. The Tree friends catcher caught the kick and the scrum ensued with the Beards marking up while trying to avoid the threatening limbs of Lumpy the treeman. The Beards' combat prowess began to take its toll as the elves began to leave the field. Sniffles started toward one edge then attempted to reverse the field, but the dwarf pursuit was too strong, and they sacked the catcher. Lifty recovered the ball, but the pressure was too strong and he was ejected into the sidelines with the fans throwing a very elf-friendly toss toward their endzone directly in-range of a journeymen Tree Friend to score. A single Dwarf blitzer stood guard over the ball, and as the elves attempted to clear him off the ball, they failed going into half 0-0.

The Beards received for the 2nd half and Belli was able to recover the ball and set to work pressing the Dwarven wall into the thinned elven ranks. The elves attempted some surgical blitzes and screening, but were never able to make headway, and eventually the wall was able to overpower the defense after Sniffles became trapped on the ground left behind to shore up the line. Belli made the decision to hand off the ball to blitzer Aliyah Fafnin near the endzone, to give the blitzer a rare shot at a score. Lifty wasn’t quite done though and he pressed on two final heroic efforts to get to the ball, but was unable to lodge it loose. Aliyah jogged into the endzone turn 8 for the 1-0 victory.

Coach Buck Comments:

“This was a very solid performance by the guys. They did what they needed to do and didn’t make many mistakes throughout the match. Our defense especially I am pleased with. It sure got a bit tense towards the end of that half though, they easily could’ve gone into the half 1-0, and I’m grateful we had a guy to cover that crowd toss. Our offensive drive was also very effective. Nothing fancy there, and it was nice to have Aliyah to get a chance at a score. My only complaint was it would’ve been nice to do some real damage on this one, but dang you have to give it up to the resilience of the Tree Friends to keep coming back. Lifty did the things we thought he’d do, and we really lucked out that Shifty wasn’t around to make it worse. We caught them at a moment where we had a clear advantage before the ball was snapped, but sometimes that’s how it goes.”

Bourbon Cup Round 1: Beards Escape Brutez Rematch

For the first Round of the Bourbon Cup the Box Elder Beards were slated with a rematch of their pre-season opponent: the Kunning Brutez. Their first encounter was a one-sided affair resulting in a 2-0 Beard victory with the Brutez finishing the match with 5 injured players, 2 of those being serious injuries, and 2 being deaths. This time the Brutez weren’t a fresh faced rookie squad though, and the contest was a slug fest worth the price of admission for any bash fan.

The Brutez received to start the match and set to work beating back the dwarven defensive line and pulling victims back into the waiting clutches of Star Player Nobbla Blackwart or their own infamous fouler, Bor Ogrefella. Early kicks were put onto the thick heads of the Beards, but it wasn’t until turn 3 when Bor struck red and injured Beard standout Longbeard, Bim Bonnlinn. Coach Buck elected to have the team physician see to him, and he had him set to go for the next drive. The following turn Arngrimm Addar’s rage swelled up as he watched their player stretchered off and he put that energy into KOing Black Orc, Might. Turn 5 the Black Orc Punchiest also went down unconscious following a dwarven block, next Nobbla Blackwart decapitated himself with his own chainsaw on an attempted foul. The numbers swing now in favor of the Beards, the Brutez made a sprint for the endzone and looked like they may have been able to pull away, but Box Elder was able to chase. The goblin carrier managed to get up off the ground, wriggle away, pick up the ball in the scrum, but with the endzone in his reach, he failed the final dodge needed to score.

The kickoff for the Beards landed near the sideline, followed by an early defensive shift of the Brutez to potentially position themselves to rush the sideline. Luckily for the Beards they were able to recover the ball and cut across the grain to the opposite end of the field. Part of this was because of a questionable mob of players that had suspiciously surrounded Arngrimm Addar on one of the the field. Arngrimm managed to weather the storm of boots, and eventually the Beards pulled away with Belli Bonnlinn scoring turn 8 for the win.

Coach Buck Comments:

“That opening drive of theirs was terrifying. We came in all confident with ourselves because of how the last match went, and you start to realize that match didn’t matter one bit when you’re watching your guys being pulled back into a roil of boots, and chainsaws. We were really lucky they only managed to get Bim off the field. Even with our numbers advantage they managed to put themselves in a legitimate position to score. I was confident that goblin wasn't getting up after we dropped him, but then sure enough, he was standing, he had the ball back in his hands, he had one more jump to green grass, but our guys finally got him. Whew…close one. Our drive was pretty standard. Sure grateful Argrimm came out of that one with all his limbs intact. You could sense they wanted a shot at payback for what he did to Punch last match.

Bourbon Cup Round 2: Mistakes Nearly Eliminate Beards from Bourbon Cup

Round 2 of the Bourbon Cup featured the undefeated Hogtown Hoosiers (4/4/0) taking on our own Box Elder Beards (6/1/1). The Hoosiers won the toss and elected to receive. The kick went deep, with the Amazon carrier, Galla Slender, catching the ball with her heels at the endzone. She started working her way up the field, while the Beards managed to isolate star Jaguar Warrior Dalla Rupen. Borack Daerra saw an opportunity and attempted to stomp the downed player and was quickly spotted and ejected. Up one player, the Hoosiers managed to bring the ball past midfield, while also KOing Beard Enforcer Arngrimm Addar. Box Elder staff elected to use their medical resources to keep him in the game, but the Hoosiers were in a sound position to score turn 5 as the Beards worked to pursue. Belli Bonnlinn fielded a deep kick, and the Beard’s positioned with Buck Bellwaen behind the scrum awaiting the handoff the following turn. The Hoosiers slid their defense to respect numbers, and Buck was able to cut across to the opposite flank with enough protection to mount a push. The Hoosiers worked to cut them off, but again the Beards found a hole, this time towards the center, gradually gaining ground. The Hoosiers again screened off the endzone, but Buck was able to find a crease scoring Turn 8, tying the game 1-1.

The Beards received to start the second half, and again the kick was deep. Buck dropped to recover the ball, while the Beards on the line of scrimmage wrecked havoc removing 2 Hoosiers and stunning another. Box Elder dropped several players to protect the ball, but they couldn’t have anticipated the amount of Hoosier pressure to come. The Amazons spilled into the backfield with everything they had, and forced the error they were hoping for. The Beards made an unlikely blocking mistake, and were left with Buck exposed, then dropped, and the ball on the ground. A Hoosier error was the only chance they had at escaping the situation, and that error presented itself, allowing Belli Bonlinn to recover the ball, break free of the scrum and establish a cage. The Beards now had the Hoosiers out-numbered and out of position, and they were able to push their combat strengths, removing several players as they worked their way up field for a turn 8 score.

Coach Buck Comments:

This was a real interesting match. Their first drive was a doozy for us. We had a moment when I thought we could have a shot at the ball, but we made some errors and it slipped through our fingers. Arngrim going out was also a scare, because I knew we were going to need him to be making hits, especially against their Jaguars. We lucked out the score in the first half, and nice to see Buck get a chance to be the trigger man, and Belli being the one cornering the cage. The way he cut back, then back to the middle, then back again, it was fun to watch. 2nd half, after we took out their LOS, I thought we had it from there, and then when they all rushed into our backfield, we panicked a bit, and ended up leaving the ball exposed. We barely broke out of that scrum, and a lot of credit has to be given to this Hogtown crew. They played solid, and gave us some real fits.

Bourbon Cup Round 3: Beards Advance through Error-Bound Gutters

Round 3 of the Bourbon Cup the Beards were slated with a re-match with the Nippon Nightrunners. Their previous meeting ended with a 2-1 Beard victory, but this time around the Nightrunners sported a much more developed squad, as well as adding a Rat Ogre to the roster. Also, the losing days of the Nightrunners were no more as they came into the match with a two win streak.

The Beards received to start, and managed to secure the ball and bring it to midfield. Aliyah Fafnin drastically changed the contest Turn 2, when she managed to drop the Nippon Rat Ogre, Warpfang. The match-up didn’t favor Aliyah, but she just managed to throw a block to the jaw of the beast that forced the medical staff to intervene. Warpfang would return, but it would be in the following drive. The Beards continued to advance the ball, gradually gaining a number advantage. Turn 3 Slayer Arngrimm Addar sent Nippon Thrower Skreetch “Jazzail’ Long Claw into the stands, and he wouldn’t return to the match. Arngrimm was shortly after also sent into the stands by Gaz Stinksnout. Turn 5 the Nightrunners made their move and managed to find a chink in the Beard cage, sending Praz through a gap and dropping Belli Bonnlinn. The ball on the ground with Gutters nearby, the Beards needed to quickly re-establish their position. They managed to do so, but spent Turn 6 gaining little to any ground. This meant that Turn 7 Belli had to make a run for the endzone, knowing that the rats would be in position to drop him. Belli bolted free of the scrum, and the Nightrunners came, but somehow Belli still stood after the hit. The rats swarmed in, and it looked like the path to the endzone was gone, but for undefended Hurgran Huldek in scoring range. Belli dodged away from the rats, and just reached Hurgran, handing him the ball. Hurgran turned upfield and made it in for the score Turn 8.

The Nightrunners received to start the 2nd Half and immediately went on an aggressive offensive. They saw the central gap in the Beard defense and pushed to form the cage at midfield of the Beard half. By the end of turn all the pieces were in place with Ikit Blackshadow behind a formidable screen. Arngrimm Addar was in range for a shot, and he dropped Ikit sending the ball to the ground, but with Gutter Runners all around waiting to scoop it up the following turn. It appeared like Nippon should be able to recover the ball and run it in for the score, but the Gutter Runners uncharacteristically struggled to dodge away, scoop up the ball, and take it in. The Beards capitalized on the error, recovered the ball, caged up, and slowly made their way down the field for the Turn 8 score.

Coach Buck Comments:

“A lot went our way this time around. I feel like this was a much different game than the previous time we met. The score may look more one-sided, but this time it felt like Nippon was always still in it. When we took out Warpfang early, I thought it was going to be a runaway victory, but dang they sure didn’t play that way. We got caught out of position when they dropped Belli, and that easily could’ve turned into points for Nippon. Then Belli having to take off solo - we should not have scored our half. They also were real close going for that 1 Turn attempt. 2nd half, I knew that Arngrimm was up to the task to drop that carrier, but I was more worried they would still just pick it up, and run it in. They really should have, but for those strange errors. From there they still chased getting another shot at our carrier turn 8. They didn’t go quietly. Tough match from a team that’s really earned our respect.

Bourbon Cup Round 4 (Finals):Beards Win Bourbon Cup Over Karag Dum

The Bourbon Cup of Season 9 was set between the Box Elder Beards (8/1/1), and the Karag Dum Doomkillers (6/0/4). A primary storyline coming into the match was the absence of Star Ogre, Kolgform Hackchunk, who was injured their previous match with the Doubtsplained Dispoilers. Karag Dum elected to hire Max Spleenrippa in his absence, but the lack of Kolgform can’t be overlooked.

The Beards Belli Bonnlinn received to start the match, and were working their standard offensive strategies when Karag Rat Ogre Warpfang forced everything out of the Beard playbook. By turn two the Rogre had managed to push Horg “The Heavy Thing” into contact with their carrier, with Warpfang only an arm’s length away. The Beards worked to recover and Slayer Arngrimm Addar became the answer, as he’s been all season fighting bigs. He managed to stun Warpfang, but the moment the Beast had recovered he maimed Arngrimm off the pitch. The Beards pressed on attempting to position to take a flank, but in no time at all Warpfang had once again cleared the way, finishing the turn in contact with the carrier, with Horg rumbling in to mark Belli as well. The Beard staff looked on from the sideline grimly, knowing this was not going according to plan. Buck Ballwaen was forced to throw a solo block on Horg, and miraculously dropped the Troll where he stood. Warpfang was blitzed away, and Belli had breathing room to try and solidify the cage closer to the sideline. Warpfang wasn’t done. Karag managed to free him, and the Rogre took out another cage corner and was once again standing nose to nose with Belli Bonnlinn with his menacing tail looming overhead. Again, the Beards knew this was a precarious situation as several Doomkillers lurked nearby anxious to see Belli dropped. Hurgran Huldek’s number was called, and he dodged away from a mark, and hurled his body into the chest of Warpfang, doing enough to force the Rogre to take a step backward, while Belli seized the moment and sprinted toward the endzone. For the second game in a row, Belli found himself down field with no support, within the reach of the opposition. Karag positioned an assist and brought Lineman Krash on the blitz, but as he approached for the hit Belli threw out a stiff palm to his nose dropping him where he stood. The failed blitz completely changed the tempo of the game. The following turn the Beards managed to free Belli and remove another 2 Doomkillers. Belli scored turn 8. The removals forced Karag to field Max Spleenrippa for turn 8 of the half, getting him ejected the following turn.

The Doomkillers managed to field a squad of 10 for the second half, and attempted to score quickly with a troll throw, but their goblin Grotzag crash landed and wasn’t able to recover from the impact. From there the Beards managed to recover the ball and work their way down the field for a less suspenseful score turn 8 by Hurgran Huldek.

Coach Buck Thoughts:

Sometimes you play well, and sometimes you get lucky. We supremely underestimated the abilities of Warpfang, and he punished us for it as hard as any single player has this season. He made this into a Championship match. The ability of him to push our players around and leave himself or his pushing buddy Horg near our carrier was incredibly effective. There were so many instances in this match where we shouldn’t have gotten away with the things we did, but you gotta be proud of the guys for making the plays they needed to when they needed to make them. There was a big momentum shift too once Belli stood his ground against that blitz. It was like our guys got a shot of adrenaline, while their crew started to lose hope. That shift started to show up as we saw more and more of the Kurgran crew head to the sidelines. Again, proud of the guys, and not looking forward to the next time we have to face Warpfang and Horg. Lucky we didn’t have the chance to meet Kolgform yet.

FA Cup Round 1: Thinned Smashers Fall to Beards

For Round 1 of the FA Cup the Box Elder Beards were set to face off with the historic NWBL Fleetwood Smashers. The Smashers team came in short of several of their marquee names after a violent season 9. Specifically of note, just 2 games prior, they played the Coal Butte Boozers to a win that cost them 3 of their players lives, including Legendary Blitzer, Blaze. Still of note though on the Smasher roster, fans were excited to Star Catcher, Cali, and Star Thrower Penelope still with all the fighting spirit to make a run against the rookie season Beards. Box Elder arrived with a healthy roster, but a good deal of apprehension as to the abilities of the aforementioned star duo.

The Smashers won the toss and elected to kick, leaving Cali on the bench for the opening defensive drive. The Beards recovered the ball quickly, and set to work mashing into the human defense. Here the Fleetwood staff employed an odd strategy of leaving their players prone for several turns instead of risk trading blows with the heavy handed Beards. This made the offensive drive relatively uneventful as the Beards gradually moved the ball forward while taking their hits with Arngrimm Addar and Bim Bonnlinn. While the Beards progressed the ball well, they weren’t able to do any significant damage to the Smashers. Instead Smasher Blitzer Butch drew first blood putting a shoulder into the ribs of Arngrimm while he was exposed, and the alarming crunch of bones breaking was enough to send Arngrimm out for the remainder of this match and the next - even after the medical staffs efforts. Still, the Beards pressed on, evening out the removals when Dalammer Dungrath slammed Bert to the turf, only to be brought back with medical intervention. Belli Bonnlinn jogged into the endzone turn 8.

The final turn of the half many of those in attendance rose to their feet to see the lithe and muscled form of Legendary Catcher, Cali, take the field. The audience held their breath as they watched her duck and dive within the scrum aided by her teammates, then to catch a perfectly thrown pass from Penelope, and sprint towards the end zone with a line of Beards standing guard. She covered the distance with ease, made it to the line of defenders and vaulted herself into the air, soaring end over end. The landing looked clear, but as she came out of her tuck, a Beard hand reached up and grasped an ankle, slamming her into the ground like a club. Cali did not get up, medical staff reported she would play again, but not in this match. The Smasher fans were silenced as they watched their squad head to the locker room at half with heads hung down.

Penelope roused the squad for the second half. She received the ball and retreated to scan the defense looking for holes. The Smashers managed to put the boot to a Beard lineman and take the numbers advantage early. The Beards stayed patient and attempted to win the scrum, but the contest was rough as the Humans fought with tenacity and wouldn’t go easily. Box Elder gradually started to pressure the ball, and Penelope was forced to make her move, sprinting up field and attempting a pass to lineman Looper, who fumbled the ball. The ball fell into the unsuspecting hands of Smasher Blitzer Bart, but the Beards were too close and in the ensuing turn were able to drop him. The ball took an Beard bounce and the match ended up with Buck Bellwaen scooping the ball up from the scrum and sprinting down the sideline to score 2-0.

Coach Buck Comments:

“This was our first real experience against the Super Stars you see at the higher divisions: the likes of Cali and Penelope. It makes it a different game to be sure. I don’t think we’re really built for that at the moment. Belli is a solid player, sure, but he’s nothing like Cali. She was in for one play and it's all anyone is talking about. I’d like to think that our more team based approach can be successful moving forward, but just the brief glimpse of what these players can do is concerning. Really worried about losing Arngrimm for the next round as well. He sets the tone for us with physicality. Without him, Bimm is our only true hitter. We’ll see how that pans out. We can say we beat the Smashers, yes, but after all their player losses it's hard to say we really beat
THE Smashers. Proud of the guys. Ready to see what the next round brings us.

TROPHY ROOM

Season 1


NWBL S9 - Bronze Division: Stannum Champion



NWBL S9 - Bourbon Cup Champions

PLAYERS

Share some of your special, really good, really bad, awfully terrible players here...

*** Did you know...

Replace with your own anecdote/fact:
Season tickets for Blood Bowl games can cost anything from 220 gold crowns for a Reikland Reavers cards, to a huge basket of iced buns for the Halfling Greenfield Grasshuggers team, to three chickens and a bag of rats for a lifetime of free Scarcrag Snivellers games!