FOF High School Challenge: Spartans, year 2

[revrew]

This is the second season for this dynasty, a challenge using house rules applied to the FOF engine to simulate the high school experience. For season one, and for a synopsis of the rules that create this challenge, see the first season here: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=33350&page=1&pp=50 or, link from my signature line below.

In a dream season fit for a Hollywood film, the reborn Mar-Mac Spartans won the state championship in their first season. Though a few of the stars remain from that dream season, Mar-Mac will have to break in a new quarterback, new receivers, a new fullback, and a new secondary leader this year. If the juniors step up, Mar-Mac will be in the hunt again. If not...

[revrew]

Black means a graduated senior whose shoes we'll need to fill
Blue means he'll be a senior
Red means he'll be a junior
Green means he'll be a sophomore

QB Starter:
Lincoln Ingram - Our first great hero. Off to U. of Connecticut.

QB Reserves:
Marco Ballard – Very solid on third down, with significant potential. Still, he's a step down from Ingram.
Trevor Castor – Also capable, will give Ballard a run for the money if he develops faster
We'll be content with what we have here, but we also need to consider the future

HB Starter:
J.B. Chapman – All around very solid back. Needs to break out of his shell and shine.

HB Reserves:
Hunter Banks – Not all that impressive all the way around, but explosive YPC ratings makes him promising as change-of-pace weapon.
Al Kemp – A poor man's Chapman
Phil Larrimore – Decent overall runner.
This position should be a real strength for us this year, but we have no future at all. We may draft this position high.

FB Starter:
Brant Eppbright – Alas, parting is just plain sorrow. Eppbright is off to play for LSU.

FB Reserves:
Cole Everett – Fantastic on short yardage, but YPC and catching pales compared to Eppbright. Not a star.
We got Eppbright in the third. In our FB-heavy offense, I'm not afraid to draft third again if a star is there.

TE Starter:
Seth Hackett – Led state in TDs last year, a TE 700+ receiving yards. He can block, too. Thrilled to have him back.

TE Reserves:
Chester Whitfield – Solid, capable. Glad to have him available.
Heath Rosario – Good riddance.
Not an immediate need position, nor a priority for us

WR Starters:
Tom Lewis – Hate to lose a good possession guy.
Jake Gilmore

WR Reserves:
Gerald Byrne – Our primary big play threat
Wendell Gabriel – Can take Byrne's place, but doesn't belong starting
Korey Youssef – There goes our special teams…
Quentin Hastings – 3rd round bust
We really need help here, and we might go late first round if the WR is there

C Starter:
Bryce Blackwell – Was a solid cog in the machine

C Reserves:
Jeffrey Boyer – He'll do
Lewis Walker – If he'll hurry up and develop, he could be the man. Exciting potential in run, pass, and stamina, but we need him to mature.
We look good for the future

G Starter:
Jimmie Stenerud – This'll hurt. Stenerud leaves to play guard for a small, faith-based college.
Justin Burroughs – Very solid, especially on passing. Burroughs is light, but has good footwork and mechanics.

G Reserve:
Eugene Erickson – A big run-blocker who we look forward to watching.
Charles Bohlinger – A fantastic leverage man who is small enough to pull and strong enough to push people around. He's still very green and has yet to see significant action.
We look very good here.

T Starter:
Martin Emerson – He's good at protecting our QB's backside, but don't try to run behind him
Tito Sampson

T Reserves:
Frankie Deering – Gets pushed around too much and gives up too many sacks
Bart McKenzie – We might need help at this position.
We could definitely use some upgrading, and I'll have my eyes peeled in the first few rounds

DT Starter:
Sam Lewis – Had very solid numbers last year and has great upfield speed. We need him to get to the QB and make plays while holding on to his tackle production.
Morris Strickland – Don't let his smallish size fool you, he's a capable tackler and bursts into the backfield like a bull in a china shop. We will be very strong at this position

DT reserves:
JJ Beverly
Danny Cushing – A meatloaf of a young man who nonetheless isn't very effective. He did, however, get a key sack in the championship game.
These guys are young, and the bedrocks of a stellar defense. I may hunt for sleepers late to give us depth.

DE Starter:
Kennedy Eisenbraun – He does it all, and if he can lay off the injury juice will be one of Mar-Mac's all-time greats
Eddie Frederick

DE Reserves:
Paul Turner
Benjamin Gaines – Don't let his youth make you optimistic. He sucks.
I wish I could address our lack of depth here, but we may just have too many other draft priorities.

LB Starters:
Bubba Porter – Injured all last year, but looks to move to OLB and be a playmaker next year.
Rondell Mummert – A massive LB that excelled at making plays. Will likely move to MLB and hopefully continue to shine
J.R. Christensen – He led us in tackles last year, and one more year of development should make him decent. We may have a powerful LB corps, now that they're maturing.

LB Reserves:
Wayne Jacobs – Did an admirable job filling in for Porter last year. Still, he's better off on the bench.
Bart Hall
Donnie Smith – Will never be better than C-
Rob Hanks – Yep, he's bad too
Though it was a weakness last year, this group improves this year. We'll look to add something in the draft, and I'll be tempted early to grab one of the top prospects. Somebody hold me back; we just have too many other needs to fill.

CB Starters:
Julio Perez – State Championship hero who was capable on special teams, too
Sean Vetter – Fast, dynamite youngster with potential through the roof. C'mon, develop, baby.

CB Reserves:
All seniors, so Vetter is our only returner.
A big need for depth. On the other hand, if we draft a shutdown to play opposite Vetter, we would have a mind-blowing secondary.

S Starters:
Roosevelt Clements: A stud fading to injuries, he'll walk on at a small, private college.
Hunter Flynn – Hardly better than a B safety, but picked everything in sight last year. Can he do it again? Doubt it.

S Reserves:
Nick Garrison
Patrick Hall – Not impressive enough in coverage to be the man I want, but he's not a slouch, either. Fast, with special teams and big play capability.
We need depth, and we need to look to the future, but can I afford to draft here? Will probably wait for a late steal.

We also lose both of our capable kickers to graduation. I may look at a kicker if I can get a stud late in the fourth or fifth, but otherwise, we may just make do with after-draft scraps.

Comments:
We have some great strengths to look forward to next year—D-line, Hackett, our emerging linebackers. But we also have glaring holes where we graduated everybody. We've got no WRs, almost no CBs, our RBs are all old, and I want to find another Eppbright. Many of our great players have no one to play on the other side of them (Vetter, Eisenbraun, etc.). The big question that will determine our fate is how well these QBs will play. If Ballard becomes another Ingram, we will push for a state title again. If not, we might have to settle for contending for the UMVC championship.

[revrew]

According to house rules, I get to trade up to three players for draft picks, in order to build up my freshman class.

The first trade offer came in for G Jimmie Stenerud. He was definitely one of those we planned to trade, and we landed a mid-3rd rounder for him.

Then, we went shopping. We could have gotten a late first round for Lincoln Ingram, but we found a deal that gave us top pick in the 2nd and 4th for him and took it. I've had a lot of success in the second, so I liked this trade.

Now, only one more to go. We shopped Roosevelt Clements and Brant Eppbright, and discovered Eppbright had the greater value. We swapped him and a sixth for a mid-third.

This gives us a heckuva draft class. (hmmm, I'm still debating whether trading 3 is too many….)

We sit with:
1 (36)
2 (1)
2 (36)
3 (15)
3 (19)
3 (36)
4 (1)
4 (36)
5 (36)
7 (36)

These picks (plus rookie URFA's) will be our next freshman class!

Now, cut all players with 5 years experience, zip right past free agency, sign our RFA's until their senior year, and hit the draft.

[revrew]

Draft Strategy:

Something I've learned already about this challenge is that I'm even more free to draft best talent available, because every roster spot will be cleared within 4 years. Drafting for need isn't nearly as important, because I just can't hope to have top talent at every position. I've got to get the best I can get with the few options I have (since free agency and veteran players are against house rules).

Here's my projected thoughts on this draft:

Sitting with back-to-back picks at the end of the first, I expect most of the top DEs and OTs will be gone. There might be a DT that falls, but that's low on my priority list. The most likely scenario is that I will be able to instantly shore up my secondary with a studly safety and a solid CB. If a solid WR falls that far, I'll have to consider that as well.

At the end of the second, there will probably be a solid LB prospect, maybe a RB prospect, and almost certainly a FB worth considering.

Three picks in the third means I can gamble on a WR, RB, or FB, gobble up more secondary help, maybe even take an overlooked lineman. In my experience, the third and fourth round leave plenty of LB long shots hanging around, while solid guards are always available. A specialist DE might be there, either run stuffer or pass rusher. In my experience with FOF, the run-stuffing DEs aren't good for anything, while the pass rushers will always do their job, so I may shore up my lines in the third.

If I can find special teams help with either of my picks in the fourth, I'll probably go for it. A CB or WR with return skills, or—especially with the last pick—if a studly kicker hangs around, I'll grab him. Anything else at this point will probably be depth and need picks.

[revrew]

Draft results:

The first round saw a run on LBs, eliminating all but role players for later—that's fine.
As I suspected, the top WRs went early.
Unfortunately, there is no Brant Eppbright in this draft, meaning our offense will have to be tweaked next year.

There was, however, as I had hoped, a shut-down corner available, and he makes an easy first-round pick:
1 (36) CB Casy Vaughn

I was disappointed in the talent available here. This wasn't a great draft year (unless you're looking for kickers). There was, however, a tackle that slipped through the cracks. He probably wouldn't be worth this pick in other drafts, but I'm pleased to fill need with respectable talent.
2 (1) OT Joel Pineda

A run on DEs in the second wiped the board nearly clean. Only one starter left on the board, and he isn't worth this pick. I'd rather take him in the third...
I have my eye on a RB, but he's rated low enough by the board to wait…
There's a glut of fair WRs, but are any worth a 2nd round pick? Eventually, I give in to the run. I know I'm going to kick myself later…
2 (36) DE Joel Burkhammer

Now in the third, I'm free to take those players I was eying, but unsure of earlier.
3 (15) WR Kelly Stevens
3 (19) RB Ernie Bernal

The best kickers were snagged before our back-to-back picks at this spot. But thinking special teams, we have a punter and a kick returner worth considering. There's also some LB's and a leftover WR to watch. I check the board, see the KR is rated very poorly, so we go with:
3 (36) P Preston Kane
4 (1) LB Darrin Banks

At the end of the fourth, we couldn't pass up a TE that fell through the cracks. We don't really need one, but we couldn't pass
4 (36) TE Louie Robbins

A long-shot FB with potential fell here, and we liked him just enough to gamble
5 (36) FB Blake Cochran

"Mr. Insignificant" will be anything but, as that KR we liked way back in the 4th dropped way off the board. We needed a safety, and someone to return kicks. Here's a two-fer deal:
7 (36) S Clifton Powell

Next step: sign all the URFA's that we need to fill the roster and hit training camp!

[revrew]

We had 61 kids try out for the team this year. Unfortunately, we only have the ability to suit up 53. Of our incoming freshmen, the following appeared the most promising after training camp:

CB Casey Vaughn – A defensive glove who also covers the run with a tenacious tackling ethic. He didn't make many big plays in camp, but the receivers opposite him didn't either. He will likely start as a freshman for us.

P Preston Kane – This kid has a booming leg. If he develops accuracy, he could be a Div I player.

OT Joel Pineda – A big, strong kid who will anchor the line when his skills match up with his size.

LB Darrin Banks – He'll be on the bench for now, but he's shown the play-making ability to star.

RB Ernie Bernal – Ernie joins a deep bench of talented backs, but looks like he'll start after the current batch of seniors graduates.

Of our returning players, the following made huge leaps:

C Lewis Walker – The sophomore figured before camp to wait his turn behind a junior starter, but with his play in camp, he's easily our #1 snapper.

G Eugene Erickson – Another sophomore to take a big leap, he makes the third of three very talented guards for us.

DE Kennedy Eisenbraun – A junior now, he may be the best all-around DE in the state.

CB Sean Vetter – We've been anxiously awaiting the development of this speedy kid. The wait is over. Now only a sophomore, he'll be a dominant force in the UMVC.

[revrew]

Preseason Scrimmage #1: Win, 33-21
Our passing game was anemic, and statistically we didn't look too hot—but big plays won it for us again. Freshman "Mr. Insignificant" Clifton Powell ran back 102-yard kickoff return for a TD, pickmeister Hunter Flynn ran an INT back 73 yards for a score, freshman DE Joel Burkhammer led the sack attack with 1.5, and freshman placekicker Harvey Hillman booted 4-for-5 with 3-for-3 on the PAT.

Preseason Scrimmage #2: Win, 20-14
The score does not reflect how powerfully we stomped this team. The running game uncorked, Chapman racing for 120+, Hackett showed up big, and the sack attack smothered our opponent. We ran 89 plays to their 46. Notes for concern, however, our weak right tackle (Deering) keeps giving up sacks, and rookie CB Casy Vaughn got torched.

Preseason Scrimmage #3: Win, 14-10
If preseason means anything when the regular season begins, we know this much: our passing game will be our Achilles' heel. It's just not there. But Chapman popped off again this game, giving us hope for the running attack. Defensively, we're all about the sack. We've got some cover boys in the secondary, and our D-line can hit you so many different ways. So far, our defense has been impressive, but I'm awfully worried about our inability to move the ball in the air. Also on a sour note, our placekicker is highly erratic. We've set "go for it on 4th" up to 68…

Preseason Scrimmage #4: Win, 13-10
Hurray for the D! We have several of the same characteristics as last year: third down efficiency, few penalties, ball control. Coach is determined to pound away with our solid interior O-line and our glut of running backs. I suspect that will prevent us from winning it all, but I agree with him that it's our best chance of winning in general.

[revrew]

North Iowa Times
Spartans Win, Lose Eisenbraun
McGREGOR – The defending state champion Mar-Mac Spartans came out of the gate with a 22-11 victory over visiting Charles City Friday night. The Spartans were led by second-string QB Trevor Castro, who entered the game following an injury to the starting QB and who completed 19 of 26 passes for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns.

The Spartans got an exceptionally strong effort from their freshmen, including a 54-yard opening kickoff return and a later touchdown reception by freshman WR Daniel Schwartz. Freshman safety Clifton Powell contributed an interception and fumble recovery, while freshman DE Joel Burkhammer tallied two sacks.

The Spartans received some crushing news following the game, however, as star DE Kennedy Eisenbraun's third-quarter injury was ruled a partially torn ACL by local doctors. Eisenbraun will likely face surgery and will miss at least 2 months of play.

[revrew]

QB Trevor Castro played exceptionally well, heating up the already hot quarterback controversy. Starting QB Marco Ballard has been injured twice already this season. Though he'll play next week, he'd better impress me or Castro might take over this offense.

Our offensive line—a unit that should be a strong suit this year—played abysmally in this game, limiting RB J.B. Chapman to 1.4 yards per carry. Especially with Eisenbraun down for 2-3 months, that MUST change.

Next week, we play UMVC rival Cresco-Notre Dame, a passing team with solid wide receivers and an outstanding secondary. If we can't run against them, we won't win. Truthfully, however, we do have far superior talent.

[revrew]

Telegraph Herald
Former Mar-Mac QB Wows Out East
When Lincoln Ingram, the celebrated Mar-Mac quarterback who captained the Spartans to last year’s state 1A championship, began football practice for the University of Connecticut this summer, he had expected to sit on the sidelines, watching UConn’s senior quarterback lead the Huskies. On Saturday, however, when UConn's starting QB fell to injury, Lincoln Ingram was given the chance to play.

Ingram entered the game in the second quarter, with his team trailing, 28-3. Before the end of the first half, Ingram led his team to the endzone, throwing his first collegiate touchdown pass, and making the score 28-10. Before the final gun, Ingram threw three more touchdown passes, completed over 300 yards in passing, and brought his team just short, falling 38-30.

“It isn’t often a true freshman quarterback gets to play for a Division I team,” Ingram said after the game, “but (starting quarterback Daryn) Fisher’s injury put me on the spot. The rest of the team responded well and helped me succeed. I just wish I could have helped the team get a win, too.”

Ingram’s coach, Randall Miles said in a press conference afterward, “It might be the usual procedure to redshirt a freshman quarterback, or to bury him on the depth chart. But when we watched film of Ingram, we knew we had something special. In practice, he earned his spot on the depth chart, and today you saw that.”

When asked if Ingram would get the start next week in light of the starting quarterback’s injury, coach Miles said, “If the injury sidelines Fisher, Ingram has shown he’s ready to play.”


FB Brant Eppbright plays for LSU, but he has yet to see his first action.

G Jimmie Stenerud plays for Wartburg College here in Iowa and has seen limited action as a reserve.

[revrew]

North Iowa Times
Flynn Picks a Win for the Spartans
CRESCO – Last year’s interception leader, Hunter Flynn of the Mar-Mac Spartans, won all-state defensive player of the week for his perfomance Friday night. Flynn intercepted three passes and ran two back for scores (32,42), providing his team’s only touchdowns on their way to a 20-10 win over the Cresco-ND Crusaders.

[revrew]

Well, that’s a way to win! You da man, Flynn!
Our offense totally sputtered in this game, gaining a mere 10 first downs. Our defense, on the other hand, held Cresco to 1.4 yards per carry, picked the ball 4 times, and recorded 6 sacks (without Eisenbraun!). Nonetheless, our offense was buried and humiliated. Chapman was mediocre at best, starting QB Marco Ballard went down to injury after one pass (methinks he might be done as our starting QB), and once again, our O-line didn’t bother blocking anyone.

It looks like this team is the flip opposite of last year’s offensive powerhouse. Our defense is our backbone, led by Hunter Flynn (10 tackles, 3 INT, and 2 TD in this game), our stellar DTs (2.5 sacks in this one), freshman DE Joel Burkhammer (yet another sack for the frosh), and do-it-all LB Rondell Mummert. “The Mummy” is our huge MLB that we play DE on passing downs in the absence of Eisenbraun. Mummert recorded 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries, and a blocked pass.

On the injury front, we’re banged up. Eisenbraun is still gone long term (and though still dangerous, he will never be the all-star animal he once was, his numbers taking about a 10-pt drop in every category), QB Marco Ballard is gone 3-5 weeks (reserve Trevor Castro has put up good accuracy numbers, but horrendous yds per completion stats), and last year’s leading tackler, LB J.R. Christensen is gone 2-3 months with broken ribs.

Next week, our biggest rival: The Garnavillo Hawks, led by stellar RB Tyrell Lima and a defense that is among the most talented in the state. Last year, the Hawks were abysmal, despite their talent. So far this year, they’ve underperfomed as well. We’re going to need that trend to continue if we’re going to beat them next week.

UMVC Standings:
Valley of Elgin: 2-0
Mar-Mac: 2-0
Lansing: 1-1
North Winn: 1-1
Cresco-ND: 1-1
Garnavillo: 0-2

[revrew]

North Iowa Times
[B]Spartans’ Flynn Keys Victory Again[/I]
McGREGOR—Last week, Mar-Mac safety Hunter Flynn recorded three interceptions. This week, Flynn picked two more, putting his team in great field position for their 34-10 victory over Garnavillo Friday night.

Mar-Mac, last year’s offensive powerhouse and state champion, has relied largely on their defense to carry them to a 3-0 mark and the #8 ranking in the state. The Spartans defense, led by Flynn, linebacker Rondell Mummert, and a talented interior line held the normally explosive Garnavillo RB Tyrel Lima to only 47 yards rushing. Mar-Mac running back J.B. Chapman, meanwhile, had his best game of the season, rushing for 87 yards with one touchdown rushing and one receiving.

[revrew]

We won this game on field position, winning the turnover battle, and keeping penalties low. I LOVE our coach. He runs the kind of tight, efficient ship I’ve always dreamed of running if I ever coached H.S. ball.

TE Seth Hackett still hasn’t found the endzone, but he had a solid game for us, and now leads our team in receiving yards. Hunter Flynn’s 5 INTs in 3 games, (and 16 INTs in the last 19 games) makes me honestly believe our scout has totally missed the boat on him and we have a real gem. The linebackers played very solidly, despite missing last year’s tackle leader, J.R. Christenson.
On the injury front, add our killer DT Morris Strickland (jr) to the list, though he’ll only miss a couple of games. Unfortunately, the next game is against 2-1 Lansing, the squad that pushed us for the UMVC title last year. Lansing comes at us with a hot passing game, solid O-line protection, and a killer secondary. Thankfully, their best CB is down with injury, their D-line is woeful, so their best players in this game are the linebacking corps. Not a bad bunch, but the overall situation gives us hope. We should decimate their running game. I expect the performance of our secondary will determine the outcome of this game. Of course, unlike Garnavillo’s gosh-mom-howdy-awful coach, Lansing is led by a coach that gets the squad to excel.

[revrew]

North Iowa Times
Spartan Defense Dominates in Shutout
McGREGOR—Lansing was obliterated by the Mar-Mac Spartans Friday night, held to only 6 first downs by a defense that buried the Keehawks, 20-0. Once again, Spartan safety Hunter Flynn led the way, this time with 2 interceptions, making 7 in the last 3 games. His teammates added 3 more turnovers, 4 sacks, and held the Lansing runningbacks to less than 1 yard per carry.

The Spartans jumped off to a quick lead when an opening defensive stand followed by a 30-yard punt return set them up with great field position. Mar-Mac QB Trevor Castro hit TE Seth Hackett on two consecutive passes, setting up a quick 7-0 lead for the Spartans.

On Lansing’s next drive, Hunter Flynn’s first interception set the Spartans up for a short field goal. Lansing’s third drive began with a sack, and the rest of the game went from bad to worse for the Keehawks.

Mar-Mac, at 4-0, leads the Upper Mississippi Valley Conference standings and holds the #5 ranking in the state 1A standings.

[revrew]

Our special teams deserves a lot of credit for this win. On all three of our first three kickoffs, we buried the return inside the 20. Our “Mr. Insignificant,” safety Clifton Powell has had a fantastic return season thus far.

Our offense, however, remains inept, scoring no more than 22 points in any of our first three games. Something has to break loose for this squad. I love the D, but we’ve got to get some punch.

No new injuries, and our next opponent is out of conference. West Bend, at 3-1, has an outstanding QB who has never lived up to his potential. They have some stars, at OT, MLB, and Safety, but they also have holes all over the place. This is a good test for us: if we really are this good, we should win this game. But if we have glaring weaknesses, they will likely show up.

[revrew]

North Iowa Times
Spartans Sack West Bend but Lose Another Star
McGREGOR—You wouldn’t think it from looking at the score, 41-27, but the Mar-Mac Spartans were led to victory by their defense yet again. Two interception returns for touchdowns, one by Spartan star safey Hunter Flynn, proved the difference in the victory.

“You’d think other teams would learn not to throw certain routes,” said Flynn, who leads the state with 8 interceptions and three defensive touchdowns, “but #83 was eating us alive, and they just went to the well too many times.” Number 83 was West Bend receiver Allen Maynard, who had over 160 yards receiving in the game. “Many of these teams, I think, are trying to copy what we did last year,” said Flynn, “finding receivers on the quick to intermediate slants, but that’s right where I play as the strong safety. As long as teams keep tossing that route, I’m going to be in position to make a play.”

While defensive captain Hunter Flynn continues to excel, however, the rest of Mar-Mac’s leading players are taking a beating. The Spartans’ starting QB has sat out the last two games with an injury, their star defensive end is having arthroscopic knee surgery, and last year’s state touchdown leader, TE Seth Hackett, broke his tibia in Friday night’s game, essentially ending his season.

Which means the Spartans will need to find fresh faces that can step up and make plays. One of those faces, known as “The Mummy” by teammates, is LB/DE Rondell Mummert. The Mummy has 4.5 sacks so far this season, switching back and forth from middle linebacker to defensive end. “I’m big enough and bad enough to play both positions,” says Mummert, “anywhere they go, ‘the Mummy’ will wrap them up!”

[revrew]

Frustrated that our running game can’t get rolling, and bemoaning the recent injury of our most productive guard (Eugene Erickson), I’m looking at making a lineup change. Our sophomore center, Lewis Walker, looks all that, but he’s only converting 17% of his KRBO’s. The junior that was going to start ahead of him before camp, Jeffrey Boyer, is playing very well in limited action. I’m going to give Boyer a shot against our next opponent, the heretofore miserable Garnavillo Hawks.

The loss of Sackett is like a shot to the balls. If our offense was a little girly before this blow, we’re darn near castrated now. Our defense and special teams have outscored our offense this year, and I don’t care how good that D is, you gotta be able to put some points on the board if you want to win. The tight end role now falls to senior, Chester Whitfield. Chester is a solid player that I was thankful for before the season began. My level of gratitude may be going up.

Our matchup against Garny marks the return of two injured players: DT Morris Strickland and QB Marcus Ballard. The ineffectiveness of Castro (despite his 5-0 record) and the desire to jump start the offense leads me to give Ballard another shot. We’ll see…

The UMVC Standings:
Mar-Mac: 5-0
Valley of Elgin: 3-1
Lansing: 3-2
North Winn: 3-2
Garnavillo: 1-4
Cresco-Notre Dame: 1-4

[revrew]

Dear fans,
I regret to inform you that I must (yet again--sorry Des Moines Dragon readers) bring this dynasty to an end. The computer that housed FOF2K1 is being retired, taking my 2K1 with it. Even now I type this on my new laptop (YAY!), spelling the end of my 2K1 days and, alas, the Spartans.

In the not too distant future, however, armed with new technology and FOF2K4, new revrew dynasties may well emerge, and this time, their legacies shall not so quickly fade.

To Lincoln Ingram, the incomparable Brant Eppbright, Seth Hackett, and the deadliest pass interceptor in FOF history, Hunter Flynn...though the memory of you made fade from many, you shall always be remembered by the few as the Phoenix of Football, the State Champions, now and forever.