[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen sneak into 2083 playoffs
The season continues, the Maassluis Merchantmen beat the Paris Musketeers 24-20 on the road and saw their two rivals for the last wild card both lose: the also fighting for their chances Atlanta Vipers beat the Houston Mustangs and the Tucker Tigers lost at the top seeded Orlando Talons. It turned out to be a fumble infested day, not just for the Merchantmen, but for four of five teams competing for the playoffs tickets. Only the Fort Wayne Fury kept their nerves under control and posted a smooth victory.

The Merchantmen didn't have their best start to a game. After giving up a solid kick return, the Paris Musketeers started close to midfield and with two strong catch and run plays marched into the red zone. The Merchantmen defense held ground and being 3-0 down was considered an acceptable outcome. A defensive battled followed, with Maassluis getting three-and-out-ed, but getting the ball back quickly after a 4-play drive. The short punt was returned well by the IHOF's best punt returner of this season, Gabe Broady, only to see him fumble, but the recently activated Kody Gowan saved the day. The Merchantmen line struggled to protect their quarterback and after a couple of hurried throws, Paris got the ball back already. A three-and-out by the Merchantmen defense came next, only to see their offensive line struggle again, quarterback Ellis McAlister got strip sacked and Paris found themselves inside field goal range. An unsportsmanlike penalty on quarterback Neil Poling drove the Musketeers back and made them settle for a 37-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead.

Just before the switch of ends, the Merchantmen offense finally got their engines going. Leonard Belin had a couple of 9-yard runs, while Theodore Bondy made the third down catch to start the second quarter on the Paris 27-yard line. Ellis McAlister wasted no time, his first throw of the quarter went into Bondy's hands and the IHOF's leading receiver extended the play from a short gain to a touchdown and a 7-6 lead. The Musketeers' running game got going as well, but the Merchantmen defense once again didn't break and Paris settled for a third field goal and a 9-7 lead. A quartet of strong runs from Raul Curie made the Merchantmen march into Paris' red zone, settling for a field goal and a 10-9 lead. The Musketeers started to struggle with the Merchantmen pass rush and saw their kicker miss a 49-yarder on the next drive. Anchored by a strong catch and run from tight end Monty Elliott, the Merchantmen marched into the red zone and saw Raul Curie bulldoze it into the end zone for a 17-9 lead. Neither team took much risks in their last drive before half time, setting the mid-game score at Maassluis 17, Paris 9.

Both teams offenses looked stronger in their first drives after the big break, but somehow failed to get points on the board, despite being close to field goal range. The clock was ticking away at high speed, with the Merchantmen finally breaking into field position where scoring looked inevitable. Until Ellis McAlister got sacked again, fumbled again, this time with Paris' Brady Heniger running it back for 71 yards and a game tying touchdown. The tied score got there as Neil Poling connected with Darrin Sheldon for the two-pointer: Maassluis 17, Paris 17.

In the fourth quarter, a field position battle ensued. The Merchantmen were slowly losing it, saw Raul Curie stuffed at their own 1-yard line. Newly signed punter Carlos Emmons pinned Paris back to their 36-yard line, but Neil Poling was unimpressed. Poling found Warren Teal for a 17-yard gain and on third and 4 threw it to a wide open Eugene Hamilton for a touchdown. The explosion of joy was cut short, as a holding penalty took the points back off the board. Perhaps distracted from the previous play, the next try for Poling ended up intercepted by rookie safety Bart Guthrie. The Merchantmen had taken momentum, now was the time to get things moving and take the lead. No such luck, the Paris Musketeers forced three-and-out, but so did the Merchantmen defense on the next drive. With just over 3 minutes to go, Ellis McAlister returned the interception throwing favor. Paris' Lee Lane picked off a pass intended for Theodore Bondy. Maassluis' Glen Stiegler sacked Neil Poling on the next play, but Poling replied with a long third down conversion to get into field goal range. Erik Sharder sacked Poling on third down, but with 89 second to go, Paris took a 20-17 lead.

With time running out, the word spread amongst the Merchantmen players of the scores elsewhere in the league, both teams that Maassluis needed to lose (Houston and Tucker) were losing, there was still a chance. Ellis McAlister found Nicholas Gundy for a 7-yard gain, throwing away from the double covered deep going Theodore Bondy. On the next play, the other tight end Monty Elliott turned a 6-yard catch into a 29-yard gain, field goal range was reached. That is to say, if the Merchantmen actually remember there's such a thing as a field goal, they threw away the game at the Orlando Talons by forgetting all about it. The pressure was on, McAlister had to throw the ball away on first down. On second down, rinse and repeat: a defensive end was closing in on McAlister and the quarterback threw the ball away, avoiding another sack. Third and ten, 39 yards from the end zone, two time outs remaining. Maassluis lined up in a running formation, but both wide receivers on each side of the field went off for a deep run. Theodore Bondy got double coverage on the right side, but Artie Blazewicz was out running his cornerback on the left side. The line was holding, McAlister buys some time, launches the ball... Touchdown, Merchantmen! Blazewicz. The kick was good, Maassluis goes up 24-20, with only 10 seconds remaining.

Chance Arnold's kickoff then is deep enough to get the touchback. Paris goes for a hail mary formation, but the Merchantmen defense is unimpressed. Defensive tackle Glen Stiegler finds his way through the offensive line and forces Neil Poling to throw the ball away, not realizing the clock has reached all zeroes. Maaasluis has won, the narrow escape is still possible. Word from Atlanta comes in, the Vipers have beaten the Houston Mustangs 34-26, that's one opponent down. The Tucker Tigers are down 30-10 in Orlando, with 3 minutes left to play. Orlando wastes time and goes for the punt. The Tigers then get aggressive, trying to get back, but with a minute to go, Randy Winters' pass gets picked off and run back for a touchdown. The nail in the coffin. Tucker doesn't even call time out anymore. Games over, the Maassluis Merchantmen sneak into the playoffs!

It means an up-and-down season for the Merchantmen continues past week 17. Next up, a trip to the Fort Wayne Fury, the fourth seeded Deep South winners. A team not to be underestimated, despite their 10-6 record. The Fury's quarterback Josue Olivares has the league's highest passer rating, leaning heavily on his league leading completion percentage and a 31:7 touchdown-vs-interception ratio. With the team they have, reaching the playoffs wasn't the goal for this season at all, but having come from a 6-7 record and 2 wins behind the wild card spots, being amongst the twelve teams left standing is proof this team has found a way to come back from behind and achieve the seemingly impossible. The one game at a time approach might be key, and given this stage of the season, is the only way to approach it.