[MIJB#19]

Futility Bowl IV Preview, Merchantmen First Time Favorites
It's an old story, but at least the Maassluis Merchantmen love to keep reminding people about the history of this matchup. Any game played against the Rochester Lake Monsters will be called Futility Bowl until the end of days, how good or bad both teams are.

The International House Of Football has three seasons of history and the Maassluis-Rochester match-up is one of few inter-divisional games that have been played in every single season so far. And by the luck of 2006 records, the two teams will meet again.

The name of the rivalry is as old as the league itself. The two teams from Maassluis and Rochester were called the instant favorites in the battle for last place in the IHOF. The Lake Monsters surprized with a 4-2 start and a 6-10 season end, while the Merchantmen fulfilled the prophecy and went a league worst 1-15.

There is a new feature into this sort-of rivalry as Futility Bowl IV is the first edition played at Rochester. The schedule makers planned all previous editions in Maassluis, which means the Lake Monsters' fans finally get to see the Merchentmen in their house.

Last season, the Merchantmen ended the losing streak with a 20-10 victory. Randy Harris ran for 159 yards and Louie Flannery passes for two scores to somewhat make the losses in earlier editions livable. The lake Monsters had won in shockers in 2004 (27-25) and 2005 (15-10).

The Lake Monsters don't have high hopes for their first Futility Bowl at home. Quarterback Jackie Williamson is still not 100% ready after knee surgery. The only hope they have in stand-in quarterback Eugene Westcott is that the Merchantmen fear him after getting written into the record books with a league worst defensive performance against him.

The Merchantmen are 2-0 and could be called favorites on paper, playing an 0-2 team. But the Merchantmen have injury issues themselves, missing star tight end Jim Reiser, All IHOF defensive tackle Charles Gomez, 100 tackles linebacker Ellsworth Thelen and new left tackle Ivan Jacques. Vegas gives the Lake Monsters a four-point handicap.

The entertainment factor in the rivalry has grown big time this past off-season. Both team saw landmark players return from injury. But where Maassluis worked hard to retain quarterback Fumblin' Justin McDavid, the Lake Monsters released guard Gene Simmons. The Merchantmen management called the Monsters' out for this lack of sentiments.

But the Lake Monsters quickly returned the favor. They snagged up free agent receiver Frederick Cabe and called rumors about trading tight end Jerry Aubrey back to Maassluis non-sense. And with reason, the Merchantmen traded Aubrey like a stack of old paper, trying to make sure they get at least something in return for the former All IHOF selection.

With a recent trade, the rivalry heated up even more as the Lake Monsters received left tackle Darrin Olive in trade. This was pretty ironic as Olive came to Maassluis in a trade that cost them left tackle Edgar Dunkin. Dunkin was acquired from Rochester in 2006. And then we fail to mention Harold Hurtado, which left tackle was traded from Rochester to Maassluis in 2004.

In the end, it's easy to point out the alumni on the other team's rosters. It seems the Merchantmen and Lake Monsters' managements have always had their eyes on the same players. This last draft, sentiments were back again as the Merchantmen traded up in the draft to take wide receiver Travis Joseph. Of course, they traded him for Jerry Beyer, but the Lake Monsters were not happy.

The latest story in the long list of incidents has been around another player. The IHOF has a tradition of nicknames, hence Justin McDavid being called Fumblin' Justin. The Merchantmen drafted Shaun Shiroma, why was issued by the Lake Monsters' management as should be nicknamed "My Sharona". The Merchantmen refused and the Lake Monsters have made comments about it recently.

For both teams this game could be a season make-or-break game. The Lake Monsters have never started worse than 4-2 and they would be 0-3 with a loss. The Merchantmen were 2-1 the past two seasons, but never won three games going into their open weekend. In the end, both teams aim for a playoff ticket and last season the Lake Monsters came one win short and still blame it on Futilty Bowl III...