[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen repeat: winless after two weeks
The Maassluis Merchantmen continued their 2088 campaign with a deficit. Just like last season, the Merchantmen have lost their first two games of the regular season, this time falling 29-7 at the Outer Banks Ospreys. Yardage production was closer and better, the scoreboard didn't feel much about it.

The first Merchantmen drive started with back to back Reggie Thongchanh runs, getting the starter role back. Francisco Farley found Theodore Bondy on third down to move the chains. Still in Maassluis territory, a huge third down throw for 33 yards to Branden Sandlin got they near the red zone. Only to see Thong' fumble this opportunity into Ospreys' claws. Luckily, the Ospreys did very little with their first possession, turning it over on downs after a failed fourth down attempt. Maassluis quickly got back to midfield as Thong' ran for 13 yards. A set of Thong' runs for 9, 13 and 8 yards set up for a field goal, but the rookie shanked the 42-yarder. Outer Banks' off-season acquisition quarterback Dexter Hutton threw for 23 yards to Chance Seelig to get his birds into Maassluis territory and despite that he got sacked in the red zone, connected with Malachi Pierson for 17 yards for the 7-0 lead with just 1 minute to go in the first quarter.

Although the Merchantmen seemingly slowly but steadily moved upfield early in the second quarter, they were forced to punt and failed to pin their opponents deep. The Merchantmen defense struggled to stop the run, allowing Korey Rose to make several big gains - Heath Oliver and Craig McCorkle surely are being missed. On third and 13, Rose finally for stopped just in time, making it 10-0 Outer Banks after the 33-yard field goal. Francisco Farley wasn't doing all that bad, the Merchantmen got the chains moving, but not enough to avoid punting. A crazy 53-yard throw from Hutton to Pierson got Outer Banks in the red zone and two plays later the 17-0 score was on the score board. Farley showed his strides, scrambling for 13 yards and finding Sandlin for 26 yards (a play called back for holding), then Bondy for 9 yards. To no avail, rookie Wells added a 49-yard misser to his resume to end the first half.

While running kept working for the Ospreys in the second half, a sack from Jumbo Mojica and a defended pass by Alexander Marty forced the home team to punt. Pinned at their own 1-yard line, Maassluis was in trouble. A somewhat surprised crowd saw Moe Sheldon play at quarterback for the Merchantmen in the second half. A penalty and a Thong' run moved Maassluis slowly away from their end zone, but Sheldon took his first sack of the season to force the punt. The Merchantmen defense forced three-and-out, but Maassluis got pinned deep again at their 5-yard line. Sheldon found Theodore Bondy for 16 yards, but it was way too little to even sniff at Outer Banks turf. The Merchantmen defense seemed to get the ball back, but yet another big punt placed Maassluis back at their own 1-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

And just like that it was 19-0 Outer Banks. Reggie Thongchanh got tackled in the end zone on the first play of the drive. The spirit was clearly broken as 4 plays later, Dexter Hutton found Chance Seeling for a touchdown and a 26-0 lead. Francisco Patter ran for 24 yards, Sheldon found Randy Holliday for 17 yards, Renaldo Crawford for 24 yards and eventually Santiago Messenger in the end zone. With just under nine minutes to go, 26-7, was it still feasible? The Ospreys started to get cocky and Alexander Marty picked off Dexter Hutton's deep throw in the end zone. Moe Sheldon replied with 27 yards to Theo Bondy, but near midfield the Merchantmen were stalled and decided to punt. Switched to time wasting mode, Outer Banks left just over 3 minutes on the clock for Maassluis. Sheldon got picked off on the second play. The Ospreys burnt all of Maassluis' time outs and kicked to a 29-7 lead. Sheldon found Crawford for 23 yards, Messenger for 16 yards, but on fourth and 10 the 8 yards to Bondy were insufficient. Hutton dropped to the 29-7 victory.

Some contrast to week one as Maassluis put on more of a fight on offense, but most of that came in the fourth quarter. Although apparently as planned, the replacement of Francisco Farley at half time with Moe Sheldon saw a change in dynamics of the Merchantmen offense. Farley is establishing a preference for Branden Sandlin, while Sheldon likes to connect with the for Merchantmen standards underdeveloped tight ends. Bondy is third in the league with 22 receptions, but with a mind-blowing 4 yards per target, still 6 yards per catch. Most importantly, the Merchantmen are sitting 0-2, but due to other results within the division, they're just 1 win (and tie-breakers) behind the two French teams. A fourth straight division title is mathematically still very much possible.

But to even start thinking about that, the Merchantmen will have to find ways to win football games. The pass defense is ridiculously bad, very much not in line with the talent still remaining. The passing game on offense is league worst. The special teams unit has fallen from cream of the crop to Merchantmen unworthy, one of the worst in the league. Sure, two games is no sample size, but it is what it is. Improvement is needed and it's not understatement. Next up a couple of home games. Maybe playing in Oranje Have will turn things around? Starting with a game against the Lake Monsters, a team the Merchantmen love to feast on...