[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen fend off Colonials in crazy victory
The Maassluis Merchantmen improved to 9-6 after a strange 34-24 victory over the Williamsburg Colonials. Interception returns and a kickoff return combined for the lion share of points, while inept play in the red zone, kept the Merchantmen from making things easier for themselves. The victory means the Paris Musketeers' result became irrelevant, as it maintains the prospective of a victory or tie making the Merchantmen division champions, while a lose in week 17 will drop them outside the playoffs.

With Brandon Bell still sidelined with a concussion, Moe Sheldon started for the third game in succession. A decent kickoff return made the field a bit shorter on the Merchantmen's first drive. Francisco Patter ran for 6 yards, Moe Sheldon for 7 yards and a first down, but a fourth and one attempt at the Colonials' 43-yard line failed. Punishment took almost 5 minutes as the Colonials drove downfield and scored on a 10-yard screen pass from Donovan Wagaman to Ernie Browning for a 6-0 lead after a failed extra point. Three and out was the Merchantmen faith and a face mask penalty put the Colonials near midfield and capable of quickly getting into fieldgoal range, only to see them miss the 45-yard kick to remain at 6-0 up. Patter then ran for 15-yard and 8-yard gains to end the first quarter with the Merchantmen trailing 6-0.

Third and short wasn't converted and the Merchantmen punt barely helped for field position purposes. Kirk Hitchcock was then called for unnecessary roughness, but set things right on the next play, picking Donovan Wagaman off for a huge 37-yard return well inside the Colonials red zone. Moe Sheldon returned the favor 3 plays later, throwing the ball into a Colonials' defensive end's hand. Still deep inside their own territory, the Colonials thought they were quickly moving upfield, until Riddick Newsome picked off a short pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdowns and a 7-6 lead. Archie Exner made a big sack on third and short to force the Colonials to punt, but Moe Sheldon continued in his struggle to reach Theodore Bondy in double coverage. The Merchantmen defense forced three and out, shortly after followed by Sheldon finding tight ends Renaldo Crawford for 21 yards and Jeffery Blake for 14 yards. Francisco made a 10-yard run on third and short to get into field goal range, while Sheldon kept connecting with various players to get closer and closer to the end zone. Reggie Thongchanh got tackled a yard short from the endzone, but Branden Sandlin made the touchdown catch on the very next play for a 14-6 lead. Donovan Wagaman found Dustin Orenstein for 30 yards and the Colonials though they would get into field goal range, yet their 59-yard kick missed wide to the left. Maassluis went into the break leading 14-6, despite feeling like they got outplayed.

The Colonials stormed out of the gates in the second half with a 9-play 63-yard touchdown drive, With Donovan Wagaman finding Ernie Browning for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Colonials went for a single to make it a 14-13 deficit. On an almost gone wrong play, Moe Sheldon connected with fullback Clay Brosseau for 33 yards to march into opposing ground, but a stuffed run pushed the Merchantmen outside of field goal range and went for pinning the Colonials at their 3-yard line. The Colonials barely made ground and Maassluis got the ball back at the 49-yard line. Sheldon found Theodore Bondy for 16 yards, Reggie Thongchanh ran for 11 yards and that turned out to be sufficient to set up the 38-yard field goal towards a 17-13 lead. The Merchantmen defense then got bailed out by the Colonials inabilty to play disciplined football and the ensuing punt got blocked and recovered at the 30-yard line.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Emmett Wells scored on a 41-yard field goal for the 20-13 lead. Merchantmen defense looked strong again on the next drive, but tight end Renaldo Crawford fumbled on a 20-yard catch and saw ex-Merchantmen Darien Stokes recover the loose ball. Three incomplete passes later, a 53-yard field goal was scored to give the Colonials the feeling they were stil in it, but kickoff returner Santiago Messenger responded with a 97-yard kickoff return to make it a 27-16 lead for the home team. The Colonials replied with a strong 9-play 72-yard drive completed with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Donovan Wagaman to running back Harris Gerhardt, then a two-point conversion to Gavin Johnston to make it 27-24. Reggie Thongchanh converted on third and one, but Theodore Bondy dropped a short pass on third and two, helping give the Colonials the ball back. Wagaman marched his team into Merchantmen territory lead by a 23-yard pass to Ernie Browning, into field goal range, but then a short pass got intercepted by defensive end Gene Kondovski, with two and a half minutes to go. The Merchantmen offense struggled to move the ball and made the Colonials burn their time outs. Wagaman lead his team forward once again, but at midfield his fourth interception of the day was there and Alexander Marty ran it 52 yards back for a 34-24 lead for the Merchantmen. In the final 21 seconds, the Colonials didn't even seriously try and the Merchantmen victory was there.

Offensively, the Merchantmen offense had little to be proud about. Moe Sheldon completed 14 of 28 passes for 141 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Especially his inability to reach Theodore Bondy (3 catches on 12 targets for 30 yards) were disappointing. Francisco Patter lead the running game with 55 yards on 13 carries.

Key numbers were on the defensive side with 4 interceptions for the Merchantmen, including touchdowns by the safeties Riddick Newsome and Alexander Marty. Especially the numbers for Kirk Hitchcock were interesting, as he was at the spot of a successful catch 11 times, which he responded to with 14 tackles and the first interception of the game.

Elsewhere in the league, the Paris Musketeers beat the Frederick Red Menace (3-12) 24-14, while the Gothenburg Giants won 20-16 at the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums (5-10). The Bordeaux Vineyards got crushed 52-24 by the Chesapeake Chitterlings, Corwin Blanchett threw 6 touchdown passes.

Standings:
1. Maassluis 9-6
2. Paris 9-6
3. Gothenburg 8-7
4. Bordeaux 6-9

Oranje Haven will be the place where the European Division title will be decided. The Maassluis Merchantmen will host the Paris Musketeers in a winner takes all game. In case of a tie, the Merchantmen will take the division title based on the week 7 victory in Paris. The loser will miss the playoffs as the conference has two second place teams with at minimum an 11-5 record. The winner might improve to the number three seed, depending on what the North Plainfield Plague will do in their last game. But the difference between the third and fourth seed will be marginal, either way the visiting wild card team will have a better regular season record.

Elsewhere in the league, the Hanalei Dragons kept their playoffs hopes alive, meaning in a best case scenario, the Merchantmen will get the #12 overall pick from their draft day trade in the off-season. But that's all just minor stuff in the grand scheme of things for the Merchantmen, right now all that really matters is beating Paris at home. Basically, the playoffs have already started.