[MIJB#19]

General Manager notes: 2090 has begun, a win is a win!
How does it go in English, a good start is half the battle?

New season, new quarterback. Okay, technically Moe Sheldon isn't new, he's got 16 starts in 2 seasons prior with us, but this was the first time he got to start in week 1 for us. The opponents were the Bordeaux Vineyards, the division's last place team last season, in Oranje Haven. Sheldon started in this matchup in both previous seasons and both ended up in large victories (37-10 in '88 and 35-3 in '89), with Sheldon throwing for less than 200 yards per game, but accumulating 6 passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Prior to joining us, he also guided his previous teams (Rochester and Paris) to large victories over Bordeaux. Apparently a matchup that Sheldon really likes.

First quarter, Bordeaux has the ball first and our defense immediately forces three and out. Francisco Patter runs for 13 yards on the first play on our drvie to march into their territory, Moe Sheldon finds Theo Bondy for backu-to-vack 10-yard gains to nearly reach the red zone. Patter runs for 18 yards and a couple of plays later pounds it in from the 1-yard line: 7-0, Maassluis. Second Bordeaux possession, Gene Kondovski sacks Brad Nestor on second down, but they convert on third and long and toos it into our half. Then second and long, Nestor goes for a short pass to his tight end, but linebacker Clayton Jackson comes in between: first turnover of the game, Oranje Haven erupts. Sheldon finds Patter for 21 yards, Bondy for 26 yards, Patter for 11 yards and then Bondy in the end zone for a 14-0 lead with just a minute left in the first quarter.

Bordeaux starts the second quarter with a failed third down pass deep inside their red zone and punt. Moe Sheldon finds Reggie Thongchanh for 25 yards to move back into Bordeaux turf, but two plays later the line collapses, Sheldon diverts from the play design, makes a bad throw towards an unexpecting receiver and safety Ivan Lynch comes in between to pick it off. A triplet of passes for a first down get Bordeaux into field goal range and Billy Blankenhorn converts the 37-yarder for the 14-3 score. Merchantmen move downfield, but are forced to punt and see Bordeaux return the favor after a similarly short drive. Three and out is then the Merchantmen offense's faith. Bordeaux finding itself slightly more upfield than before the exchange of punts, Nestor attempts a long pass, but it gets picked off by rookie linebacker Brandon Brady and it gets returned to the Bordeaux 42-yard line. Maassluis fails to move the chains, nor run out the clock, giving Bordeaux one more chance to get into scoring position. Bordeaux converts on 3rd and long as Brad Nestor finds Russell Mitchell for a 17-yard gain, they then go into field goal is good enough mode, as Nestor completes two chains moving passes to give them a 56-yard attempt with 3 seconds to go. Blankenhorn misses, meaning Maassluis goes into the half time break leading 14-3.

Second half, Maassluis has the ball first. Moe Sheldon finds Branden Sandlin for 9 yards, Reggie Thongchanh runs for 11 yards, but a dropped pass by Theo Bondy (who else?) on third down brings on the punter to nail them at their 4-yard line. With the pressure on, three and out follows and Maassluis gets the ball back at Bordeaux' 37-yard line. Sheldon connects with Bondy for 14 yards, Francisco Patter runs for 8 yards and on second and goal, Sheldon finds a wide open rookie Clay Gaynor to make his first reception in the IHOF be a touchdown, making it 21-3 for Maassluis. On their next possession, Bordeaux by then has already benched their quarterback, putting off-season acquisition Trenton Edwards on the field, but a couple of penalties bring them in an unconvertable 3rd and 25 situation. An exchange of three and out drives follows, but Maassluis breaks the trend as Francisco Patter converts in third and two, already well inside Bordeaux territory. Moe Sheldon scrambles for 17 yards and on the next play throws a screen pass to wide open wide receiver Harris Wilkerson, who turns his first career reception into a touchdown (just like Gaynor did earlier). Maassluis is then 28-3 up, with just 26 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Bordeaux' drive gets stopped short once again at the start of the third quarter. Maassluis just runs it and pins them back at their 3-yard line. Theodore Edwards then finds fullback Matthew Croom for a 23-yard gain and Marshall Hoffman for an 11-yard gain, but the latter gets tackled by Clayton Jackson with a nifty move, losing the ball and Jackson himself recovers it at the Bordeaux 40-yard line. Moe Sheldon finds Branden Sandlin for 10 yards to set up rookie Mark Giles' first field goal attempt and Giles nails the 41-yarder. Bordeaux fights back and after Theodore Edwards finds Nick Gnida for a 16-yard gain to get into field goal range, Gene Kondovski misbehaves and helps Bordeaux 15-yards deeper upfield. The Merchantmen defense stands strong and Kondovski himself makes the crucial tackle on third down to force Bordeaux to kick (and convert) the 29-yard field goal. Maassluis runs and punts, Bordeaux tries to pass, but receptions don't happen. Bordeaux decides to call it a game, not go for it and Maassluis basically runs the clock out for the 31-6 victory.

Moe Sheldon got the somewhat surprising player of the game honors, completing 18 of 33 passes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Theodore Bondy had 9 catches for 77 yards and a score. Francisco Patter ran for 72 yards and a score.

Defensively, Clayton Jackson had a monstrous game, with an interception, a forced and recovered fumble, 4 tackles, 3 assists, a hurried pass and 3 defended passes. Cornerback Jackie Richardson made his first game in Maassluis a noteworthy one, defending 4 passes and making 5 tackles. Rookie linebacker Brandon Brady lead all Merchantmen with 7 tackles. Gene Kondosvki made the only sack of the game, but with 8 more hurried passes (3 of those credited to Tony Whiting), 9 of 48 passing plays were disrupted.

On the grand scheme, how did the change of offensive coordinator affect this game? Has Maassluis turned into a smashmouth offense? The simple answer after just one game? No, we haven't. We ran the ball 32 times and tried to throw it 33 times. Given that we ran a lot late in the game, shows that we were trying to throw it slightly more on the 'normal' drives.

Elsewhere in the division, the Paris Musketeers decided to start quarterback Wesley Elliott today, which was obviously a mistake. After 5 sacks, he got replaced after all, seeing last season's division winner Gabriel Woodson return to the field. It was too little too late already by then, the Gothenburg Giants had already taken a smooth lead in Paris' house and steadily kept the big lead to secure a 41-10 victory on the road in a crucial division game. Jack Crane ran for a league leading 175 yards. Maybe Gothenburg is the real smashmouth team in the division this season?

Division standings:
1. Gothenburg 1-0
2. Maassluis 1-0
3. Bordeaux 0-1
4. Paris 0-1

Elsewhere in the league, the Hanalei Dragons beat the Colorado Cutthroats 26-23. Chance Arnold missed two extra points, but a missed field goal on Colorado's side cost them the chance to tie the score. Why is it worth mentioning? Hanalei is next up on our schedule, in their house. We've already played them there in the pre-season (weird how that was arranged), which means we can't go out there with the same game plan again.

Big test? Sure. We have big goals and these are the kind of games we have to win to show we've made the leap forwards towards a true contender. Solecismic Software already puts us in a situation where we have something to prove, calling us 11-point underdogs. Last time we lost by more than a score was last season in week 10 at the Orlando Talons, the eventual IHOF Bowl winners.

So yeah, the season continues there, at the Dragons. It will be an interesting game at the very least, possibly an even bigger test for our defense and us thinking that unit is a very good one. Go out there and make it happen, guys. Go Merchantmen.