[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Big test upcoming
Unless you think today was a test?

The Bordeaux Vineyards came to town and lucky for us, quarterback Walt Czech was inactivated for this game. That should pave the way for defensive dominance and getting the job done quickly, if the effective offense shows up.

First drive first, Bordeaux had the ball and quickly drove downfield, only to see Derrick Velazquez (who else?) fumble a 24-yard reception, seeing Devon Farrell recover the losse ball. Three and out was our offense's faith and immediately after, Velazquez made up for the booboo, making a 29-yard catch to setup the 24-yard touchdown pass to Bordeaux' fullback for a 7-0 visitors lead. Following another three and out, our special teamer Ike Nixon forced and recovered a fumble on the punt return. After a couple of strong runs from Bert Ta'Amu, Earnest Ashley found Ed Schulz for a dump pass in the end zone to tie it up 7-7. Bordeaux went run heavy and pinned us at our own 6-yard line after a punt, but Ashley quickly responded with a 22-yard toss to Schulz, while Ta'Amu used his legs to move the chains a couple of times to reach Bordeaux territory.

A couple of plays into the second quarter, Earnest Ashley found George Stuckey for 29 yards then two plays later Clay Gaynor for 10 yards and a touchdown to turn the score into a 14-7 lead. On Bordeaux' next drive, another tight end fumbled the ball as Hayden McNeil pried the ball loose and Andrew Cochrane recovered it in field goal range. Ashley found Ed Schulz on third and longish, twice, and Clay Gaynor on third and goal to make it 21-7. A 30-yard pass and a 26-yard run brought Bordeaux into our red zone, but after Caiden Croyle made a 16-yard sack, Bordeaux was pushed back and saw their kicker miss the 42-yard field goal attempt. Our next drive didn't see much special, but neither did Bordeaux', making Mark Perkins punt return for 23 yards a bit of a highlight. Right after the two-minute warning, Ashley found Clay Gaynor on third and long for 16 yards. A face mask penalty moved us into the red zone and Ashley then found George Stuckey for the 28-7 lead. We actually tried to get the ball back for the break, but had just enough time left to run one more play.

The second half started with an old fashioned smashmouth offense, seeing Bert Ta'Amu run for 14 yards and 8 yards. Helped by penalties and Erneast Ashley once again finding Clay Gaynor on third down, we marched into field goal range. Ashley was sacked on second down, but after Isaac Delgado (boy, will we pay for our miscalculation that makes him a free agent) recovered the fumbled ball, Dylan McMullen nailed a 45-yard field goal for a 31-7 lead. Bordeaux did just enough to pin us at our own 6-yard line and on their punt return gained 21 yards to break into our territory, only to see a bunch of penalties push them back into third and 27. Momentum did appear to flip after their punt, as Ashley's toss to George Stuckey got picked off and returned deep inside our red zone. A 5-yard pass into the end zone trimmed Bordeaux' deficit to 31-13 after a missed two-point attempt. Bordeaux was reborn, forcing three and out and seeing their fill in quarterback find Leonard Gagliardi for 16-yard and 15-yard gains shortly before the end of the third quarter.

Momentum flipped back to Maassluis on the first play of the fourth quarter as Hayden McNeil accounted for his second takeaway of the day by picking off a short pass. A Bordeaux penalty on third down saved our possession, then seeing Earnest Ashley find Bert Ta'Amu for 24 yards to get us into field goal range, only to see Ashley picked off for the second time a couple of plays later. Bordeaux then was stalled by our defense, which then turned into a punt return into Mark Perkins, which he then turned into a 92-yard touchdown. 38-13, Maassluis. Game over? Bordeaux was unwilling to give up just yet, they marched downfield with 22-yard and 24-yard passes, until Devon Farrell picked off a pass and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. 45-13, with two phenomenal returns, how about that? Bordeaux then turned to their third string quarterback, actually got into the end zone on that drive, but with the scoreboard showing 45-19, neither team felt the need to stop our final drive with a time out, so that was it.

A dominating first half, followed by a second half where Bordeaux tried and got outscored by two 90+ returns. That too is football. Gothenburg crushed Atlanta 49-17, while Paris lost 28-20 at home against Houston.

European Division
1. Maassluis 8-1
2. Gothenburg 7-2
3. Paris 2-7
4. Bordeaux 1-8

Next up: Gothenburg at Maassluis and Paris at Bordeaux. While the French teams are probably seeing their season as a lost cause by now, 6-2-1 right now isn't sufficient to reach the playoffs, the clash in Oranje Haven will be for the division lead. It's one of those games where we always struggle, somehow we're not so good at seizing the opportunity when we can create a cushion between ourselves and the second placed team.

Let's see if we can pull a trick on the Giants in this game, we know they're going to try something, but we're not shy of trying that as well in this particular matchup. Although given our recent success, it doesn't feel opportune to throw everything around here, so there's that to consider... Big game tomorrow, I hope we'll play well, in which case we have a reasonable chance to win. Prove we can, Merchantmen!