[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Game of the Week!
And boy, was it a game...

The Merchantmen fanbase was ready for it, a sold out Oranje Haven (not unusual, we did that three times last season, but it was a first this season) was exploding from joy. A 4-0 Atlanta Vipers team was visiting and people were actually thinking we were standing a chance to win and improve to the virtual #1 seed of the conference. And all that in spite of the previous century rainy weather.

Atlanta won the coin toss and elected to receive. Mark Giles kicked deep enough to make the Vipers start at their 25-yard line. First play, hand off to their running back and Darien Fletcher was all over him behind the line of scrimmage. On third down their quarterback Arcenaux completed a 14-yard pas to his tight end, but the very next play Oranje Haven screamed of joy again as Clayton Jackson sacked the quarterback. The linebackers were all over them to disrupt the next two plays as well and the following punt wasn't just short, Reggie Thongchanh returned it to our 43-yard line. But as wel got three-and-outted, the turmoil toned down a bit, although the punt from our end was downed at their 6-yard line. A quick three and out got us the ball back and this time we thought we got things going. Moe Sheldon started the drive with an 18-yard pass to Branden Sandlin, but it quickly slowed down and after he got sacked on third and long, we were pushed outside of field goal range. The punt was hardly worth noticing, but the next drive started with Gene Kondovski sacking Arcenaux. The quarterback saved face on the next play with a 20-yarder to one of his receivers, but our defense dominated, Darien Fletcher had another tackle for a loss, and we got the ball back halfway our half. And then things did get going. Moe Sheldon found Theodore Bondy for a 38-yard gain and then fullback Clay Brosseau for a 26-yarder. He then almost went the distance running, but on second and goal found Sandlin for a short touchdown pass and the 7-0 lead right at the end of the first quarter.

Atlanta ball and things went all over the place. Gene Kondovski made his second sack of the game and right after Arcenaux threw for 15 yards to his running back, Clayton Jackson made his second sack of the game. Again, Arcenaux converted with a pass on third down, but when they got just past midfield, they were forced to punt after all and Reggie Thongchanh returned it 27 yards. Moe Sheldon then found Theodore Bondy for 18 yards, but on the following play Francisco Patter was hit hard and fumbled the ball, resulting in loss of possession. Arcenaux followed up with a 31-yard pass to get into field goal range and that's what they ended up doing after Tony Whiting notched sack number five of the day: settling for a 38-yard field goal and a 7-3 score in our favor. By then it was clear this was going to be a defense dominated game and we ended up punting on our next drive, pinning them at their 5-yard line. Our defense struggled to keep them short, but shortly before the end of the half, we finally halted them to settle for a 45-yard field goal. Our former kicker Thomas Robertson made it 7-6. Our attempt to take double advantage (score right before and after half time) failed as we couldn't get in their half before the clock showed all zeroes.

Our first drive of the second half was similar to how Atlanta started in the first half: two short runs and a sacked quarterback to force a punt. The defensive dominance continued, but a special teams play then changed momentum as Jon Brotzman blocked the punt. Clay Brosseau got the ball on a trick play and ran for 12 yards, putting us 3 shy of the end zone. Their defense stood strong and we settled for an 18-yard field goal, extending the lead to just 10-6. Our defense then stood up again, as Archie Exner added to the sacks and on third and long it was Jessie McNeil (good thing we re-signed him) made the interception pretty deep inside their territory. Conservative play ended up in just a 40-yard field goal attempt, but the 13-6 lead was at least back up to a touchdown difference. Hoping to bring that lead to the end of the quarter, the defense all of a sudden crumbled. With 16-yard and 12-yard runs and 9-yard and 18-yard passes, the Vipers marched into our half of the field and as the clock started blinking all zeroes, Arcenaux found a wide open receiver for a short pass turned into a 12-yard touchdown to tie it to 13-13.

Conservative play continued against the stingy Atlanta defense, but rookie Clarence Gore made a nice 15-yard third down catch to move the chains. The Atlanta pass rush was strong and we ended up punting once again. After three and outs back and forth, we got the ball back in their half, where Sheldon brushed away a sack with a 20-yard pass to Gore. The conservative play did end up in just going for a 39-yard field goal and Mark Giles nailed it for the 16-13 lead. We forced them to punt once again and with time starting to be a thing for Atlanta, penalties became a problem for us. Unsportsmanlike conduct put us into 3rd and 22, resulting in Moe Sheldon going for a scramble, getting tackled when he was miles away from converting, fumbling the ball and all of a sudden Atlanta was in possession in our half of the field. One 10-yard pass was just enough to get into field goal range and the 44-yarder tied it up 16-16. We hardly made a real effort to get into field goal range, while Atlanta did try with half a minute remaining. Our pass rush was just good enough to disrupt their passing attempts and force overtime with the 16-16 score at the end of regulation.

And boy, did we get a change to end it right there on our first possession. Santiago Messenger made the exceptional 39-yard kickoff return into their turf and a 25-yard pass from Moe Sheldon to Theodore Bondy got us into field goal range. Mark Giles got his shot at it with a 40-yarder, but he missed wide to the left. Still 16-16 and Oranje Haven made a collective face palm. The defense then stood just strong enough to let them not get closer than our 39-yard line and force them to punt. Moe Sheldon marched us back to midfield, but we were halted there. We stopped them after 6 plays, but as we completely forgot to call for a time out, we got the ball back with just 19 seconds remaining. We didn't even try to make a throw for getting into field goal range and just like that, the clock was done, as was the game: 16-16 tie.

A missed opportunity to improve to 4-1, thankfully avoid falling to 3-2, but ties can leave behind an unsatisfactory feeling and this one was clearly a game that we should have won. Should, as Atlanta does deserve credits for disrupting our running game: Francisco Patter ran for 33 yards, Reggie Thongchanh for 22 yards, that's clearly unacceptable from this offense. Moe Sheldon threw for 246 yards, including the overtime, but did struggle a bit. Still, the Merchantmen defense gave the offense every opportunity to make the best of this game, having basically just one really weak drive which resulted in their only touchdown, and a shaky one that ended in a field goal.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Gothenburg Giants beat the Paris Musketeers 34-21, while the Bordeaux Vineyards fell 20-14 to the Fort Wayne Fury.

Standings
1. Maassluis 3-1-1
2. Gothenburg 3-3
3. Bordeaux 2-3
4. Paris 2-4

Our season continues in Fort Wayne, as we'll be facing the Fury in their playing next week. They're standing 4-2 for now, which suggests we'll be in for another close battle again. That kind of record is currently good enough for last place in the Southeast division, will this be that kind of season in the AOC where an 11-5 team misses the playoffs and the European champions stumbled in with a 10-6 kind of record? The Fury have been pretty strong against the pass, which probably means we'll have to rely on our running game, which was missing in action today. It is what it is, we'll have to play better, simple as that, and have to win against these type of opponents to realistically think about playoffs and going places. So, let's do that, Merchantmen, make it happen.