[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: 2089 regular season halfway done, too good to be true?
"Venimus, vidimus, vicimus".

I mean, we're a team, right?

Get this: we've already equaled our win total from last season. Our fifth road game of the season and eighth in total, against our long time division rivals from Bordeaux. Sure, we've played all three of them for the past 85 and a half seasons, but just like our franchise, Bordeaux' has had the same ownership throughout.

So, Bordeaux. We pulled a nice 31-24 victory here, once again quickly bursting into a solid lead (21-0 today) and smooth sailed to another victory while seeing them getting closer and closer, but never catching up.

Brandon Bell is turning into a phenomenon. Either this kid is the real thing (mind you, eight games is a small sample size) or the guys around him know what they're doing. 30-yard bomb to Ronnie Hammond, 5-yarder to Theo Bondy and a 20-yarder to Branden Sandlin, that's how the first possession started. On third and goal, Bell found Sandlin wide open and the early 7-0 lead was ours. The defense kept their possession short and we saw Bell immediately reply with a 15-yard pass to Bondy. Francisco to the left for 15 yards, Reggie Thongchanh to the right for 9 yards and on third and ten Bell throws a 26-yard bomb into the end zone to Bondy for the 14-0 lead. We force three and out and Bell adds a 14-yarder to tight end Jeffrey Blake and an 8-yarder to Sandlin to play out the first quarter.

They finally find a way to stop us by the time we're a couple of yards shy of midfield, then give up 21-yard and 28-yard catch and runs, but the pass rush pressure was spot on on third down and as their kicker shanks the 52-yard kick, we get the ball back at our own 42-yard line. Third and three, Brandon Bell finds Theo Bondy for 16 yards. Then Francisco Patter rans the ball into the red zone and Bell himself goes for a 15-yard scramble towards the 21-0 lead. Bordeaux then finally wakes up as Brad Nestor finds various players for 18, 23 and 22 yards, that last completion accounting for the touchdown to trim it to 21-7. We get three-and-outed, give up a 24-yard pass, then see Archie Exner sacks Nestor for a huge loss of terrain and after good old Artie Blazewicz (130 games with us on his resume) makes his first catch in a Vineyards uniform, they throw for 8 more on third and long to set up an impressive 54-yard field goal. Bell knee drops to halftime with a 21-10 lead.

We struggle on their first drive in the second half, but regroup once they reach our red zone, with Kirk Hitchcock showing why he's considered the best player on our defense and an early favorite to win defensive player of the year in the IHOF. Sure, they convert the 25-yard field goal, and force three and out, but on the very next play, Hitchcock picks off a short pass at the Bordeaux 11-yard line and we're in good shape to extend our 21-13 lead into a two-score lead. Brandon Bell to Theo Bondy falls a yard short, so a 19-yard field goal puts us 24-13 up. We allow Nestor to throw for 25 yards, but Gene Kondosvki sacks him on the very next play and as he forces an incomplete pass on third down, we get the ball back, albeit deep in our own territory. Bell to Bondy for 8 yards, Francisco Patter over Howard Humphrey for 8 yards, but then out of nowhere Nathan Hadinger gives up his first sack of the season as Bell goes down on third and 5. Another three and out after they get pushed back 10 yards by a holding penalty and then Bell finds tight end Randy Holliday for 10 yards to end the third quarter.

We get stopped on third and 6, but Doug Guynes pins them at their 2-yard line for their first possession in the fourth quarter. On second down their tight end fumbles after making the reception and as Clayton Jackson recovers it for us, we're already in first and goal. On third down, Brandon Bell finds Theo Bondy in the end zone for the 31-13 lead. Brad Nestor then orchestrates a solid drive, eventually pounding it in himself from the 1-yard line, followed by a 2-pointer for a 31-21 deficit for Bordeaux. We scrape a minute off the clock and after a 25-yard punt return they just need a 15-yard pass to get into field goal range and with a 34-yarder they comeback within a touchdown: 31-24. With just under 5 minutes to go, we know this isn't a done deal. Instead of just running on all downs, Bell mixes it up just enough with 11-yard and 9-yard completions to make them burn their first time out with just over two minutes remaining. After we punt and give up a 26-yard return, Kirk Hitchcock comes up big again, making his second interception of the game right before the two-minute warning. Reggie Thongchanh runs for 11 yards and as they burns their last two time outs, we need him to do that one more time to seal the deal.

As Gothenburg miss a late game 45-yard kick in a 28-26 home loss to the Augusta Greenjackets, we extend our lead in the division to 2 wins. Paris needed their kicker to converted all four of his 46-yards and longer field goals to pull off a 25-24 win at the Snapfinger Jazz.

European Division:
1. Maassluis 6-2
2. Gothenburg 4-4
3. Paris 4-4
4. Bordeaux 3-5

Brandon Bell earned yet another player of the game by completing 26 of 31 passes for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had that 15-yard scramble for a touchdown, while his only booboo (a fumble) got recovered by his running back Francisco Patter. Theodore Bondy had 14 catches for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. Reggie Thongchanh ran for 53 yards, Patter for 49 yards.

Defensively, Kirk Hitchcock was phenomenal again: 2 interceptions and 2 defended passes. The pass rush was impressive as well, breaking up 14 of 53 passing plays.

Next up, Solecismic has tagged our road game at the Orlando Talons as the game of the week. Two 6-2 teams facing each other. One a usual suspect, the other a team that used to be great, but is now on a bounce back season. That's us, with Brandon Bell our cinderella story, so far. Well, kind of. A first round pick quarterback is supposed to be good, but not in his rookie season and especially not after everybody wrote him off before he took his first snap.

Keep it up Bell (and the rest of the team). Go Merchantmen!