Maassluis Merchantmen (IHOF), part 2

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen pick off Vineyards to victory
The Maassluis Merchantmen are back at it. Lead by three interceptions of Quinn Kooiker, the Bordeaux Vineyards were beaten 20-13 in Oranje Haven. Jay McGee threw for 199 yards and 2 scores en route to a 6-3 record. Russell Holliday was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Elsewhere, the Paris Musketeers won 20-7 against the Houston Mustangs and improved to 7-2, whilst the Gothenburg Giants lost 27-10 at home to the Vicksburg Vipers, dropping to 5-4. Paris lead the European division, with Maassluis one game behind and both Bordeaux and Gothenburg two games out.



Merchantmen demolish Giants
With a steamrolling performance, the Maassluis Merchantmen posted their third straight win. The Gothenburg Giants were beaten 34-3 in a divisional clash that for only 29 minutes was the close game it was supposed to be. Jay McGee completed 24 of 37 passes for 323 yards and 1 score with 1 interception. Terry Haskell made 6 catches for 73 yards and a score as the top receiver. The Merchantmen defense dominated the game, allowing only 211 total yards and forcing two turnovers. All the Giants had only two drives where they gained more than 16 yards, the first leading to the sole field goal and the second being cut by the game end.

In France, the Bordeaux Vineyards flabbergasted the Paris Musketeers with a 48-20 win after taking a 21-0 lead and socring touchdowns on 6 of their 11 drives. Paris dropped to 7-3 and are now tied with the Merchantmen, with Maassluis regaining the division lead on division record. Bordeaux is a single game behind, Gothenburg is two games behind the division leaders.



Fightin' Bums spanked by Merchantmen
The Maassluis Merchantmen improved to 7-0 at home this season with a 28-5 spanking of the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums. The Bums were held to just 139 total yards, with 48 coming on their game ending final drive. Merchantmen quarterback overcame two interceptions, throwing for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns. Terry Haskell grabbed 10 passes for 104 yards and 2 scores. Darrin Keegan kept the chains moving as he ran for 129 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Eugene Johnstone recorded 2 sacks in his second active game with the Merchantmen.

The 7 home game wins is a Merchantmen franchise record, tying the 7 wins from the 2023 season. Including playoff games, the Merchantmen also recorded 7 home wins in 2027 and 2035, as they won 6 in the regular season and 1 game in the post-season in each of those seasons. The 7 straight home wins extends the franchise high, after setthing a new record last week against Gothenburg.

In other stadiums around the Atlantic Ocean, the Paris Musketeers fell 21-14 to the Chesapeake Chitterlings, the Bordeaux Vineyards lost 20-14 at the Frederick Red Menace and the Gothenburg Giants lost 13-3 at the Williamsburg Colonials. With these results, the European division standings now are:
1. Maassluis 8-3 (3-1 in Europe)
2. Paris 7-4 (2-2 in Europe)
3. Bordeaux 6-5 (2-2 in Europe)
4. Gothenburg 5-6 (1-3 in Europe)

[MIJB#19]

General Manager notes
This Jay McGee kid is starting to bug me. Yes, we're still winning, but I'm not sure we're utilizing McGee in the right way. After 11 games he's showing Flannery like numbers with 12 interceptions, already tying his 'record' with us. His personal best is 16 in 16 games in his second season with the Fort W. Fury. But downgrading to Kerry Lewis or Harry Osborne feels like it wouldn't do any good. Afterall, we're still winning and McGee does find his receivers. Terry Haskell keeps bailing him out though, as he leads the league with 416 yards after reception.

The defense keeps surprising me in a good way. 11 games in, with 7 at home to taint the numbers quite a bit, we're allowing 12 points and 275 yards per game, both are the top numbers in the league. Not a single player really jumps out as the start of the defense, they're all putting their best efforts out there. Not bad given that we've been playing roster fillers at linebacker in a couple of games and lost our best lineman in the off-season.

Our rookie returnman Jack Money keeps amazing me as well. He's now on double duty and ranks second in punt return yards average (12.8 per) and first in kick return yards average (32.3 per), amongst qualifiers. With Money and his support unit, we're finding ourselves at the 50-yard line to start a half in a lot of games. That certainly helps to take leads or to hold off opponents. With no fumbles to date, he's a great guy to have on the team.

After 4 straight wins, the playoff picture looks quite good now. Inside the division we're 1 game ahead of Paris. At the moment we still hold the tie-breakers, but depending on which games they win and we don't, they are still capable of catching us and winning the division on tie-breakers, especially if they catch is in week 17, when we visit Bordeaux and they host Gothenburg. Paris has 4 home games left too, they're not to be underestimated.

In the other AOC divisions, the Northeast is lead by two 7-4 teams: the Boston Rhinos and the Harlem Apollos. We don't play either of them this season, so the conference record is where the tie-breakers are. Boston is 2 games behind, but Harlem only 1 game. To keep that up and to get the common games tie-breaker as well, a win against Syracuse in week 13 would do wonders for us. In the Deep South the Vicksburg Vipers are our only true rivals. At 7-4 they're one game behind, but the tie-breakers are with us now and are likely to stick, especially with the head-to-head win as a booster. In the Southeast, the Tucker Tigers lead us by 1 game and they have a tie-breakers lead as well. Home field advantage is further away than it appears to be, despite that the Tigers are missing their four-time league MVP quarterback Jackie Collier.

[MIJB#19]

Haskell's five scores pull Merchantmen past Mohawks
All hail to Terry Haskell. The Maassluis Merchantmen wide receiver scored five receiving touchdowns en route to a 38-12 victory over the Syracuse Mohawks. Haskell tied the IHOF record single-game receiving touchdowns, set by Kelly Hutton with the Boston Rhinos in 2022 and tied by Ricky Summers with the Vicksburg Vipers in 2032. The Merchantmen overall were unstoppable, gaining 445 total yards, with 326 yards passing and 5 scores for Jay McGee, 154 yards and 5 touchdowns receiving for Haskell and 110 yards rushing for Darrin Keegan. The Merchantmen defense was once again stingy, keeping the Mohawks out of the endzone to keep the Merchantmen the top defense in IHOF in scoring and in yardage.

The Paris Musketeers fell 30-27 at home to the 10-2 Tucker Tigers, losing on a two-minute drill touchdown. Paris dropped to a 7-5 record. The Bordeaux Vineyards improved to 7-5 with a 26-0 pounding of the Snapfinger Jazz. The Gothenburg Giants lost their fourth straight, getting beaten 24-17 at the Harlem Apollos, despite a seemingly superior perforance in yardage. The Merchantmen now lead the European division with a 2-win lead over the French teams. Gothenburg at 5-7 looks done for the season, being 2 games away from the wild card spots, both held by 7-5 teams.



Impressive Merchantmen win at Chesapeake
The Maassluis Merchantmen keep on rolling. With a 31-10 defeat of the Chesapeake Chitterlings, the Merchantmen recorded their 6th straight win, improving them to 10-3. Terry Haskell had his third straight 100-yard game, catching 7 passes for 114 yards and a score against IHOF's second ranked defense. Jany McGee completed 20 of 27 passes for 239 yards and 2 scores, whilst Darrin Keegan ran for 96 yards and a score. The game wasn't as lopsided as the final score makes it look, as the Merchantmen scored two touchdowns on short field situations in the last five minutes. The Merchantmen defense now ranks first in points allowed, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and naturally also in total yards allowed.

Despite their 10-3 record, the Merchantmen are unlikely to secure the European division next week. The Bordeaux Vineyards destroyed the Williamsburg Colonials 55-23 to improve to 8-5. The Paris Musketeers also moved to an 8-5 record, winning 20-17 at the Brooklyn Fighin' Bums. The Gothenburg Giants fell to 5-8 following a heartbreaking loss, losing 31-17 at home, despite outgaining the Frederick Red Menace by 90 total yards. The Merchantmen next visit Gothenburg, whilst the French teams go head-to-head in Paris.

[MIJB#19]

Playoffs Bound Merchantmen Beat Giants
The Maassluis Merchantmen steamengine keeps on rolling into the playoffs. With a 35-7 score, the Gothenburg Giants were beaten on the road to secure a post-season trip. It marked the 7th straight victory for Maassluis. Jay McGee completed 24 of 30 passes for 340 yards and 5 touchdowns, claiming player of the game honors. Terry Haskell was once again his favorite target, catching 6 passes for 137 yards and 3 scores. Adam Brautlacht hauled in 2 touchdown receptions.

The Merchantmen defense continued their stellar play, allowing 168 total yards on offense. They even added a couple of turnovers as safety Thurman Hopper made 2 interceptions. After 14 games, the Merchantmen have allowed 97 yards rushing per game, 190 yards passing per games and 272 total yards per game, with 11.6 points per game allowed. Despite a league low 13 takeaways, the Merchantmen rank first in aforementioned statistics.

McGee moved up in the stats charts, now ranking tied for first in IHOF with 32 touchdown passes, sharing that lead with Paris' Rosey Hansen. It puts McGee 1 shy of the Merchantmen franchise record of 33 scoring passes, set by Louie Flannery in 2017 and tied by Rusty Harrison in 2026. McGee's 32 ties his personal best, which he recorded last season.

Terry Haskell has made the majority of those scores, leading IHOF with 18 receiving touchdowns, 2 more than Vicksburg's Ricky Summers. He's already past the old Merchantmen record, set by Gabe Springer in the 2018 season. The all-time IHOF record is 22 receiving touchdowns, set by Kelly Hutton in 2018 and tied by Ricky Summers in 2034. Haskell earlier tied both players' shared single-game touchdown record, which neither of them set in those record-setting season.

Of course, the stats just tell the story of the season. The Merchantmen have the indisputable best defense this season and sport a tremendous skill player trio in McGee, Haskell and running back Darrin Keegan - Keegan ranks fourth in rushing yards, despite missing 2 games. In the end, there's only one stat that really matters: the number of wins. With an 11-3 record in the regular season, the Merchantmen are still capable of tying the franchise high of 13 wins, set in the 2007 cinderella story season. The goal more than ever is being victorious in week 21, the IHOF Bowl.

The Merchantmen route to the IHOF Bowl goes through the playoffs and the Merchantmen qualified for it with the win. In France, the Paris Musketeers defeated the Bordeaux Vineyards 34-6, putting the Musketeers in the driving seat for the first wild card in the AOC with a 9-5 record. The Vineyards dropped to 8-6 and currently rank eighth on tie-breakers behind the also 8-6 Harlem Apollos and Fort Wayne Fury. The Gothenburg Giants dropped to 5-9 and are no longer in contention.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen beat Colonials to clinch bye week
The Maassluis Merchantmen secured a bye week for the playoffs. With a 37-19 score, the Williamsburg Colonials were beaten in Oranje Haven. It marks Maassluis' first season going undefeated in (regular season) home games. The Merchantmen also extended their winning streak to eight games, posting their fourth straight game with 30+ points.

The Williamsburg Colonials proved to be a worthy opponent and a serious test for the Merchantmen defense. But, despite gaining 430 total yards, the Colonials were unsuccesful in the red zone. The majority of their points came from fieldgoals, including three kicks of 34 or less yards. In return, the Merchantmen offense didn't have to do much, as the team took maximum profit from Jack Money's kickoff return skills. Money ran for 254 yards on 6 returns, resulting in a 16-yard average drive start advantage, with the Merchantmen starting 4 of 12 drives in Williamsburg territory, excluding turnovers. Money did record his first career fumble, but possession didn't change on that play.

Jay McGee had another big day, completing 18 of 28 passes for 226 yards and 4 scores. McGee was picked off once, being the only Merchantmen turnover of the day. For a change, Russell Holliday was the top receiver with 5 catches for 78 yards and 2 scores. Terry Haskell was held scoreless and to 54 yards, but Adam Brautlacht and Charles Pomeranz stepped in with a receiving touchdown each. Darrin Keegan ran only 14 times, gaining 63 yards rushing.

The Merchantmen improved to a 12-3 record and secured the division title and simultaneously grabbed a bye week in the playoffs. The Paris Musketeers beat the Frederick Red Menace 34-23, but at 10-5 are too far behind to catch up. The Bordeaux Vineyards lost 36-10 at the Chesapeake Chitterlings, dropping Bordeaux to 8-7 and to a long shot sitation for making the playoffs. The Gothenburg Giants posted their 7th straight loss, falling 16-12 at the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums and sitting 5-10 at the bottom of the division.

The Merchantmen are still alive for the top seed spot in the AOC, but the require the Tucker Tigers to lose a home game against the Augusta Greenjackets, who have been knocked out of the playoffs after week 16's results. The Merchantmen obviously need to win their last regular season game at the Bordeaux Vineyards as well and need to maintain a lead in the strength of victory tie-breaker, which relies on Gothenburg and to a smaller degree to Chesapeake, Boston, Syracuse and Asheville.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen backups win in Bordeaux
The Maassluis Merchantmen wrapped up the regular season with a 16-7 win at the Bordeaux Vineyards. The Merchantmen fielded most of their backup players, leaving key players like Darrin Keegan, Terry Haskell, Russell Holliday and Herman Hatton inactive, whilst injured starters Fred McCorkle, Perry Walker and Brenden England were also held out of the game. Quarterback Jay McGee was active, but spent the entire game on the bench. Having secured a bye week and seeing little incentive to hope for the best and get a chance at home field advantage, the Merchantmen gave the second and third stringers a chance to see some action. The Merchantmen go into the playoffs seeded second in the AOC, with the bye week and sporting and sitting on a nine-game winning streak.

The Vineyards were playing for the final wild card and needed already playoffs bound Boston Rhinos and Vicksburg Vipers to pull a win for them. The Rhinos fell 22-10 at the Harlem Apollos, whom leap-frogged past the Ft Wayne Fury after their 30-17 loss to Vicksburg. The Tucker Tigers demolished the Augusta Greenjackets 50-24 to secure the top seed in the AOC. A loss for Tucker would have put Maassluis at the top. The Paris Musketeers go into the post-season as the 5th seeds, posting their fourth straight win against the Gothenburg Giants.

Despite their qualified situation, the Merchantmen still had something to play for. Had they held the Vineyards to 3 or less points, a new points allowed record would have been set. Sacrificing the single touchdown, the Merchantmen finish the season with 188 points allowed, which is third-best all-time behind the 185 points for the North Plainfield Plague in 2004 and the Ann Arbor Anachronism in 2012.

Quarterback Kerry Lewis received MVP honors in his first start for the Merchantmen. The nineth year veteran had played in 146 games as the kick holder, but to this game hadn't played a snap on offense. Lewis completed 19 of 37 passes for 220 yards and a score without any turnovers. Adam Brautlacht caught 6 of those passes for 86 yards, whilst long snapper Rusty Arpaci scored the sole touchdown of the game for Maassluis. Fourth string running back Alfred Brew ran for 59 yards as the lead rusher for the day.

Wide receiver Terry Haskell held on to the league lead in receiving touchdowns. In his second season in the IHOF, Haskell has quickly emerged as a key player. Veteran tight end D.J. Cahill praised Haskell: "He's our man now. Surely, having a former All-IHOF receiver at the other side helps, Russell [Holliday] draws a lot of attention, but Terry has the speed and agility to make plays. He leads the league in YAC, in touchdowns, he broke a couple of franchise records."

But Haskell's performance isn't all there is. Jay McGee recovered late in the season from his earlier turnover woes. He finished the season with 14 interceptions, his highest figure in oranje-white-and-blue, but he also broke the passing touchdowns record, doing 3 better than Louie Flannery and Rusty Harrison in their best days. Darrin Keegan quietly had another 1,000-yard season rushing, despite missing 3 games. Jack Money was phenomenal in punt and kickoff returning. And then there was the nearly record breaking defense, that allowed less than 100 yards rushing and less than 200 yards passing per game.

"But it's all worthless if we don't find our way into the IHOF Bowl," said veteran center Shawn Hudspeth, "I've been to the AOC Championship game before, but this team is even better. The playoffs? We're in it to win it. Three more games to go!"

[Kodos]

Go Merchantmen!

[MIJB#19]

FOF technical observation
As a FOF player, what's cool to me is that, even though we have a decent QB and set of WRs, they're not the obvious world beaters (QB 58 rated, WR duo 49 and 45 rated - although the 45-rated player appears to be a masked superstar, he's an all-IHOF first teamer this season, it could be a moot point altogether). The defense isn't screaming top notch either in the red bars area, but we're getting the job done this season and we get it done very well. 188 points allowed is unheard of in this era of IHOF, it's the lowest figure since the 2012 season (FOF-techincally, that was the last FOF2004 season).

I'm not going to disect my own team and game plan as of yet, but it's by far the best season defensively and special teams technically, despite that I madeonly marginal changes to our game plan. On offense, we've done better, but that was in the times we had Rusty Harrison, Stanley Givens, Gabe Springer and Terry Thomason as our fantastic four. And that was before the offensive domination fix patch.

Moreso, more than ever, I have a feeling this team finds ways to win, rather than ways to lose. We keep bouncing back after turnovers. Interception? No worries, we'll stuff 'em, force a field goal, make a big kickoff return and score a quick touchdown to get a 4-point advantage. And we're winning games not just by a field goal or on a late touchdown, most games one way or another we grab a two-score lead in the fourth quarter, force the opponent to get one-dimensional, our dominant pass rush takes over and we'll be in possession sooner than later. Only one or two won games were close and the three lost games, in two of them we were the obviously better team and the third was seemingly a complete off-day of sorts.
Now we're into the post-season.

All things considered, as much as I hope to avoid the current Tucker Tigers juggernaut, playing them would be a great test to see how real we are. But for that to happen, we'll have to beat a pretty good team first (and so do they), but two of them we've beaten already this season and the third has fallen apart in the second half of the season.

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes: Back to the drawing board
One and done, just like in 2028, when we also had the top defense in the league. In a complete 180 degree turn towards the regular season, we lost at home (first of the season), giving up 38 points (our season high was 24) and we choked a comeback (from 14-0 down to a 17-14 lead, to a 38-20 loss).

In the first quarter we long-bombed ourself quickly into field goal range, but instead of getting a shot at it, we (our rookie Donald Terry) fumbled and let the Vicksburg Viper drive all the way for the touchdown. From there on it was a back and forth punting and making ground game, until the Vipers took advantage and started from their own 46-yard line, eventually seeing top wide receiver Ricky Suppers score for the 14-0 lead.

We fought back, driving 64 yards for a touchdown, forced a three and out, then had McGee toss the inevitable interception and get lucky that Vicksburg's Bill Russell missed a 41-yard field goal.

In the second half momentum shifted. Vicksburg tight end Wally Jongling fumbled and we got the ball in the Vipers red zone, which sadly turned into a three-pointer. We forced a punt after a semi-long drive and had a 45-yard catch and run from Darrin Keegan into the red zone to set up our go-ahead touchdown (17-14). Vicksburg bounced back on a 46-yard long bomb into our red zone and re-took the lead. After we were forced to punt, Summers had a 47-yard lomb bomb catch into our end zone for the 11-point deficit (28-17).

In the fourth quarter we drove into their territory, but we decided to kick on 4th and short in their red zone, putting them up 28-20, which felt like waving the white flag. We go for it there, we score the touchdown and we have a chance. Luckily, we forced them to punt, but were then stalled as well and got the hopes destroying touchdown against for a 15-point deficit with just 3 minutes left to play. On 3rd and 10 in our own half, we didn't even try to go upfield, McGee tossed a short pass that even got intercepted; game over, pretty much. Vicksburg converted the field goal for the 38-20 and final score.

An unrewarding result after showing the league we had the best defense and best special teams unit. Not just this season, but arguably the best in the modern era*. To combine with it, we had a top5 running back and top2 wide receiver, with our quarterback in the MVP mix until we made him sit the last game.


The Vicksburg Vipers weren't an automatic win, obviously, being the third seeds and playing us really close earlier in the season. They avenge us for last season's playoffs, when we pulled an upset win at their place. We dropped to a 7-13 all-time playoffs record, tying the Bordeaux Vineyards (11-17 all-time) in worst margin at -6.

So just like that, it's all over. It's on to next season...

We'll start the off-season with all but four players signed. The free agents will be two injury-depletion fill-in linebackers, injured reserve and never to play again cornerback Carlton Hall, and restricted third string guard Julio Ferich. We'll be about $60 over the cap, to begin with, but we'll be able to get over it. The tricky part will be retirements.

Ugh, 'next season'. I wanted to write about next game...


* FOF technically: FOF2007 seasons, opposed to the first 9 seasons in FOF2004

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes: Start of cap strapped 2038 off-season
The new off-season is on the horizon. The Maassluis Merchantmen management is preparing for the new season. We're in a good financial situation, we're the third highest profit making team, far behind the Tukcer Tigers and close behind the Bordeaux Vineyards, but surprizingly just ahead of the current IHOF champions: the Chesapeake Chitterlings. The rest of the league is in a completely different ballpark, although the Outer Banks Ospreys are catching up in this area.

Our staff has done a good job the past season. Heck, #1 defense, #1 special teams, a top5 offense, what more to ask? There are some excellent new head coach prospect coming available from the collegiate ranks, so we might take a look there, but overall I shouldn't complain about Jerry Monroe.

Our roster situation is tricky, but workable. Granted, we're roughly $60 million in the red, including draft pick projections. We'll have to do quite the cap magic to get this sorted out. But I'm confident we'll have a shot at getting it done without needing to sacrife one of our star players. We're carrying over 50 players from last season's roster, not counting restricted free agent guard Julio Ferich, whom we'll try to bring back. Emergency signing Percy Compton might want to return to our linebackers package, he's our only unrestricted free agent into the off-season.

Our draft situation is interesting. We're lacking a first round pick, we sacrificed the 29th overall pick to get our current middle linebacker Wesley Devine, by position the leader of our state of the art defense. In return, we have an excess of later round picks. We have additional picks in every round from the third down, with a third pick in the fourth round to boost, adding up to 12 picks in total. I'm not quite intersted in keeping all of those, obviously, given the number of players still signed through 2038 and later.

As I mentioned, there are 52 players returning to IHOF this season, which by the loyal fans' math means we lost 4 players to retirement.

Cornerback Melvin Karluk never played a single down for us. We signed Karluk last off-season after his contract with the Iowa Cobbers expired. Karluk had been an exceptional return specialist, but suffered a very serious concussion early in the 2036 season and had been sidelined ever since. Karluk spent 2037 on injured reserve and doctors advised him to not pursue an extended career in football. We wish Melvin the very best in his post-football player life.

Cornerback Carlton Hall was a more familiar name and face. After four years with the Gothenburg Giants, he signed with the Merchantmen. Mostly playing as our nickelback and filling in when Tito Close or Herman Hatton was hurt, Hall played in 42 games with us. In his first season he emerged as a popular player, hauling in 4 interceptions. In 2034 he defended 10 passes. In 2035 he suffered a broken fibula in week 9 and missed hlaf the season, reinjuring in the first and only playoff game with the Merchantmen. In 2036 he played half a season, until he got sidelined with a degenerative hip condition. Hall was a shallow copy of the football player he used to be and never played a down from there on, spending his last one and a half seasons on injured reserve.

Linebacker Stan Spry had a short stint in Maassluis. After a seven-season stay with the San Antonio Tidal Force as a starter, he was released in the 2036 off-season. The Asheville Axemen hired him for the 2036 season, but Spry failed to impress and was released in the final roster cuts for 2037. In week 3 he joined the Merchantmen as a stop gap for injury woes at linebacker and hung on for the remainder of the season. He was active in 14 regular season games and in the lost divisional round game.

Linebacker Trent Kaiser was the biggest surprise of the departees. As a second-round pick, Kaiser joined the Paris Musketeers in 2028. Despite his pass rush stats in limited play as a rookie, he was released after the 2029 training camp. In 2030 the Snapfinger Jazz Hands picked him up as a special teamer. The Syracuse Mohawks picked him up in 2031 and kept him active throughout the season. In 2032 his move to Maassluis took place, as he signed a three-year minimum contract. Kaiser became a regularly playing backup and special teamer. In the past two seasons he was taken of the special teams unit, but moved up in the linebacker ranks, in part forced by injuries from other players. Kaiser actually came off his most active season to date, but decided 10 seasons of football was enough. He fared through it pretty injury-free and moves back to the USA with the wife and two young kids. The Merchantmen respect his decission and wish the Kaiser family a prosperous future back home.

[MIJB#19]

Haskell and England All-IHOF choices
The Maassluis Merchantmen congratulate Terry Haskell and Brenden England with their selection for the All-IHOF team of the 2037 season.

Terry Haskell was the first team wide receiver, opposite Vicksburg Vipers' Ricky Summers. Haskell had 90 receptions (5th in IHOF) for 1,347 yards (2nd in IHOF behind Summers) and 18 receiving touchdowns (1st in IHOF), which was also IHOF's highest number of total touchdowns scored. Haskell had 579 yards after catch, which ranks 10th all-time in the IHOF history books. Haskell was 6th in IHOF in yards per target, with a 10.1 yards per target average. His receiving touchdown figure ranks tied for 8th all-time. It's a nice sophomere season after his rookie of the year campaign.

Brenden England was picked as a first team defensive tackle. He ranked in the top ten in all pass rush stats, as he made 11.0 sacks, 28 hurries and 18 quarterback knockdowns. His 8.1 pass rush percentage figure is also in the league's top10, 6th amongst defensive linemen. England also made the All-IHOF selection in 2037.

Haskell and England were also selected as starters for the honorable DogBytes Pro Bowl team as part of the Atlantic Ocean Conference team. Joining them in the all-AOC team are quarterback Jay McGee, running back Darrin Keegan, cornerback Tito Close and safety Thurman Hopper. Close and Hopper were also listed as starters.

Quarterback Jay McGee finished third in the DogBytes Offensive Player of the Year race. The award went to Paris Musketers quarterback Rosey Hansen, with Kansas Creationists quarterback Mercury Lynn as the runner up. Lynn in turn received the Solecismic League MVP award.

Rookie defensive end Harold Matheson finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year race. With 5 sacks, 19 hurries and 7 blocked passes, he came just short of Bordeaux Vineyards' defensive end Percy Starks.

Rookie return specialist Jack Money didn't receive any league wide awards, but did receive the Merchantmen Jack of All Trades award. Money ranked 1st in kickoff return yards average and third in punt return average, despite not scoring a single touchdown. Money was one of four players topping 10 yards per punt return and one of three with more than 30 yards per kickoff return (amongst qualifiers). His kickoff return average (34.3 yards per return) ranks 10th all-time in IHOF history.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen Axe HC Monroe
The Jeremy Monroe saga is over. After just one season as the Maassluis Merchantmen head coach, Monroe has been released of his duties. Monroe coached the Maassluis Merchantmen to a franchise best 13-3 record, including the first undefeated season at home in the regular season, only to lose in the divisional round at home to the Vicksburg Vipers. A stumped Monroe was unavailable for comment. Merchantmen general manager M.IJ.B. explained: "Jeremy was a stop-gap for when we'd find our franchise coach. He did a fantastic job and we wish him good luck. I'm sure he'll find another IHOF franchise to show his skills."


Merchantmen present new HC Witten
There's a new captain on ship. Today, the Maassluis Merchantmen presented Charlie Witten to the public as their new head coach. Witten hass built a very good reputation at Massachusetts University and the Merchantmen found him the right man to guide the team to a new level, one with success in the playoffs. 55-year old Witten was delighted: "The Merchantmen are a great team. They have a strong defense, quality skill players. I'm looking forward to going into the majors with this team."

Merchantmen general manager smiled ear to ear: "This is our franchise head coach. With coach Witten we'll continue our defensive domination and expect to go deep in the playoffs." Witten is the fourth head coach in as many years and the nineth in franchise history. Leroy Van Der Woude remains to be the head coach with the longest stint in Maassluis, coaching the Merchantmen for 14 seasons from 2005 until 2018. Van Der Woude leads all Merchantmen head coaches with 2 post-season wins, which in 2027 was tied by Huey Gervais.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen cut Quinn Gonzalez, Britt Rice
The salary cap woes are hitting in Maassluis. In their task to get out of a situation of $58 million over the cap, the Maassluis Merchantmen released two players and restructured contracts with 21 others. These combined moves freed nearly $50 million in cap room. Additionally, the Merchantmen traded away their second round pick to the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums for a future draft pick. The Merchantmen still have to find an additional $5.5 million of cap space to get under the cap and then need roughly $6 million to sign incoming rookies and to have a full 53 men roster.

Casualties of the moves were safety Quinn Gonzalez and cornerback Britt Rice. Both were contracted for a $3.8 million salary. Both joined the Merchantmen in the 2036 off-season and became the team's nickelback and dimeback in their arrival and played. Gonzalez played in all games in the past two season and started in 14 games, either as the nickelback or as an injury replacement. Gonzalez made 6 interceptions and was a very reliable pass defender for the Merchantmen. Rice also played a big role on the pass defense. In two seasons he missed 5 games. In 2036 Rice also had kickoff return duties in his tasks. Last season he lost that role to rookie Jack Money.

"A tough decission," said Merchantmen general manager M.IJ.B., "Quinn and Britt were resepcted members of the leagues number one defense and special teams unit. We might try to re-sign them." M.IJ.B. added "There's still nearly $12 million to find, not counting inevitable contract extentions of several key players. We still have to talk with quarterback Jay McGee about a new contract and it's likely we'll have to sacrifice another player or two."

The Merchantmen were unwilling to confirm rumors on the release of defensive tackle Ralph Campbell, a four-year starter with the Merchantmen. Campbell's release would save roughly $5.7 million. Quarterback Jay McGee - as mentioned - and offensive tackle Tom Bush are the other obvious candidates for contract restructing to create cap room. Cap analists claim that these three moves would together save the Merchantmen roughly $10 million short term and put them under the cap. All IHOF franchises are required to be under the cap before the post-draft free agency.

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes
Tough times here. As much as I loath it, there was a business decission to be made: the departure of players. For a bit I've considered to trade a couple of highly paid players, but in the end I figured we can stick this team together for another year if we just release our nickelback and dimeback. Additionally, we'll release our expensive veteran defensive tackle Campbell, whom we can easily replace with young upcoming run stuffer Dwight Hutton. We still have Jerome Tyson as the all-around defensive tackle and have the pass rush experts Brenden England and Roger Finch around.

Speaking of England, I suspect we'll have to talk about a new contract, fast. He's signed for the minimum veteran salary and a holdout is imminent. Another option is to put him on the market for trade, a two-time All-IHOF selection should be worth something, no?

Another decission is at the quarterback front. Jay McGee is entering his 12th season in IHOF. I'm far from convinced Harry Osborne will ever live up to my expectations of him, but at the same time we could throw Kerry Lewis out there. Granted, neither will be able to play a near MVP kind of season, but we should be able to do good enough in the passing game with our gallopin' gazelles Terry Haskell, Adam Brautlacht and Charles Pomeranz. You're in good attention if you're missing Russell Holliday in that list. Our veteran receiver is due a contract extention and we'll have to agree terms with him first to be able to claim he's going to be part of the 2038 squad. Obviously we want to keep him, but in IHOF never say never...

The draft will be a part where we'll make a step back compared to a lot of teams. It's a deep draft, especially the first round will be loaded with quarterbacks, wide receivers and top-notch players at the other positions. I suspect every pick in the first round will be a very good one. Because of salary cap woes, and our track record with mid-round picks, I traded our second round pick away for a future pick. In 2039 we'll have three second rounders, which should be a decent consolation when retirements hit us hard.

There's one more position where I think we'll be able to get some cap room. We've got two starting material centers in B.J. Samuels and Arnie Croft. Veteran Shawn Hudspeth is a decent backup, providing he looks ok in training camp. And if Hudspeth does, don't be shocked if we'll try to trade Samuels or Croft.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen cut DT Campbell, sign CB Pisano, LB Compton
One in, one out, one stays put. The Maassluis Merchantmen sign, release and re-hired a player today. On top of that, about a dozen players extended their contracts with one or two seasons. The Merchantmen released defensive tackle Ralph Campbell, hired cornerback Zach Pisano and re-signed linebacker Percy Compton.

The release of Campbell came as a surprise to the fans, but the news had been out already. Campbell joined the Merchantmen in the 2034 season as a free agent. In four years, Campbell was in the rotation onf defensive linemen, missing only 4 regular season games in that time span. He was outperformed left and right by younger and newer tackles, resulting in release after he was scheduled to make the most money of all defensive linemen.

Percy Compton signed a new contract in Maassluis. In the 2037 season he joined the Merchantmen as an injury replacement. Compton spent most of the season inactive, seeing action in two regular season games and the playoffs loss to the Vicksburg Vipers.

Zach Pisano is the Merchantmen's first new signing of the off-season. Pisano joined IHOF in 2034 as a rookie free agent with the Syracuse Mohawks. After a year starting for the Mohawks, Pisano moved on to the Minnesota Miners. In 2036 he moved on to the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums for a two-season stint. Pisano is said to be a good zone defender and would also be a good addition to the special teams unit.

Merchantmen fans can also be happy about the longer stay of eleven players. All-IHOF defensive tackle Brenden England signed a new three-year contract, as did fellow defensive tackles Dwight Hutton and Roger Finch. Punt returner/cornerback Winfred Alcott, quarterback Kerry Lewis and kickoff returner/running back J.T. Patterson also extended through the 2040 season. Wide receivers Adam Brautlacht, Charles Pomeranz and Casey Brown, as well as tight end Mike Bernstein and running back Alfred Brew all signed contracts through the 2039 season.

The Merchantmen now have 49 players signed, with roughly $2.4 million in cap room. 42 players are signed through the 2039 season. The $2.4 million insn't enough to get to a full 53-men roster, which means the Merchantmen still have to find some cap room.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen move out of draft
The Maassluis Merchantmen made a surprise move on the draft. They traded no less than 11 picks in the current draft away for the Kansas Creationists second round pick in the next draft. "A cap initiated move," said general manager M.IJ.B., "we can't afford all those rookie salaries and signing boni. Besides, with 49 players signed, we simply lack the roster spots to sign them all." This moves leaves the Merchantmen without any draft picks in the 2038 IHOF draft. Barring a trade back in, it marks the first time the Merchantmen will not make a single pick in the draft. Their previous low was 3 picks, which occured six times.

With this move, the Merchantmen improved their 2039 draft situation, holding all of their own picks and having added 3 second round picks from the Brooklyn, Kansas and Outer Banks franchises.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen trade back into draft
In a fully expected move, the Maassluis Merchantmen traded back into the 2037 IHOF draft after having traded all of their picks away. The Merchantmen acquired 3 sixth round picks in exchange for fifth and sixth round picks in the next draft.

The Merchantmen selected wide receiver B.J. Baxter, safety Kevin Pritchett and fullback Malcolm Finley. Baxter is a fast 5'11" receiver out of the Air Force. Northwestern graduate Karl Pritchett will be looked at to fill the role of dimeback, leaning on his ability to intercept passes. Blocking fullback Finley was selected out of UCLA.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen cut Hudspeth, lose Ferich, sign 8 rookies
A long stint ended, Shawn Hudspeth won't return for a fourteenth season in Maassluis. The Merchantmen today released the franchise's all-time leading key run blocker. Hudspeth was a late second round pick in the 2025 draft and immediately was plugged into the starting lineup. Hudspeth didn't miss a game in his first five seasons, playing his 100th game for the Merchantmen mid-way his sixth season. In 2034 he missed all but one game because of a broken ankle. In 2036 he lost the starting job and became the third string center behind Arnie Croft and B.J. Samuels. Hudspeth made 287 key run blocks for the Merchantmen, 69 more than Brant Heinrich, the previous record holder. Hudspeth ranks nineth in all-time starts for the Merchantmen and is considered a lock to make the team's Ring of Honor.

The Merchantmen lost a second offensive lineman today. After failing to agree terms during the restricted free agency period, guard Julio Ferich signed a bigger contract with the Snapfinger Jazz. As a former fourth round pick, Ferich had been considered a prospect for the future, to move up in the depth chart in coming seasons. Ferich played in only 7 games in 3 seasons.

In contrast with the departures, the Merchantmen singed 8 rookies, including their 3 draft picks. Fullbacks Jose Douglas, Terry Wilkerson and sixth round pick Malcolm Finley, sixth round pick wide receiver B.J. Baxter, center/long snapper Donny Gaines, defensive ends Kim Lowe and Deron Ogunleye, and sixth round pick safety Karl Pritchett.

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes: Training Camp 2038 on the horizon
It's tight. We're currently $560K under the cap, with 57 players on roster. We're so close, the league mandated super computers didn't allow us to sign new players, despite that we have cap room and should be able to spend $1.1 million on a single new player. Oh well, c'est la vie.

At many positions the team will - barring some training camp miracles or disaster - look exactly the same way as last season. Going into camp, we'll have a big pile up at the fullback position. Don't tell him yet, but I'm fully expecting to have to release Aaron Carter after training camp. Albert 'the Shovel' Shalon is safe and we'll let the three rookies battle for the other roster spot. Release of Carter frees up roughly $1.5M, depending on which other players miss the 53-men cut. We need some of that money to extend contracts on our center B.J. Samuels, veteran wide receiver Russell Holliday and all-around backup linebacker C.J. Boo.

Of the rookie fullbacks, Terrell Wilkerson is the special teams standout and the most developed blocker. Quite obviously, he's in the lead right now. Malcolm Finley is the second best blocker, is a mismatch for special teams and is the only one of the three who can run the ball half-decently. Jose Douglas is the underdog of the rookie, the greenest blocker with some potential to become a special teamer. And then there's the veteran Carter, a proven player, whom you hardly notice actually plays.

At wide receiver, B.J. Baxter joins the mix as the seventh player in camp. He's got the speed, proven with his 4.44 40-yard dash, but what else you've got for us Buster James? The rest of the bunch are lock to make the team.

On the offensive line, we're only nine players deep, including rookie long snapper Donny Gaines. We've released our legendary run blocker up the middle. Shawn Hudspeth, you machine, you will be missed. Julio Ferich moved on, wasn't interested in waiting in the wings for another season, he makes a well-deserved promotion to the Snapfinger Jazz, they will be pleasently surprised about Ferich's skills. On the other hand, we hardly used them in the past two seasons. Barring injury disaster, that wasn't likely to change for 2038. Gaines is no lock to make the 53-men roster, but he's an interesting prospect to take the long snapper role away from Rusty Arpaci, our 6'8" tower tight end. The fans might remember his touchdown at the Bordeaux Vineyards in week 17 last season, thrown by our kick holder kerry Lewis - yes, it was a legit offensive play, no trickery in a kicking situation.

We've brought along rookie kicker Ernie Lichter as our 57th player. He'll be a 1000:1 underdog to unseat Charles Anthony, our veteran field goal and kickoffs machine. Anthony was perfect again in the kicks short than 40 yards, but missed 3 of 7 40-49 yarders and had a career high 3 misses at 50-yarders. That said, we're happy with Anthony.

On the defensive side, we signed rookies Deron Ogunleye and Kim Lowe to battle for one rushing end roster spot. We lost Ralph Campbell to the Gothenburg Giants - we released him, so we can't blame anybody for it - but I suspect we won't miss him much, with the four guys that hung around, combined with our fast mistakes forcing defensive ends.

We're sort of short on linebackers, with six on roster, and defensive backs, with eight on roster. I do fear we'll miss Britt Rice and Quinn Gonzalez, both played quite a lot on the best IHOF defense in roughly 25 seasons... But Bernie Gordon is waiting in the wings, providing he actually makes the team, I think his salary is overpaid. On the bright side here, we'll see Butch VandenBosch back as our weakside linebacker, to rejoin our awesome duo of Fred McCorkle and Wesley Devine.

Last note, guys, please don't tank in camp, we could really use another regular season like last season was!

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen training camp report
Out of shape. That's the line that was used on several key players of the Merchantmen during the recent training camp sessions. Running back Darrin Keegan, guard Ricky Castillo, rush tackle Brenden England and cornerback Tito Close were the most prominent names. All four players looked like on a steep slope of their decline. The overall recap, position by position group.

Quarterbacks
Jay McGee looked good as always. McGee is destined for another season as the starter. Kerry Lewis showed some downfall, but nothing too major. Harry Osborne once again failed to make the big splash improvement that he's been hyped to make. Lewis looks ready to again play the backup role, with Osborne as the emergency option. Lewis will also return as the kick holder.

Backfield
Darrin Keegan lost some of his speed and versatility, but appears to have assured himself of another season as the workhorse back. Sixth gear Donald Terry showed his speed and is expected to play the change of pace role. Elusive Alfred Brew will stick around as the third option if needed and J.T. Patterson will make a comback of sorts as the alternate kickoff return. Fullback Albert Shalon will put his bulldozer reputation on the line again, having lost more of his speed and power, but returning as the third down back. Aaron Carter's future is still hanging in the air. Carter made the pre-season roster, but has also been asked to tutor undrafted rookie Terrell Wilkerson.
Roster cuts: neither Joe Douglas nor sixth round pick Malcolm Finley managed to impress. Both rookies have been released going into pre-season.

Tight ends
Mike Bernstein is the man. Not like he made big strides, or that D.J. Cahill dropped dead, Bernstein's skill set fits better these days. Both might get more involved as the Merchantmen might go to a more one-back type of offense. Rusty Arpaci is a pure long snapper and is actually on the chopping block after the arrival of rookie center Donny Gaines. For the time being, Arpaci is expected to make the 53-men roster.

Wide receivers
There's Terry Haskell, who seems to have gotten even faster and become a more complete receiver. Russell Holliday at 36 years old will remain as the flanker, being the punishment if team try to double team Haskell. Adam Brautlacht's agility still puts him in the #3 role, but Charles Pomeranz is noticably faster. B.J. Baxter lived up to expectations as a fast, yet clumsy receiver. He'll likely make the cut as the fifth receiver. Jack Money obviously makes the team as an elite returnman. Casey Brown will hang around as a stand out special teamer.

Offensive line
The same gang returns to Maassluis, but all thee offensive guards look like they lost some of their speed and agility. Overall, this unit remains strong and pretty deep with eight starting material players. left tackle Kerry Zumdahl and right guard Ricky Castillo remain to be the anchorman. B.J. Samuels beat Arnie Croft for the center role. Gilbert Rhodes gained ground on Nate Hurnblad for the left guard role. Tom Bush remains to be the undisputable run blocking right tackle. Edwin Crangle hangs around as the alternate pass protection left tackle. Donny Gaines is the new face on the line, being the third center and exclusively sticking around as the future long snapper, providing he doesn't unseat Rusty Arpaci this season.

Kickers
Kicker Charles Anthony worked hard and looked like he actually improved his accuracy. Edward Rice was good as always.
Roster cuts: Ernie Lichter learned a lot, but didn't unseat Anthony.

Defensive Line
At defensive tackle, Jerome Tyson made good strides and looks more complete than last season. Dwight Hutton will move into the balanced defense starting role, with Brenden England as the pass rush specialist and Roger Finch as the reliable backup rush tackle. On the outside of the line, Eugene Johnstone showed his promise and will promote into a starting role on the left. Harold Matheson defended his starting role on the right end with good progress. All round talented endJohnnie Warren will become the passing downs starter and rotation backup. Rookies Deron Ogunleye and Kim Lowe improved during camp, but failed to impress. Both made the pre-season roster, but it's likely Ogunleye won't make the 53-men lost of opening day.

Linebackers
Plenty of talent. Butch VandenBosch makes a promising comeback as the run defending specialist. Wesley Devine is getting better and better, becoming an elite mike. Fred McCorkle remains as the untouchable sam, leaning heavily on his pass defending skills. C.J. Boo might be the best backup linebacker in the league. Percy Compton and Cole Dooley remain to be roster filler types, but both have showed flashes of decency and know the defense well enough to stick around.

Secondary
Three of the starter of this unit look good as always. Cornerback Herman Hatton and safeties Perry Walker and Thurman Hopper return as starter. Tito Close ran into a wall, but because of his experience in the Merchantmen scheme will likely remain as a starter. Newly hired Zach Pisano looks good enough to be the backup corner. Bernie Gordon made good progress and will promote into the dime back and backup safety role. Rookie Karl Pritchett looks good, but nog good enough to be a regularly active player. Cornerback Winfred Alcott once again made the pre-season roster. He remains to be the third option at punt returning duties, but he's no lock to make the 53-men roster.

[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen cut rookie Ogunleye
Defensive end Deron Ogunleye has been released by the Maassluis Merchantmen. Ogunleye has been signed as an undrafted rookie and spent training camp and pre-season with the Merchantmen. In the first two exhibition games, Ogunleye was active and lead all Merchantmen players with 1.5 sacks. Merchantmen general manager M.IJ.B. explained: "Deron played well and we'll give him another chance if injuries pile on. He's fast and could be a rotation pass rusher in this league."

The release of Ogunleye means the Merchantmen go into the 2038 season with three fullbacks on roster. Aaron Carter had been rumored to be a potential cut after pre-season, but he made the team nevertheless. "Aaron has played 10 seasons with us. He was a starter last season. He's here to mentor Terrell Wilkerson, whom we believe will be a suitable successor," said M.IJ.B. about the fullback situation.

The off-season movement appears to not be over yet in Maassluis. The team is relatively short on offensive linemen and defensive backs, whilst contracts of center B.J. Samuels and fullback Aaron Carter have yet to be extended. Safety Bernie Gordon is also scheduled to become a free agent next off-season, but he will be restricted. Samuels' demands and value ask for a bigger cut in cap space than the Merchantmen can afford. Carter could end up being the odd man in this situation.

[MIJB#19]

I'm feeling a bit inspired to do some writing, hence the bump. But as always, I'm not promising to make any regular updates as of yet.

I'll pick up where we I stalled the last time: the 2038 pre-season.

[MIJB#19]

2038 Recap

Week 1
The season started with a typical Merchantmen victory. Leaning heavily on the defense and field position, the Gothenburg Giants were beaten 31-6 on the road. Jay McGee threw for just 144 yards, Darrin Keegan ran for 106 yards. Keegan and fullback Albert Shalon ran for scores, whilst wide receivers Russell Holliday and Casey Brown caught McGee passes. Former Merchantmen kicker Melvin Hornbaker scored two field goals for the Giants.

Week 2
In a barnburner, the Albuquerque Wrong Turns held ground at their place, beating the Merchantmen 33-28. Jay McGee was intercepted 4 times, which was a big factor in the outcome of the game, with Gino Nyren accounting for 3 picks. McGee still threw for 4 touchdowns (to Adam Brautlacht 2x, Russell Holliday and D.J. Cahill) and 359 yards, but the turnovers decided the game.

Week 3
Field position and red zone efficiency were a major factor once again. Despite seemingly similar offense production, the Boston Rhinos were beaten 40-16 on the road. Jay McGee connected for 3 touchdowns with tight end Mike Bernstein, whilst Terry Haskell carred the team with 15 catches for 157 yards and 1 touchdown. Fullback Terrell Wilkerson accounted for the fifth receiving touchdown.

Week 5
After the bye week, the first home game of the season, the Tucker Tigers juggernaut was coming to town. The Merchantmen dominated the game, holding the Tigers to 219 yards on offense, whilst gaining 424 yards themselves, but still tried hard to keep their choking and meltdown tradition alive with a negative turnover margin. In a field goals heavy scoring game, the Merchantmen eventually prevailed 26-23, icing it with a ball control heavy drive in the last five minutes. Jay McGee connected with both his star receivers Terry Haskell and Russell Holliday for a touchdown.

Week 6
Following the inspiring win over the Tigers, the Merchantmen travelled back to the USA for a game at the Augusta Greenjackets. The entire team looked motivated and the Merchantmen steamrolled to an easy 34-10 victory. In absence of Darrin Keegan, Alfrew Brew ran for 99 yards and a score, whilst third stringer Donald Terry had a receiving touchdown. Jay McGee also connected with Russell Holliday and Charles Pomeranz for touchdowns.

Week 7
The road game heavy early season schedule continued with a game at the Paris Musketeers. The Merchantmen had trouble getting through the French team's defense, but in return held the Musketeers out of the endzone. End result was a 20-9 victory, with the touchdowns scored by Alfred Brew and Donald Terry on the ground.

Week 8
Despite a superior performance, the Merchantmen struggled at home against the Snapfinger Jazz. Darrin Keegan returned with 115 yards on the ground, but Jay McGee's three touchdown passes to his top three receivers Adam Brautlacht, Terry Haskell and Russell Holliday were the important scores towards a 24-13 win.

Week 9
The first divisional home game against the Bordeaux Vineyards was dominated by both teams' pass defenses. Jay McGee struggled towards 155 yards and no scores, but on the other end safeties Thurman Hopper and Perry Walker had crucial interceptions of Bordeaux' Rusty Malone. The Merchantmen won 16-7, with Darrin Keegan scoring the only Merchantmen touchdown.

Week 10
A road game at the Orlando Talons saw yet another underwhelming clash. Both teams were held to under 200 yards passing, but the crucial part was the turnover battle. The Talons intercepted Jay McGee 3 times and added 2 fumble recoveries en route to a 20-3 defeat of the Merchantmen.

Week 11
Jay McGee's struggles continued, as he was held to 140 yards passing against the Gothenburg Giants. The Merchantmen running game carried the team through, Darrin Keegan gained 101 yards and scored 1 touchdown, as did Albert Shalon. McGee and Russell Holliday connected for one passing touchdown as the Merchantmen won 27-17 at home.

Week 12
The Oakland Black Panthers were a welcome opponent to invest in optimism for the Merchantmen. With a strong return game and pass defense, the Black Panthers were easily beaten 38-13. Darrin Keegan ran twice for a touchdown, whilst Jay McGee completed scoring passes to Terry Haskell and Russell Holliday.

Week 13
A chance to avenge the Vicksburg Vipers arose, as the 2037 playoffs opponents returned to Maassluis, struggling to win games so far with a 6-5 record. The Merchantmen steamrolled to a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter, as Jay McGee threw touchdown passes to Terry Haskell (twice) and Adam Brautlacht. However, they appeared unable to stop the Vipers offense from there on. Running back Cory Berry ran for 161 yards, completely dissecting the usually tough Merchantmen defense. Donald Terry ran for a fourth Merchantmen touchdown, but even a missed Vipers field goal was not enough to stop them. Vicksburg won 34-27 to keep their chances to reach the playoffs alive.

Week 14
The Merchantmen bounced back after the disappointing loss last week. The Fairbanks Northstars were easy targets, as the Merchantmen ran away in the fourth quarter towards a 38-14 victory. Jay McGee overcame his 2 interceptions with touchdown passes into the hands of Mike Bernstein (impressive 47-yarder), Terry Haskell and Russell Holliday, whilst McGee also pounded in a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Darrin Keegan scored once on the ground. Combined with a 23-3 Gothenburg Giants loss at home to the Albuquerque Wrong Turns, this win secured the European division title for the Merchantmen.

Week 15
Despite playing at home, the Bordeaux Vineyards posed no threat to the Maassluis defense. The Merchantmen notched their first shutout of the season, winning 28-0 at their traditionally biggest rivals for the division title race. Terry Haskell gained 117 yards receiving, with 2 touchdowns, including a big 53-yarder. Adam Brautlacht and Russell Holliday accounted for the other two receiving touchdowns, all coming from the arm of Jay McGee.

Week 16
With a playoffs bye week in reach, the Merchantmen hosted the Colorado Cutthroats. The Merchantmen had a short field all day long, as they forced 5 turnovers, without any giveaways in return. Jay McGee connected to Russell Holliday (twice) and Albert Shalon for the touchdowns in the 34-7 rout.

Week 17
Despite a 12-3 record, the Fort Wayne Fury were still pushing the Merchantmen for a bye week, behind the 14-1 Tucker Tigers. The Merchantmen were hosting the Paris Musketeers, who in turn needed a win and the Vicksburg Vipers to lose to reach the playoffs. The Musketeers struggled, as their running game was no match for the Merchantmen defense and were forced into a one dimensional offense. Jay McGee connected with Terry Haskell (a 46-yarder) and Adam Brautlacht in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. The Musketeers tried to fight back, but were unable to stop the Merchantmen offense between the 20's. Despite no more touchdowns, the Merchantmen kicked themselves into a 29-16 win and the bye week.

Conference Semi Finals
According to the seeding, the Merchantmen were hosting the third seeded Fort Wayne Fury. The Fury went 12-4 in the regular season and defeated the reigning AOC champions, the Vicksburg Vipers 24-17 at home. The Merchantmen dominated early on, forcing three and outs on the first two Fury drives, whilst they replied both with a touchdown. Jay McGee found Charles Pomeranz for the first score and Donald Terry pounded the ball in for an early 14-0 lead. The Fury eventually scored back, but the Merchantmen played their ball control and shorter field advantage into a 17-7 half time lead.
The second half wasn't a much different story. The Fury were unable to get through the Merchantmen defense and turned it over twice. The Merchantmen expanded their lead to 27-7 as McGee found Russell Holliday in the end zone. Backup quarterback Nathan Schwartz found the Fury's top receiver Leland Tanner in the end zone with 2 minutes left, but the Merchantmen recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock towards the 27-14 victory.

AOC Championship game
Overly motivated by the impressive win over the Fury and the dominant game in week 5, the Merchantmen felt they had a shot to beat the Tucker Tigers on the road. The first quarter set the tone for a high scoring affair, as both teams took points from their first two possessions. An 80-yard Brant Clark receiving touchdown put the early 14-10 Tucker lead on the score board, with Jay McGee having ran for the Merchantmen touchdown.
In the second quarter, the Merchantmen defense took control of the game. Running back Mo Battle fumbled in his own territory and the Merchantmen took the lead as McGee found Casey Brown open in the end zone. After an exchange of punts, a false start penalty and a sack of Jackie Collier, the Tigers were pinned back at their own 3-yard line. A holding penalty resulted in a safety and gave the ball back to Maassluis. The Merchantmen played out the clock, but didn't forget to score either, as McGee found Russell Holliday in the end zone for the 26-14 half time lead.
In the second half, the 12-point lead didn't hold for very long. The Tigers scored a field goal and on their second possession marched down field at high speed to trim the score down to 26-24. The third quarter ended with Maassluis still leading and Tucker having the ball back at their own 36-yard line.
Things would quickly get worse for the Merchantmen. Collier connected with Earl Howard for a 68-yard passing touchdown to put the Tigers up by 5 points. The Merchantmen looked like they were on the move again, but Casey Brown fumbled after a 12-yard catch and the Tigers cornerback Donovan Sumpter stripped the ball and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. McGee was unable to get his team into scoring position and the Tigers replied with a fast 87-yard drive into a 19-point lead. McGee started taking risks and former Merchantmen safety Kennedy Maxwell intercepted him around midfield. The Merchantmen avoided another touchdown, but down 48-26 and just 2 minutes left to play, the game was basically over. The Merchantmen reached the Tigers' red zone, but ran out of downs with just under a minute left, waving the white flag on the Tigers knee drop play.


All in all, a strong effort by the Merchantmen, for the second straight season winning 13 regular season games and for the third time reaching (and losing) the AOC championship game. The Tucker Tigers were beaten in the regular season, but in the playoffs once again turned out to be too much to handle. The Merchantmen finished the regular season 3rd in scoring and 2nd in points allowed, with a major factor being the field position battle, on average having roughly an 80-yard advantage over opponents on punt and kickoff return yardage.

Jay McGee completed 60.2% of his passes for 3,581 yards, 37 touchdowns (tied 2nd in IHOF), with 15 interceptions. Darrin Keegan ran for 1,126 yards and 6 touchdowns. Terry Haskell had 76 receptions for 1,119 yards and 10 touchdowns, whilst Russell Holliday scored 11 touchdowns on 73 catches for 845 yards. Guard Ricky Castillo lead the IHOF with 46 key run blocks, whilst allowing only 2 sacks. Jack Money ranked first in kickoff return average and second in punt return average, despite not scoring any touchdowns.

[MIJB#19]

2039 Off-season
Following another tough playoffs loss by the hands of the Tucker Tigers, the Maassluis Merchantmen found themselves in salary cap woes. The off-season would be a busy one and fear for a step back in the quality of the team kept the fans sleepless at night.

Retirements
Wide receiver Russell Holliday called it a day after three seasons in Maassluis and 13 in total in the IHOF. Holliday had seven 1,000-yard seasons in his career, but none of them in Maassluis. He did score 19 touchdowns in his three-year stint with the Merchantmen.
Long time veteran tight end/long snapper Rusty Arpaci stepped away from football. Arpaci in Maassluis was nicknamed 'The Tower' for being the tallest player to play on the team. In 2038 he lost the long snapping duties to undrafted rookie center Donny Gaines, but hung around the entire season. Arpaci spent 13 seasons with the Merchantmen, missing just 6 regular season games in the first 12. He scored 8 touchdowns in those seasons.
Backup left tackle Edwin Crangle left football after 13 seasons with the Merchantmen. A former third round pick, Crangle became a starter in his fourth season, but in all those years flip flopped from backup to starter back and forth. Together with kicker Charles Anthony, Crangle is the only player to play in both the 2027 and 2038 lost AOC championship games.

Blockbuster trades
With the cap room troubles to work with, the Merchantmen looked at their highest paid players and decided to put four of their key offense players on the trading block. Quarterback Jay McGee, running back Darrin Keegan, guard Ricky Castillo and left tackle Kerry Zumdahl all were told a move away from Maassluis was likely.
But first, the Merchantmen decided to tone down on their draft day costs. They packaged the 30th overall pick and a grand total of four 2nd round picks together and traded them to the Rochester Razorbacks for the 12th overall draft pick.
The big one came shortly after as both Ricky Castillo and Kerry Zumdahl were traded to the Tucker Tigers, an unpopular move with the fan base. The Merchantmen received first and second round picks in 2040 in return, but obviously this meant the need for a complete renewal of the offensive line.
Darrin Keegan then was traded to the rebranded North Plainfield Plague, for as little as a fourth round pick. Combined with the two linemen, this freed roughly $37 million of cap room, which was the majority of the massive $65 million gap the Merchantmen had to crawl out of.

Draft Day
As the draft arrived, the Merchantmen were determined to use the 12th overall pick, rather than trying to trade it for future considerations. The Merchantmen tried to trade up, but failed and settled for wide receiver Vincent Cox, a Tulsa product that ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and showed no real weaknesses in the combine.
In the third round Rutgers' Lamont Whitfield was taken to fill the hole the opened by the departure of Castillo. Whitfield showed good combine scores and was said to be a all around decent prospect, with some additional pushing skills to help make holes for the running game.
In the fourth round, the Merchantmen grabbed Greg Brass out of Marshall. Listed as a fullback, Brass was considered the future replacement of Albert Shalon. Brass really excelled with his bench press and broad jump scores.
Another guard was taken in the fifth round in O.J. Treftz. A smart Syracuse graduate, Treftz had an all around decent combine and was considered a good prospect.
Eventually all four draft picks would end up making the team for the regular season. They were joined by two rookie free agents. South Carolina kicker Lenny Russell was the newest attempt to get a top-notch kickoff specialist. Tight end Cary Harriman left Texas - El Paso in hopes to make it in pro football and was signed by the Merchantmen, initially as a special teamer.
Texas quarterback Marshall Terry also was signed as an undrafted free agent, but didn't make the final 53-men roster. Terry wound up with the Vicksburg Vipers, starting three games late in the season and notching three consecutive wins against the Houston Stallions, Texas Sharks and San Antonio Tidal Force.

Free Agency
Around the draft, the Merchantmen were far from active in free agency. Just four veteran players joined the Merchantmen in the off-season. Linebacker Alton Bradley was signed with the intent to play a backup role behind Butch VandenBosch and Fred McCorkle, boosting the pass rush and being a decent pass defense option. Linebacker Jay Meier was signed to boost the special teams unit as a new gunner option.
Right tackle D.J. Dunn was signed to take the spot of Zumdahl. Dunn would take the right side role, with Tom Bush moving to the left side, also making the running game more left-side oriented.
Defensive end Gerald Large was hired to boost the pass rushing depth on an already fast line. Large would end up making the team at the expensive of second-year player Kim Lowe.


Training Camp Report
Offense
Quarterback - Jay McGee made the team despite talks of trade. Kerry Lewis stayed ahead of Harry Osborne, who just barely beat undrafted rookie Marshall Terry to make the team as the third stringer.
Running back - Donald Terry and his breakaway speed beat out Alfred Brew for the starting role on 1st and 2nd downs. J.T. Patterson hung around as the third stringer, primarily as the second option for kickoff returns.
Fullback - Blocking specialist Terrell Wilkerson was announced the starter. Rookie Greg Brass also beat veteran Albert Shalon both for the backup role and for the short yardage carries. Shalon was kept to mentor the two youngsters.
Tight end - Mike Bernstein remained as the starter. D.J. Cahill was announced as the TE2, being in the mix on passing plays. Rookie Cary Harriman made the team based primarily for his special teams role, but showed glimpses of potentially being a decent blocker and receiver as well.
Wide receiver - Terry Haskell once again looked like the primary target for McGee. Adam Brautlacht moved up in the hierarchy and was announced the WR2. Rookie Vincent Cox and Charles Pomeranz proved themselves as worthy backups. B.J. Baxter made the team, but only as a replacement option if one of the top four would be injured and if a roster spot would be available. Casey Brown made the team once again as a special teamer and Jack Money obviously hung around as the league's best return specialist.
Offensive Line - Guard Gilbert Rhodes was announced as the new left tackle, leaving Tom Bush on the right side. On the inside, B.J. Samuels remained as center, Nate Hurnblad moved up from a backup spot to the starting right guard and center Arnie Croft was announced as the left guard. D.J. Dunn made the team as the top backup tackle and guard, rookie Lamont Whitfield was announced as the seventh best lineman, starting the season inactive. Center Donny Gaines became the actual seventh active lineman, focusing on long snapping duties. Rookie O.J. Treftz made the 53-men roster, but with the intent to leave him inactive as much as possible.
Defense
Defensive Line - As had become the trend in Maassluis, there were no obvious starters announced. Jerome Tyson was returning as the all downs defensive tackle, Dwight Hutton as the neutral and running downs specialist, Roger Finch as the passing downs rotation backup. Harold Matheson and Eugene Johnstone were announced as the starting defensive ends, with Johnnie Warren the obvious breather replacement for both. Brenden England and Gerald Large were the reserves, with England being the top choice to become active if injuries would hit.
Linebackers - Fred McCorkle and Wesley Devine returned as the obvious starters on the strong side and in the middle. On the weakside, Alton Bradley was deemed better than Butch VandenBosch. C.J. Boo was returning as the top backup to McCorkle and Devine. Jay Meier made the team as a pure special teamer.
Secondary - Herman Hatton returned as the shutdown corner. Zach Pisano unseated Tito Close as the second starting cornerback. At safety, Perry Walker and Thurman Hopper were announced the returning starters. Bernie Gordon once again made the team as the backup safety. Karl Pritchett stuck at safety, but the intention was to keep him inactive, unless injuries forced him into action. Winfred Alcott just barely made the 53-men roster, once again as an emergency cornerback and as the backup backup punt returner.
Punter - Edward Rice's role was uncontested in camp.
Kicker - Charles Anthony became the team's longest standing player, returning for another year as the field goals kicker. Lenny Russell looked good enough in camp to take over the kickoff duties.

Overall, the Merchantmen lost quite the experience and talent on offense, replacing four starters. Defensively, natural replacement was happening, which says little. Optimism wasn't high, but Merchantmen management, coaching staff and players felt that the team was still strong enough to play like second-best behind the seemingly untouchable Tucker Tigers...

[MIJB#19]

2039 Regular Season Recap

Week 1
The Merchantmen 2039 regular season started with a road game at the Bordeaux Vineyards. Historically usually a loss, but the previous three visits all resulted in victories. The Vineyards were coming off a 6-10 campaign, after a 3-9 start and their off-season changes were underwhelming. It ended up being a close game, with the Merchantmen kicking the go ahead field goal on the two-minute warning and the 26-21 victory clincher in the dying seconds. Jay McGee connected on a 48-yard play with Terry Haskell for the opening score and completed a second touchdown to Donald Terry, who ran for 105 yards on the ground.
The bad news of the day was that Thurman Hopper was out for the season. The Merchantmen brought back Quinn Gonzalez as the third safety, with Bernie Gordon moving into Hopper's role as free safety.

Week 2
The first home game of the season was scheduled against the Kansas Creationists, with quarterback Mercury Lynn and wide receiver Tyrone Jones as their key players. Jay McGee struggled with his accuracy, getting picked off 3 times to force a game tighter than necessary. He did manage to keep the chains moving in the short field that he was getting, connecting with Terry Haskell for his lone touchdown pass, whilst Donald Terry scored twice on short runs. The Creationists looked like they were making the game wining drive going into the two-minute warning, but Herman Hatton picked off Lynn's pass to secure the 21-17 win.

Week 3
The toughest game of the regular season was here, in a rematch of the 2038 AOC Championship game. The Merchantmen were going to the Tucker Tigers, hoping to see improvement compared to the previous season. Well, think again. In a classic Merchantmen fashion, usually only seen in the playoffs clashes with the Tigers, turnovers and a no-show of the usually impressive defense, resulted in a disastrous start. After just 22 minutes of play, the Tigers were up 38-0 and both coaches decided to pull their quarterbacks and go into pre-season mode. What ensued was AOC championship game unworthy, with both offenses struggling to play decent football. Eventually the Tigers added three field goals resulting in a 47-7 loss for the Merchantmen. Rookie Greg Brass scored his first IHOF touchdown, pounding it in from 2 yards out.

Week 5
After a much needed week off, the Merchantmen regrouped in the home game against the North Plainfield Plague. The defense held all-time Merchantmen rusher Darrin Keegan to 24 yards, whilst intercepting quarterback Timo Ross twice. Jay McGee wasn't overly impressive, but got the job done with touchdown passes to Terry Haskell and tight end D.J. Cahill to guide his team to a 20-6 win.

Week 6
The road game a the Rochester Razorbacks became an uncharacteristic game for the Merchantmen. Jay McGee had a strong outing, throwing for 276 yards with four touchdowns and no picks. In the first quarter he connected with Terry Haskell for a 47-yard touchdown and added short scoring passes to rookie Vincent Cox and tight end Mike Bernstein for a 21-0 first quarter lead. Fro there on the game was pretty even, but the early lead was enough to hold on for a 47-34 win. McGee added touchdown pass to Charles Pomeranz, whilst Donald Terry ran for a 43-yard score to anchor his 111-yard performance. Haskell had 140 yards receiving on 8 receptions.

Week 7
After the high-scoring affair in Rochester, the Merchantmen rolled on against the Toronto Lake Monsters. The offense was clicking very well, never being forced to punt and gaining 479 total yards. Jay McGee completed 27 of 39 passes for 394 yards. Terry Haskell had 8 catches for 155 yards and a score, Adam Brautlacht scored the other receiving touchdown. Donald Terry scored on a 30-yard run to showcase his potential to win the rushing title. Lack of red zone efficiency kept it closer than needed, as two fourth quarter field goals finalized the 33-17 victory.

Week 8
Aside from the Tucker visit, the road game at the Paris Musketeers looked like the toughest one on the schedule. The Musketeers were sharing the division lead at 5-1 each, making this a crucial game for tie-breakers as well. The Musketeers dominated the game from the start, keeping Donald Terry in check for just 31 yards on 16 carries. Terry would eventually score, but that came when a 20-0 deficit was on the score board. Jay McGee improved his stats for the day to respectable in a last chance drive, completing a touchdown pass to Terry Haskell in hopes to comeback from behind and tie it up. The onside kick was recovered by Paris, and the 23-15 loss for Maassluis had been finalized.

Week 9
Donald Terry rebounded quickly in the mid-season point game. With 203 yards rushing and a score, he carried the Merchantmen offense at the Harlem Apollos. But it was to no avail, Jay McGee had another wild day, throwing 4 interceptions with no scores to compensate, completely anchoring the 17-10 loss.

Week 10
At home against the Bordeaux Vineyards it was confidence tanking time. The special teams unit and defense did their work tremendously, resulting in an average drive start at the 50-yard line. Donald Terry ran for 108 yards and 2 scores, soliciting for the rushing title once again. The passing game was basically unnecessary with the short field, Jay McGee threw for only 160 yards, completing touchdown passes to Charles Pomeranz and Terry Haskell (twice) to put the 38-14 win on the scoreboard.

Week 11
The Gothenburg Giants became the next victim of the rolling Merchantmen machine. Once again dominating the field position battle, the Merchantmen marched to a 37-10 victory. Jay McGee struggled once again, getting picked off twice and completed only 6 passes for 50 yards to his wide receivers. Tight end Mike Bernstein and running back Donald Terry stepped up with scoring catches. Terry once again carried the offense, gaining 148 yards on just 14 carries, with a second touchdown coming on the ground. Defensive tackle Jerome Tyson made the fourth touchdown on a fumble recovery.

Week 12
The road game at the Chicago Norsemen became a memorable one. The Norsemen showed up with quarterback Mercury Lynn and wide receiver Tyrus Jones, acquiring them through trade from Kansas after the Creationists decided to blow up the team after the loss in week 2. The first quarter was a defensive struggle, but slowly the Norsemen took control, breaking out with Lynn's 52-yard pass to Ethan Honaker for a 10-0 half time lead. Despite his 384 yards passing, with 155 yards to Wally Blake and 137 to Honaker, Lynn failed to get points on the board. The Norsemen settled for two field goals in the third quarter, giving them a 16-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. It proved to be too little. Out of nowhere, the Merchantmen and Jay McGee woke up. McGee connected with Adam Brautlacht to get on the board and then completed a 41-yard pass to tight end D.J. Cahill to make it a 2-point game. On the next drive Chicago marched forward, but Perry Walker stepped in with a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown. With a minute left to play, Cahill added his second receiving touchdown of the day, completed an amazing come back from behind 28-16 win.

Week 13
The Merchantmen were far from done, extending the winning streak to four in the home game against the Fort Wayne Fury. Terry Haskell had 114 yards receiving, whilst Charles Pomeranz scored two touchdowns from the hands of Jay McGee to anchor the 20-13 win.

Week 14
Playing on the road at the Minnesota Miners, the Merchantmen looked unstoppable. Donald Terry had another big day, running for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Greg Brass scored the team's fourth rushing touchdown. Jay McGee was on fire between the 20's, throwing for 315 yards, with the majority to Terry Haskell, who gained 172 yards receiving. McGee and Haskell also gelled on the only passing score for the Merchantmen on a 45-yard play to solidify the 41-13 victory.

Week 15
Contrary to the in on-fire form for the Merchantmen, the Paris Musketeers were coming to Maassluis after a 3-3 stretch. It put the division lead into dutch hands, leading by 1 win and making it a winner takes all game, although the division title wasn't to be clinched yet. It became an evenly matched game, with opportunities on both sides, wasted with silly turnovers and missed field goals. The Musketeers were more efficient in the red zone early on, but their last visit in the final minutes resulted in a crucial sack. Rosey Hansen lost the ball in the struggle and the Merchantmen recovered it. They still got the ball back, but the punt returner also fumbled to end the make it a 20-14 win for the Merchantmen. Adam Brautlacht was Jay McGee's most effective target with two touchdowns and Donald Terry had yet another big game with 125 yards rushing.

Week 16
The Paris win visible had boosted the confidence of the Merchantmen, although at home against the also 11-3 Iowa Cobbers it seemed to swing too far. The Merchantmen were playing sloppy and were playing from behind all day long. Trailing 24-17, the Merchantmen settled for a field goal, gambling on getting the ball back in the final two minutes. Right after the time outs had ran out, Herman Hatton made an important interception in Iowa territory. Maassluis decided to take a small gains approach and ran out of time as they were stopped at the Iowa four-yard line for the 24-20 loss. Jay McGee had 2 touchdown passes, with running back Donald Terry and fullback Terrell Wilkerson bringing them in. With Paris winning, the third straight division title wasn't there yet.

Week 17
On a rainy day, the Gothenburg Giants hoped to play spoilers in their own house. On the first play of the game, not counting the kickoff for a touchback, Jay McGee found Terry Haskell wide open and an 80-yard run-after-catch later, the Merchantmen were already 7-0 up. The Giants put up a fight, until defensive tackle scored his second touchdown of the season, returning an interception for 33 yards. Charles Anthony had a busy day, kicking 5 field goals and Charles Pomeranz accounted for the important two-score lead, as McGee made his second scoring pass of the game. Backup quarterback Stanley Bissel got picked off twice in the final minutes to seal a 36-20 win and the division title for the Merchantmen. Moreover, with the San Antonio Tidal Force lost at home against the Vicksburg Vipers, giving the Merchantmen the unexpected bye week in the playoffs, marking the third straight season as the AOC's second seed behind the Tucker Tigers.

Stats
Jay McGee finished the regular season with 3,661 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, which wasn't all the impressive. Donald Terry took the IHOF rushing title, gaining 1,489 yards on 266 carries, with an impressive 5.6 yard average and 12 rushing touchdowns (he didn't miss Kerry Zumdahl and Ricky Castillo at all!) Terry Haskell had 84 catches for 1,286 yards and 10 scores.
Jack Money again lead the league in kickoff return yards, improving his personal best to 36.5 yards per return. At 8.9 yards per punt return and 0 fumbles on 69 returns, he was clearly the best return specialist in the league, despite lacking any touchdowns to boost his performance.
Wesley Devine lead the IHOF with 115 tackles, sharing the lead with Paris' Roger Harvey, Harold Matheson was third in the IHOF with 12.0 sacks, the most of all defensive linemen.

Of course, the important part of the season was yet to come... The playoffs!

[MIJB#19]

2039 Playoffs seeding order
Atlantic Ocean Conference
1 Tucker Tigers 14-2
2 Maassluis Merchantmen 13-3
3 San Antonio Tidal Force 12-4
4 Harlem Apollos 11-5
5 Fort Wayne Fury 11-5
6 Paris Musketeers 11-5
Rochester (11-5), Vicksburg (10-6) and Gothenburg (9-7) misses the playoffs

North American Conference
bye week: Iowa (13-3), Outer Banks (12-4)
div champs: Frederick (10-6), Hanalei (6-10)
wild cards: Chicago (11-5), Chesapeake (10-5)

2039 Wild Card round
The San Antonio Tidal Force made the playoffs after 28 seasons without making it. As third seeds with a phenomenal passing game, they were favorites to beat the Paris Musketeers. But the Musketeers were unimpressed, holding much-touted quarterback Dwayne Hastings to 10/23 for 103 yards. The Musketeers pulled the 34-16 upset and were scheduled to play the conference semifinals on the road at the Tucker Tigers.
The Merchantmen opponent then had to come from the Harlem-Fort Wayne matchup. The hosting Apollos struggled all game long and never looked like the strong team that beat the Merchantmen. The Fury defense dominated and allowed just 160 total yards. Quarterback Wally McBrayer lead his offense completing 34 of 42 passes for 298 yards and 2 scores (with 1 interception) en route to a 20-0 victory.
In the NAC, the Chesapeake Chitterlings upset the Frederick Red Menace 28-21 on the road, whilst the heavy underdogs Hanalei Dragons surprised the Chicago Norsemen with a comeback from behind last minute 24-23 home victory.


2039 Conference Semifinals
Despite playing at home against the team they beat last season at this stage, the Merchantmen looked nervous in the first quarter. The Fort Wayne Fury took the 3-0 lead on the opening drive and their defense forced a three-and-out. An 86-yard drive later, the Fury were 10-0 up and the trouble was far from over. On the next play after the kickoff, Jay McGee got picked off and the Fury cornerback Nichols ran it back to the 4-yard line. Another two plays later it was 17-0 and Oranje Haven was getting really quiet. But not for long, as Jack Money had one of his usual big kickoff returns. Two first down tossed later, McGee had his team in Fury turf and on a sneaky third and 6, backup running back Alfred Brew broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run, his first score of the entire season. The first quarter ended with the Firy pinned back at their own 10-yard line, but up 17-7.

McBrayer seemed to orchestrate a long Fury drive, but after 10 plays they had to punt anyway. Anchored by a 27-yard reception for tight end D.J. Cahill, the Merchantmen went from red zone to red zone, despite settling for the field goal, making it a one-score game again. A three-and-out later and the Merchantmen were into Fury turf again, but rookie Greg Brass fumbled the opportunity. The Merchantmen defense held ground, but the offense had to start from their own 10-yard line. A quick 29-yard run after catch from Haskell moved the Merchantmen forward, but time was scarce and the Merchantmen settled for an impressive 54-yarder from supposedly powerless Charles Anthony. The Merchantmen were down 17-13 going into the half time break.

The second half started with a strong kickoff return from J.T. Patterson towards midfield and was followed up with a fast moving passing game. Donald Terry was held short for a touchdown run, but Brass pounded it in for the 20-17 lead. The Fury looked like they were going to reply quickly, but linebacker Wesley Devine got in position and intercepted a McBrayer pass. Momentum was with the Merchantmen for just so long, three plays later McGee got sacked halfway the Merchantmen half and lost the ball in the ensuing fight for the ball. The Fury took the opportunity and took the lead again at 24-20. Money once again delivered a big return into Fury turf, but the drive ended in a punt, with Edward Rice nailing it at the Fury 3-yard line. Three plays later, Jerome Tyson broke through, sacked McBrayer and Eugene Johnstone recovered the ball inside the Fury redzone. Brass scored from 8 yards out and the Merchantmen were up again: 27-24.

In the fourth quarter, both teams had a long, but unsuccessful drive, leaving just under seven minutes on the clock. With the Fury trying to move up field, Jerome Tyson once again got through the pass protection and with his sack forced another fumble, that got recovered by Harold Matheson just outside the redzone. The Merchantmen pushed and pushed, but the endzone was too much to ask and another field goal made it 30-24. With two time outs left and less than two minutes left, the Fury got things going. A crucial fourth down conversion kept possession for the Fury and a big 31-yard pass play to Clyde Hall gave the Fury one more shot at the endzone with 11 seconds left. McBrayer targeted Hall again, who caught the ball as well, but safety Perry Walker was there in time to end the play, and the game.

The Merchantmen had done it again: they were going to the AOC Championship game!

Elsewhere, the Tucker Tigers demolished the Paris Musketeers 48-27, Jackie Collier completed 25 of 32 passes for 405 yards and 4 touchdowns, marking a perfect passer rating. In the NAC, the top-seeded Iowa Cobbers tripped over the stout Chesapeake Chitterlings defense with a 30-6, whilst the Outer Banks Ospreys took care of the Hanalei Dragons (17-7) with a strong defensive showing on their own.

[MIJB#19]

Atlantic Ocean Conference Championship 2039

In 2007, the Maassluis Merchantmen reached their first AOC Championship game. They had surprised the world with their 13-3 regular season play and beat the San Antonio Volunteers in the conference semifinals. In the conference championship game at the North Plainfield Plague, everything that could go wrong went wrong in the first quarter. The Plague steamrolled to a 43-10 victory.
In 2027, the Merchantmen went 11-5 in the regular season and beat the Harlem Apollos and Rochester Lake Monsters on their way to a second conference championship game. The Tucker Tigers were the better team that day and down by 22 points, the Merchantmen pulled their quarterback 'Rusty' Harrison in the fourth quarter. Tucker held on to win 32-14.
In 2038, the Merchantmen dominated the first half and looked ready to win their first Atlantic Ocean Conference championship. The Tucker Tigers felt differently and came back with 34 unanswered points to win 48-26 in a crushing fashion.
In 2039, the Merchantmen were making their fourth attempt, once again playing on the road and once again playing against the Tucker Tigers. In the regular season, the Tigers won 47-7 at Venable Field. More interestingly, the Tigers were on a streak of AOC championship game appearance, which had started in that 2027 edition. In all previous head-to-head clashes in the playoffs, the Tigers had gone 7-0. Tucker had to be the favorites, by a landslide.

The game started with a lucky break for the Merchantmen. Tucker kicker Benjamin Alexander botched the kickoff and Adam Brautlacht ran it back to around midfield. Jay McGee connected with B.J. Baxter on a crucial third down and the Merchantmen were into scoring position. Another third down play saw McGee found Terry Haskell midway the redzone open and able to run it in for the 7-0 lead. The following drive the Tigers quickly reached Merchantmen turf, but a holding penalty pushed them back and on the next two plays the pass rush was too intense. Matt King punted for Tucker and placed it perfectly at the 1-yard line. A couple of plays later, the inevitable Jay McGee interception showed up, Derrick Oster got in position at the 34-yard line. Tucker failed to score back, Johnnie Warren made his second sack of the day and Jerome Tyson got the ball for Maassluis. McGee found Haskell for a 29-yard gain and a second score was in the making. Donald Terry converted a big fourth down and three plays later got into the endzone for the 14-0 lead. And it wasn't quite over yet, on the next play Zach Pisano picked off a Collier pass at midfield.
Baxter made another crucial third down catch at the start of the second quarter, getting his team in scoring position. Terry ran into the red zone and Greg Brass made a third down catch to set up a short touchdown pass from McGee to Mike Bernstein. The Merchantmen were leading 21-0! The Tigers finally draw a line and got their engines going. Collier found Brant Clark for 25 yards to get over the middle and a couple of plays later found Russell Glenn for a 20-yard touchdown pass (21-7). The next Merchantmen drive stalled after six plays and a minute later it was a 53-yard catch and run for Russell Glenn that made it a game again (21-14). Jack Money was unimpressed and made his first play of the game with a 35-yard kickoff return. McGee slowly, but steadily, kept his team moving forward and just before half time found Bernstein again for a surprise 24-yard pass play to take a 28-14 lead.
The first drive after the break was an uncharacteristic drive for the Tigers. Slowly they moved the ball up field and they got into scoring position. Collier thought he had Skip Dillon open in the end zone, but linebacker Alton Bradley got in between and picked it off. This stalling was just short term, though, as the Merchantmen went three and out, quickly followed by a typical Tigers drive. Collier found Wes Banks for 19 yards, Clark for 30 yards, Glenn for 13 yards and Earl Howard for 13 yards into the endzone (28-21). On the following drive, McGee quickly responded with a 19 yard scramble and handed off to Brass and Donald Terry for 10 yard runs. McGee finished the run-heavy drive off with a 9-yard pass to running back Alfred Brew into the endzone, doubling the lead again. The quarter ended with Maassluis leading 35-21.
The fourth quarter started with the Tigers getting stopped and having Matt King display a second perfect punt, pinning the Merchantmen at their 1-yard line. The Merchantmen went run-heavy to gain ground, but at best got 3 minutes off the clock, seeing their own punter choke a 28-yarder that rolled to a stop at midfield. The Tigers answered with their typical mid-long passing plays, finishing off with a 12-yard touchdown run by Mo Battle (35-28). Maassluis appeared to get a two-score lead after a 41-yard Money return and 20-yard Haskell catch, but the Merchantmen decided to punt and pin the Tigers at their 3-yard line. The Merchantmen pass defense was getting into the game now and forced another punt with 3 minutes left. The Merchantmen failed to get much time off the clock on their possession and Tucker got it back. Before the two-minute warning, Collier found Howard for a 20-yard gain towards midfield. Three plays later, Collier found Clark for a 20-yard gain to the 21-yard line and over a minute to play. First down, Collier to Clark, dropped pass. Second down, Collier pressured, no catch. Third down, Collier pressured again, no catch. Fourth down, false start on Tucker, 15 yards to go now. Fourth down again, Collier to Skip Dillon... Pass dropped! Three knee drops later, the game was over. The Merchantmen were victories 35-28 and going to IHOF Bowl XXXVI!

In the NAC, the Chesapeake Chitterlings continued their on the road routine, beating the Outer Banks Ospreys 27-9. Gene Carraway completed 26 of 36 for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns, completing 12 for 202 yards and 2 scores to Dixon Horner. The four-time IHOF champions qualified for their league record 13th IHOF Bowl, to play against the first-time bowling Merchantmen.

[MIJB#19]

IHOF Bowl XXXVI: Maassluis Merchantmen vs Chesapeake Chitterlings
This was is. The biggest moment in franchise history. The Maassluis Merchantmen are playing in the big game for the first time. The route to get there went through the Tucker Tigers, the all-time record holders in most IHOF championships. The opponent in IHOF Bowl XXXVI are the all-time record holders in bowl appearances, the Chesapeake Chitterlings. Place of business: Memphis, Tennessee.

After a 12-4 regular season and the impressive showing at Tucker, the Merchantmen felt they were the favorites. With a 10-6 regular season record and needing all the help to even get into the playoffs, the Chitterlings were basically just happy to be here. Of course, with all the IHOF Bowl experience, a lot of the Chitterlings were doing it all over again. The Merchantmen roster was heavily home-grown, it was a completely new experience.

First quarter
Maassluis won the coin toss and hoped to get their type of game going from the start. The Chitterlings kicked away from Jack Money, creating confusing on the Merchantmen and resulting not only in a short Adam Brautlacht return, but also in a holding penalty. The first drive was a short one, with a quick three and out, giving the Chitterlings the ball around midfield. On second and long, Gene Carraway found his favorite target Dixon Horner open for a 46-yard gain, into the redzone. The Merchantmen defense tried to hold ground, but broke after six plays, with Carraway to Horner also being the first touchdown of the game (7-0 Chesapeake). Jack Money responded with a big kick return to midfield, but it was called back for another holding penalty. Jay McGee found Vincent Cox and Terry Haskell to get the Merchantmen at midfield, but on third down, a pass towards Cox was intercepted by safety Perry Schwartz and ran back 86 yards for the 14-0 Chesapeake lead. Donald Terry replied with his first decent runs, but the Merchantmen were stopped at midfield. The stout defenses exchanged strong three and outs, with Edward Rice pinning the Chitterlings at their own 6-yard line to end the first quarter.

Second quarter
A couple of strong third down runs from Mo Kuffrey and a pass interference call on the Merchantmen moved the Chitterlings to midfield. On third and long, Gene Carraway found Dixon Horner for a 22-yard gain, putting them into scoring position. The Merchantmen defense recovered well, kept the Chitterlings far from the redzone and forced a field goal opportunity. Shaun Jizmejian missed the 45-yarder, keeping it a two-score game. The Chitterlings defense held ground, keeping Greg Brass from a crucial third and short conversion. Scottie Evans ran for two decent gains and Carraway to Horner came to another good connection to move the Chitterlings forward, but were brutally halted when Scottie Evans was stuffed behind his line and Perry Walker picked up the stripped ball at the Chesapeake 41-yard line. In the ensuing drive, still struggling offensively, the Merchantmen needed a big fourth and short to get into scoring position. Jay McGee failed to reach Terry Haskell and it was a change of possession again. Helped by a false start penalty, the Merchantmen pulled another three-and-out to get the ball back in their own redzone. Donald Terry was struggling to gain ground, but Jay McGee twice hit Terry Haskell for big third down conversions to move into Chesapeake territory. With under a minute left, the Merchantmen went for it on third and short again. Greg Brass got the ball, but got stuffed. The Chitterlings failed to get anything going on their final three plays, ending the first half in a 14-0 Chitterlings lead.

Third quarter
The Chitterlings got the ball first and immediately made an impact. Mo Kuffrey had a nice 16-yard run to move the chains to midfield, while Gene Carraway completed passes to his alternate targets Leland Rossel and Matthew Leiter to get into field goal range. Shaun Jizmejian was called in to kick a 48-yarder and made it this time (17-0). The following play, Jack Money got the kickoff return, but for the first time this season lost possession of the ball during the tackle. The Chitterlings had the ball back, in field goal range. Carraway found Leonard Edwards for a 19-yard gain into the redzone, but the Merchantmen defense quickly regrouped and kept it to a 29-yard field goal attempt. Jizmejian scored and put his team 20-0 up. The Merchantmen offense appear to have woken up, starting with a typical Money return towards the 44-yard line. Donald Terry made a couple of good runs and the Chesapeake 33-yard line was reached. The drive stalled there as well, as Jay McGee got sacked and his receiver on third down failed to get a first down. The Chitterlings saw their tight end Burt Jarrett make a couple of plays, setting up another big Dixon Horner catch into Merchantmen turf. Leland Rossel then caught the ball near the 34-yard line, but fumbled it while going down and Zach Pisano returned the ball to the Maassluis 45-yard line. Donald Terry ran for 8 and 7 yards, while Terry Haskell made a big 18-yard catch and Greg Brass finally made a big third and short conversion to get into the redzone. The Merchantmen were in scoring position, but trailing 20-0 to go into the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter
Donald Terry got stuff on the first play, but on second and long he caught the Chitterlings off guard and ran it into the endzone for 23 yards. Chesapeake 20, Maassluis 7, it wasn't completely over yet. Gene Carraway was unimpressed, found Burt Jarrett for a 20-yard gain to get his team into the opponent's half and completed a pass to Matthew Leiter for a big fourth down conversation. The Chitterlings settled for a 38-yard field goal, making it a 16-point lead. On their next drive, the Merchantmen managed to reach the redzone again, key play coming on a 15-yard Jay McGee pass to Vincent Cox. With just under four minutes left, the Merchantmen decided to not go for it on fourth and five, Charles Anthony kicked the 33-yarder, but down 23-10, things looked pretty dim for Maassluis. The Chitterlings failed to get a good drive going, but did manage to drain all Merchantmen time outs before the two-minute warning. The Merchantmen went into pass-only mode, but the Chitterlings secondary did a fine job holding off. Terry Haskell made a big 16-yard catch on fourth down, but the clock was ticking away. On fourth and ten with 22 seconds left, it was an all or nothing play. Jay McGee didn't get enough time from his offensive line and the hurried pass fell incomplete. Opportunity gone and game over. Chesapeake 23, Maassluis 10.

Analysis
The Merchantmen got their opportunities to get on the score board (level in turnovers, missed field goal), but struggling on key plays to keep the chains moving. Donald Terry ran for 102 yards and a score, but Jay McGee clearly struggled as he completed 20 of 37 for 159 yards and 1 interception. The usual field position advantage based on the kickoff and punt returns wasn't there, the defense was decent enough, the passing game just wasn't strong enough to keep it close. A disappointing end to an otherwise very good season, anchored by the end of losing streaks in AOC championship games and playoff games versus the Tucker Tigers. On to 2040 it was...

[revrew]

Aw, MIJB. How exciting to beat Tucker! And then Chesapeake wins anyway. Ben and QS can be such killjoys.

Even better luck next year!

[MIJB#19]

2040 Off-Season
Cap troubles continued to pile up in Maassluis, relief was on the horizon for 2041, but in 2040 the room just wasn't there yet to make a splash in free agency. In fact, more expensive players were forced to leave Maassluis.


Retirements
Surprisingly the Merchantmen went through the off-season relatively free from retirements. Last season's signing Jay Meier was the only exception. Leaving an easy to fill hole as gunner and third string linebacker.


Roster Cuts
The biggest news of the 2040 off-season was the release of quarterback Jay McGee. There may have been other routes to find cap space, but the release of McGee was the easiest, saving about $11 million. McGee eventually signed with the Iowa Cobbers, backing up Perry Coleman. McGee left Maassluis after 10 seasons of service, guiding the franchise to its first conference championship and IHOF Bowl appearance.

Defensive tackle Jerome Tyson was the second big release. Tyson was coming off an All-IHOF season, releasing him would save over $9 million in cap space this season and build a $7 million dead cap figure in the much wealthier 2041 season. Tyson left Maassluis after four seasons and ended up with the rebranded Moontown Darksiders.

Fullback Albert 'the Shovel' Shalon was also released. Not so much a cap initiated move, Shalon lost the roster spot battle to his inheritor Greg Brass. Shalon spent 11 seasons on the Merchantmen, although sitting out the entire 2039 season, setting his name as an expert third down carrier.

Linebacker Butch VandenBosch left Maassluis after nine seasons. 'VDB' was cut over cap reasons, saving over $4.5 million. A torn ACL in his knee cut his 2036 campaign short and kept him inactive throughout the 2037 season, but he came back strong in 2038. VandenBosch ended up with the Oakland Black Panthers later on as a special teamer.

Cornerback Winfred Alcott failed to make the pre-season roster. The punt return specialist lost his playing time when Jack Money emerged as IHOF best return specialist and was no longer considered a legitimate option in the secondary. It came as no surprise as Alcott sat out the entire 2039 season. In the free agents pool, he found Kennedy Maxwell, his former fellow punt returner. Both remained unsigned throughout the 2040 season and retired after the season.

Guard O.J. Treftz was the final released player in the off-season, before training camp. As a rookie, Treftz was active in just one game and had to clear out his locker to make room for a new rookie guard.


Suspension
Defensive tackle Roger Finch had the dishonor to become the first Merchantmen player to be suspended for a season. Reasons were undisclosed, but it meant he was to miss the entire 2040 campaign.


Pre-draft Free Agency
With the release of McGee, the search for a replacement quarterback started. Journeyman Stanley Bissel signed as a free agent to a three-year contract, becoming the first candidate to become the new starting quarterback, ahead of veteran Kerry Lewis and the disappointing Harry Osborne. This move was honed by the Merchantmen fans, as they quickly found out had an underwhelming track record with 32 career touchdown passes and 46 interceptions in 10 seasons. His limited action against the Merchantmen resulted in two losses as a starter and a horrible late game fill-in job last season.

The second free agent signing prior to the draft was defensive tackle Kelly Pfingsten. As a pass rusher he hopped around the lion share of his career as a substitute in the Midwest division. He played a minor role with the Tucker Tigers last season.


Big Trade
With the cap relief, the Merchantmen saw the opportunity to acquire a talented veteran wide receiver. Also fighting for cap room, the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums shopped J.T. Pritt and the Merchantmen snagged him up for their 2041 first round pick and three second round picks in future seasons. An expensive price for a player entering his tenth season, but he had a good track record in staying healthy and by the management was considered as the perfect guy to start opposite Terry Haskell to become one of IHOF's best receiver tandems.


Draft
The Zumdahl and Castillo trade last season left the Merchantmen with an extra late first round pick. Attempts to trade one of the first round picks failed and the Merchantmen decided to stay put and draft two very talented defensive players with picks 30 and 31: Cornerback Mark Crum from Pittsburgh and linebacker Daniel Duncan from Penn State. Crum stepped into a Merchantmen tradition of first round cornerbacks, following the likes of Tai Wayne (2005), Greg Proehl (2022) and more recently Tito Close (2032) and Herman Hatton (2033), the last two still playing in Maassluis. Duncan joined two former first-round picked Merchantmen linebackers with Fred McCorkle (2031) and Wesley Devine (2036).

The cream of the crop was there with Crum and Duncan, but the Merchantmen added nine more rookies to their roster. Defensive tackle Brian Lincoln was picked in the third round, then not knowing Finch would be suspended. In the fourth round kicker J.B. Briggs and punter Winston Forbes were taken. Both with the intent to keep get signed if one of the returning veterans would look out of shape in camp. The fifth round brought along guard Vinny O'Neill, defensive end Harvey Durham, running back Scott Fulcher and quarterback Rickey McElrath. In the seventh round linebacker Rickey Koelling was picked as a special teams prospect and tight end Cedric McPhillips was picked based on his fast 40-yard dash. Center William Barker went undrafted, but was picked up shortly after the draft, as was wide receiver Leon Foley.




Training Camp
Quarterbacks
In and after camp, all eyes were on Stanley Bissel, knowing how Harry Osborne had been pushed aside without getting much of a chance behind Jay McGee and knowing that career backup Kerry Lewis had moved into the second string role in recent seasons. Rookie Rickey McElrath failed to impress in training camp and was cut before the pre-season started. Planned depth chart:
QB1 Stanley Bissel
QB2 Kerry Lewis
QB3 Harry Osborne
cut Rickey McElrath

Running Backs
Returning as the leading rusher in IHOF, Donald Terry's position was undisputed. Alfred Brew had to run for his life with rookie Scott Fulcher emerging quickly, forcing Brew down the depth chart. J.T. Patterson was undeniable as well, still sporting his kickoff return skills. Fullback Greg Brass showed more improvement in camp in his power running and remained as the third down back. Terrell Wilkerson held Brass off as the lead backfield blocker.
RB1 Donald Terry
RB2 Scott Fulcher
RB3/ST J.T. Patterson
FB Terrell Wilkerson
FB2/RB Greg Brass
RB3 Alfred Brew(inactive)

Tight End
Not much news to report at this position. Mike Bernstein's starting position wasn't up for grabs. Second year pro Cary Harriman did show improvement and managed to unseat D.J. Cahill as the primary backup tight end. With the arrival of Pritt, tight end would become a less important position in the passing game anyway, making Harriman's blocking skills much more important than Cahill's receiving skills. Cedric McPhillips was exposed as a workout warrior and was cut after camp.
TE1 Mike Bernstein
TE2 Cary Harriman
TE3 D.J. Cahill (inactive)
cut Cedric McPhillips

Wide receivers
Newly acquired J.T. Pritt didn't disappoint and it was clear that he would become the new starter opposite Terry Haskell. Second year pro Vincent Cox barely beat Adam Brautlacht for the primary backup role. Charles Pomeranz also made the team as the fifth receiver. Jack Money obviously made the team as a return specialist and Casey Brown made the opening day roster purely based on his special teams skills. Youngsters B.J. Baxter and Leon Foley became the victims of the arrival of Pritt and were both released, with Foley hanging around throughout pre-season. Both eventually ended up with the Bordeaux Vineyards as regular season signings.
WR1 Terry Haskell
WR2 J.T. Pritt
WR3 Vincent Cox
WR4 Adam Brautlacht
WR5 Charles Pomeranz
WR6/ST Casey Brown
WR7/PR/KR Jack Money
cut B.J. Baxter
cut Leon Foley

Offensive Line
One of the interesting decisions in training camp was to move Gilbert Rhodes from left guard to left tackle. It made room for run blocker Tom Bush to move back to the right side and for D.J. Dunn to move back to a backup role for both tackle positions. B.J. Samuels won the center role, but center Arnie Croft also grabbed a starting position as the left guard. Rookie Vinny O'Neill was the biggest surprise of training camp, showing quite the experience and potential to be a quality right guard. Nate Hurnblad and Lamont Whitfield settled for backup roles at guard, with Whitfield being the 47th man and only able to become active with injuries on the line or elsewhere. Donny Gaines made the team again as long snapper. William Barker had an uphill battle that he was unlikely to win, despite his talent.
LT Gilbert Rhodes
LG Arnie Croft
C B.J. Samuels
RG Vinny O'Neill
RT Tom Bush
OT3 D.J. Dunn
G3 Nate Hurnblad
OL8 Lamont Whitfield (inactive)
OL9/LS Donny Gaines
cut William Barker

Punter
Veteran Edward Rice showed up in good shape, making it unnecessary to sign Winston Forbes.
P Edward Rice
P2 Winston Forbes (unsigned)

Kicker
Charles Anthony looked ready for his 15th season in the IHOF. The 2026 mr. irrelevant made the team again as the field goal kicker. Lenny Russell looked good enough to stick around as the kickoff specialist, although doubt were arising about his potential. J.B. Briggs wound up unsigned.
K(FG) Charles Anthony
K(KO) Lenny Russell
K3 J.B. Briggs (unsigned)

Defensive Line
With Earnest Johnstone emerging, the defensive end starting roles went to him and leading sacks machine Harold Matheson. Johnnie Warren still made the team as the primary backup defensive end. Rookie Harvey Durham didn't impress and made the team as an inactive member. On the inside, Dwight Hutton had grown into a decent replacement of released Jerome Tyson. Rookie Brian Lincoln and free agent signing Kelly Pfingsten both looked good enough to be pass rushing experts. Brenden England had lost more of his power and agility, but still made it as the eighth lineman. Veteran Gerald Large was underwhelming again and after one season as an inactive backup was released. Roger Finch's suspension made him irrelevant for the depth chart battles, he remained signed.
LDE Earnest Johnstone
LDT Brian Lincoln
RDT Dwight Hutton
RDE Harold Matheson
DE3 Johnnie Warren
DT3 Kelly Pfingsten
DL7 Harvey Durham (inactive)
DL8 Brendan England (inactive)
susp Roger Finch
cut Gerald Large

Linebackers
The Merchantmen brought six linebackers into training camp and decided to bring only five into the season. Middle linebacker Wesley Devine's position was undisputed. Rookie Daniel Duncan quickly emerged as an all-around quality player and was moved into the starting role on the strong side. Alton Bradley's pass defending and pass rushing skills made him the weakside starter, ahead of veteran Fred McCorkle. C.J. Boo once again was announced as the all-round backup. Johnnie Koelling failed to impress, even as a special teamer, and was cut after camp.
SLB Daniel Duncan
MLB Wesley Devine
WLB Alton Bradley
LB4 C.J. Boo
LB5 Fred McCorkle
cut Johnnie Koelling

Secondary
The arrival of Mark Crum looked important to an already quality secondary. Crum impressed and was announced as the shut down corner. Herman Hatton held of Zach Pisano as the second starter. Tito Close looked even slower than last season, but held on just enough to make it again, leaning heavily on his knowledge of the system. Thurman Hopper returned without much of a scar after a season on injured reserve and was announced the free safety again, with Perry Walker returning as the strong safety. Bernie Gordon got demoted back to the second string role, but still high enough on the chart to see a lot of action on passing downs. Quinn Gonzalez made it as the fourth option at safety and Karl Pritchett as the nineth defensive back.
CB1 Mark Crum
CB2 Herman Hatton
SS Perry Walker
FS Thurman Hopper
CB3/NB Zach Pisano
S3/DM Bernie Gordon
S4 Quinn Gonzalez
CB4 Tito Close (inactive)
S5 Karl Pritchett (inactive)

With all the big moves at several key positions, pundits around the league doubted the Merchantmen would repeat as conference champions, even wondering whether they could hold of the Paris Musketeers and the improving Gothenburg Giants. Despite the confidence in the front office, elsewhere - with Stanley Bissel at quarterback - expectations were pretty low going into the season.

[MIJB#19]

Regular Season - September 2040

Week 1 at Paris Musketeers
The seasons started with a big test for the Merchantmen, playing on the road at the most likely biggest rivals for the division title. Like last season, Donald Terry struggled against the Musketeers, but still managed to score the first touchdown of the game, catching a Stanley Bissel pass. The teams exchanged field goals after that and halfway into the second quarter Stanley Bissel found Terry Haskell for a 53-yard touchdown pass. The Musketeers struggled with ball control from there on, ending the game with five turnovers to destroy all their chances on scores. Stanley Bissel replied one interception with a pick on his own account, but eventually the Merchantmen would add another field goal towards the 20-3 win.

Brew cut
Running back Alfred Brew was cut after the victory over Paris to make room for linebacker Harvey Christman. An injury to rookie Daniel Duncan forced the Merchantmen to make a roster spot available for Christman.

QB Harvey Corbett aquisition
The Maassluis Merchantmen had started trade talks before the week one win at Paris, attempting to acquire quarterback Harvey Corbett from the Snapfinger Jazz. Corbett had become a persona-non-grata overthere and Maassluis was underwhelmed by Bissel's pre-season showing. Talks expanded past week one and were finished shortly before the week two game. Ironically, the Merchantmen and Jazz failed to fill the paperwork in time to have Corbett on the sidelines. They had already decided to go with Bissel again, to give Corbett some practice in Maassluis first.

Week 2 at Outer Banks Ospreys
After the Ospreys missed a field goal on their first drive, the Merchantmen lost a bit more on their first drive. Stanley Bissel got hurt on his first pass attempt and limped off the field, unable to return. Surprisingly, Harry Osborne was pushed forward as Bissel's replacement. A surprise move, given that Osborne was the obvious casualty of the Corbett trade. Osborne started his action with a couple of his famed scrambles and the fans back home feared for a loss. The Merchantmen defense showed up big time though and forced three first half fumbled to help the hurt offense. Donald Terry ran for a score, Dwight Hutton recovered a fumble in the end zone and Charles Anthony scored three field goals. In the second half, Harry Osborne lived up, as he went 30 of 37 for 291 yards and 1 touchdown for the day, earning game MVP honors. Terry Haskell accounted for the receiving touchdown. The Merchantmen held on and went home with a 36-3 victory in the bags.

Corbett arrival
The earlier announced arrival of Harvey Corbett arose a quarterback controversy in Maassluis. Stanley Bissel was out and promptly put on injured reserve after just one game and a bit, avoiding the need to release Harry Osborne after his heroic showing in Outer Banks. Osborne was announced the starter of the first home game of the season, with Corbett working on his jetlag and getting warmed up to get into action later on in the season.

Week 3 vs Harlem Apollos
The twist of turns continued as Harry Osborne had one of the best passing games in Merchantmen history. The Apollos were no match for the steamrolling Merchantmen as Osborne completed 24 of 31 passes for 388 yards and 6 touchdowns, posting the first perfect game in Merchantmen history. J.T. Pritt, Terry Haskell, Charles Pomeranz (85-yard bomb) and Mike Bernstein (three times) were on the receiving end of the scores. Maassluis was very happy with the 45-14 victory.


Week 4 vs San Antonio Tidal Force
Expecations were that San Antonio and Maassluis would show a barnburner. Instead, the Merchantmen defense continued their hot run and kept the Tidal Force in their own territory for the entire first half. Harry Osborne threw his first interception of the season with the scoreboard blank, but in the second quarter he found Terry Haskell and J.T. Pritt for touchdown passes and a 14-0 half time lead. A 76-yard bomb to J.T. Pritt gave Osborne his fourth score of the game to secure a surprisingly easy win. Osborne finished the day with 20 for 26, with 282 yards 3 scores and 1 pick. San Antonio did manage to score twice in the second half, but a Scott Fulcher touchdown run in between maintained the two-score lead throughout. The Merchantmen held on for the 28-14 win and a 4-0 start to the season.

[revrew]

That's funny. I've been out of IHOF for a few seasons now, but I was the one who actually first drafted Stanley "Carpet Cleaner" Bissel.

I was happy to snooker Paris in trading him away. Never was impressed with him.

[MIJB#19]

Regular Season - October 2040

Week 5 - open
A welcome bye week to lick some wounds, but the big ones were unlickable. Adam Brautlacht came out of the San Antonio game with a severe hamstring injury, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season. Rookie Daniel Duncan aggravated his elbow injury against San Antonio and was called unlikely to return this season. The decision was made to keep him inactive and reevaluate for the playoffs.

Week 6 vs Vicksburg Vipers
The Vipers were coming to Maassluis at 3-1 and continued a stretch of games against teams than went 10-6 or better last season. The Merchantmen struggled offensively in the first half, but on the other end of the ball had a tremendous red zone defense to keep the Vipers to a couple of field goals. On the next drive, Donald Terry broke free on the first play and scored the game-leading touchdown with a 61-yard run. In the final minute of the half, both teams' kickers missed field goal for the 7-6 half time score. Defenses kept dominating the game, as the Merchantmen settled for four more field goals, whilst the Vipers quarterback Roy Lynn saw his best drive ends with picks in the arms of Perry Walker and rookie Mark Crum. Donald Terry was the big man, running for 168 yards in the 19-6 victory.

Week 7 at Fort Wayne Fury
The hard schedule continued at the Fury, that went 11-5 last season. But the Fury were struggling this season, sitting at 2-4 going into this game. Defenses ruled the day in a low scoring affair. Harry Osborne found Vincent Cox for a 53-yard bomb for the only touchdown of the night, completing just 12 of 19 passes for 153 yards and 1 interception. Donald Terry added 103 yards and linebacker Fred McCorkle had a crucial 47-yard interception return to anchor the 10-3 win.

Week 8 vs Paris Musketeers
Another big test for the Merchantmen arrived. The Merchantmen drew first blood as Harry Osborne let his legs speak, going 10 yards for the touchdown. after Paris' Max Pinner fumbled in Musketeers territory. On the next offensive play, Paris' Rosey Hansen threw it in the hands of rookie Mark Crum for a second turnover. Harry Osborne replied with an interception in his own around midfield and Paris eventually tied it up. After 49-yard kickoff return from Jack Money, Maassluis seemed to take the lead again, yet Harry Osborne got his second interception of the day in the Paris red zone. Following a punting battle, Harry Osborne fumbled on a scramble and gave Paris good field position, luckily they settled for a 19-yard field goal. Still before the half, Charles Anthony tied it up for a 10 all half time score, notching a 51-yarder.
Early in the second half, Thurman Hopper intercepted Rosey Hansen in the Merchantmen red zone to keep it level. Harry Osborne regrouped and guided his men to a 7-point lead, finding Charles Pomeranz for 24 yards into the endzone. In the fourth quarter, Osborne lead his team from their own 2-yard line into the redzone again, although settling for a field goal, taking a two-score lead. Paris responded with a field goal and forced a quick three-and-out, only to get the punt returner stripped from the ball by Thurman Hopper for his second takeaway of the day. Five plays later, Donald Terry ran it in for the 14-point lead. Rosey Hansen guided a strong pass-only comeback, throwing for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 8 points, after the missed PAT. The onside kick failed for Paris, but rookie Scott Fulcher fumbled in Paris territory to give the Musketeers a last chance. Rosey Hansen failed to find his receivers and after three incomplete passes, decided to run for it and fall short. Terry Haskell had 8 catches for 114 yards as the top target for Harry Osborne, who completed 23 of 35 for 245 yards and scores passing and running, but also adding three turnovers in the crucial 27-19 victory.

Quarterback Controversy
Despite the victory over Paris and the 7-0 record, the Merchantmen management felt the need to bring in Harvey Corbett and replace Harry Osborne. A tactical decision to make this move in a road game at the 1-6 Houston Mustangs, staying away from the Oranje Have fan base that showed adoration of Osborne over the recent heroics...

[MIJB#19]

Regular Season - November 2040

Week 9 at Houston Mustangs
A shocking decision: the Merchantmen benched their red hot Harry Osborne in favor of trade acquisition Harvey Corbett. It resulted in a mixed bag of sorts. The Merchantmen defense held the Houston Mustangs to 42 yards rushing and forced four turnovers. In return, Harvey Corbett brushed away his own 2 interceptions with touchdown passes to Mike Bernstein, D.J. Cahill, J.T. Pritt and Terry Haskell, finding twice with a 57-yard bomb to finalizes the 38-3 steamroller.

Week 10 at Bordeaux Vineyards
Playing at the 2-6 Vineyards, Merchantmen management felt they had to keep Harvey Corbett in there. Bordeaux played slow, but decent football, staying away from turnovers and playing the Merchantmen really hard. Bordeaux took an early 10-0 lead, but things were level at half time after Harvey Corbett found Mike Bernstein for a 22-yard score and Charles Anthony scored a field goal. In the second half, Corbett found J.T. Pritt for a 44-yard score, yet Bordeaux' Terrance Squires replied with a 40-yard bomb to Daniel Cleary for a tied game going into the fourth quarter. Driving for the lead, Corbett threw his third interception in two games and the Vineyards eventually scored after a long drive, with Squires finding Cleary again. In the final minute, the Merchantmen got the engines running again, but came time short to avoid their first 'L' of the season, a 24-17 loss.

Week 11 vs Gothenburg Giants
Play time was over and Harry Osborne returned to the starting lineup. It didn't work at first as the Giants took control with a 14-0 lead deep into the second quarter. Harvey Osborne replied with a 33-yard touchdown pass to J.T. Pritt and shortly after ran for a score after rookie cornerback Mark Crum had set him up with an interception. The Merchantmen took the lead in the third quarter, with Osborne again finding J.T. Pritt in the end zone. Gothenburg leveled the score with a 40-yard pass from R.J. Ginsburg to Jessie Hartman, setting up for a thrilling fourth quarter. Field position became the subject of the action and a 20-yard Scott Fulcher run set up a Charles Anthony field goal for the Merchantmen lead. The Giants ran out of downs on their next drive, not getting the rock back anymore. A typical Maassluis win with field position determining the 24-21 victory.

Week 12 vs Capital City Blues
Hosting the 7-3 Blues, the Merchantmen fans got another big game to look at. First highlight of the game came from Thurman Hopper as he blocked a 53-yard field goal attempt. Ironically, it quickly was followed up with Edward Rice getting a punt blocked that set the Blues up for a 3-0 lead. The Merchantmen ran out of downs in Capital City territory on their next drive and then saw Harry Osborne get picked off shortly before the end of the first quarter. Capital City scored a second field goal, which Osborne replied with a 57-yard bomb to Donald Terry to set up a Maassluis field goal. A Scott Fulcher lost fumble didn't affect the score and on their next drive, Osborne connected with Terry Haskell for an amazing 70-yard catch and run for the 10-6 lead. The Blues came a couple of yards short on their next drive and settled for a field goal and a 10-9 deficit at the big break. The Merchantmen scored a pair of field goals at the start of the second half, with the second set up by Thurman Hopper's interception of Burt Spamer. Bit the Blues were only getting started and finally found the end zone to tie it up as Spamer threw for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Osborne got picked off shortly after, but as the Blues were driving for a score, Spamer got sacked in the Merchantmen redzone and off-season acquisition Kelly Pfingsten came away with the strip-sack-fumble-recovery. The drama continued as Perry Walker also intercepted Spamer on the first play of the fourth quarter, helping his team back into a 19-16 lead. The Blues got frustrated and back to back unnecessary roughness penalties set up another Charles Anthony field goal. With three minutes to go, the Blues went for it on fourth and inches in Merchantmen territory, but veterans Fred McCorkle and Perry Walker accounted for the big stop. The Blues got the ball back one more time, but another pair of ill timed penalties cut them short. Maassluis celebrated once again, with 22-16 on the scoreboard.

At 10-1, the Merchantmen were looking good, with a journeyman quarterback as their unexpected savior. Next up? A crucial rematch of last season's AOC Championship game, facing the still undefeated 11-0 Tucker Tigers, with their veteran quarterback Jackie Collier playing his best season so far. After last season's win, there was some confidence, but with the Tigers motivated to set something straight, that could set up for an ugly start to the month of holidays...

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by revrew

That's funny. I've been out of IHOF for a few seasons now, but I was the one who actually first drafted Stanley "Carpet Cleaner" Bissel.

I was happy to snooker Paris in trading him away. Never was impressed with him.

In retrospect, I think I should have gone with Osborne (or Kerry Lewis) right away, their cohesion values seem to outweigh Bissel's strong arm. But I got him so cheaply and with talks about Corbett started before week 1, never expected to even put Bissel out there. His leg injury was a blessing in disguise, setting up Osborne's breakout season.

[MIJB#19]

Regular Season - December 2040

Week 13 at Tucker Tigers
The game of the season, without a doubt. The two franchises with the most regular season wins over the past five seasons in the league, the two teams with the best records this season, playing in a rematch of last season's thrilling AOC Championship game between.
Both teams were a bit shaky on their first drives, but midway into the first quarter the Tigers drew first blood: Jackie Collier to Earl Howard for 32 yards and the touchdown. The Merchantmen responded with a strong drive anchored by a 38-yard pass from Harry Osborne to fullback Terrell Wilkerson, but the drive abruptly ended on an interception in Tucker's redzone. In their traditional style, the Tigers needed little time for the punishment. Jackie Collier found Earl Howard for 35 yards and 28 yards on back-to-back play, the second one in the endzone for the 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started with Harry Osborne's 48-yard bomb to J.T. Pritt, setting up the first Merchantmen touchdown a couple plays later, with Osborne finding Charles Pomeranz open in the end zone. The Merchantmen forced a three-and-out and in their own ball control playing style and tied up the score: Donald Terry's touchdown was called back for holding, but two plays later Osborne found Cary Harriman in the endzone. The Tigers had the final possession of the half, settling for a field goal with a 17-14 half time lead.
The second half started with Harry Osborne heavily under pressure, getting sacked twice and the Tigers got the ball back at midfield. Collier found Howard again, now for a 49-yard bomb into the end zone. Osborne was getting uncomfortable, getting sacked on the next play and getting intercepted as a follow up. Collier needed only one play to get the ball into the endzone again, Wes Banks was open for the 31-10 lead. Two plays later Osborne added his third interception of the day. His defense forced a three-and-out, but the Merchantmen got immediately pinned back at their own 1-yard line. Tucker forced the three-and-out and two plays later former Merchantmen Skip Dillon grabbed a 35-yard pass from Collier for a 38-14 lead. The Tigers missed a field goal before the end of the third quarter, but the game was pretty much over already.
The Merchantmen were stopped at midfield and saw the Tigers respond with a field goal, set up by a 48-yard bomb from Collier to Wes Banks. The Merchantmen tried to rebuild some confidence, but the score wasn't changed anymore. Harry Osborne finished the day 18 for 33 with 231 yards, 2 scores and 3 interceptions, in contrast to Jackie Collier's perfect game (20 for 28 with 406 yards and 5 touchdowns). Back to the drawing board after the 41-14 loss?

Week 14 vs Texas Sharks
In an unpopular move, the Merchantmen benched Harry Osborne and put Harvey Corbett back into the lineup for his Oranje Haven debut. The Sharks had first possession, but the first play on offense for the Merchantmen, Corbett quickly won the support of the fans, finding J.T. Pritt for a 43-yard touchdown pass. It set the tone for a steamrolling performance, with Donald Terry added two rushing touchdowns, one after an 81-yard interception return from Zach Pisano, and Corbett finding Terry Haskell for the 28-7 half time lead. The second half was much less exciting. Corbett got intercepted, but also added a third scoring pass, finding Terry Haskell again, who had 10 catches for 111 yards. The Merchantmen defense did the rest, keeping the Sharks far away en route to the 38-7 win.

The victory against Texas also clinched the fourth straight division title, as the Paris Musketeers fell 41-13 at the Capital City Blues and dropped to 8-5, three games behind the Merchantmen with the head-to-head sweep in dutch favor.

Week 15 at Gothenburg Giants
Despite the division title locked up and a strong lead on the other bye week hopefuls, the Merchantmen weren't completely uninspired in Gothenburg. However, the Giants had the painful loss in Maassluis on their mind and looked inspired to set something straight. R.J. Ginsberg completed 22 of 30 passes for 295 yards and 2 scores, while J.C. Fitzgerald ran for 126 yards, anchoring the Giants offense's 460 total yards. Harvey Corbett responded with 20 for 29 with 255 yards and 3 touchdowns (to J.T. Pritt, Casey Brown and Donald Terry), including guidance to an early 10-0 lead. But Corbett also continued his trend of throwing an interception in every game that he played this season. The game ended up being an up and down game, with the lead switching sides several times in the second half. The last score proved to be the winner, as Patrick England ran it in with 20 seconds on the clock for the 34-30 final score.

Week 16 at Moontown Darksiders
With a struggling Harvey Corbett (20 of 36 for 228 yards and 2 interceptions), the Merchantmen had trouble with the 5-9 Darksiders. Donald Terry went back to his 2039 form, carrying the team with 123 yards rushing and a score. Greg Brass and Scott Fulcher also ran for touchdowns, while the defense and special teams unit helped overcome 4 turnovers. The Merchantmen got away with a 24-17 victory. With the Vicksburg Vipers 23-21 loss at home to the Iowa Cobbers, the Merchantmen were gifted the playoffs bye week, marking the fourth straight season for the Merchantmen to be second seeds in the AOC.

Week 17 vs Bordeaux Vineyards
With the bye week locked up, the Merchantmen decided to inactivate several key players, like Donald Terry and Terry Haskell. Charles Pomeranz made 8 catches for 107 yards, but also had 2 fumbles, paving the way for Harvey Corbett to earn the player of the game honors. Corbett's starting was heavily discussed, with pundits wondering whether this was a sign for Harry Osborne's return as the starter in the playoffs. Corbett overcame the absence of Haskell and limited action of J.T. Pritt, completing 25 of 39 passes for 242 yards and 2 scores (Cary Harriman and J.T. Pritt). More importantly, Corbett marked his first game without interception. The final say was for Greg Brass, who pounded in a 2-yard touchdown run to settle the 24-14 final score.

European standings
13-3 Maassluis
10-6 Paris
7-9 Gothenburg
3-13 Bordeaux
Paris missed the playoffs

Playoffs picture
AOC:
1 Tucker Tigers 15-1
2 Maassluis Merchantmen 13-3
3 Vicksburg Vipers 11-5
4 Toronto Lake Monsters 9-7
5 Orlando Talons 12-4
6 Augusta Greenjackets 11-5
NAC:
1. Williamsburg Colonials 13-3
2. Outer Banks Ospreys 13-3
3. Chicago Norsemen 11-5
4. Oakland Black Panthers 7-9
5. Capital City Blues 12-4
6. Minnesota Miners 9-7

Merchantmen individual stats
Harry Osborne completed 63% for 2,099 yards and 17 touchdowns with 9 interceptions in 9 games; Harvey Corbett completed 67% for 1,514 yards with 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Donald Terry ran for 1,184 yards (5th in the league) and 6 touchdowns.
Terry Haskell had 86 catches (tied 7th in IHOF) for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns (tied 9th in IHOF); J.T. Pritt had 73 catches for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns (tied 7th in IHOF).
Rookie Mark Crum made 6 interceptions (tied 5th in IHOF) and defended 13 passes.
Jack Money average 36.1 yards per kick return (1st amongst qualifiers), 9.1 yards per punt return (5th amongst qualifiers).

The defense ranked 1st in least points allowed (14.9 per game), the offense ranked fourth (26.0 per game). The defense also ranked 1st with 35 takeaways and the team ranked 4th with a +11 margin.


But all those regular season stats were no guarantee for success in the playoffs. Wide receiver Adam Brautlacht was ready to return as the fourth option and second returnman. Rookie linebacker Daniel Duncan's recovery process was going too slow and he was placed in injured reserve. The biggest decision was yet to be made though, who would be the starting quarterback?

[MIJB#19]

2040 - Playoffs

Wild card round - bye
There wasn't much to report from Maassluis. Or was there? The first news was the Vicksburg Vipers 34-0 victory against the Augusta Greenjackets, meaning Vicksburg and their star receiver Ricky Summers were scheduled to come to Maassluis again. The Orlando Talons beat the Toronto Lake Monsters on the road 34-28, setting themselves up for a road game at the Tucker Tigers.
For the Merchantmen fans, the most important question was: would the Merchantmen management revert back to the first half of the season hero Harry Osborne or stick with interception insurance Harvey Corbett?

Conference Semifinals - vs Vicksburg Vipers
Corbett it was. And how. On the first play of the game, Harvey Corbett set the tone for the game and it wasn't a good one. His first pass of the game got intercepted and gave the Vipers the ball barely outside the redzone. Lucky for Corbett, two plays later the Merchantmen defensive line swarmed Vicksburg running back Terry Ferrara and came out of the melee with the ball. But halfway through the first quarter, Vicksburg was up 7-0 afterall, heavily leaning on a 37-yard Roy Lynn to Ricky Summers pass. The ensuing Merchantmen drive ended in Corbett's second picked off pass of the night and the Vipers kicked a field goal for a 10-0 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter was dominated by the defenses and the first scoring opportunity of the quarter came with less than a minute left to play. The Merchantmen reached the Vipers 33-yard line, were pushed back for a flase start penalty and eventually saw Charles Anthony miss a 55-yard field goal opportunity. In limited time, the Vipers managed to reach the Merchantmen 30-yard line, but their 47-yard kick also fell short. The Vipers went into the big break leading 10-0.
Halfway into the third quarter, the Merchantmen seemed to gain momentum as defensive end added a blocked field goal to his earlier fumble recovery, but inside Vicksburg territory, Corbett recorded his third interception of the day. Vipers' Roy Lynn responded with a couple of strong passes to get his team up field and the drive ended with a Ricky Summers receiving touchdown for the 17-0 score at the end of the quarter.
With some luck, the Merchantmen looked to pound back immediately after, but Corbett's throw into the endzone was picked off, flushing all remaining hope away. The Vipers responded with an impressive 62-yard reception by Wally Jongling, setting up their third touchdown of the day for the 24-0 lead. The Merchantmen reached Vipers turf two more times, but the first time ran out of downs and the last one just ran the clock out and the 24-0 loss was finalized.
An embarrassing shutout loss at home ended a season that had started with such a strong run. Harvey Corbett completed 21 of 39 passes for 213 yards, but everybody just remembers his 4 interceptions. Would it mean his early swansong, or will the Merchantmen coaches and management forgive the fourth year quarterback, let alone the fans?


Conference Championships and IHOF Bowl XXXVII
The Vicksburg Vipers posted back to back shutouts to reach the AOC Championship game, but were no match for the Tucker Tigers (who destroyed the Orlando Talons 41-21 in the previous round). The Tigers struggled offensively, settling for five field goals, but also managed to spread chaos on the Vipers offense, holding them to 248 total yards en route to a 36-10 solid victory.
In the North American Conference, the Chicago Norsemen took the IHOF Bowl berth. The Norsemen hosted the Capital City Blues, steamrolling to a 40-26 victory after scoring 34 points in the first half. Both Chicago and Capital City had gone there with on the road victories.
IHOF Bowl XXXVII was an instant classic, as the Tucker Tigers marched to an early 17-0 lead, but struggled with fumbled and choked a 37-17 lead in the fourth quarter. The Norsemen settled for a 23-yard field goal in the dying second to force overtime. The Tigers then displayed a dominant, yet uncharacteristic long drive that lasted for 16 plays and well over 8 minutes and resulted in the game winning touchdown: 43-37.

[MIJB#19]

2041 Off-Season

Retirements
Nothing noteworthy happened in the retirement area. Linebacker Harvey Christman retired, but he joined the Merchantmen as an early season injury fill-in.

Free Agency
It was a busy pre-draft free agency in Maassluis. The Merchantmen kicked it off by franchising defensive tackle Dwight Hutton and quickly signing him to a new five-year contract.

Iowa Cobbers backup Quarterback Skip Perron signed a three-year deal with the Merchantmen. Perron has a strong arm, can adjust when the pressure is on and uses his feet quite often. Perron is a former third round pick, but aside from his underwhelming rookie campaign didn't start a single game.

Third-year cornerback Marc Pomato was acquired through trade from the Minnesota Miners for a future first round pick. Pomato is a former first round pick and started all gimers for the Miners last season, but was underwhelming with just 1 interception and 6 defended passes.

Kicker Charles Anthony decided to stay in Maassluis, signing a new three year contract. Anthony didn't receive any offers from other team, but the Merchantmen were happy to return the most accurate kicker of last season, despite entering his 16th season.

Quarterback Perry Coleman became the biggest free agency fish. Coleman was the full-time starter with the Iowa Cobbers last season, completing 65 percent of his passes for 3,367 yards, 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Coleman is entering his 13th season and last season was his first in five year to play a full season. Coleman is all around a quality quarterback, considered about top15 talent wise.

Guard Blaine Sulfsted signed as a free agent from the Chesapeake Chitterlings. Sulfsted spent 10 injury-plagued seasons with the Chitterlings, managing to play only three full seasons. He's all around talented, excelling as a run blocker and lacking a bit in stamina.

Former Chicago Norsemen defensive end Quentin Toohil joins an already strong defensive line. Veteran Toohil wil bolster the pass rush. He hopes to improve his playing time after a season of riding mostly the bench.

Defensive tackle Dennis Lucas signed a four-year contract in Maassluis. He leaves the Oakland Black Panthers after his three-year rookie contract ended. Lucas is said to be one of the fastest players at his position and has yet to miss a game in his pro career.

Linebacker Lester Gilman inked a three-year contract. In his third season with the Colorado Cutthroats he broke into the starting lineup. Gilman is a weakside linebacker, with all around decent to excellent skills. He should fit well in both the pass defense and run defense.

Draft
Ah yes, the draft. The Merchantmen were low on picks, both due to trades in the previous off-season and due to trades this off-season to get future picks in return. They kept their third and fourth round picks, selecting workout warrior kicker Karl Segalas and fast defensive tackle Harold Gallery.

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes: Training Camp 2041!

Boy, was 2040 a strange season. We started without a legit quarterback. Then we acquired a quarterback and simultaneously found out that Harry Osborne apparently can play ball. Eventually we went with Harvey Corbett, on paper the most talented player, but Osborne's leadership skills and knowledge of the system got him through. In retrospect, I think we should have told Corbett that 2041 would be his season and we should have stuck with Osborne for 2040. Going into the 2041 training camp, we decided to hire as many as two new quarterbacks on top of the four returning fellas. Also, the draft was pretty bad, but with the addition of four talented defensive players and a quality offensive lineman, we had a strong off-season after all. Here's a breakdown of our post-training camp roster.

Quarterbacks
68/68 Perry Coleman
16/16 Harry Osborne
31/31 Kerry Lewis
46/46 Harvey Corbett (inactive)
44/44 Skip Perron (released)
40/40 Stanley Bissel (released)
Coleman is the real deal and our best quarterback in over a decade. Is it a guarantee to success? I doubt it, he's new to the team, so doesn't bring any cohesion value. I'm sold on Osborne, he can get the job done, despite his scouted overall value. Corbett sticks around, because Coleman is brittle and we might need a 4th quarterback at some point. Bissel is out, despite that he played pretty well with us and Perron, well, he got stuck in a wrong place at the wrong time situation.

Backfield
26/26 Donald Terry
31/31 FB Terrell Wilkerson
22/30 Scott Fulcher
50/50 FB Greg Brass
10/10 J.T. Patterson (inactive)
Terry wasn't as good last season as he was in our conference championship run. We might need to readjust the line to have him play well again, but that's an OL issue. Terry is still the elite player of breakaway speed, making him a unique player in the league. Fulcher is a decent backup with decent breakaway speed, elusiveness, third down ability... Patterson has detoriated into just a kickoff returner and we're going to put him below Adam Brautlacht at that as well this season. Wilkerson is still the better blocker of the fullbacks. It doesn't really matter though, as we're using Brass primarily as our third down bulldozing ball carrier. We'd still want Wilkerson dozing in front of him to pave the way.

Tight Ends
31/31 Mike Bernstein
36/36 Cari Harriman
23/23 D.J. Cahill (inactive)
Bernstein has the big-play ability and run blocking skills to make him a starter in this league. Harriman is a decent blocker and a strong special teamer. Cahill will be our backup long snapper and isn't a horrible option in the passing game, if injuries strike.

Wide Receivers
58/58 J.T. Pritt
57/57 Terry Haskell
42/46 Vincent Cox
38/38 Adam Brautlacht
39/39 Charles Pomeranz
36/36 Casey Brown
32/32 Jack Money
Pritt and Haskell are top-10 talent in big-play ability. Pritt also brings third-down skills and sticky hands, while Haskell has getting downfield ability to boost. Neither has a weakness, they're just ridiculously lowly valued. Cox, Brautlacht and Pomeranz all have big-play abilty with decent getting downfield skills. Brown is a special teamer, nothing more. Money is our state of the art return specialist, with Brautlacht as his understudy.

Offensive Line
33/33 T Gilbert Rhodes
64/64 G Blaine Sulfsted
60/60 C B.J. Samuels
52/52 G Vinny O'Neill
36/36 T Tom Bush
49/49 C Arnie Croft
39/39 T D.J. Dunn
46/53 G Lamont Whitfield
22/22 C Donny Gaines
27/27 G Nate Hurnblad (released)
Although we're listed five starters, I'm not sold yet on which five names will be our best set. Whitfield is gaining on O'Neill and might eventually get past him. Rhodes is our best pass protection option for the left side. Bush is our star run blocker. Samuels and Croft are both quality centers, Sulfsted is our best lineman and might play at LT eventually, making room for Croft or Whitfield on the inside. Dunn is a skilled pass protector. Gaines is our long snapper.
To release Nate Hurnblad, it took me a couple of seconds to think it over. He's been with the team 11 seasons, started for us in our unique IHOF Bowl appearance. Never was a state of the art lineman, but he was decent enough, came off the bench well when needed. We could keep him in a mentoring role for Whitfield, but he's going to play his games anyway.

Punters and Kickers
63/63 P Edward Rice
37/37 K Charles Anthony
19/29 K Lenny Russell
48/55 P Winston Forbes (released)
29/30 K Karl Segalas (released)
Rice is the punter, Forbes was a decent pick last draft, but there's no denying Rice. Rice rocks! The kicker position was a tougher decision than it may seem to be. Russell is the best kickoff guy, I want him to stick around, but he's no Al Bettis. Anthony has been reliable and didn't lose too much of his accuracy. Segalas looks underrated, might top much higher that '30', but I don't have the patience to wait, we want to win it all this season.

Defensive Line
45/45 DE Euguene Johnstone
34/39 DT Brian Lincoln
47/47 DT Dwight Hutton
40/40 DE Harold Matheson
50/50 DT Dennis Lucas
41/41 DE Quentin Toohil
24/24 DE Johnnie Warren (inactive)
23/23 DT Roger Finch (inactive)
30/30 DT Kelly Pfingsten (released)
27/37 DE Harvey Durham (released)
14/14 DT Brenden England (released)
17/26 DT Harold Gallery (released)
It was a crowded field in camp with three new bodies and Finch returning from suspension. Johnstone is the do-it-all guy, he's going to play a lot. Matheson is our first choice on the right side. Toohil is slightly faster, but we'll use him in rotation quite often anyway. Warren is on the decline, but still good enough to make us release Durham after just one season. It's early, but I doubt he'll ever end up being the pass rusher that Matheson is and Warren was. On the inside, Hutton is our plughole for running downs. Lincoln is talented enough to make big plays. Lucas will see plenty of time in rotation and on passing downs. Finch was basically the best of the rest, being better for cohesion than Pfingsten. England has lost it, a bummer for the two time All-IHOF selection. Gallary might be good some day, but right now I'm not seeing it.

Linebackers
64/77 OLB Daniel Duncan
71/71 MLB Wesley Devine
58/58 OLB Lester Gilman
48/48 ILB C.J. Boo
28/28 OLB Fred McCorkle
36/36 OLB Alton Bradley (inactive)
Six in, six stay. The last couple of seasons we learned that bringing five linebackers into the season will make us cut somebody and hire some scrub. With Duncan back after injury and Gilman newly hired, we've got arguably the best bunch of the league. Boo is a very talented backup option across the position. McCorkle is, well, McCorkle. How can I release this legend? He'll hang around as a special teams option. Bradley and his pass rush and pass defense skill will come into action if one of the top four get hurt.

Secondary
75/75 CB Mark Crum
67/67 CB Marc Pomato
41/41 S Perry Walker
36/36 S Thurman Hopper
43/43 S Bernie Gordon
44/44 CB Zach Pisano
32/32 CB Herman Hatton
42/42 S Karl Pritchett (inactive)
17/17 S Quinn Gonzalez (released)
17/17 CB Tito Close (released)
Mark and Marc, what a combo! Walker and Hopper still takes the cake for funniest name combo though. Crum is our shutdown corner, Pomato is a bit less reliable with his disappointing endurance. Pisano has shown he can play ball though. Hatton didn't lose much of his power, speed and agility, we'll feel not too worried if he needs to play again. It will be his first season as a backup though, he's never started a game on the bench for is, so he might not like it... Gordon has basically caught up with Hopper and Walker, he'll see quite some action in relief. Pritchett still looks underrated, but mostly makes the team again because the veterans Gonzalez and Close have lost some steps.
Tito Close has been with the Merchantmen for nine seasons. In 2032 we traded a first round pick to get him at 14th overall. He wasn't much of a ballhawker, but we put him out there anyway, as he wasn't a bad option and part of the legendary 2037 defense and started in IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Last season he was inactive for all but one game, the meaningless home game against Bordeaux. Not a guy to remember as a legendary figure, but still reached the century mark.

[MIJB#19]

2041 - Pre-Season Action!

Pre-Week 1 open
Nothing worthwhile to report in Maassluis.

Pre-Week 2 vs Oakland Black Panthers
The Merchantmen kicked the pre-season off with their starters and posted an easy 17-9 victory over Oakland, last season's NAC West champions. Perry Coleman made his unofficial debut in oranje-white-blue, completing 16 of 25 for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. Terry Haskell and tight end Mike Bernstein accounted for the touchdowns. Donald Terry ran 18 times for a total of 106 yards. Defensively the Merchantmen didn't allow any touchdowns, forcing two turnovers.

Pre-Week 3 at Chicago Norsemen
The North American Conference champions defended their home well. The Merchantmen struggled, most notably Perry Coleman who got intercepted 3 times. The Norsemen came back from behind to hand the Merchantmen a 34-24 loss, clinching it with Darrell Booker's 87-yard punt return touchdown. Coleman completed 17 of 34 passes for 206 yards and 2 scores, with Terry Haskell and Donald Terry on the receiving end.

[MIJB#19]

GM Notes: Let's go!

Sweet. Pre-Season's over. Bring it on, baby! We finished the pre-season with a couple of losses: 7-6 at the Fairbanks NorthStars and 28-20 at home against the Iowa Cobbers. We gave team to Harry Osborne again, fully expecting him to be our QB2 this season. He didn't wow, but didn't blow either. He was just missing the other offensive weapons to throw to.

We'll open the season at home against the Gothenburg Giants. And after that comes another season with a lot of games against strong team. As a division we'll have to face the AOC Southeast (three playoffs teams last season) and the NAC Mid-Atlantic (all 8-8 or better in the last two seasons).

Do I believe in Perry Coleman at quarterback? His first activity in orange-white-blue wasn't encouraging, with 126 yards one game and 3 interceptions in the other game. But we've got the team to make a run, I really like every other aspect of this team. We just need a leader for the offense to stay mistake free. He was just that in 47 games with the Cobbers, with 16 fumbles and 18 interceptions. But they played a short passing game, while we'll try to stretch the field. Besides, he's got a track record like Rusty Harrison had with injuries, we'll be looking at our QB2 at some point...

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 1

Merchantmen trash Giants
The Maassluis Merchantmen have started the 2041 season in a record setting fashion. The Merchantmen demolished the Gothenburg Giants, tying the team single game point scored record and the largest margin of victory with a 55-7 win. Quarterback Perry Coleman left the game injured early and did not return.

The Merchantmen started strong, with a traditional Jack Money kickoff return for a short field to set up Perry Coleman's first passing touchdown for his new team, finding Casey Brown on a 21-yard pass. Down 7-0, Giants quarterback R.J. Ginsburg was sacked inside his own red zone, fumbled the ball and Quentin Toohill recovered it for the Merchantmen. Donald Terry ran the ball in two plays later for the 14-0 lead.

Giants' Cole Meier scored on a 40-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 14-7, but the Merchantmen followed up with a long drive that resulted in Donald Terry's second touchdown of the game, shortly after followed with a Greg Brass scoring run, set up by Perry Coleman and Terry Haskell connecting for 43 yards. Two plays later Daniel Duncan intercepted a R.J. Ginsburg pass, immediately followed with Greg Brass' second touchdown run. But it wasn't over yet. Charles Anthony converted a 51-yard field goal for a 38-7 half time lead.

The second half became unbearable for the Giants fans. R.J. Ginsburg added three more interceptions to his tally, without making any progress with his good passes. The Merchantmen lost Perry Coleman in the third quarter, but saw Harry Osborne fill in without much trouble. Osborne connected with Cary Harriman and J.T. Pritt for touchdowns and Charles Anthony added another field goal in between. Giants kicker Melvin Hornbaker missed a 47-yarder late in the game, but by then it was all over.

Offense
Coleman 17/24, 216 yds, 1 td;
Osborne 9/12 110 yd, 2 td, 1 int
Terry 16 for 62 yd, 2td; Brass 7 for 26, 2 td
Haskell 6 for 113; Pritt 6 for 99, 1 td;
Harriman, Brown 1 td each

Defense
interceptions: Walker, Devine, Gordon, Duncan
fumble recoveries: Toohil, Duncan
sacks: Toohil, Lucas

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 2

Efficient Merchantmen beat Red Menace
The Maassluis Merchantmen keep on rolling. With a 24-9 victory, they snapped their losing streak at the Frederick Red Menace after 36 seasons. Red zone efficiency combined with a superior return game were crucial all game long.

Despite the win, Merchantmen quarterback Perry Coleman's performance wasn't hailed in with much praise, as he completed 14 of 20 passes for just 154 yards, 2 scores and 2 interceptions. Both picks came in Frederick territory, both after starting the drive on the opponent's half of the field. At the same time, Coleman must be doing something right, as the Merchantmen rank first in scoring on offense and defense. Next up will be another game of the week, hosting the 2-0 Toronto Lake Monsters.

Offense
Coleman 14/20, 154 yd, 2 td, 2 int
Terry 19 for 82, 1 td
Haskell 4 for 54 yd
Cox, Harriman 1 td each

Defense
interception: Pisano
fumble recovery: Pomato
sacks: none

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 3

Coleman shines in Futility Bowl win
The classic Futility Bowl clash between the Merchantmen and Lake Monsters went to the hosting team once again. The Maassluis Merchantmen were victorious 30-23 in a near comeback game for the Toronto Lake Monsters. Perry Coleman had his best showing for his new team so far to keep his team undefeated this season.

The Merchantmen drew first blood as Coleman found Terry Haskell in the end zone halfway the first quarter, setting it up with a 31-yard pass to J.T. Pritt, combined with Donald Terry's 15 yard run. The Lake Monsters trimmed the score to 7-3, after Marcus Robbins found Brett Pearson for 46 yards and Jeffrey Brew converted a 43-yard field goal. A couple of plays into the second quarter, Brew scored his second field goal of the day for the 7-6 score.

Leaning heavily on Jack Money's return skills, the Merchantmen had a short field most of the time. That helped them get a quick touchdown after Coleman completed four consecutive passes to set up Donald Terry's rushing touchdown. Three plays later, linebacker Daniel Duncan came up with a pick interception, picking off Marcus Robbins on a deep pass and running it 38 yards. Two plays later, Coleman had Vincent Cox wide open for the 21-6 lead. On the ensuing kickoff return, Toronto's Todd Schultz didn't protect the ball well, Casey Brown pulled it out of Schultz' hands and Jack Money recovered the loose ball. The Merchantmen failed to completely take advantage and settled for a field goal. Still in the second quarter, the Merchantmen appeared to drive for the knockout punch, but J.T. Pritt lost possession after a catch inside the Lake Monsters red zone to leave it at 24-6 for Maassluis at half time.

The third quarter became a defensive battle, with three and outs on both ends of the field. Eventually the Merchantmen broke the trend, as Coleman found Terry Haskell for 23 yards and J.T. Pritt for 40 yards on back to back plays. Again, the Merchantmen settled for three points. Martin Anthony responded with a 41-yard reception, although the Lake Monsters also settled for a field goal.

The fourth quarter the Merchantmen focused on maintaining the three-score lead. They held ground for a while, helped by Zach Pisano's interception, marking Robbins' second of the day. Perry Coleman then found Cary Harriman wide open, resulting in a 52-yard pass play. Donald Terry ran into the end zone two plays later, but a holding penalty called it back and the Merchantmen again settled for a field goal. In the final five minutes, the Lake Monsters offense finally woke up. Marcus Robbins guided his team into two scoring drives, both finished with passing touchdowns, but their drives took too much time off the clock to have any time left for a final drive to tie it. Resulting in a 30-23 victory for the Merchantmen.

Perry Coleman received his second player of the game honors as the Merchantman quarterback. The Merchantmen now sit 3-0 a top the European division, one game ahead of the two French teams, as both Paris and Bordeaux are 2-1. The Gothenburg Giants fell to 0-3, choking a 23-10 lead in the final two minutes, to lose 26-23 in overtime. The Merchantmen follow up in week 5, with a home game against the Tucker Tigers, who are still undefeated as well, going into their week 4 road game at the Augusta Greenjackets.

Offense
Coleman 20/32, 287 yd, 2 td
Terry 22 for 83, 1 td
Pritt 6 for 119 yd; Haskell, Cox 1 td each

Defense
interceptions: Duncan, Pisano
fumble recovery: Money
sacks: Toohil 1.5, Devine 0.5

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 5

Tigers pull comeback over Merchantmen
The Maassluis Merchantmen notched their first loss of the season. The highly anticipated clash with the Tucker Tigers resulted in a 24-23 loss, as kicker Benjamin Alexander kicked a game winning field goal in the final minute. It marked the Merchantmen's first lost after the bye since 2035, when the Tucker Tigers also pulled a last minute come back from behind victory in Oranje Haven.

The game started slowly, as both offenses struggled in the first quarter. The Merchantmen took the early 3-0 lead on a field goal and went into the half time break still leading by three, as Perry Coleman found Terry Haskell in the end zone for the 10-7 score. The Merchantmen took control of the game in the third quarter, doubling their points on Donald Terry's impressive 38-yard scoring run and Charles Anthony's second field goal for the 20-7 score.

The fourth quarter was where it was at though. The Tigers offense finally got their engines going and Jackie Collier found Wes Banks for a quick 40-yard scoring bomb to bring it back to a one score deficit. The Merchantmen shortly brought it back to two scores on Charles Anthony's third field goal, yet another 41-yard bomb from Jackie Collier to Wes Banks put the Tigers just two points down. The Merchantmen failed to score after that, but pinned the Tigers at their 20-yard line with just over 2 minutes on the clock and no time outs left. Jackie Collier then orchestrated an impressive drive, to march into Merchantmen territory, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt with 18 seconds remaining. Benjamin Alexander converted and it left too little time for the Merchantmen to pull back head. An impressive 24-23 comeback from behind win was the result for the Tucker Tigers in a slow starting, but eventually turnovers free exciting fourth quarter finish, that left behind a big home crowd sobbing in disbelief.

Offense
Perry Coleman 21/44 for 279 yd, 1 td, 0 int
Donald Terry 18 for 123 yd, 1 td
J.T. Pritt 9 for 115 yd; Terry Haskell 1 td

Defense
interceptions: none
fumble recoveries: none
sacks: Duncan 0.5, Lucas 0.5

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 6

Merchantmen bounce back in Augusta
The Maassluis Merchantmen flushed away their sour loss from last week with a comeback from behind 23-20 win at the Augusta Greenjackets. Perry Coleman threw for 276 yards and ran for the game winning 20-yard touchdown.

The Greenjackets and Merchantmen made for an offense dominated game, both punting only once all game and without a single three and out. The lead switched back and forth at various times, as the two teams appeared roughly equal in their performance and efficiency. The Merchantmen were the lucky ones, forcing the only turnover of the game in the fourth quarter and scoring last.

Offense
Coleman 23/35 for 276 yd, 1 td, 0 int
Terry 19 for 82 yd; Coleman 1 td
Pritt 6 for 84 yd; Wilkerson 1 td

Defense
interceptions: none
fumble recovery: Johnstone
sacks: Duncan, Lincoln, Matheson

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 7

Musketeers unmask Merchantmen
The Paris Musketeers pulled ahead in the European division. With a disappointing 26-14 loss, the Maassluis Merchantmen dropped to 4-2, whilst the Musketeers improved to 5-1. Rosey Hansen threw for 292 yards to guide his team to the field goal heavy victory. The Merchantmen were held to only 252 yard total offense, whilst giving up over 400 for the fourth straight game.

The Musketeers opened the score with an uncharacteristic 40-yard run from quarterback Rosey Hansen. Barely into the second quarter, Greg Brass pounded in from 1 yard out to tie it up. The Musketeers scored two field goals to pull ahead 13-7 at half time. The Merchantmen managed to take the lead in the third quarter, as Perry Coleman found Terry Haskell in the end zone, but in the last 25 minutes the Musketeers defense forced five straight three and outs, whilst the offense added 13 more points towards the 26-14 victory.

Prior to the game, the Merchantmen put defensive end Quentin Toohil on injured reserve. The offseason acquisition left the clash with the Tucker Tigers with a knee injury, which has been diagnosed as damaged ACL. The Merchantmen haven't signed any replacements, sparing the roster spot for potential emergency injury replacements.

Offense
passing: Coleman 18/33 for 173 yd, 1 td, 0 int
rushing: Terry 11 for 42 yd; Brass 1 td
receiving: Pritt 7 for 69 yd; Haskell 1 td

Defense
interceptions: none
fumble recoveries: none
sacks: Hutton, Lincoln, Finch 0.5, Warren 0.5

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 8

Merchantmen luckier than Jazz
The Maassluis Merchantmen are back to their winning ways. It wasn't pretty, as the Snapfinger Jazz enmassed 483 total yards on 79 plays, but the Merchantmen did just enough to pull a 35-18 victory. Donald Terry ran for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns to get himself back in the mix for the rushing title.

The Merchantmen defense, highly touted as it is by local media, keeps failing to deliver. For the fifth game in succession, the defense gave up over 400 total yards. With their short field trend, the Merchantmen usually set themselves up for a close total yards battle, but with the talent on defense, expectations where much higher than what's going on right now. And scoring technically, the defense has been top five regardless of the yardage figures.

Luckily, the Merchantmen have the players to make big plays on offense as well, making them top five in scoring. Against the Jazz, Donald Terry had a big day, rushing or 190 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 37-yarder game clincher. The passing game also added to it, as Perry Coleman connected for a 50-yard bomb with Terry Haskell and a 47-yarder to J.T. Pritt.

Elsewhere, the Paris Musketeers dropped to 5-2, losing 38-31 at the Tucker Tigers. It brings the Merchantmen back in the division title race, trailing Paris on tie-breakers on the earlier head-to-head loss in Paris. At 4-3, the Gothenburg Giants are clinging on as well.

Offense
passing: Coleman 13/20, 233 yd, 2 td, 0 int
rushing: Terry 21 for 190 yd, 3 td
receiving: Haskell 4 for 106 yd, 1 td; Pritt 1 td

Defense:
interceptions: Crum 2
fumble recoveries: none
sacks: Gilman, Warren, Duncan 0.5, Walker 0.5

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 9

Merchantmen defense rives in Bordeaux
The Maassluis Merchantmen defense has bounced back. The streak of games allowing 400 yards ended at the Bordeaux Vineyards, where the Merchantmen posted an easy 27-9 win. Perry Coleman took MVP honors, throwing for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns. His games without interception streak did end, as he got picked off once in Bordeaux.

Offense
passing: Coleman 20/27 for 278 yd, 3 td, 1 int
rushing: Terry 18 for 44 yd
receiving: Haskell 9 for 157 yd, 2 td; Pritt 1 td

Defense
interceptions: none
fumble recoveries: Crum
sacks: Matheson 1.5, Gordon, Boo 0.5, Devine 0.5, Warren 0.5

[MIJB#19]

2041 week 10

Merchantmen roll on in Orlando
It took Bernie Gordon's humongous 79 yard fumble recovery touchdown to pave the way, but the Merchantmen reinstalled themselves as European division leaders. The Merchantmen cruised to a 34-10 victory at the Orlando Talons, whilst the Paris Musketeers fell 30-27 at the Gothenburg Giants in overtime.

The Merchantmen didn't overly impress, but with their usual field position advantage and decent defensive performance, the offense was given an easy day. The Talons did draw first blood with an impressive 98-yard drive for the 7-0 lead, but the Merchantmen took things in their hands shortly after. A big play from safety Bernie Gordon, picking up the fumbled ball just outside the Merchantmen red zone and running it to the house, changed momentum indefinitely. In the fourth quarter the Talons raised the white flag, pulling quarterback Randal Cohn and replacing him with interceptions machine Dale Perkins.

Offense
passing: Coleman 24/37 for 244 yd, 2 td, 0 int
rushing: Terry 19 for 86 yd, 1 td
receiving: Pritt 9 for 88 yd, 2 td

Defense
interceptions: Hatton, Pomato
fumble recoveries: Gordon (td), Hutton
sacks: Devine, Johnstone, Lucas, Matheson