Re: Charlotte Hornets (APF 2k8)
A blowout win for the Hornets as they swarm Miami
We chose to kick off in the first quarter, and I wanted to see what our defense could accomplish against O.J. Apparently the Juice couldn't squeeze much out of that first drive, as Miami did get lucky with a 3rd and long conversion, but on the next third down Neil O'Donnell was sacked for a 9 yard loss by Gordon, forcing a punt.
On our first play, Okoye busted one to the outside with some great blocks for 22 yards. Sharpe followed that up with a 22 yard catch of his own into the Miami redzone. Okoye pounded it up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown run, capping off a great drive for us.
At the end of the quarter, the Cyclones were driving at midfield with the score 7-0.
The Cyclones were forced to punt that drive a few minutes into the second quarter. We had the ball deep in our own territory, and on second down Cunningham stared down Sharpe, but was pressured and threw it into the hands of CB Horton at our own 20 yard line. OJ Simpson broke a few tackles on the first play and ran it into the endzone, tying it up.
On 3rd and 10 with the ball inside midfield, Sharpe made a fantastic catch over the safety and took it 60 yards to the house. We forced them to punt following a big sack on third down, and get the ball with a minute remaining in the half. But on the first play, Cunningham tried to force it into Rob Moore, and CB Cherry picked it off, returning it near midfield. We stopped them, and the half was over with us leading 14-7.
Following a great return to midfield by Lem Barney to start the third quarter, Okoye broke a 30 yard run to the outside, breaking a Jack Lambert tackle and another one by the safety. A few plays later saw Shannon Sharpe line up as a WR wide right, and he ran a slant route. He got caught up with the traffic in the endzone, but dove to snatch the ball from the ground for his second touchdown.
On the Cyclones next drive, Neil O'Donnell was hit hard by Too Tall Jones, and lobbed it up there for Hugh Blake to snatch up for the INT. A few penalties and nice passing plays later, and Randall Cunningham hooked up with Qasim Forde (WHO?!) for 22 yards, as he was wide open in the endzone. This made the score 27-7. The extra point was missed wide right (I wasn't paying attention and accidentally flicked the stick back). That won't be good for Jaeger's stats.
The defense forced a punt, and thanks to more penalties started the fourth quarter at the Miami 30. Early on in the quarter, Okoye broke two tackles and took it to the endzone for a 10+ yard run. That made the score 34-7.
Miami was forced to go for it on 4th and LONG, and didn't convert, giving us the ball inside their redzone. Okoye ran in a touchdown with 3 minutes left, making the score 41-7. It's not that I like blowing teams out, it's just they gave me no choice. I had to run the ball to keep the clock going. They're dumb enough to give me the ball on the 17 yard line (no offense Miami).
Again, they go for it on 4th and long. Again we stop them (by only a yard), and again we get the ball inside their redzone. Time for the subs to come on. We run it every play, and they use up their timeouts as Jeff Jaeger knocked home the chip shot field goal. The Cyclones scored with 7 seconds left, on a pass to the TE from the 1 yard line.
Final: 44-14
MVP
Christian Okoye: 16 att, 121 yards (7.6 avg), 3 TD, 9 broken tackles
Hornet defense: Hold O'Donnell to 44% completion and 119 yards, 1 INT, hold OJ Simpson to 3.9 avg and 2 receptions.
Notable Players
Cunningham: 84.4 rating, 11-20, 175 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
OJ Simpson: 13 att, 51 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 14 yards
Shannon Sharpe: 6 rec, 127 yards, 2 TD
Too Tall Jones: 3 tackles, 1 sack
So it wasn't a low scoring game. It was total domination by the Hornets. Many expected OJ and Neil O'Donnell to continue their great statsitical season with a win, but unfortunately they drop to 1-3. A great job defensively for Charlotte, as they basically held their oppenent to 7 points (the other 7 came with the bench in). Great job by Christian Okoye and the offensive line as well. They made the game look easy.
(1-2) Miami Cyclones @ (2-1) Charlotte Hornets
September 30, 2007
September 30, 2007
A blowout win for the Hornets as they swarm Miami
We chose to kick off in the first quarter, and I wanted to see what our defense could accomplish against O.J. Apparently the Juice couldn't squeeze much out of that first drive, as Miami did get lucky with a 3rd and long conversion, but on the next third down Neil O'Donnell was sacked for a 9 yard loss by Gordon, forcing a punt.
On our first play, Okoye busted one to the outside with some great blocks for 22 yards. Sharpe followed that up with a 22 yard catch of his own into the Miami redzone. Okoye pounded it up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown run, capping off a great drive for us.
At the end of the quarter, the Cyclones were driving at midfield with the score 7-0.
The Cyclones were forced to punt that drive a few minutes into the second quarter. We had the ball deep in our own territory, and on second down Cunningham stared down Sharpe, but was pressured and threw it into the hands of CB Horton at our own 20 yard line. OJ Simpson broke a few tackles on the first play and ran it into the endzone, tying it up.
On 3rd and 10 with the ball inside midfield, Sharpe made a fantastic catch over the safety and took it 60 yards to the house. We forced them to punt following a big sack on third down, and get the ball with a minute remaining in the half. But on the first play, Cunningham tried to force it into Rob Moore, and CB Cherry picked it off, returning it near midfield. We stopped them, and the half was over with us leading 14-7.
Following a great return to midfield by Lem Barney to start the third quarter, Okoye broke a 30 yard run to the outside, breaking a Jack Lambert tackle and another one by the safety. A few plays later saw Shannon Sharpe line up as a WR wide right, and he ran a slant route. He got caught up with the traffic in the endzone, but dove to snatch the ball from the ground for his second touchdown.
On the Cyclones next drive, Neil O'Donnell was hit hard by Too Tall Jones, and lobbed it up there for Hugh Blake to snatch up for the INT. A few penalties and nice passing plays later, and Randall Cunningham hooked up with Qasim Forde (WHO?!) for 22 yards, as he was wide open in the endzone. This made the score 27-7. The extra point was missed wide right (I wasn't paying attention and accidentally flicked the stick back). That won't be good for Jaeger's stats.
The defense forced a punt, and thanks to more penalties started the fourth quarter at the Miami 30. Early on in the quarter, Okoye broke two tackles and took it to the endzone for a 10+ yard run. That made the score 34-7.
Miami was forced to go for it on 4th and LONG, and didn't convert, giving us the ball inside their redzone. Okoye ran in a touchdown with 3 minutes left, making the score 41-7. It's not that I like blowing teams out, it's just they gave me no choice. I had to run the ball to keep the clock going. They're dumb enough to give me the ball on the 17 yard line (no offense Miami).
Again, they go for it on 4th and long. Again we stop them (by only a yard), and again we get the ball inside their redzone. Time for the subs to come on. We run it every play, and they use up their timeouts as Jeff Jaeger knocked home the chip shot field goal. The Cyclones scored with 7 seconds left, on a pass to the TE from the 1 yard line.
Final: 44-14
MVP
Christian Okoye: 16 att, 121 yards (7.6 avg), 3 TD, 9 broken tackles
Hornet defense: Hold O'Donnell to 44% completion and 119 yards, 1 INT, hold OJ Simpson to 3.9 avg and 2 receptions.
Notable Players
Cunningham: 84.4 rating, 11-20, 175 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
OJ Simpson: 13 att, 51 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 14 yards
Shannon Sharpe: 6 rec, 127 yards, 2 TD
Too Tall Jones: 3 tackles, 1 sack
So it wasn't a low scoring game. It was total domination by the Hornets. Many expected OJ and Neil O'Donnell to continue their great statsitical season with a win, but unfortunately they drop to 1-3. A great job defensively for Charlotte, as they basically held their oppenent to 7 points (the other 7 came with the bench in). Great job by Christian Okoye and the offensive line as well. They made the game look easy.
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