Game one saw Birds of Prey, the free agent team, take on defending A division champs The Flutie Boys.  Birds of Prey once again proved that they could hang with the big boys, a testament to how well this team came together so quickly, and took a sizeable lead into the half at 12-0.  The Flutie Boys were missing their starting quarterback and were certainly feeling the drop off.  However, things took a drastic turn after the break. 

Jeff Peragallo, standing in at quarterback for The Flutie Boys, stepped it up in a big way and broke out in the second half.  He’d shift the game in his team’s favor with his arm and his legs, rushing for one score and hitting Josh Reinson and Nick Covucci for two more touchdowns.  The defense also stepped it up, led by Jon Antigan and his two sacks, and shut out their opponent in the second half.  The Flutie Boys completely flipped the script and finished with the 19-12 comeback victory, punching their ticket to the championship game.

            The second game of the night also turned out to be much more interesting than it seemed early on.  This one was a matchup between defending B division champs 10th & Willow Wolverines and former A division champs No Fat Chix.  Isai Carrillo led the 10th & Willow offense to an early 14-0 lead in what looked like it could be a blowout.  He found Ashley Furman and Andrew Solomon for the scores and was looking for more.  A Corey Hutchinson interception kept No Fat Chix’ hopes alive though.  Quarterback Ryan Sheridan checked into the game in a hole and did his best to close the gap.  With time running out in the half, he gave a heave toward Ray Sheridan, one of the best 50/50 ball receivers we have in the league.  Unfortunately, the pass was short of the target.  Fortunately, Ray Sheridan didn’t give up on the play and showed great concentration.  He would catch the pass on the rebound, after deflecting off of two 10th & Willow defenders, and took it for the score.  It was a huge play that cut the lead to 14-6 heading into the break, after which 10th & Willow would open with the ball. 

The second half looked much like the first for a while.  10th & Willow Wolverines jumped on their opponent again and broke out to a 27-6 lead.  This was a result of a Carrillo to Marquis Wright connection and a big interception returned for touchdown by Furman.  No Fat Chix faced a 3 score game with under 10 minutes to go.  They certainly never quit though.  Ryan Sheridan would find Hutchinson and Henry Vieluf for late scores to cut the lead to just 8 points.  This was supplemented by an incredible, one-handed, leaping interception from Hutchinson, who maintained possession to the ground to secure his second forced turnover of the game.  No Fat Chix stayed alive with their defense but it would prove to be too-little-too-late.  The clock was their biggest enemy and 10th & Willow Wolverines were able to run out the time to hold on for the 27-19 victory.

            Two games that looked to be easily in hand certainly turned into thrillers in the blink of an eye.  One could extrapolate this to mean that we are in store for one hell of a game tonight.  We often get asked as seasons end if there will be an inter-champion matchup between divisions.  Well, those people are getting their wish this season.  In our championship game, we will have defending A division champs The Flutie Boys (7-1) take on the defending B division champs 10th & Willow Wolverines (7-1). 

The Flutie Boys are looking to assert their dominance once again and take their second straight championship.  10th & Willow is looking for the same in the battle of 7-1’s, but may also be looking to prove that just maybe that divisional gap isn’t quite as steep as some may think.  They’ve certainly done a good job at it so far.  Good luck to both teams, while we sit back and enjoy the show.