Sun, Dec 7 - The Pigskin Hooligans completed a great underdog story by pulling off an upset over #1 seed Bottom of the 5th to claim their second championship in franchise history. After a passionate pre-game pep talk by Hooligans captain Mike Russell , the Hooligans would go on to win a nail-biter 57-56. The game featured exciting fast-paced offense and numerous lead changes, and the match would literally go down to the last minute as Herman Mason came up with a huge TD catch and 2-pt conversion with 11 seconds to go. The Hooligans would win the coin toss and elect to go on defense to begin the game. Despite starting the game with only four players, Jeremy Maas would drive Bottom of the 5th methodically down the field and eventually find Evan Novak in the endzone for an early 6-0 lead. The Hooligans' offense would stall on their opening series as Bottom of the 5th forced a turnover on downs, but the Hooligans defense would also come up with a big stop as Herman Mason broke up a 4th-down pass to give his team the ball back. Marshall Oetting would drive the Hooligans down the field and connect with brother Micah Oetting with Pat Brooks adding a 2-pt PAT to make it an 8-6 lead. Jeremy Maas would answer as he would fire a deep strike to brother Jacob Maas to reclaim the lead. But the Hooligans would answer as well as Pat Brooks would haul in his first touchdown of the day with Micah Oetting adding the 2-pt PAT. John Pesta would catch a TD pass on the next series to give Bottom of the 5th the lead back, and as time expired in the first half the Hooligans responded as Marshall Oetting would find Pat Brooks for the second time on the day. The halftime score would read 24-22 in favor of the Hooligans. The Hooligans began the second half with the ball and capitalized on the opportunity with Marshall Oetting firing a mid-range strike to Micah Oetting. However Jacob Maas would intercept the 2-pt conversion attempt and run it back for 2 points, and a deep TD reception by Aaron Palmer would put Bottom of the 5th right back in the lead. The Hooligans would reclaim the lead as Marshall Oetting would look deep to Pat Brooks for their 3rd TD connection of the game, making the score 36-32. Jeremy Maas would find Evan Novak on the next series with John Pesta adding a 2-pt PAT, and the Hooligans would then make a quarterback change to Micah Oetting. Micah would find Humphrey Ihejirikah who would rumble his way into the endzone to once again reclaim the lead 42-40. As the game moved under the 3 minute mark Jeremy Maas would hook up with John Pesta for a critical touchdown, and a Jacob Maas 2-pt conversion would make the score 48-42. The Hooligans would again move down the field, picking up a crucial 4th-down conversion off a trick play where Herman Mason took a lateral and threw to Pat Brooks for the first down. After a timeout by Bottom of the 5th Micah Oetting would connect with brother Marshall Oetting in the endzone, and Pat Brooks would add a critical 1-pt PAT to put the Hooligans up 49-48 and set up a frantic ending with under a minute to play. It appeared that the Hooligans may have scored too soon, as Jeremy Maas would crank off a huge run from the quarterback position setting his team up about 10 yards from the endzone. The Hooligans would call timeout with 32 seconds to go, but Jeremy Maas would find Evan Novak on the left side of the endzone to take a critical 56-49 lead with just 25 seconds left. However after fighting hard all year the Hooligans were not about to give up yet, and Micah Oetting went on to orchestrate a drive which will live on forevermore in Hooligan lore. Marshall Oetting and Pat Brooks would both catch short passes and get out of bounds to stop the clock, giving the Hooligans a first down. Micah Oetting would then fire to the endzone and find Herman Mason for an enormous touchdown catch, giving the team a decision to make as they still trailed 56-55. After discussion the Hooligans would make the gutsy call to go for 2, and again Herman Mason came up in the clutch with a 2-pt PAT to make it 57-56 with just 11 seconds to go. The Hooligans would switch to a prevent defense and Jeremy Maas would heave one last long ball down the field. 3 or 4 players were in the area around the ball, but Pat Brooks would come up with the interception at the end of the game to seal the deal and give the Hooligans a clutch 57-56 championship win. For the Hooligans, Pat Brooks had a great statline with 3 receiving TDs, 2 PATs, and the game-clinching interception. Herman Mason was heroic on the day with the game-winning TD and PAT along with several other receptions. Marshall Oetting threw 5 TD passes in the game and also had a receiving TD. Micah Oetting had 2 receiving TDs, 3 passing TDs, and a PAT. Humphrey Ihejirikah would catch a TD in the second half and had several solid gains. Angela Martin had a PAT along with several receptions and good defense. Justin Litzner had some critical catches for first downs in the game. Captain Mike Russell saw some reps at center in the game and provided good coaching. Dana Ford was unable to play due to an injury but vocally supported the team from the sideline. For Bottom of the 5th, captain Evan Novak would lead his team with 3 receiving TDs. Jeremy Maas did everything he could to lead an undermanned team passing for 7 TDs in the game. John Pesta had a solid statline with 2 receiving TDs and 2 PATs. Jacob Maas had a receiving TD, 4 PATs, and a "pick 2" on a PAT attempt. Aaron Palmer hauled in a TD pass in the second half. Breanne Short, Lauren Featherston, Jessica Green and Nae Smith were at the game to cheer the Hooligans on to their championship victory. The game was officiated by Nick Holshoe and Virgilio Burgo. The Hooligans finish their season at 3-3 and claim the second championship in the franchise's storied history. The season has certainly been a wild ride and the future looks bright for the franchise as nearly everyone on this year's roster should be back again next year. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for overviews of the 2014 season along with team awards and the unveiling of the 2014 All-Star rosters. Until next season...ROLL HOOLIGANS!!!!! The 2014 Pigskin Hooligans Championship Team - From left to right: Captain Mike Russell, Justin Litzner, Marshall Oetting, Dana Ford, co-captain Angela Martin, Micah Oetting, Pat Brooks, Humphrey Ihejirkah, and Herman Mason. Team members not present but played during 2014 season: Lukas Mueller and Tyler Baker. 1st star - Pat Brooks (Pigskin Hooligans) 3 receiving TDs, 2 PATs, game-clinching INT 2nd star - Herman Mason (Pigskin Hooligans) Game-winning TD reception and PAT catch 3rd star - Evan Novak (Bottom of the 5th) 3 receiving TDs
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Written by Mike Russell
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