Larkspur Bowl VII:
South Park Cows (7-6) vs Pawnee Pride (8-5)
Both teams are riding winning streaks, as the Cows have taken four in a row, while the Pride are riding five straight. Both knocked off past champions- The Pride defeated the three-time champion Uprising, and the Cows took out the 2012 Champion Islanders and the 2014 Champion Finest.
The Pride headed off a formidable Phoenix team, and left no doubt about their victory, featuring OPotW Emmanuel Sanders and DPotW Deon Bucannon. The Finest were favored until the very end, when Brandin Cooks was able to score decisively and triumphantly for the Cows.
In defeat, both Phoenix and New York were done in by underwhelming performances from their top picks: JJ Watt (3pts) and Aaron Rodgers (8pts) respectively.
Both victors have taken the long road to get to the sixteenth and final game: Including the playoffs, Pawnee is 10-5 while South Park is 9-6.
We'll examine the matchups tomorrow- but the specter of Pawnee's top pick Odell Beckham's one game suspension looms large.
Week 15 Matchups
Toronto finishes the season in fifth, and will draft ninth overall. The Islanders finish in sixth, and will draft tenth overall. HCM City's victory over Savannah gives them eleventh place and the fifth overall pick, while Savannah finishes in twelfth and will pick sixth overall in 2016.
We'll have three more consolation matchups, to determine draft order:
1st/2nd Pick: Hill Valley McFlys vs Saskatoon Sasquatch
3rd/4th Pick: Deputy Van Halens vs Manitoba Moosecrew
11th/12th Pick: New York's Finest vs Phoenix Uprising
SEMIFINAL AWARDS:
LB OPotW: WR Emmanuel Sanders, Pawnee (39pts)
Perhaps the least heralded of the Pawnee quartet, Sanders was huge in the semis, scoring 39 points and taking any drama out of a 32 point victory. Emmanuel caught ten balls for 181 yards and a touchdown, ran the ball once for a 24 yard gain, and moved the chains seven times. In a game where Mike Evans opened big, before Odell Beckham lost his head and AJ Green was quiet, Sanders was the closer, staving off the Uprising with certitude.
LB DPotW: S/LB Deone Bucannon, Pawnee (27.95)
Phoenix LB Vontaze Burfict did all he could to keep his team in the game, scoring 26.3 points- but his efforts were usurped by Bucannon, who had 11 combined tackles, a batted ball, and a 39 yard pick six that sealed the Pride's berth in their first ever Larkspur Bowl. A hybrid linebacker//safety, he's the shining star on a Pawnee defense that came through when they had to: Kelvin Sheppard and Aqib Talib were also major factors in the victory.
CB OPotW: RB David Johnson, Toronto (51.7pts)
After bouncing around all year, Johnson came into his own with LTP, where he and battery mate Danny Woodhead combined to drop 86 points on the Islanders in their consolation matchup. The rookie went for 229 yards on 33 touches, for 13 first downs and three touchdowns. If he had any sleeper status going into 2016, it is no more.
CB DPotW: LB Paul Posluszny, Islanders (23.65pts)
The Islanders' only answer to Johnson was their captain, "The Poz." Ten total tackles, two for a loss, a batted ball and a pick, Posluszny was still giving it his all, all over the field in this one. Both teams had disappointing ends to their playoff runs, but finished with a gusto they will hope to carry over to 2016.
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