Barring some sort of epic performance by Josh Allen where he does not utilize Stefon Diggs in the slightest (and the team QB Sneaks for conversions instead of PATs) New Jersey will ascend the mountain and capture the Silver Chalice as champion of LBXII.
But... that is why they play until the final whistle.
Last night Demario Davis started the scoring for New Jersey- here's the current lineups for the twelfth annual Larkspur Bowl Final between the HCM City Lead Farmers and New Jersey Sanitation Crew.
The top seeds continue on to the Larkspur Bowl final for just the third time in twelve years; first in LBV when #1 Phoenix defeated #2 Hill Valley, then last year when #2 Pawnee upended the #1 McFlys. This year, after HCM beat MMC and JSC dropped HVM, we'll see the 9-4 teams rematch after their week thirteen slugfest.
PHOENIX over BINGHAMTON (5th Place Game)
Phoenix's fifth place finish is its third worst of all time, but represents an improvement on last year's consolation bracket winning 7th place conclusion. David Montgomery and wire fodder Tony Pollard get the credit here, but it's another disappointing end in the desert. Binghamton Head Coach Mark Serokosz celebrated a birthday this week!
SOUTH PARK over MAR-A-LAGO
The Cows season of what-if could be extrapolated to a maddening degree here, as they might have drawn and defeated the Sanitation Crew had they had not lost a one point game in week seven. That said, they might have rolled over and died in week 14... so best not to get too hung up on theoreticals. The Grabbers should retire their namesake after the season.
OHIO over PAWNEE
Demoralized after missing a chance to defend their title, the Pride are one-and-done in their consolation bracket bid, and will battle Mar-A-Lago for the third pick next week; Blame Kenyan Drake, who was pedestrian. Or credit Ohio, who had their 3-2 start leak away from them by doing things like leaving Michael Thomas (IR) in their lineup.
CARMEL over DEPUTY (11th Place Game)
Carmel can really take heart in what they accomplished this year- with all the injuries piling up early, this is probably the best 11th place finish in the league's dozen years. Not from a points perspective or anything, just from a grit and determination standpoint. Deputy went 1-6 in their last seven games, never exceeding 190 points.
New Jersey started pulling away in the second quarter and although the McFlys showed gumption with their backs against the wall... they were never within striking distance. The Sanitation Crew avenged their Week 12 loss and move within a game of hoisting the trophy in only their second season.
New Jersey's success came on both sides of the ball, as the Murray-Diggs connection continued to bear fruit on offense, while the defense (except for DL Chris Jones) did its part, with six of eight starters turning in double figures. This might have been a contest but for impressive rounds from Melvin Gordon and JD McKissic, who roundly outplayed the Hill Valley rookie duo of Clyde Edwards-Hilaire and Cam Akers.
Perhaps the moment was too big for the McFly running backs, but rookie QB Jalen Hurts shined in the spotlight. Unfortunately, his premier weapons DK Metcalf and Amari Cooper let him down, and with Julio Jones on the bench, well, it just was not enough. The defense performed adequately enough- especially the linebacking corps. Aaron Donald's up-and-down season stayed down in the single digits for the fifth time in the last six games (and tenth in fourteen games) really calling into question if he is the same disruptive playmaker he has been to this point.
The Sanitation Crew will try to make their first playoff appearance a successful one by grabbing the crown in week sixteen. Meanwhile, the McFlys miss the big game for just the second time in the past half decade. They have never won the bronze medal game (they lost it twice, in years one and three) so they could be motivated to score some consolation hardware.
Neither of our quarterfinals were particularly close- but don't blame the Moosecrew's valiant effort. They simply ran into a relentless Lead Farmer team who rode their juggernaut offense to the tune of 284 points.
HCM got off to the early lead and never took their foot off the pedal, with Josh Allen and DeAndre Hopkins both putting up 30+ and Dante Waller, Derrick Henry, and Kevin Byard scoring 26-29 apiece. Wire pickup Salvon Ahmed, who broke out a few weeks ago only to nurse a sore shoulder, came up huge in a mop up role for the crimson squad.
Lamar Jackson and Travis Kelce had their typical magic working, while Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown showed up in the end game, just as the Crew hoped they might. However, there just was not enough firepower to keep up, and some disappointing late game performances from quality players Mike Hilton and Sheldon Richardson ended the Cinderella run.
For the Lead Farmers this will be their second Larkspur Bowl appearance- they lost LBIX to the Phoenix Uprising. Manitoba will play Hill Valley in the bronze medal game; The Moose Crew finished in third in LBVIII.
We reviewed the two wildcard games, HVM over BIN and MMC over PHX in separate entries.
Lets review the rest of the league prior to the semifinals!
RESULTS:
MAR-A-LAGO GRABBERS over CARMEL RUDY TUESDAYS
Miles Sanders turns in his best performance of the season to move the Grabbers on to a top four draft pick for the fourth time in the past five years. They will challenge the South Park Cows in week fifteen, while Carmel sees Deputy for 11th place.
OHIO TOMMY BOYS over DEPUTY VAN HALENS
Russell Wilson and Roquan Smith persevere despite an outrageous performance by Deputy Defensive End Chase Young. Ohio takes on LBXI champion Pawnee to continue on for a top two draft slot; Deputy and Carmel see who is more irrelevant.
Lamar Jackson was astonishing with his legs, and drew within a point of Jarvis Landry and Phoenix before heading to the locker room with cramps. Had he remained out of the game, this might have been a different outcome- but when the backup quarterback was injure, Jackson trotted gingerly on to the field for a decisive fourth down- and threw a dart for a TD. There was still a bit of back and forth before Jackson put his stamp on it; With two seconds on the clock, Jarvis Landry needed to go 100 yards on razzle-dazzle to keep Phoenix alive. Instead, he fumbled out the back of the end zone.
The Moosecrew will continue on to face the top seeded HCM Lead Farmers in the LBXII Semi-Finals. Phoenix will battle Binghamton for fifth place.
The Hill Valley McFlys perspired a little bit in their quarterfinal win, but ultimately persevered, winning by ample margin. Since taking the starting job emerging from a week eight bye, Kamren Curl has been a difference maker, teaming with fellow rookie Jeremy Chinn to be a disruptive and destructive secondary attack for the two time champions, slowing the potent Sniper offense just enough to continue.
Hill Valley took the early lead and never gave it up, with every offensive starter putting in double digit work, highlighted by the continued emergence of the thrice dropped Cam Akers. That said, Aaron Rodgers, Alvin Kamara, and Mike Gesicki kept pace, and the game within range to make the Monday Night Fourth Quarter interesting.
Nick Chubb rumbled, and if he had received a workhorse compliment of carries might never have stopped, but tag team partner Kareem Hunt (on the Sniper bench) took 60% of the production with him, ultimately dooming the Sniper's chance to knock all of the former champions off the bracket in one fell swoop. It's still a nice season for Bing, their third playoff appearance in four years- but now all three have been one and done endeavors. Perhaps the fourth time is the charm?
Hill Valley engages with the New Jersey Sanitation Crew this week, with the victor headed to Larkspur Bowl XII. Binghamton dances with Phoenix, to the song nobody wants to hear at the end of the night: closing time.
The Season is over! Half the league finished with a winning record, which left one team out in the cold when the playoffs came- the Larkspur Bowl XI champion Pawnee Pride are the odd man, their defense of the silver chalice is over and in a few weeks they will have to surrender it.
The top two seeds are new to the bye week; #1 HCM City has been in the playoffs in two of the last three years (advancing as far as the LBIX final) but had to battle through the wild card round each time. In their second season #2 Jersey is in their first playoff campaign, and will need just two wins to seize glory.
#3 Hill Valley loses their long assured bye week by the slimmest of margins, and now will have to battle the #6 Binghamton Snipers in the first round; #4 Phoenix returns to the playoffs after a one year layoff and will see a familiar foe in the #5 Manitoba Moosecrew. The two played each other this past week to conclude the regular season.
RESULTS
POWER OUTPUT - QUARTERBACK & HIGHEST SCORER
TEAM OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING MATCHUPS
A full playoff preview should occur... eventually!
Week 13's recap is still impending, and some rule five stat corrections have a remote chance of altering the seedings- but for now feast your eyes on the XII Brackets:
We're in the End Game here. Here are the most likely scenarios left:
Pawnee would need a win, Binghamton and Mar-A-Lago losses, and to surpass the Sniper's point total to grab the six seed. At current, they have a 22.39 deficit to make up in the waning moments of week thirteen.
We have reached the final week of the regular season! Four teams have clinched playoff spots and will squabble for byes: HCM City and Hill Valley have the edge at 9-3, and with wins this week can rest assured their week 14s will be without tension. At 8-4 New Jersey has a path to the bye but it goes through both teams- they would need to defeat the Lead Farms and see the McFlys lose to nail down a top two seed. Meanwhile Manitoba is in but at 8-4 they will be playing in week 14, could finish anywhere from #3 to #6. With wins Phoenix and Binghamton will be in, but either team could fumble their spot to give Mar-A-Lago or the defending champion Pawnee Pride an in.
Pawnee's lackluster season may forego a playoff spot, but they're not going down without a fight; THey put up a huge 299.2 score that is good for 4th all-time (and pending stat corrections, the third time a team got to 299 without breaking 300) but is likely to little too late to supplant Mar-A-Lago or Phoenix on tiebreak. Still, I'm saying there's a chance.
Everyone else has been eliminated from contending for LBXII, including the current points leader, the South Park Cows. In six of the team's seven losses their opponents scored 249, 266, 231, 234, 234, and 217 yesterday from an equally desperate Sniper squad. Their other loss saw them fall to the Pride 175-174 in week seven. A single point there and South Park at 6-6 would just need to defeat Carmel this week and see Phoenix or Binghamton fall to make a run. Alas, it is not to be.
Streaky Ohio is also eliminated, although, like the Cows, they have a ticket to the consolation bracket in hand. Carmel and Deputy both control their own destinies on getting the the draft selection stage at 4-8, while Savannah and South Philly would both need to win (and score a lot of points) to play beyond this week.
RESULTS
POWER OUTPUT - DEFENSIVE MVP EDITION
TEAM OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING MATCHUPS
