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A7FL Week 7 – Last Week of Regular Season and the Race Couldn’t Be More Exciting!

by
A7FL Staff
May 18, 2023

The A7FL Regular season comes to an end this Sunday as we get one step closer to crowning our 9th A7FL Champion!

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GAME 1

East Orange Renegades vs. Paterson U

Our first Week 8 Game of the Week featured two playoff teams fighting to gain momentum in the final week of the regular season with the East Orange Renegades (3-3, -9 Net Points) taking on the Paterson U (5-1, +112 Net Points).

The U would start with the ball and they got their run game going early in the drive, but a sack on 4th-and-7 by Quadou “QuaGotti” Garrett would give the Renegades the ball at the 50-yard line. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t do much with it, as they would also fail a fourth down conversion to give the ball back to the U just under 4 minutes in the quarter. As we have seen before, the U used their rushing attack to drive down the field and would score on a Steven “SJ” Jones Jr. 5-yard touchdown, which made the score 6-0 with 2:59 left in the first. The quarter would end with the Renegades with the ball on the U’s 49-yard line.

The Renegades would end up throwing off to the U after facing a 4th-and-18 and the U would set up shop on their own 34-yard line. The U were gashing their way down the field with a mix of run and pass plays, but the Renegades would come up with a massive defensive play by stripping Saadiq Pitts at the one-yard line to get the ball back with 11:50 left in the second quarter. The Renegades would squander their opportunity by quarterback Preacher throwing an interception to Troi “Mr. Inkredible” Smith ti set up the U at the Renegades’ 25-yard line. The U would punch another score in on a pass from quarterback Kareen Moon to Markeith “Dot Boss” Williamson to make the score 12-0 with 8:05 left in the half. The Renegades started to get a drive going, but a failed fourth down conversion would give the U’s offense a chance to put up more points with 1:55 left until halftime. The U looked cool, calm and composed on their drive as Kareen Moon would scramble for a 16-yard touchdown to extend the U lead to 18-0. Shortly after, Neon Deon would take a pick-six back with just 15 seconds left in the half, and all of a sudden the U were up 24-0 going into the half.

The Renegades would start the second half with the ball, but their offense would sputter once again by fumbling and giving the U’s offense the ball at their own 39-yard line with 13:38 left in the third. The U would use a balanced attack to set up a 22-yard touchdown run by Willie “Money Mayweather” Easterling to balloon the U’s lead to 32-0 with 10:00 left in the quarter. The Renegades would only go backwards on their ensuing drive, giving the U another chance to put up points. The U would take full advantage on a 62-yard touchdown from Money Mayweather, his second of the day and the U would go up 38-0. The Renegades would get a big play from running back Michael Liberti to set them up in U territory, and Liberti would eventually scramble 38 yards for a touchdown, erasing the goose egg for the Renegades and making the score 38-6 with 0:49 left in the third. The quarter would end with the U’s offense on their own 38-yard line.

The U would take their time on their first drive of the fourth quarter, but the result would be the same: another U touchdown by Kareen Moon on a 16-yard run to make the score 44-6 with 8:20 left in the game. The Renegades were able to grit and grind their way to the U’s 36-yard line, but another failed fourth down conversion would give the ball back to the U and they would end the game with a Amir Morris 66-yard receiving touchdown, enacting the mercy rule. The U assert their playoff positioning while the Renegades look to get healthy ahead of the postseason. Final: Paterson U 52 East Orange Renegades 6

GAME 2

Rahway Shnow Tribe vs. Baltimore Watchmen

Our second Game of the Week saw the Baltimore Watchmen (5-1, 212 Net Points) try to keep their number one seed in the North East Division as they took on a team looking to gain a massive wave of momentum heading into the postseason with an upset win in the Rahway Shnow Tribe (2-4, -30 Net Points).

The Watchmen would start with the ball on their own 34-yard line. They would get a 61-yard connection from quarterback Rakiem “OG Buck” Chaney to Marcellus Pack which would set up a 6-yard run from David Dawkins to give the Watchmen a 6-0 lead with 8:30 left in the first. The Shnow Tribe were faced with a 4th-and-4 and the Watchmen defense stuffed it to get the ball right back with 5:49 left in the quarter. The Watchmen would respond with a 60-yard bomb from quarterback John Gause Jr. to Chris “Super Saiyan” Mathews to extend their lead to two scores. But the Shnow Tribe would not go away quietly, as quarterback Jonathan “Keelz” Keel would burst for a 53-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 12-6 with 3:54 left in the quarter. The explosive first quarter would end with the Watchmen on the Shnow Tribe’s 28-yard line.

The second quarter would see less fireworks, but OG Buck would scramble for a 28-yard touchdown to extend the Watchmen lead to 18-6 with 12:29 left in the second. The Shnow Tribe would get sacked on third down, forcing a throw-off to give the ball back to the Watchmen with 9:36 left in the quarter. They would take a break from the explosive plays as OG Buck and Gause would lead a methodical drive that would take over eight minutes of clock, but the drive would end thanks to a sack by the Shnow Tribe defense. The Shnow Tribe offense would get the ball with only 31 seconds left in the first half, and they would be unable to score. The Watchmen would take their 18-6 lead going into the locker room.

The Shnow Tribe would start the half with the ball and started to find their offensive rhythm on an eight minute drive, but Wolverine came up with a massive interception for the Watchmen as he pitched it to Ant Mo for a touchdown, which gave the Watchmen a 24-6 lead with 5:37 left in the third. A three-and-out from the Shnow Tribe offense would give the ball quickly back to the Watchmen. The third would end with the Watchmen on the Shnow Tribe’s 20-yard line.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, OG Buck finds Ant Mo for a 20-yard receiving touchdown, extending their lead to 32-6. To make matters worse for the Shnow Tribe, the Watchmen would recover the ensuing throw-off to get their offense right back on the field at the Shnow Tribe’s 26-yard line. Omari “The Crown” Thomas would finish the drive with a 6-yard touchdown, giving the Watchmen a 32-point lead with 8:56 left in the game. The Shnow Tribe offesne couldn’t do much on their next drive and they would throw-off back to the Watchmen with 6:05 left in the game. The following Watchmen drive featured a heavy dose of Charles Sharp Jr., but it would end with an OG Buck pass to The Crown for a 3-yard touchdown, further extending the lead to 44-6 with 2:11 left in the game. Another failed fourth down conversion from the Shnow Tribe would give the Watchmen the ball back with 0:55 left in the game, and they would score one more time on a 30-yard Gause Jr. pass to enact the mercy rule. The Watchmen will go into the North East playoffs as the number one seed while the Shnow Tribe will look to win their playoff game next week. Final Baltimore Watchmen 50 Rahway Shnow Tribe 6

GAME 3

North Vegas Kryptonite vs. Vegas Force

In our final Game of the Week, the North Vegas Kryptonite (4-2, +67 Net Points) took on the Vegas Force (4-2, +158 Net Points) in a heated Vegas rivalry to cap off the slate.

The Force would start with the ball and started the game showing off their rushing attack and scoring first on a Taariq “VooDooRiq” Flowers 6-yard rushing touchdown with 10:29 left in the first. The Kryptonite were steadily gaining yards on their first drive of the game until they faced a 4th-and-11 which they failed to convert, giving the ball back to the Force on the Kryptonite’s 48-yard line with 4:42 left in the quarter. A 32-yard pass from quarterback Willie Briscoe to Rohan Walters would extend the Force lead to 12 as the clock hits triple zero in the first quarter.

The Kryptonite would fail to convert a 4th-and-2 on their first drive of the second quarter to give the ball right back to the Force with 12:40 left in the second. The Kryptonite would then get a stop of their own on fourth down to get the ball back on their own 37-yard line with 9:25 left in the half. They would drive down the field and would score on a play not shown on the telecast, but nonetheless the Kryptonite cut the lead in half. The Force get in the endzone again on their ensuing possession on a 19-yard run from VooDooRiq to extend their lead to 18-6 with 4:48 left in the half. The Kryptonite would not take long to respond tho, as quarterback Darnel “Lex Luther” Richardson would find Ronald Gaither for a 49-yard score, which made the score 20-12 with 3:48 left in the half. The fireworks would continue as the Force would score on a 39-yard pass from quarterback Deon Fox to Armando Mireles with 1:03 left until halftime. But once again the Kryptonite would not go without a response, as Lex Luther would find Ronnie “Zenmaster” Pidgeon for a 21-yard strike to the endzone, leading to a 28-18 score going into the half.

The Kryptonite would start the second half with the ball but they would fumble and give the ball to the Force on the Kryptonite 21-yard line. This would result in an insane VooDooRiqq 10-yard touchdown you would have to see to believe to extend the Force lead to 36-18 with 11:27 left in the third. The Force would recover their second throw-off to get the ball right back on the Kryptonite’s 20-yard line. Not long after, Willie Briscoe would rumble into the endzone for a 5-yard score and the Force’s lead got even larger, 44-18. The Kryptonite offense took the field with 7:08 left in the third, but a sack on third down would make them throw it back to the Force with 4:31 left in the third. William Alexander would cap off the drive with a 6-yard rushing touchdown, ballooning the lead to 50-18. The Kryptonite would start their next drive on their own 20-yard line but would throw an interception on the last play of the third quarter, with the score still 50-18 with the Force in the lead.

Taariq Flowers would score on a three-on-one return for his fourth touchdown of the day on the first play of the fourth quarter, blowing the score to 58-18. The Kryptonite would get the ball back and put up some points on a nice hook-and-ladder play with 9:03 left in the fourth. On the first play of the next drive, William Alexander would get into the endzone for the second time on a 37-yard run. The Kryptonite would get the ball back with 8:49 left in the game, but a pick six from the Force would enact the mercy rule. The Force leave today with a very impressive victory heading into the postseason. Final: Vegas Force 72 North Vegas Kryptonite 26

In our opening game of the day, the Paterson U aim for a run at the #2 seed in the north east as the East Orange Renegades look to surprise some people and upset the 5-1 squad.

Can Carlos Croslin and Kareen Moon’s leadership be enough to stop a stingy Renegades Defense helmed by DPOY candidate Trey Baskerville? We find out at 1:00 PM ET.

At 4:00 PM ET we see the Baltimore Watchmen attempt to cement their status as the top seed in the North East as they stand across from a surging Shnow Tribe.

Can Jonathan Keel do what only the BIC have done this season and outscore the combo of Jon Gause Jr. and Roekim Chaney? Or will we have to #WatchThis as Baltimore locks the #1 seed and a first round bye?

A year ago the Vegas Force were an upset pick to come out of the west, now dangling on the edge of the elite in the Nevada division, they face a North Vegas Kryptonite club that aim to defy expectations in a tight playoff bracket. Watch at 7:00 PM ET.