Week 1 and 2 Recap

The first week of B-League games saw few surprises, with the major title contenders shaking off any concerns of offseason rust. In contrast, week 2 saw a number of dogfights and thrilling finishes on the short fields of McCurdy Track. In what will be tough to top as the game of the year, The Franchise Tax rebounded from their week 1 stumble with a thrilling 63-56 overtime victory over the veteran 3L team and preseason Bush Division favorite Excessive Fource. After Franchise Tax pulled even in the second-to-last play of regulation, Excessive Fource QB Javi Peral unleashed what appeared to be a 95-yard game-winning touchdown. However, an unnamed Excessive Fource player adopted the bold strategy of overruling the official and calling the pass incomplete after seeing the ball hit the ground. After a quick Franchise Tax score in the first possession, Excessive Fource had three good looks at the endzone, with a controversial out-of-bounds call, a touchdown-saving tackle by Michael Redding keeping Peral from scrambling his way to a tie, and an outstanding pass breakup by Ona Balkus preserving the win for Franchise Tax. Katie Tresnowski recorded three touchdown receptions for the Franchise Tax.

In another nailbiter, Spite Kites squeaked out a victory over Big & Tasty in a matchup of two 2L squads after defending a two-point conversion at the end of the game. Meanwhile, led by MVP candidate Brian Wood, Beyond a Reasonable Rout extended their regular season undefeated streak to 14 games with a pair of victories in the first two weeks. Accounting for 12 touchdowns (8 passing, 4 rushing) in the first two weeks, Wood has lived up to the preseason hype so far, although his goalline pick six at the end of the first half against the Law Review’s squad transformed what appeared to be a rout into a close contest throughout. However, the team has yet to live up to its moniker and form from prior seasons, which WR/S Hardy Ehlers attributes to a team decision to stop playing like the late-2000s Chargers in an attempt to avoid yet another postseason choke. Within the Newton Division, they will face stout competition from Ex Partay, which has started the season with a pair of comfortable victories. In their first game of divisional play, QB Noah Weiss’s squad cruised to a 49-14 win over Three’s company, with Weiss accounting for all of his team’s scores with either his arm or legs. While ordinarily landing him on the boundaries of socially acceptable behavior, DE Matt Bobby’s harassment Sunday led to four forced interceptions, including three hauled in by WR/S Terrance Orme.

In A-League action, league co-commissioner Anthony Palermo proved he could do more than just look good in a uniform, propelling defending champion Goon Squad to a 2-0 start with three touchdown grabs. Palermo’s team has started their title defense with no shortage of offensive fireworks, racking up an average of 70 points per game through their first two games. On the other side of the ball, Low Passing has opened the season with consecutive 35-0 shutouts, fueled in week one by QB Matt Walsh’s four touchdowns (three passing, one INT) and S Aaron Dalnoot’s four picks over league newcomers Section 7’s Finest. Led by QB Scott McIntosh's golden arm, last year’s finalist Nine Ways to Sunday has also made a clear statement of intent regarding their title ambitions, with a 49-35 victory over a tough No Punt Intended squad that has also racked up two early season victories fueled by connections between Wood and his talented corps of receivers and the Suh-like pass rush of WR/LB Mike Baudinet. And while many of their classmates faltered, Malicious Intent registered a win for the 1L class with a 42-28 opening week victory over Flimsy, Cheap & Disingenous. Flimsy WRs Wesley White and Matthew Peterson each grabbed two touchdowns for the newcomers from Section 5, but ultimately Malicious Intent’s 28-7 halftime lead proved too much to overcome.