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Five weeks of preseaon, 17 weeks of regular season play, 3 weeks of playoffs and now we are down to two teams who will play for the 2010 IFL Championship.:arrow: National Confernce Champions VERMONT MOUNTAINERS (12-7)
vs.
:arrow: Ameican Conference Champions IOWA CITY SNIPE HUNTERS (13-6)
Both teams got to this point in very different ways.
Vermont decided to make changes this year in order to challenge division rival, Lawrence. Head Coach Rico Sprouse fired his entire staff at the beginning of the season and hired new defensive and offensive coordinators who were immediately charged to bring a new look to the play book. GM Coder then tested the free agent market and landed the #2 rated player on the Grey Sheet by signing Murfreesboro's DE Shawn Fernandez. He also scoopd up FL Richard Rath who ended up making significant contibutions during the season and continues to do so in the playoffs. The Mountainers' draft was a success as they added 1st rounders CB Alonzo Lake and RB Andy Crawford. Both became immediate impact players. The plan was working but injuries hit and seemed to be the potential achilles heel of the team, as star QB Virgil Sepulveda, DE Shawn Hernandez, rookie RB Andy Crawford, P Wes Reid, FB Karl Ackerman, and SE Dennis Bakker all became victims. (Of the players above, only Virgil will be suiting up for the Imperial Bowl.) Coder's juggling show was absolute magic as the Mountainers then got the roller coaster ride of their lives. After running off five immediate wins, the injuries hit. At the end, they only won two of their last seven regular season games. None the less, they made the playoffs as a wild card and now have downed Vancouver, Little Rock and Lawrence. If they win the Imperial Bowl, they will be the lowest seed to do so.
Iowa City's GM Roadrash has had one philosphy for his team. Continuity is good thing and it doesn't pay to make alot of changes from year-to-year. For those of you who think cohesion isn't a factor to monitor, you may want to gander at the Snipe Hunters' Passing cohesion rating of 82 , Offensive Line rating of 100, Defensive Front rating of 100, and Secondary rating of 89. Staying true to form, the team also did not make any staff changes. In fact there has only been one head coach and defensive coordinator in the franchise's history; the offensive coordinator has been there for five years. Also, there were no free agent signings of note. In the draft, the Snipes did pick up WR Archie Shapiro who has been the only rookie to find a starting role until last week when G Gabe Belin was recent promoted due to an injury to Jeffrey Kissinger. The Snipes clawed to a AC North division title and beat out Wichita in a tie breaker and it has been that tie breaker that has allowed the team to get to where they are today. They entered the playoffs in the wild card week and then in order, put down Houston, Portland and Murfreesboro, and all in convincing fashion. They make their first trip to the Imperial Bowl.
Interesting tid bits:
:?: Vermont has the 4th best ranking for an offensive line per Football Oustiders. Iowa City was 14th. (There has been very little study as to the significance of this rating however)
:?: Iowa City has some great cohesion but Vermont's isn't too shabby either. (There has been alot of theory about cohesion, but how much is enough to win it all?)
:?: Vermont has the dubious honor to lead the league in allowing 31.1 yards per kickoff. Iowa City's Alvin Humprey lead the league with 2 TD kick off returns. (Could this be a game deciding factor?)
:?: Iowa City's Franklin Twigg lead the league with a 93.6% PD % with 8 interceptions and 21 passes defended. (Is Twigg the answer to Vermont's Sepulveda and pick him off for the first time this season?)
:!: Before this year, both teams have been to the playoffs several times (four for Iowa and three for Vermont) and neither team experienced a single victory. Now both teams have added three playoff victories to their legacies and they will meet each other. Like they say in poker, "All in!" Who takes home the pot and adds the victory that counts?
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