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**Imperial Sports Page** · 05-04-2005, 12:31 PM

Forgot to do Day 2 of the Staff Hiring, crap. This is still new to me, so hopefully I won't be forgetting too many.

**Imperial Sports Page** · 05-04-2005, 12:33 PM

May 4th, 2005. Staff Hiring Stage 3.

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Coaching Moves Continue

Top: Vancouver's offensive
coordinator for the last two years, Jake Brown was thought to
have been going to Newark for their head coaching job. Instead
he takes over the same position in Vancouver.

On the final day
for teams to adjust their coaching and scouting departments,
we still had a couple of surprise moves. The big move of the
day was the naming of Jake Brown as head coach of the
Vancouver Killer Whales. Brown, offensive coordinator for
Vancouver the last two seasons, had been thought to be going
to the Newark Bulldogs for several days now. After Vancouver
lost out getting Albuquerque's Dominic Hamrahi (who signed
with Houston), the Whales looked to keep Brown at home. Brown,
who has stated he loves the city of Vancouver and the
franchise, took less money then the Bulldogs had been
offering.

"This is a great
opportunity for me to be the head coach of what I believe is
one of the best franchises in the Imperial League." said Brown
at Vancouver press conference. He went on to say that he had
nothing against the Newark franchise, but in the end the
chance to stay in Vancouver was to great for him. Brown
quickly named former Oakland Assassin head coach Andre
Copeland as their offensive coordinator.

The Newark
Bulldogs, forced to scramble for a head coach, ended up
resigning their head coach of the last two years, Eddie
Morris. Sticking with the Vancouver connection, their head
coach of one year, Ed Donaldson, has returned to the position
many think he is best suited for. He has become offensive
coordinator for the St. Louis Cardinals after they lose Joel
Kooiker to division rival Louisiana.

Other noteable
moves today include the naming of former Tulsa O.C., Dennis
Schulz, as O.C. in Houston as the Renegades have revamped
their coaching staff this year. Albuquerque, needing to
replace Hamrahi, got former Lansing head coach Louis Logue to
keep the Matadors moving forward. The Reno Wolfpack after head
coach Jerry Armstrong went to be D.C. in Wichita, signed one
time offensive coordinator of Hartford, Grant Roberson, as
their head coach. For scouts, Ernie Montano was being gone
after by several teams, including Lawrence. He ended up
staying with Montreal though, despite a lesser offer.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 05-09-2005, 02:12 AM

May 5th, 2005. Pre-Free Agency

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Imperial League Amateur Combine Review

Top: Todd Terrell, QB from the
National Champion UCLA Bruins, tests in the 40 yard dash at the
Imperial League combine. His best time was in 4.49 seconds.

Below: Players also had
to go through a bench press test, like Boston College safety
Willie Ames who had an impressive 30 reps at 225 pounds.

The 2005 Imperial
League Draft Combine has just ended here in Kansas City, MO.
College players from around the country got together in front
of Imperial League scouts, coaches, and GM's to be weighed,
measured, tested, interviewed, and basically herded around
like cattle at a livestock show. Every year this takes place
here on the border of Missouri and Kansas, and every year GM's
come away seeing championships in the form of a single player.

This year is no
exception. There are several players who are soon to be
Imperial League stars, or so they hope, that have GM's
talking. First off, no one could keep their eyes off of
Wisconsin running back Alan Crespo. The man was the main
attraction as far as the workouts went. A 4.30 40 yard dash,
26 reps at the bench press, and good agility and Solecismic
test score. Crespo ran for 1165 yards and 14 TD's last year
for the Badgers, and though was considered to most likely be
the top RB in this draft, no one expected these kind of
numbers from him.

Of the top QB
prospects, 4 have emerged above all others. The best of those
is Penn State QB Jay Caro according to post combine grading.
Concerns about his height (6'0") seem to have disappeared, and
he was very impressive. Scouts admit he is probably the most
raw of the top QB's, but should be the first to go anyways.
Caro may even be the #1 overall pick to Lansing. UCLA QB Todd
Terrell, coming off a National Championship, seems to be
considered a high pick too. Some still consider him a product
of a great team, but he showed well here. The other two top
QB's are Syracuse's Rob Richardson, who was not conisdered a
top QB until a great showing here at the combine and in
personal workouts, and Miami of Florida QB Will Irby. Irby is
the Heisman Award winner of 2004.

On the defensive
side, safety Willie Ames was extremely impressive. The Boston
College product ran a 4.39 40, 6.99 agility test, and did a
remarkable 30 reps on the bench press. A fairly high number
for a defensive back. He could be a top 10 pick, very good for
a safety. One surprise was DE Brandon Cox out of Army. His
combine performance seems to have shot him up the board past
more recognized DE's Alfred Dunlap and Tyrone Garnett.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 06-05-2005, 11:06 AM

May 23rd, 2005. Begining of Preseason

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Preseason Underway

Top: Preseason games have started,
and it is a time for rookies and backups to earn jobs and show
what they can do. Guys can count on a roster spot when they
perform like Reno QB Billy Del Greco, who threw 2 TDs against
Albuquerque.

Free agency, the
draft, and training camp are all behind us. As teams come out
of camp, perhaps a little on the tired side, it is time to see
what these teams may look like for the 2005 season. Many stars
will be riding the pine in these preseason games, why risk
injury of a sure starter? No, what this time of the year is
all about is to see what those rookies can do, fill those back
up rolls, and iron out the kinks in a gameplan or two.

The first games of
the year provided us with some story lines. The big non-story
was that top pick, RB Alan Crespo, did not play for the Newark
Bulldogs in their opening game. Instead, the Bulldogs decided
to give the backups some work, and work they did. Visiting the
Mules, the Bulldogs raked up 168 yards rushing as they hope
this is a good start to a strong running game this year.

Another top pick
that guys have eyes on, Portland QB Jay Caro, did see plenty
of action in a 24-20 loss to Vancouver. Playing just about
every down, and passing heavily, Caro went 22 of 48 for 221
yards and only 1 INT. He started the game off quickly with 2
TD passes in the first half.

Other top picks
around the league saw some action. Number two overall pick, WR
Mercury Halbert of Columbia, got 2 rec. for 31 yards. In
limited time, Lansing QB and #4 overall pick Todd Terrell
completed 4 of 6 pass attempts for 82 yards and 1 TD. The 5th
overall selection, RB Bucky Beaver of Fresno, performed well.
He ran the ball 17 times for 98 yards.

On the injury
front, we saw a few key players go down. Dakota lost CB
Normand Sims for up to 8 weeks with a broken ankle. Fresno
lost FB then RB and now FB Quentin Alicea for 8 weeks with a
broken tibia. Lawrence will lose CB Daniel Lenhart for 6 weeks
with a dislocated shoulder. Montreal suffered the biggest
loss, CB Mckinley Aycock is out for the season after suffering
damage to his MCL. Also, Orlando saw a big injury already. DE
Dalton Williams will be out up to 10 weeks after a severe
hamstring pull.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 06-12-2005, 11:25 AM

June 5th, 2005. Regular Season Week 1.

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Teams Take Comfort Being Home For Week 1

Top: Madison started rookie QB Will
Irby over Imperial Bowl champ Johnie Loving. Despite decent
numbers by Irby, his 3 INT's helped lead to a Madison loss on
the road.

Below: Boston QB
Rueben Sante, in his first Imperial League start as he enters
his second season, had a rough day against the Beasts.

When another
season begins, everyone likes to start it off with a win.
Starting the season off right is a big deal to some, and could
set them up for a great season. What better way to get that
win in week 1 then to do it in front of the home town fans?
That is what the majority of home teams in the Imperial League
did in week 1 of the 2005 season. Of 16 games, 13 of them were
won by the home team. The only road teams to overcome the home
field advantage were Oakland with a huge win in Salt Lake
City, Montreal with an upset of defending AC North champion
Wichita, and West Virginia taking care of business once again
in Boston.

Some fans expected their teams to win, like Columbia or
Orlando or St. Louis. Teams that have been strong for years.
Then there are the fans who are hoping their teams can turn it
around this year and got the best week 1 they could ask for.
Fresno got an upset over Imperial Bowl favorite Albuquerque,
Iowa City gets a win against Cleveland, Lansing surprisingly
defeats Pittsburgh. Week 1 can be a surprise to many teams.
You can never be 100% sure what your team will give you, and
you can never be 100% sure what the other team will throw at
you.

Here is a look at
how you just never know what you will see in week 1.

- After much speculation,
Madison started rookie QB Will Irby over the man who led them
to an Imperial Bowl victory last year, Johnie Loving. Madison
lost.

- Columbia had 7 rushes for 19
yards, total. Is this the change to the offense we heard
about? A complete abandonment of the running game? Columbia
dominated.

- Lansing started incumbent QB
Milan Costanzo, after some had thought top draft pick Todd
Terrell would be in there. Lansing got the win.

- Boston, with two young QB's
to pick from went with the second year guy, Reuben Sante. He
had a rough day in a loss at home to the Beasts.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 06-20-2005, 09:24 AM

June 12th, 2005. Week 2 regular season.

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Beasts Get Burned By Fire

Top: Columbia Fire TE Larry
'Soldier' Spraggins running after one of his four receptions on
the day, this one for 19 yards. The Fire defeated the Beasts
31-15.

Charleston, WV.
Two of the best regular season teams in the history of the
Imperial League got together for a game this weekend in West
Virginia. Julian Cartagena visiting Gerald Sanders. Top
quarterback versus top quarterback. The game lived up to
expectations, although played out a little different then
anticipated.

The game started with fireworks as the first offensive play
was a Julian Cartagena shot the ball downfield to WR Ramos,
who caught it on the run and took it the remaining 18 yards
for a TD. The Beasts then took almost seven minutes on the
following drive and marched to the Columbia three yard line
before stalling, ending with a FG. After each team punted on
their next drives, the Fire once again made another quick
score. This time going 52 yards in three minutes and getting
their second TD. As before West Virginia answered with a long,
time consuming drive that ended with a FG. The Fire then added
another quick TD drive of 80 yards, and a FG before the half
to make the score 24-6.

The second half
saw the Beasts step it up on both sides of the ball, but they
still could not get the ball into the endzone but once. They
opened the 3rd quarter with a 6 minute drive going 80 yards
and getting their only TD. After that, despite their defense
holding the Fire scoreless until near the end of the game, the
Beast could only manage 1 FG, and missed another. A TD with
under 3 minutes left in the game gave the Fire a 31-15
victory.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 06-27-2005, 08:06 PM

June 20th, 2005. Week 3 regular season.

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Have The Mighty Fallen?

Top: Madison WR Troy Wells, along
with the whole Madison offense, has struggled early in this
season.

After three weeks
of the 2005 Imperial League season, there are as always
several teams performing in unexpected ways. Three of those
teams are performing well below expectations. They are three
of the final four from the 2004 season, including the 2004
champion Madison Demons. Anchorage, Hartford, and Madison have
all gone winless through three weeks of the season.

A quick look at these
teams and the first thing you notice are the quarterbacks.
Madison and Anchorage, the Imperial Bowl II teams, both
decided to start their rookie quarterbacks, while Hartford
still has the young Jerome Mueller at the helm. Mueller, who
had a stunning season last year as a rookie when he came out
of nowhere to put up an 11-3-1 record, may just be suffering a
sophomore slump. His team is feeling the effects though. The
Grizzlies are near the bottom of the league in most offensive
categories, including last in passing.

One of the
problems with both Anchorage and Madison has been the
unexpected decisions to move away from there starting QB's who
got them to the Imperial Bowl last year. Anchorage was led by
a rookie, Skip Hildebrand. Madison had long time veteran
Johnie Loving. Both teams selected QB's in the first round
this year, not a surprise by Madison but a big surprise from
Anchorage. Each of these teams decided to go with their
rookies early on, but both teams struggled on offense. In week
3 we saw them go back to their 2004 starters, but with the
same results. Perhaps things will smooth out if they over the
next few weeks as the teams adjust.

There are other
problems with these teams of course, that are adding to their
problems. Anchorage is 25th in rushing defense, 22nd in pass
defense. Hartford is 31st in rushing defense and near the
bottom of the league in points given up and 3rd down
conversions given up. Madison is last in the league in rushing
defense, and giving up a league worst 29.5 points per game.
The focus though remains on the offenses, which if these teams
can improve will only help their defenses.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 07-10-2005, 02:39 PM

July 4th 2005, Week 5 regular season

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Vipers Bite Beasts,Venom
Too Much For Them

Top: Viper fans celebrate after one of the
biggest wins in franchise history. They defeated the rival Beasts,24-10, to
go to 5-0 and take control of the AFC East
division.

Norfolk, VA. The Norfolk
Vipers wanted to make a statement. They are for real. They are
a team that can win te big game. That they are the new power in
the AFC East. They also wanted this to be done
against top rival West Virginia, the reigning power of
the division for the last two seasons. Today, the
Vipers are a happy team. They played great defense, and adapted
their offense well to make up for a
missing star, and pulled out a convincing victory, 24-10.

Gerald Sanders of the
Beasts has had some big games against the Vipers in the past,
with several 300 yard passing performances. On this day
though, the Viper defense put a stop to that. With the history
of Sanders versus the Vipers, Norfolk looked to shut down the
passing attack and make the running beat them if they were
going to be beat. Where this strategy paid off is the offense
held up their end of the deal by getting a lead on the Beasts,
forcing them to pass more. Otherwise the Beasts ran the ball
very successful when they went to that area of their offense.
This allowed the defense to pressure Sanders all day and push
around the West Virginia WR's. This led to 5 sacks by the
Viper D, including 4 QB hurries and 5 blocked passes. The
rough play on the WR's also led to 5 dropped passes, something
Sanders is not used to from his wideouts. In the end, Sanders
completed only 17 of 40 pass attempts.

For the Viper offense,
the key was how to make up for the production that injured RB
Brown has been giving them all season, clearly his breakout
season. The Vipers made a tough decision, and went with FB
Dwayne Cortez as the main man to carry the rock. And though he
was not exactly William Brown when it came to picking up
yardage, he was key on the goalline, gettting TD's. QB
'Finger' Lozier was the other key player, as he continues to
have a fantastic season. Despite throwing his 3rd INT of the
season, Lozier was nearly flawless. He completed almost 70% of
his passes, spreading the ball around to 8 different
receivers. Going 5 for 5 with a TD pass on a driveto end
the third quarter put the Vipers up for good, 24-10. With
their venom in the bloodstream of the Beasts, the Vipers sat
back and let their defense shut down Sanders & Co. in the
4th quarter. The Vipers now sit at 5-0, with a clear advantage
over the second place 3-2 Beasts in the AFC East.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 07-20-2005, 11:58 AM

July 10th, Week 7

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Fire Defeat
Toads In Passing Frenzy

Little Rock, AR. Once again the Columbia Fire and Little Rock Toads faced off
in an important NFC South game. Once again the Columbia
Fire come away with the victory. In every meeting
between these two teams, in which no one was
resting starters for the playoffs, the Fire have gotten the win.
This time perhaps the Toads came take something
away from keeping it close, but close doesn't count.

It was a game destined
to feature a heavy amount of passing, and it held true to
that. Columbia's Julian Cartagena attempted 47 passes,
completing 26 for 318 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. The Toads Ralph
Given attempted 53 passes, completing 33 for 358 yards, 2 TDs
and 1 INT. Columbia actually outrushed Little Rock, 20 carries
to 13, an unusual occurence in this rivalary.

And in dramatic style,
the game came down to the end. Going into the 4th quarter the
Little Rock Toads led the Fire 21-10. The Toads were not
sitting pretty though, as they would against most other
opponents. After a late collapse last week against Pittsburgh,
fans were on edge. Their worries proved to be justified. In
the middle of a strong drive as the 4th began, the Fire took
little time to strike with 3 straight Feliciano runs followed
by a Cartagena to Whitaker TD pass. Cartagena then completed
the 2 point conversion to TE Spraggins. On Little Rocks follow
up drive, it appeared the Toads were poised to extend their
lead again, as Given completed a 40 yard pass to WR Holst. Two
plays later though, things officially slipped away as Given
threw an INT to Columbia's Brockaway, killing the
drive.

After a Fire punt, the
Toads looked to eat up some of the remaining 8 minutes left in
the game. On their third play though, on a 3 yard run, RB
Brian Dixon fumbled the ball, giving the Fire an excellent
shot at the endzone from the Toads 12 yard line after a 12
yard return, once again by Brockaway. Little Rock's defense
managed to hold off the touchdown, and Columbia's K Fox nailed
the FG to tie it up at 21-21. Little Rock's S Thamilarasan
then returned the kickoff 45 yards, and after picking up 3
yards on 3 plays, the Toads went for the 54 yard FG. The kick
was missed wide left. With good field position once again,
Columbia only to move the ball 16 yards, giving Fox a shot at
the FG. He nailed the 57 yarder to give the Fire the lead,
which they held onto for the win. Columbia takes over first
place in the division with the win, the Toads fall to second.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 07-24-2005, 01:42 PM

July 17th, Week 8

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After Long Wait, Victory #1 Is Sweet

Madison's
Will Irby is back in the starting QB spot, and this time he got a huge
win over the tough Columbia Fire.

For both the
Madison Demons and Anchorage Lynx, it has been a difficult season thus
far. The Imperial Bowl teams of last season started their season's going
0-5. Their uncertian QB situations have been first among their problems,
and both teams hope
they can start to move beyond that.

Madison made it's first step back to respectability a big one. With
rookie quarterback Will Irby back in the starters roll, probably for good
this time, the Madison Demons knocked of the Columbia Fire. Irby, who
had his best performance of his short career,

got the Demons to 1-5 with a 20-10 victory. Irby was throwing the ball
all over the place, completing 22 of 48 passes. His 295 yards is a career
high. Irby kept the turnovers down, and made good use of all his targets,
which helped make up for the lack of a running game.

What was even more impressive then Irby's performance was that of the
Demon defense. Playing their finest game since their championship run
of a year ago. They allowed Columbia's Cartagena to throw, but did not
break and let him get TD passes. By keeping the running game down, they
also were able to tee off with their pass rush, and sacked Cartagena 6
times on the day.

Anchorage had been suffering as much as Madison these first 6 six. The
glow of that AFC Championship trophy having faded a while back, it was
time to get a win. The Lynx did just that when the Chaos visited town.
Putting the work load on the running game, Isaac Campbell and William
Yee got the bulk of 16 yards rushing for the Lynx. They held onto the
ball, and kept pounding it into Chaos territory to get FG's. This combined
with a defense who, though giving up some yardage, prevented Fresno from
getting into the endzone and even created a turnover and got 3 sacks.
Anchorage won the game by a score of 19-10.

We are not ready to say these teams are on their way to a hot streak
and playoff run. But they needed to get their ships righted and get on
the right path. That is what has been done, and now they need to build
on that.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 07-31-2005, 11:19 AM

July 24th, Week 8

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Orlando Falls Short in Miracle Comeback

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Vermont Mountaineers #2 RB David Sonnier(#41) was the star of the day
after starter Morris went down. 151 yards and 4 TDs, including the game
winner in OT, got Vermont a huge win over Orlando.

Burlington, VT. The
undefeated Orlando Pirates came to town with that
championship-style swagger. The Vermont Mountaineers
knew they had to pull of a win if they wanted
to remain in the middle of the super competetive NFC
East. Mountianeer head coach Rico Sprouse had closed
practice sessions all week, in order to keep
his team focused on the hardest game of thier
season thus far. The strategy payed off.

Vermont set the tone right away, when
they got an INT from LB Greiner on Orlando's second play
of teir opening drive. Although they got no points from
the turnover, it did make Orlando gun shy on the next
drive, which ended in a punt. Virgil Sepulveda then saw
his chance and struck with a 54 yard bomb to WR
Ostrowski for a touchdown. The next drive by Orlando
ended up being turned over on downs, and Vermont added a
FG to their score. It was a drive in which Vermont lost
starting RB Clay Morris.

The Mountaineers did not let the Morris injury
slow them down though. Once again forcing Orlando to
punt, Vermont mounted a long drive featuring Sepulveda
passes and backup RB David Sonnier running the ball. It
ended when Sonnier got his first TD on the day. Before
halftime Orlando did start to fight back, and put 14
points up in two consecutive drives.

In the second half in was RB Sonnier who
nearly put this one away. He broke several big runs,
adding two more touchdowns, including one for 43 yards.
At his point Orlando trailed 31-14, and then things got
crazy. Vermont got stuck deep in their own territory
trying to run out the clock, and when they were forced
to punt from their endzone it was blocked and recovered
by Orlando's Fleming for a TD. Down 31-21 with two
minutes left int he game, Orlando tried, and recovered,
the onside kick. Pirate QB Haynes made several bigtime
passes and finished with a 24 TD pass to Soliz. Once
again the Pirates tried an onside kick, and with 30
seconds left in the game they recovered it. After an
encrochment penalty on Vermont, Haynes then nailed WR
Ginn for 40 yards. A scramble was on to get down field,
and the ball was spiked with 11 seconds on the game
clock. Orlando's K Christmas then completed the comeback
with a 31 yard FG.

In overtime though, the magic for Orlando
would not last. Vermont won the coin toss and handed the
ball to Sepulveda. Sepulveda responded with a 45 pass to
WR Brown. From there it was several running plays, and
David Sonnier punched it in for his 4th TD and the game
winner. Orlando falls for the first time this year going
to 6-1, whiel Vermont goes to 5-2.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 09-28-2005, 01:05 PM

Week 15

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Rookie RB Leads His Team To Victory

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Newark's Alan Crespo had
another big day running the ball this week against
division rival Orlando. He also
is looked at as one of the reason's Newark lost, as he fumbled twice, once in OT tat set up he game winning FG for ORL.

Montreal, Quebec.
Yes a rookie running back had a great day today, leading
his team to victory. No, it was not Newarks Allan
Crespo who despite his big day is the goat of the
day for

the Bulldogs. This rookie is the often overlooked
Joel Bradford for the Montreal
Firebirds. Bradford, who was a good but not great running back
for the University of Florida, was drafted with the eleventh
pick in the tird round in this past
draft. After a slow start with limited carries,
he has earned to confidence of the Montreal coaching
staff. And today he came up big.

After falling back of division leading Iowa
City, 14-0, Bradford played a key role on their first
scoring drive. He picked up two first downs, and then
hammered in the touchdown from two yards out right
before halftime to get Montreal on the board. The game
was then stalled at 14-7 throughout the third quarter
before Montreal was able to get moving again.

Near the end of the thrid quarter the
Firebirds took over on their own 20. The threat of
Bradford open up a big run of 13 yards for QB Shropshire
to get things started. Then Bradford added runs of 22
and 18 yards as Montreal moved down field. This time
though, inside the IWC 5 yard line, Bradford was stopped
short on three straight plays, only advancing to the 1
yard line. QB Shropshire, on 4th down and possibly the
game on the line, threw a 1 yard TD to Driskell.

After a Snipe Hunter FG, Bradford was once
again called on to help move he Firebirds into position
to tie up the game. His 27 yards on that drive helped
them do just that, and after a successful FG the game
went into overtime. On their second posession in OT,
Bradford struck again for Montreal. He made his 3rd
reception of the day, for 11 yards, to start the drive.
After a big Lyman Shropshire pass to move Montreal 36
more yards, and another 5 yard pass, Bradford sealed the
victory. On 3rd and 7, Montreal risked the game with a
run, and Bradford rewarded them by going around te right
end, breaking it for 34 yards all the way in for the
game winning touchdown.

Bradford finished the day with 154 yards
rushing on 23 carries and had 2 TD's. He also had 3
receptions for 39 yards. As for Montreal, they remain in
the playoff hunt. Tied with West Virginia for the final
AFC Wildcard spot, they are most likely going to have to
win their remaining two games and hope the Beasts lose
one of theirs.

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**Imperial Sports Page** · 11-07-2005, 04:32 PM

Imperial Bowl III

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Third Time Is A Charm

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The St. Louis Cardinals
celebrate in Waco after their 13-12 victory over

Little Rock in Imperial Bowl III.

Waco, TX. After two
straight division titles, which meant two straight trips to the playoffs,
it was the third of both of these that proved to be the best for the St.
Louis Cardinals. Some have never given the Cardinals credit for being
one of the top teams in the Imperial League, in part because for three
years straight they have won their division on tie-breakers, always finishing
with the same record as the Louisiana VooDoo. Also in part because they
had not even made it to the AFC Championship game in previous trips to
the playoffs. This year though, it all came together. Winning the division.
having to play in the wildcard round they defeated West Virginia. Then
they had to go on the road, and face both of the favorties to represent
the AFC in the Imperial Bowl. Two close wins over Iowa City and then Norfolk
got them to the big game.

Their competition in Imperial Bowl III was one of the handful
of favorites to win from the begining of the season. A star filled roster
on both sides of the ball, the Little Rock Toads were the clear favorite
to win. The Cardinals didn't mind that though, and went out and played
their game. A game that means strong defense, and shutting down what their
opponent does well.

The game started off with Little Rock methodically moving downfield,
with a strong running game and short pass attack. They finished the drive
with a field goal to take the early 3-0 lead. The Cardinals showed no
signs of caring. They played their game, and on their second drive of
the game, with the running game being shut down by the Toad defense, QB
Mark McMurray took it to the air. McMurray, who sometimes can be pretty
wild, was one mostof the day. On this drive he completed a 15 yard pass
to Brauer, and then a 28 yarder to Hall for a touchdown. The rest of the
first half had some back and forth play, with Little Rock only managing
to put a FG on the board to go into the half trailing 7-6.

The third quarter was a rough one for the Toads, who managed only
12 plays on their 4 possessions, the last of those ending on an INT. The
Cardinals had completely shut down the Toads passing game, and they were
only able to gain yardage by running with Brian Dixon. The INT led to
a missed FG by the Cardinals, which caused some concern as they Little
Rock offense was finally able to get a drive together and scored a touchdown
to put them up 12-7 after a two-point conversion failed.

The Cardinals once again was up to the challenge though. They
took an amazing eight plus minutes to march 80 yards and answer the Toad
touchdown with one of their own. After their own failed two-point conversion,
the score was 13-12. Little Rock, failing to get a first down on their
next possesion, opted to punt and try to getthe ball back by stopping
the Cardinal offense. St. Louis never allowed that to happen though as
they ate up the last two minutes and brought the Imperial Bowl trophy
home to teir fans in St. Louis. Game MVP was DE Louie Maldanado, who dedicated
his 2 sack performance to fellow DE Adam Land who missed the game to injury,
and retired shortly there after.

[img]../images/news/IB3toads.jpg[/img]

Toads players takeit
hard, after a successful season that ended in
defeat in
the
biggest game of the
year.

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Sports Page Archive - 2005

Sports Page Archive - 2005

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