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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The Hartford Grizzlies ran to their first Imperial Bowl victory today over the Lawrence Phantoms. Jim Hickman was named Imperial Bowl MVP by the media after his late game heroics broke the hearts of Phantom fans all over the country.
Hartford scored the game's first points on their first drive. Riding the backs of Stanley Jamison and Grant Hernandez, and punctuated by a 38 yard strike from Hickman to Neal Khan, the Grizzlies drove down field before seeing their drive stall at Lawrence 14 yard line. An Alonzo Booher FG made the score 3-0.
Undaunted, Tobias Stanfield led the Phantom offense onto the field. The first two plays foreboded trouble for the Phantom offense as Stanfield was hurries on each play by the Grizzly front seven. But, that was forgotten on 3rd and 10 as Lenny Romano turned a WR screen into a 77 yard foot race to the Grizzly end zone and a 7-3 lead.
Grizzly fans were fearing the worst as Jim Hickman led the Hartford offense back onto the field. Making plays with his arm and his legs, Hickman drove the Grizzlies downfield. After advancing to the Lawrence 31, a holding call disrupted the offense. After two more plays and getting to the Phantom 29 yard line, Booher answered another call and made the game a 7-6 affair.
Grizzly fans feared a repeat of the previous Phantom drive, but their fears were laid to rest as the Grizzly defense stepped up. After a 6 play drive, the Phantoms were forced to punt. The Grizzlies started a drive from their own 16 and advanced to the Phantom 39 yard line before being forced to punt. During this drive, you could feel the energy change in the stadium. The Phantom fans who had been so loud early in the game became hushed as their vaunted offense stalled and their defense was being slowly picked apart. Grizzly fans were also beginning to see that their team could contain the Phantoms and even move against their defense. Their growing enthusiasm was temporarily silenced when a 39 yard strike from Hickman to Ferreira that put the ball at the Phantom 13 yard line was called back.
After a 4 play drive by Lawrence, the Grizzlies got the ball back on their own 22 yard line. With 8 minutes to go in the first half, the Grizzlies started their march downfield. A couple of Phantom penalties enabled the Grizzlies to keep their drive going, giving Hickman the chance to exploit the Phantom defense yet again. This time it was a pass that went for 40 yards as TE Mungia split the seam in the defensive zone. From the Phantom 27 yard line, the Grizzlies used 8 plays to finally push the ball in the end zone on a one yard pass from Hickman to William Dostie that put the Grizzlies up 13-7. The drive ate up another 5 minutes of game time, including the 3 penalties and 3 incompletions that stopped the clock. The pace of the game was being set by the Grizzlies offense. Keep the clock running and keep the Phantom defense on the field.
The half ended after an exchange of possessions that saw another FGA by Booher that he missed. The Grizzlies went into the locker room up by 6 points over heavily favored Lawrence. You could feel in the air that something special was happening.
After the excitement of the first two quarters, the third quarter was a defensive affair. The Grizzlies went three and out while the Phantoms managed to get a couple of drives onto the Grizzly side of the field, only to see them stall around the Grizzly 35 yard line. Each time, they punted the ball away rather than attempt a long FG.
On the next drive, the Grizzlies had their one major mistake of the day. After a three and out, Bernie Reid went back to punt the ball for the Grizzlies. The snap was high, and Reid was lucky to keep the ball from going into the end zone. With several Phantoms bearing down on him, he managed to get a 29 yard punt out. The Phantoms were starting this drive from the Grizzly 49 yard line.
To the tune of Beaver left, Beaver right, the Phantoms vaunted offense suddenly appeared. Taking 9 plays to go 49 yards, Bucky Beaver capped the drive with a 5 yard scamper. Long time Grizzly favorite Andy Rick had a chance to get Beaver before he was absolutely flattened by LT Ezra Baumgartner. Rick was visibly moved as he came off the field. After the extra point, only 11 minutes remained on the clock.
With their backs against the wall, the Grizzlies did what they do best. They gave the ball to their backs. Jamison, Hernandez, and Dostie combined for 56 yards on 8 plays to drive to the Phantom 20 yard line. The drive finally stalled after Clarence Stanton broke up a Hickman pass intended for Ed Gaylor. Booher marked his spot, and lined up for the go ahead kick, as he did 33 times during the regular season. But rather than splitting the uprights, he pushed the ball left. Yet another long time Grizzly hung his head and trotted off the field. Only 5:30 remained in the game.
Grizzly fans began to panic. The Phantoms had just gone ahead and then weathered a determined Grizzly push. They had all the momentum. First down saw the Grizzlies allow 2 yards to the Beaver. Then, Seifert broke up a deep pass to Offensive Rookie of the Year Dana Glover after their feet got tangled. Glover got up and stepped on Seifert as he was getting up. The flag came out, and Glover cost the Phantoms 15 yards. It should not have mattered as unflappable Tobias Stanfield found Lenny Romano in the middle of the Grizzly defense with no one in sight. With a possible title clinching first down in his grasp, did something he had done only 3 times all season. He let the ball slip through his grasp. On the ensuing play, the Phantom punter shanked the kick and it went out of bounds at the Lawrence 46 yard line, a 31 yard kick.
Jim Hickman led the Grizzlies offense back on the field. On first down, a Phantom defender knocked away a pass that Ostrowski was going to walk into the end zone. On second down, Raymond Ellis blew by Tracy Damien and Vince Dowdell to have a wide open shot at Hickman. At the last second, Hickman spun away and threw the ball up in the direction of Ed Gaylor right before Edmund Peacock drilled him between the numbers. Third down and the season with 4:03 to go. Hickman took the snap, rolled right and saw Ferreira covered. He checked down to Munguia and saw him covered. As Hickman was running out of real estate, Ed Gaylor broke off his pattern and ran behind the defense in the middle. Hickman fired the pass and Gaylor caught it. He was immeditately hit by the Phantoms nickel back, but not before tucking the ball away for a 23 yard gain.
From the Lawrence 23, the Grizzlies punched the ball ahead for 10 yards on 3 plays. Jamison scampered behind Suarez to convert a 3rd and 3 from the 16. From here in, it was all running. After a delay of game, Hernandez ran twice over the right side to get the ball down to the 1. A false start moved the ball back to the 6. With 1:40 left to go, Stanley Jamison tried the right side. No. With 1:22, from the 5, Jamison right... Brought down at the 4. With 1:00 to go, Jamison goes left, he had one man to beat, but Peacock was going to get him, then Tracy Damien came in from the right side and crushed Peacock out of bounds, Jamison cut it back inside and in for the touchdown!
Pandemonium erupted on the Grizzlies side of the field. But Hickman floated a pass over Mungia's head. It was 19-14. There was still hope for Lawrence. On the first play after the kickoff, Cleeland and McKenzie appeared to seal the game meeting at Stanfield to set him for a 6 yard loss. But, on the next two plays, Lenny Romano carried the Phantoms out to the Hartford 49 yard line.
First down, Stanfield dropped back, say an open Caylor, but was hit as soon as he let it go by Ulysses Williams.
Second down, false start.
2nd and 15, 6 seconds to go, Caylor on the sideline, Seifert knocked it away.
Third down, one tick to go, the Grizzlies dropped everyone back. Stanfield begins feeling the pressure and is forced to drop it off to Caylor. Glover came around, but before Caylor can get the hook and ladder going, Chuck Knight wrapped him up and the title.
Hartford scored the game's first points on their first drive. Riding the backs of Stanley Jamison and Grant Hernandez, and punctuated by a 38 yard strike from Hickman to Neal Khan, the Grizzlies drove down field before seeing their drive stall at Lawrence 14 yard line. An Alonzo Booher FG made the score 3-0.
Undaunted, Tobias Stanfield led the Phantom offense onto the field. The first two plays foreboded trouble for the Phantom offense as Stanfield was hurries on each play by the Grizzly front seven. But, that was forgotten on 3rd and 10 as Lenny Romano turned a WR screen into a 77 yard foot race to the Grizzly end zone and a 7-3 lead.
Grizzly fans were fearing the worst as Jim Hickman led the Hartford offense back onto the field. Making plays with his arm and his legs, Hickman drove the Grizzlies downfield. After advancing to the Lawrence 31, a holding call disrupted the offense. After two more plays and getting to the Phantom 29 yard line, Booher answered another call and made the game a 7-6 affair.
Grizzly fans feared a repeat of the previous Phantom drive, but their fears were laid to rest as the Grizzly defense stepped up. After a 6 play drive, the Phantoms were forced to punt. The Grizzlies started a drive from their own 16 and advanced to the Phantom 39 yard line before being forced to punt. During this drive, you could feel the energy change in the stadium. The Phantom fans who had been so loud early in the game became hushed as their vaunted offense stalled and their defense was being slowly picked apart. Grizzly fans were also beginning to see that their team could contain the Phantoms and even move against their defense. Their growing enthusiasm was temporarily silenced when a 39 yard strike from Hickman to Ferreira that put the ball at the Phantom 13 yard line was called back.
After a 4 play drive by Lawrence, the Grizzlies got the ball back on their own 22 yard line. With 8 minutes to go in the first half, the Grizzlies started their march downfield. A couple of Phantom penalties enabled the Grizzlies to keep their drive going, giving Hickman the chance to exploit the Phantom defense yet again. This time it was a pass that went for 40 yards as TE Mungia split the seam in the defensive zone. From the Phantom 27 yard line, the Grizzlies used 8 plays to finally push the ball in the end zone on a one yard pass from Hickman to William Dostie that put the Grizzlies up 13-7. The drive ate up another 5 minutes of game time, including the 3 penalties and 3 incompletions that stopped the clock. The pace of the game was being set by the Grizzlies offense. Keep the clock running and keep the Phantom defense on the field.
The half ended after an exchange of possessions that saw another FGA by Booher that he missed. The Grizzlies went into the locker room up by 6 points over heavily favored Lawrence. You could feel in the air that something special was happening.
After the excitement of the first two quarters, the third quarter was a defensive affair. The Grizzlies went three and out while the Phantoms managed to get a couple of drives onto the Grizzly side of the field, only to see them stall around the Grizzly 35 yard line. Each time, they punted the ball away rather than attempt a long FG.
On the next drive, the Grizzlies had their one major mistake of the day. After a three and out, Bernie Reid went back to punt the ball for the Grizzlies. The snap was high, and Reid was lucky to keep the ball from going into the end zone. With several Phantoms bearing down on him, he managed to get a 29 yard punt out. The Phantoms were starting this drive from the Grizzly 49 yard line.
To the tune of Beaver left, Beaver right, the Phantoms vaunted offense suddenly appeared. Taking 9 plays to go 49 yards, Bucky Beaver capped the drive with a 5 yard scamper. Long time Grizzly favorite Andy Rick had a chance to get Beaver before he was absolutely flattened by LT Ezra Baumgartner. Rick was visibly moved as he came off the field. After the extra point, only 11 minutes remained on the clock.
With their backs against the wall, the Grizzlies did what they do best. They gave the ball to their backs. Jamison, Hernandez, and Dostie combined for 56 yards on 8 plays to drive to the Phantom 20 yard line. The drive finally stalled after Clarence Stanton broke up a Hickman pass intended for Ed Gaylor. Booher marked his spot, and lined up for the go ahead kick, as he did 33 times during the regular season. But rather than splitting the uprights, he pushed the ball left. Yet another long time Grizzly hung his head and trotted off the field. Only 5:30 remained in the game.
Grizzly fans began to panic. The Phantoms had just gone ahead and then weathered a determined Grizzly push. They had all the momentum. First down saw the Grizzlies allow 2 yards to the Beaver. Then, Seifert broke up a deep pass to Offensive Rookie of the Year Dana Glover after their feet got tangled. Glover got up and stepped on Seifert as he was getting up. The flag came out, and Glover cost the Phantoms 15 yards. It should not have mattered as unflappable Tobias Stanfield found Lenny Romano in the middle of the Grizzly defense with no one in sight. With a possible title clinching first down in his grasp, did something he had done only 3 times all season. He let the ball slip through his grasp. On the ensuing play, the Phantom punter shanked the kick and it went out of bounds at the Lawrence 46 yard line, a 31 yard kick.
Jim Hickman led the Grizzlies offense back on the field. On first down, a Phantom defender knocked away a pass that Ostrowski was going to walk into the end zone. On second down, Raymond Ellis blew by Tracy Damien and Vince Dowdell to have a wide open shot at Hickman. At the last second, Hickman spun away and threw the ball up in the direction of Ed Gaylor right before Edmund Peacock drilled him between the numbers. Third down and the season with 4:03 to go. Hickman took the snap, rolled right and saw Ferreira covered. He checked down to Munguia and saw him covered. As Hickman was running out of real estate, Ed Gaylor broke off his pattern and ran behind the defense in the middle. Hickman fired the pass and Gaylor caught it. He was immeditately hit by the Phantoms nickel back, but not before tucking the ball away for a 23 yard gain.
From the Lawrence 23, the Grizzlies punched the ball ahead for 10 yards on 3 plays. Jamison scampered behind Suarez to convert a 3rd and 3 from the 16. From here in, it was all running. After a delay of game, Hernandez ran twice over the right side to get the ball down to the 1. A false start moved the ball back to the 6. With 1:40 left to go, Stanley Jamison tried the right side. No. With 1:22, from the 5, Jamison right... Brought down at the 4. With 1:00 to go, Jamison goes left, he had one man to beat, but Peacock was going to get him, then Tracy Damien came in from the right side and crushed Peacock out of bounds, Jamison cut it back inside and in for the touchdown!
Pandemonium erupted on the Grizzlies side of the field. But Hickman floated a pass over Mungia's head. It was 19-14. There was still hope for Lawrence. On the first play after the kickoff, Cleeland and McKenzie appeared to seal the game meeting at Stanfield to set him for a 6 yard loss. But, on the next two plays, Lenny Romano carried the Phantoms out to the Hartford 49 yard line.
First down, Stanfield dropped back, say an open Caylor, but was hit as soon as he let it go by Ulysses Williams.
Second down, false start.
2nd and 15, 6 seconds to go, Caylor on the sideline, Seifert knocked it away.
Third down, one tick to go, the Grizzlies dropped everyone back. Stanfield begins feeling the pressure and is forced to drop it off to Caylor. Glover came around, but before Caylor can get the hook and ladder going, Chuck Knight wrapped him up and the title.
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