The Linemen Wreck the Alphas 47-7 — Go 2-1 on the Season
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The Linemen Wreck the Alphas 47-7 — Go 2-1 on the Season

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Rounding out the doubleheader we’ll see the undefeated Alphas taking on the Linemen. Earlier tonight was watch the Conquerors totally disseminate the Aviators 34-7, essentially eliminating them from appearing in this years TSL Championship game. The Alphas will look to continue their winning ways and the Linemen are going to want to build off last weeks success.

Tonight’s game takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the league’s North Division. With a short season, every win counts and there’s a lot on the line every time these teams meet. If the Alphas can secure a win tonight, it puts them in a very good spot to earn a Championship appearance. If the Linemen can pull it out, it keeps them in the run.

1st Quarter

The Linemen will start out the matchup with possession of the ball, and Coach Mumme hopes his team can get some momentum early. Ryan Wilson will take the QB spot to begin the drive for the Linemen. Willis was moving much better than he has all season. This culminated in Willis connecting with Michal Dereus, securing the first points early in the game. With the extra-point good, they held a 7-0 lead over the Alphas with a lot of time to go.

The Alphas weren’t able to do much on their first drive, ending it with a punt. The Linemen, looking to build on their lead got back on the field. Willis continued to showcase his skills, masterfully moving the ball down the field and bringing his squad into scoring possession. Although they couldn’t find the end-zone again, they did add three to their lead with a field goal giving them a 10-0 lead.

The Alphas knew that they didn’t want to get too far behind so early in the game. There’s still a lot of time left, but the bigger the hole you get yourself in the harder it is to dig yourself out. Presented with a 4th down, Lewerke took the ball into his own hands, but could not complete the quarterback sneak giving the Linemen the ball again.

The Linemen, once again back in control of the ball could use this drive to add to their early lead. Unfortunately, Ryan Willis was unable to continue his success; leading to Malik Davis picking him off and giving the Alphas the ball again.

The Linemen defense did not let up, pushing Lewerke way back, putting them at 2nd & 18. On the next play the Linemen defense came out strong again, picking off Brian Lewerke giving them another chance with the rock.

2nd Quarter

Starting out the half, Ryan Willis was able to connect with Putman, bringing them to 1st & Goal. With the next play, Willis was able to pass to Christian Gibbs who grabbed another touchdown. On the reception he took a hard hit, resulting in him hitting his head and creating a scary scene.

After a commercial break we were presented with the images of personnel checking on Gibbs, and quickly going back to break.

The scene was not looking good. The network went to commercial break multiple times and ran TSL segments to pass the time. Word from the FOX crew was that Gibbs had movement in his hands, but the situation was one of the worst we’ve seen. We’ll be praying for a speedy recovery from Gibbs after this week 3 injury. Gibbs left the field on a cart, giving a thumbs up to the TV cameras.

After review, the touchdown was reversed putting the Linemen at 3rd Down. After being denied, Ryan Willis was able to find receiver Reece Horn, who secured the points. After the extra-point, they now lead 17-0 early in the 2nd.

The Alphas weren’t able to do much on their next drive, giving it away once again to the Linemen. The Linemen offense also couldn’t move the ball in a productive manner, also punting it away.

Vad Lee now in for the Alphas was looking a little more productive for his team. After two great passes, he brought the Alphas near the 30, and in great position to score. When all was looking on the up and up, the Alphas fumbled the ball, with JJ Davis recovering giving the Linemen possession again.

Ryan Willis continued to shine on this drive, moving the ball and the chains time after time. After bringing them within 25-yard of the end-zone, Willis handed it off to DJ Davis who rushed it in to rack up the points. With the extra-point the Alphas were falling way behind 24-0.

With the Alphas back in control, they were unable to change the pace of the game. The Linemen defense once again came out hard, Manny Bunch secured another interception for the team resulting in the fourth turnover for the Alphas in the game.

Willis and the Linemen were dominating tonight. This drive seemed no different. After a connection from Michael Dereus, the team was once again knocking on the end-zone. With a huge lead, Ryan Willis successfully executed a quarterback sneak, giving them yet another touchdown. With the PAT good, they are up 31-0… in the first half!

The Alphas didn’t want to go into the half scoreless. Brian Lewerke came back into the game, hoping to capitalize off of his success in prior weeks. He was definitely moving the ball much better than he has all game, but time was running out. At minimum, they wanted to get into field goal position. The Linemen defense almost forced a fumble, hitting Lewerke pretty hard but not taking him out.

Just when things seemed like the Alphas would break out of this, Lewerke through another interception, giving Angele Garbutt his second pick of the game. With the Linemen back in control, they ran out the clock taking us to the half.

The undefeated Alphas were not looking like the same team we same in the first two weeks. Hal Mumme and the Linemen continued their defensive showcase, making a case for a spot in The Spring League Championship. 31 unanswered points for the Linemen puts them in a great spot to pull out their second win of the season.

3rd Quarter

The Alphas will start out the second half with the ball, but they have a huge hole to dig out of. Again the Linemen defense came out string, pushing them back 15. This was enough to stop the Alphas from securing a first down. Pinned back at 4th & 23, they had to punt the back away again.

With the Linemen way ahead, Coach Mumme decided to keep Ryan Willis in the game. DJ Davis continues to showoff today, rushing for a couple first downs on this drive. Michael Dereus was able to secure a spectacular reception, giving the team a first down and putting them within 20-yards of the end-zone.

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Willis, on a roll, passes to Reece Horn, who grabs his second touchdown of the matchup. They couldn’t secure the extra-point, but I’m not sure if it matters. The lead tells the story, 37-0.

The Alphas had a slim chance to get back into this game, but they did not want to get shut out. Lewerke connected with Wright to bringing them  them to first and goal for possibly the first time of the matchup. On a roll, Lewerke secures the first points of the game for the Alphas with a Frank Brown reception. The extra-point was good, but they still had a long road a head of them if they wanted to get the W.

The Spring League gave an update on Christian Gibbs after the scare earlier in the game. Since the massive hit, he’s been taken to the hospital, but the good news to report is that he has full mobility.

The Linemen didn’t let off the gas, continuing to move the chains on this drive.

4th Quarter

Ryan Willis started out the 4th within the 20, but at 3rd & 6. They couldn’t get another touchdown, but Jonathan Song secured the field goal to add to their lead giving them a 40-7 lead.

Starting out the drive for the Alphas, they almost commit their sixth turnover of the night. Fortunately for them, Higgins was able to recover the ball, continuing the drive. With Lee back in the game, they tried to go for it on 4th down, but couldn’t make it happen. With 11:40 left in the game, it seems like an impossible challenge for them to lose.

With a huge lead Coach Mumme put 8-time European Pro Football MVP Stan Bedwell in the game for the first time tonight. Bedwell was moving the ball, continuing the Linemen’s success tonight. He ended the drive by passing to Putman for another touchdown and his first of the season.

At this point the Alphas no there is a slim chance to pull out a win, but they wanted to keep their pride. You can expect they will go all out to add some points and chisel away at the massive lead. As you may have expected, things did not go the Alphas way.

During an entertaining interview with Bedwell, he left mid-sentence to get back on the field saying “I need to go score another touchdown”.

At this point in the game, the Linemen were out there to run out the clock and lock in the victory. Play after play, they either moved the chains or drew more seconds off the remaining time. They were able to bring it to the 2-minute warning, but going for the end-zone on 3rd down proved to be unsuccessful. With such a large lead, Coach Mumme decided to go for it on 4th down, Bedwell targeted the end-zone but there was no receiver to be found.

The Alphas have the ball with 1:46 left, but at this point a win is out of the question. The team didn’t seem interested in scoring, rather running out the time so they could get the game over with. The Linemen came out strong tonight and put the rest of The Spring League North Division on alert.

In what turned out to be a laaaate game for east coast viewers, the Linemen came out hard. The formerly undefeated Alphas will look to rebound next week when they battle the Aviators who are looking for their first win. The Linemen will take on the Conquerors who put on their own beating earlier in the night. Halfway through the North Division season and the matchup between the Linemen and Conquerors could decide who goes to the Championship.

What did you think of The Spring League North Division week 3 matchups? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.