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I’m wrong all the time but I don’t think I’ve been as far off about a team as I was when I predicted the Morgantown Maniacs to finish in third in the NC South. Here is what I wrote at the beginning of the season:
“The Maniacs had a rough off-season. They lost their best player in WR Leland Lilledahl to a division rival. Team ownership has been in a state of flux since the draft. First round pick DE Les Pagnotti is still unsigned. Morgantown lost a total of 7 players via free agency and three to division rivals. They were unable to sign DT Hugh Adams. The only bright spot is QB Floyd Cosby is still behind center and he was the reason the Maniacs were in the playoffs last year. The biggest question entering this season is what good is a star QB if he has no one to throw to?”
The answer to that question is he had WR Leo Woods, TE Lamont Duncan and RB Donovan Kinney to throw to. Woods had over 1100 yards and Duncan lead all TE with 11 TDs. Kinney has 1343 rushing yards and stepped into the upper echelon of OSFL RB. Even with those great numbers its clear that Cosby is the star. A clear MVP Candidate, Cosby threw for over 4,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns. He proved that in this offense, he can make any receiver a star.
The Maniacs defense is average but with an offense like that it’s enough. While the defense is tied for 7th in points per game allowed (17ppg), that stat is misleading. Against playoff teams, the Maniacs gave up an average of 29 points per game. To make matters worse, the defense gave up 35 against its OSFL Bowl opponent Utah.
Speaking of the Bees, I can describe their defense with one word…scary. Lets have a roll call: LB Brandon Blackburn has 16 sacks on the year. Tracy Givens is a tackling machine with 92 tackles. DE Terrance Spencer had a league leading 27 QB hurries and 8 sacks. The Bees as a whole lead the league in turnover margin.
The Bees have only lost once since Week 8 and a lot of credit should be given to QB Van Lochtefeld. Van is perhaps the most underrated QB in the OSFL. I didn’t even have Van in my top 5 QBs this season. The reason guys like Cowell, Cothran and Lincoln get more press is because their numbers are flashier but they can’t claim back to back American Conference championships. “Lucky” Lochtefield is a winner, efficient and the key to the Bees offense.
Prediction:
Lets look at the regular season game these two teams played. Utah won 35-9 and the Bees defense dominated. QB Cosby had his worst game of the year with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Utah was able to turn one of the interceptions into a defensive touchdown, which is something they are great at. Cosby was also sacked 4 times and knocked down three times. “Lucky” was a surgeon slicing up the Maniacs defense with a 18/19, 1 touchdown performance.
Looking at the rosters, I can’t see a reason why this game will be any different than the regular season game. Utah’s team is knicked up but none of its key players are hurt. I still think that Utah’s pass rushers will be able to get to Cosby and I can’t say the same for the Maniacs D. I have a feeling that Utah will take home the first OSFL championship for the American Conference.
Utah 35 Morgantown 10
“The Maniacs had a rough off-season. They lost their best player in WR Leland Lilledahl to a division rival. Team ownership has been in a state of flux since the draft. First round pick DE Les Pagnotti is still unsigned. Morgantown lost a total of 7 players via free agency and three to division rivals. They were unable to sign DT Hugh Adams. The only bright spot is QB Floyd Cosby is still behind center and he was the reason the Maniacs were in the playoffs last year. The biggest question entering this season is what good is a star QB if he has no one to throw to?”
The answer to that question is he had WR Leo Woods, TE Lamont Duncan and RB Donovan Kinney to throw to. Woods had over 1100 yards and Duncan lead all TE with 11 TDs. Kinney has 1343 rushing yards and stepped into the upper echelon of OSFL RB. Even with those great numbers its clear that Cosby is the star. A clear MVP Candidate, Cosby threw for over 4,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns. He proved that in this offense, he can make any receiver a star.
The Maniacs defense is average but with an offense like that it’s enough. While the defense is tied for 7th in points per game allowed (17ppg), that stat is misleading. Against playoff teams, the Maniacs gave up an average of 29 points per game. To make matters worse, the defense gave up 35 against its OSFL Bowl opponent Utah.
Speaking of the Bees, I can describe their defense with one word…scary. Lets have a roll call: LB Brandon Blackburn has 16 sacks on the year. Tracy Givens is a tackling machine with 92 tackles. DE Terrance Spencer had a league leading 27 QB hurries and 8 sacks. The Bees as a whole lead the league in turnover margin.
The Bees have only lost once since Week 8 and a lot of credit should be given to QB Van Lochtefeld. Van is perhaps the most underrated QB in the OSFL. I didn’t even have Van in my top 5 QBs this season. The reason guys like Cowell, Cothran and Lincoln get more press is because their numbers are flashier but they can’t claim back to back American Conference championships. “Lucky” Lochtefield is a winner, efficient and the key to the Bees offense.
Prediction:
Lets look at the regular season game these two teams played. Utah won 35-9 and the Bees defense dominated. QB Cosby had his worst game of the year with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Utah was able to turn one of the interceptions into a defensive touchdown, which is something they are great at. Cosby was also sacked 4 times and knocked down three times. “Lucky” was a surgeon slicing up the Maniacs defense with a 18/19, 1 touchdown performance.
Looking at the rosters, I can’t see a reason why this game will be any different than the regular season game. Utah’s team is knicked up but none of its key players are hurt. I still think that Utah’s pass rushers will be able to get to Cosby and I can’t say the same for the Maniacs D. I have a feeling that Utah will take home the first OSFL championship for the American Conference.
Utah 35 Morgantown 10