Ballers Escape 19-18 on Missed PAT

BLACKSBURG (BP) -- The Blacksburg Ballers today almost had victory snatched away from them following a late TD pass by the Phoenixville Kings. However a missed point after attempt by Kings's kicker Bubba Bubba prevented the game from being tied.

"It was a huge relief," TE BJ said who finished the game with 2 catches for 13 yards. "I thought to myself 'oh no' when they got that big touchdown pass at the end. But they missed the point after which really saved us."

Reminiscent of John Carney's missed field goal that lost the Saints a heartbreaker in the "River City Relay". The Saints lost the game after lateraling the ball numerous times and pulling within one point after the touchdown however Carney missed the PAT and the Saints went on to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"It did remind me of that game," OT Fatty McMuffin told the Blacksburg Press who had a touchdown saving tackle after Khari Jones threw an interception. "Certainly you make a huge play like that and all the guys are celebrating, but what you forget is that you still have that one point you need to make. And if you don't make that then it just negates all the hard work it took to get there."

Hard work it was. There were only 2 touchdowns scored the entire game and 8 field goals between the two teams. Not to mention 8 fumbles, 4 interceptions, and neither team was able to reach above 2.2 ypc on the ground.

"Things were very bizarre," LB Aaron Wilson said who finished with 10 tackles. "Both of us would have drives going and then all of a sudden a fumble would occur. I think if the mistakes were taken out of the game then this would have been a much higher scoring game. I was just surprised that both teams made the same mistakes."

Defensively though there certainly were few mistakes, but eerily the same ones. Both teams gave up a big passing play that turned into their team's respective only score, a 43.5 yds strike to John Wilson for the Ballers and a 73.5 yd one to Hollywood Mitchell for the Kings. Also both teams were able to force turnovers and get pressure on the respective QB's. There were 4 hurries against the Kings and 3 hurries as well as 2 sacks against the Ballers.

"There was a lot of pressure from both teams," QB Khari Jones said who finished with 220 yds and a score. "I think you get two very good defensive teams on the field and you expect this sort of game. I imagined there would be maybe a little more throwing room for me but Phoenixville did an absolutely fantastic job."

However not to be outdone, the Ballers had their fair share of pressure on the QB which resulted in 3 interceptions...all to one player.

"It's amazing really how that happened," CB gordon d'arcy said who managed to intercept all 3 of Phoenixville's King Hine's passes. "I just made some good breaks on the ball and their receivers had some communication trouble with the quarterback. When it happened the third time though I was surprised because coming in this season I hadn't even played cornerback that much so I wasn't expecting to have this much production.

After trading away cornerback Oscar Michael Jordan Robertson the Ballers moved d'arcy to the starting cornerback slot. This has highlighted d'arcy's speed that made him such a potent return specialist last season.

"It's worked out for the best," Defensive coordinator KB said. "He's worked well with the coaching staff and we've tried to get him to recognize routes and things. I think what's helped is that in order to be a return specialist you have to see different things and have great awareness. So his ability to read blocks and change direction quickly has transfered nicely over to the cornerback position."

The Ballers next opponent they face is one of their arch-rivals, the Thunder Bay Storm. The Storm and the Ballers have met twice during the regular season up until today's meeting, with the Ballers winning the season 1 matchup 20-3 and the Storm returning the favor 27-10 spoiling the Ballers season opener last season. Both teams come in undefeated at 7-0 and atop the Candian AAA #2 Western Conference. Some media outlets have even called this a "preview of what's to come in the conference final". While this may be a bit far fetched as there are many more talented teams in the mix, it is undeniable that this game will have a major impact on the Canadian AAA #2.