Phoenixville Kings (4-2) @ Blacksburg Ballers (6-0)
The Blacksburg Ballers return home to the Ballers Bowl this afternoon with their undefeated record still in tact following a 65-0 slaughter of the Boston Barbarians that saw Khari Jones throw 5 touchdown passes. The Ballers will face their toughest challenge yet in the form of the Phoenixville Kings who come in with a 4-2 record. The Kings have had an interesting season thus far having just come off a big victory over Mooresville after losing to the North American NDLers in week #4. The Kings have the talent to take the Ballers to the limit and put the undefeated season at risk.
The History
The Ballers faced the Phoenixville Kings in season 1 in the debut of many players including Quarterback Khari Jones. A pass-happy offense saw Khari throw the ball 71 times completing 38 passes for 349.5 yards and 1 TD to Robtrouble Trouble but saw the Ballers fall short in a 24-13 loss.
The Ballers would meet the Kings again in week 11 of season 2 and this time would see a different result. Khari would only throw 49 times, completing 28 passes for 201 yards but would not complete any touchdowns and throw 2 interceptions. A 9-6 lead going into the 2 minute warning would change to a 16-6 lead for the Ballers following a Alex Casino rush for a TD. 20 seconds later, the Kings would connect for a 55 yard passing touchdown for their only touchdown of the game to narrow the gap back to 3 but the Ballers would hold them off to secure the victory.
Season Stats
Blacksburg Ballers
Points Per Game: 39.3
Points Allowed Per Game: 5.5 (1st in league)
Passing Yards Per Game: 268.7
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 190
Rushing Yards Per Game: 135.1
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 23.5
Phoenixville Kings
Points Per Game: 29
Points Allowed Per Game: 12.3
Passing Yards Per Game: 212.7
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 213.6
Rushing Yards Per Game: 149.1
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 67.6
Key Ballers
Khari Jones
Khari Jones good but not great season so far has been very important to the success of the Ballers and he will need to be on fire to take down this Kings’s defense who have had little success defending the pass. Jones is coming in after his best game of the season that saw him connect for 5 touchdowns but was still hampered with 2 interceptions for a total of 6 on the year. Jones has improved from last season but has yet to show that he is the breakout QB that people have been expecting from day 1.
Jesse Lumsden
Jesse Lumsden has brought consistency to the Ballers rushing game who have flip-flopped running backs for the past two seasons and has looked impressive in the past few games and is on the verge of breaking the Ballers single season rushing record of 527 yards held by Alex Casino. The Kings defense has been great at stopping the run and Lumsden is looking to take care of that.
Ballers Corners
Despite only making 2 interceptions in the last game against the Boston Barbarians, the Ballers d still leads the league with 18 interceptions but will be down to just 4 CB’s following the trade of CB Jack Robinson. The Ballers corners will have to stay focused and force a lot of 3 and outs or they may tire too quickly and give up some big yardage against this deep passing team.
Tommy Canada
Tommy Canada signed a contract extension today that will put him on the Ballers line til the end of next season. Although not putting up any stellar numbers, just one tackle, Canada has helped put pressure on offensive lines and is on the verge of having a breakout game and if he can pressure the QB, the Ballers defense could have a very solid game. As well, TJ Sweetness is very fumble prone so one hit by Canada could send the ball to the ground.
Game Balls
The Blacksburg Press would like to extend our apologies for the lack of post-game followup in the past few days. We would like to announce the following game ball awards for week #5 and week #6:
Week #5 – WR Ballhogg Irwin-Owens for his kickoff return for a TD and a combined 201.5 kickoff return yards.
Week #6 – TE BJ, 9 receptions for 95.5 yards and 3 touchdowns
Record Watch
Jesse Lumsden has a chance to break the Ballers single season rushing record of 527 yards held by Alex Casino. He will need at least 60 yards to do this.
The Ballers have a date around the corner with the Thunder Bay Storm who are also sporting a 6-0 record but the Ballers can not take the Phoenixville Kings lightly because they have the opportunity to end the streak and will make the most of the important. The Ballers have been unstoppable and this train plans to keep on chugging against Phoenixville.
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