Cowbells' Playoffs, Round 1

(Drawing from Madden 12)

It was time for the AFL spotlight playoffs. There were two career teams that always got spotlit by the media as they played their regular season games. Those were the Cowbells and the Aircraft. The Aircraft would go tomorrow; this was the Cowbell’s turn. They had just gotten off a bye.

They had 2 losses in their overall record, for a 14-2 record going into tonight’s game. They were playing the Aeronauts (aeronautical engineers). The media suspected the Cowbells would win, but they all expected it to be close. Like the Professional Football League, both the Aircraft and the Cowbells had announcers broadcasting on live television. Also like the PFL, they only played 5-minute quarters.

Quarterback Matt led the Cowbells with his 5,197 passing yards. The team had a great rushing game as well, 2,669 yards. Then there was Matt, who usually got the most tackles on defense, as well as the most sacs. As the coin toss was flipped, the Cowbells won the toss, and in the head coach’s, Mantidae Shade’s, typical style, they elected to kick the ball. They kicked off, and away they went. 

A 2-yard run by Ben got the Aeronauts ahead, 6-0. They would convert on the extra point, making it 7-0. Now, it was the Cowbells’ turn. In typical Matt fashion, there wee only 3 plays before the Cowbells responded in kind, a 57-yard drive that took only 0:58 off the clock. The field goal was good at the game was tied at 7. At 0:10, a roughing the passer call was made against Mario, and Mantidae Shade just lost it. She argued the call bitterly for about 5 minutes before she sat herself back down on the bench. This brought an end to the 1st quarter. The score was tied at 7.

In the second quarter, the Aeronauts’ quarterback, Tom, completed his 77-yard, 1:43 drive with a 23 yard pass to Terry. The game now stood at 14-7, Aeronauts. On 4th down, Matt passed to Jason, who not only converted, but turned the play into a 52-yard scoring play! The play took 1:15 off the clock and went for 75 yards over 5 plays. This tied the score at 14. The Aeroauts were stopped on their next drive, giving the Cowbells a chance to score and take the lead. And score they did, 4 plas, 81 yards, 1:00, featuring a 80 total yards rushing (and a running touchdown) by Jamaal. The extra point was good, making it 21-14. The Aeronauts would again be stopped, giving way to a 45-yard kick by Neil of the Cowbells, making it 24-14 Cowbells. 

This brought them to halftime. Mantidae Shade, as she always did in the playoffs, gave the team a pep talk:

“Every single time we face our rivals, the Aeronauts, they kick our butt. But not this time. This our place, this is our house. For us to lose to the Aeronauts is damn foolish. Yeah, we beat them last year, but if we win this year, the time will come when we can truly say we OWN this rivalry. We will win, got it! There is no excuse for defeat! Now, enjoy halftime.”

The coach of the Aeronauts offered a similar pep talk:

“Don’t let last year’s loss get in your heads. We own this rivalry! Now let’s get out there and let’s prove it! Enjoy halftime!”

The commentators on TV were saying that the Cowbells had it in the bag. But the question was: did they? Only time would tell, obviously. 

Since they were operating on a budget to get the commentators there, the lights went out except for the emergency lights and lights in the stand, while the news of the day was delivered via audio. 

The Cowbells received the ball first in the third quarter, but could not score on their drive. Next, Brian got called on pass interference and again the coach, Mantidae Shade, argued the call, but did not get ejected. The Aeronauts settled for a 31-yard field goal attempt in a 2:27 drive, 9 plays and 65 yards, to make the score 24-17. And now the Cowbells had the balls. They would still have the ball when it went into the 4th quarter.

The Cowbells started with the ball in the Aeronauts’ zone in the 4th quarter. On a throw by Matt into the end zone, the Aeronauts picked the ball off, giving them possession and an opportunity to tie the game! But the Cowbells’ defense held fast and, after a punt, the Cowbells had the opportunity to put them away. 8 plays, 1:36, and 44 yards later, a 45-yard field goal made it 27-17. The Aeronauts would receive the ball on the kickoff, and with under 2 minutes to go, they had to make every play count if they were going to win. 

But the Aeronauts could not score. The final score was 27-17. Jason was the player of the game with his 142 yards rushing.