2018 Japan X-Bowl XXXII

On Monday night at the Tokyo Dome, IBM Big Blue might have led in total plays, total yards, yards passing, first downs, and time of possession, but the Fujitsu Frontiers dominated on the scoreboard, winning their third straight Japan X-Bowl 35-18.

Trashaun Nixon rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns and was the game MVP.

The Big Blue started the game with a kickoff return to midfield and drove to the Frontiers 13, but settled for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

But that didn't last long, as on Fujitsu's second play from scrimmage, Nixon bounced outside and was able to elude a few tacklers down the right sideline for a 67 yard touchdown run. "The backer went inside, and Trashaun bounced outside," noted IBM defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer.

"When I broke through the line and I seen the space, all I could think was, 'You'd better not get caught!'" exclaimed Nixon.

From that point, the Frontiers never trailed, as their running game was too much for the Big Blue defense. They led 21-9 at the half, and scored two more touchdowns in the second half, while IBM was kept out of the end zone until 1:26 remained. While the Frontiers' longest drives in the game were only eight and ten plays, four of their first six drives resulted in touchdowns.

Meanwhile five of Big Blues drives ended in field goal attempts. IBM player-coach Kevin Craft said, "We moved the ball probably more than they've ever had the ball moved on them this year, but we talked about the red zone, was where it was gonna be for us on offense. On defense we knew we were going to have to toughen up. So there's nothing that shocked me about that game." IBM went 3 for 13 in 3rd down conversions, whereas Fujitsu went 4 for 9.

Craft (11-19-1 TD), who had missed playing most of the season with a broken hand and then a sprained ankle, replaced starting QB Yuki Masamoto (14-21-0) who broke his hand early in the second half. The two combined for 276 yards passing. "We had shots, we just missed them. Those were the matchups we wanted. We had two fades that we just missed. We hit those two, and hey, it's a ball game all of a sudden, and their in a different game, and the defense is playing different."

John Stanton had nine catches for 114 yards and a touchdown for IBM.

Meanwhile Michael Birdsong (10-17-1-1), who was hampered with a sore shoulder, threw for 93 yards for the Frontiers. The Big Blue defense were able to contain Clark Nakamura, who finished with only 15 yards on two catches, but some of that was by design. "We kept rolling up to him," said IBM DC Kaumeyer, "it's just a matter of what you want to do. If you gamble that way, you're a little light on the run."

In addition to Nixon's 196 yards on 17 carries, Birdsong added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Masamoto and Craft had 38 and 22 yards respectively.

Last year, Kaumeyer was running Fujitsu's defense with Nixon at linebacker. Kaumeyer switched sidelines this year, while Nixon switched sides of the ball, becoming a running back for Fujitsu.  "Running back was my first position, so it kind of feels like home," said Trashaun.

It has paid off well, as Nixon was named both the game and the league's Most Valuable Player for 2018.

2017 Japan X-League QUARTER-FINALS

Japan X-League QUARTER-FINALS Yokohama Stadium 2017-11-11

Obic Seagulls 41, Nojima Sagamihara Rise 22

Saturday was the 99th anniversary of the Armistice concluding World War I, which ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of that year. The 2017 X-League quarterfinals triple-header coincidentally kicked off at 11 AM on 11/11 (Japan Time). Three teams would go down to defeat, as three familiar powers prevailed.

Like much of the league, the Nojima Sagamihara Rise endured bad weather this year- wind and rain affected many of their regular season games, including their turnovers in a 14-0 loss to the Obic Seagulls in September. The weather at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday was fine for a change, and so this time, there was no such excuse.  Devin Gardner and the 3^rd-seeded Rise suffered one of their most miserable performances of the season with a shocking nine turnovers, losing to the 6^th-seeded Seagulls 41-22, and knocking them out of the playoffs.

Sagamihara's opening drive went three and out, and they proceeded to turn the ball over on their next five possessions- including four times within five offensive plays and a botched kickoff return.  Obic scored three TDs and two field goals the first five times it had the ball, and led 27-0 by early in the 2^nd quarter.

While they actually out-gained the Seagulls 441 to 336, the Rise were simply dominated by the Obic defense. “We couldn’t run the ball, so now we’re passing it the whole game. Jump off the bus, 14 down,” said Gardner.

Gardner and the Rise finally responded with an 86 yard drive for a TD, and nearly had another on a 65 yard drive when Sione Houma carried it to the Seagull's one yard line. But Nojima was stopped on the final play of the first half.

Devin did hit Takahide Dejima on a 9 yard scoring pass mid-way through the 3^rd quarter to make it 27-13, and amazingly it seemed that Nojima was back in the game, but that was as close as they got.

Shun Sugawara followed that taking the Seagulls on a 9-play 63 yard drive, connecting with Aruto Nishimura from 23 yards out. Then the Rise suffered another catastrophe when they failed to field the ensuing kickoff, and Obic recovered at the 20. On the very next play, WR Noriaki Kinoshita threw it to an open Ryoma Hagiyama and it was 41-13.

For the most part, Nojima's receivers were no match for Obic's physical defensive secondary, and their defensive line was putting relentless pressure on Gardner all throughout the game. “They got pressure whenever they wanted,” he said. Seagull’s defensive end B.J. Beatty (Colorado) said they only blitzed about 10% of the time. Beatty and Kevin Jackson (Hawaii) and the rest of the Obic defensive line continually overwhelmed the Sagamihara offensive line, and Jackson and Beatty even had one interception apiece.
Devin was frustrated throughout the game and disappointed afterward, and said it was difficult for Nojima because they couldn't run the ball, so play action passes had little effect. Leaving more in to block didn’t seem to help either, and Obic was in tight zone coverage downfield. The Seagulls were jumping all the quick timing routes, and the rush was too fierce for slower developing routes.


Gardner, who often had Seagulls defenders hanging on to him as he threw, was 27 of 52 for 378 yards and 2 touchdowns, but with a season-high 6 interceptions. Devin admitted that sometimes, “You just got to chuck it and see what happens…You got to hope your guys make a play for you.” Unfortunately, not enough plays were made, although Yuhei Yagi did have10 catches for 148 yards and one touchdown.

Gardner also ran or scrambled 11 times for 30 yards and 1 TD rushing, and Houma carried 9 times for 36 yards and a fumble, and caught two passes for 15 yards. Taku Lee carried 8 times for 84 yards and a touchdown for Obic.





Fujitsu Frontiers 34, Elecom Finies 7
2^nd seeded Fujitsu scored on six of its first eight possessions and cruised to a 34-0 lead by midway through the 3rd quarter.  Colby Cameron (Louisiana Tech) threw for two TDs and 202 yards on 16-21 passing with one interception.

Elecom could only manage a 4^th quarter touchdown by Jordan Canzeri (Iowa). Canzeri rushed 19 times for 80 yards, but with 12 TFLs (including three sacks by Trashaun Nixon (New Mexico State), the Finies netted only 48 yards on the ground. Kosuke Kamiyama filled in for the injured Gino Gordon for the Frontiers, scoring two touchdowns on 12 carries.



IBM Big Blue 51, Lixil Deers 31
Certainly the most competitive game of the day was the last.
IBM linebacker Kevin Coghlan intercepted Lixil QB Shuhei Katoh’s pass on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. This was immediately followed by a 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Naoki Maeda, and the game was already 7-7 after the just 31 seconds of play.

The two offenses moved the ball pretty easily in the first half. Kevin Craft (UCLA), advanced the Big Blue- sometimes with his arm, at others with his feet, and two scores netted 10 more points. Katoh responded with a drive and a score of his own, scrambling up the middle on 4^th & 2 reaching the end zone to bring the score to 17-14.

But both teams seemed unsatisfied with running out the half. IBM drove and Toshiki Satoh added a field goal, and after a Lixil punt, Craft took over with a six point lead and 1:38 remaining in the period. However his throw down the left sideline was picked off and run back for a touchdown by Tadanori Sano, and the Deers had the lead for the first time, 21-20.

Undaunted, Craft came back throwing, and his receivers repeatedly made tough catches as they moved down the field. Aided by a facemask penalty, they marched down to the Deers' 25 with 2 seconds left in the half, close enough for Satoh to try a 42 yard field goal, but he missed this one wide right.

Big Blue running back Tomokazu Sueyoshi split the defense right up the middle going 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, and a Jet sweep for the 2 point conversion put IBM back on top 28-21.

Lixil’s Katsuya Nakagawa returned the following kickoff all the way to the Big Blue 21 yard line, and a field goal made it 28-24 less than a minute and a half into the second half.

Then IBM's Keita Suzuki matched that by returning the ensuing kickoff to the Lixil 19. Three plays (and just over a minute) later, Craft hit Atsushi Uehiro for a TD and it was 35-24. For the day, Craft was 29-40 and 272 yards passing with the one interception and four touchdowns. Katoh was 17-30 for the Deers.

Craft later put together a drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters mixing runs and effective passes, finally hitting TE John Stanton in the end zone to go up 42-24.

With a twisting 29 yard run, RB Yuuki Shirakami put Lixil in back business at the IBM 17. On 3^rd & 9 Katoh hit Maeda for a 16 yard TD to make it 42-31 with 8:40 to play.

But Craft responded with yet another drive, finding Suzuki easily in the end zone for a 13 yard touchdown to put the game effectively out of reach at 49-31. It was their fourth touchdown in five possessions in the second half. Big Blue defensive end James Brooks added a sack for a safety with 1:46 to play to make the final score 51-31.

Obic will meet rival Fujitsu in Kawasaki in one semi-final game on 11/26 in a rematch of the regular season finale won 13-10 by the Frontiers in overtime; while the IBM Big Blue will go down to Osaka to face the top-seeded Panasonic Impulse for the other semi-final. The Japan X Bowl will be held on December 18^th at Tokyo Dome. The winner will face the collegiate champion in the Rice Bowl, traditionally held on January 3^rd.

Japan X-League 2017 Regular Season Finale

The final weekend of the 2017 X-League season means lots of big games scheduled.

It's expected to be another unseasonably wet weekend at that, as Typhoon Saola hits the Japanese mainland this weekend. Last week, Typhoon Lan drenched Japan making for sloppy conditions in many of the games, as it brought heavy rains, wind, and damage to some areas of the country, .

Regardless, triple headers are scheduled throughout this weekend. Beginning on Saturday at Yokohama Stadium, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Eagles will face the Bulls AFC @11AM; Tokyo Gas Creators vs Meiji Yasuda PentaOcean Pirates @2; and FujiXerox Minerva vs Nagoya Cyclones, @5PM.

On Sunday, Yokohama Stadium will host Nojima Sagamihara Rise (4-1) vs Panasonic Impulse (5-0) in a  big game for first place; Fujitsu Frontiers vs Obic Seagulls; and Asahi Beer Silver Stars vs All Mitsubishi Lions, at 11, 2, and 5 respectively.

At nearly the same time on Sunday, Expo Field in Osaka will host the Asahi Soft Drink Challengers vs IBM Big Blue;  Elecom vs Lixil Deers; and As One Black Eagles vs Club Hawkeye in the early, middle and late games.

Play-in games will be held next weekend, and quarter-final games will be on November 11th and 12th; semifinals on November 26th; and the Japan X-Bowl at the Tokyo Dome on Monday, December 18th. The Rice Bowl, against the Japanese college football champion, is traditionally held on January 3rd.

Japan Football X-League 2017!

The 22nd X-League fall season opened last weekend in the Tokyo area with Asahi Beer Silver Star beating Fuji Xerox Minerva AFC 38-6, and the Fujitsu Frontiers blanking the LIXIL Deers 30-0 in the Eastern Division, in Lixil's  rookie head coach Hajima Tominaga’s debu, replacing Kiyoyuki Mori. The Deers committed five turnovers to help the defending league champion to an easy victory.

Central Division action begins this weekend at Fujitsu Stadium with the All Mitsubishi Lions facing the Meijiyasuda PentaOcean Pirates on Saturday, and the Nojima Sagamihara Rise meeting the Bulls on Sunday. Both games kick off at 2 PM.

The Rise can be expect to be cheered on by their contingent of University of Michigan fans, especially now 105kg  fullback Sione Houma, and 115kg defensive end Mario Ojemudia join former Wolverine teammate Devin Gardner, who is in his second year with the rise. Jeremy Gallon, who led the league in receptions last year with 43, has departed.

Action continues during the week with games at the Tokyo Dome: the Tokyo Gas Creators face the Keishicho Eagles on Monday night, and OBIC Seagulls will take on IBM Big Blue on Tuesday night in a rematch of the Pearl Bowl held in June. IBM added the what will be the largest player in the league, DL Charles Tuaau out of Texas A&M-Commerce (1.96m, 141 kg).
Those games will kick off at 7.

Perennial leaders the Panasonic Impulse are still the team to beat in the West, but expect a challenge from Asahi Soft Drinks and Elecom.

Pearl Bowl XXXIX

In another thrilling championship game among the premier teams in Japan's X-League, the Obic Seagulls defeated IBM Big Blue 29-27. Obic has now won three of the last six Pearl Bowls, the game which culminates the spring season of football in Japan.

The kicking game was a big part of this game's excitement- there were a total of five(!) blocked kicks in the game, and each ran back a kick for a TD, in addition to other long returns that generally gave each team good field position to start their drives.

Both teams were able to keep their opponents running game somewhat in check- IBM could only manage 60 yards on 27 carries. Obic was a little better, with 117 yards on 30 carries, with #43 Asaki Mochizuki accounting for 72 yards on 15 carries himself. #12 Ikaika Woolsey added 24 yards on the ground and 165 yards in the air (12-17) and three TD passes.

 Obic was on the board early, with a good return of the opening kickoff leading to a 37-yard field goal. On the ensuing drive, IBM starting QB #2 Yuhki Masamoto was intercepted by Seagulls DB #27 Yudai Tanaka who returned it to the 15, and Woolsey quickly found #84 Aruto Nishimura on a Post-Corner for a TD and it was 9-0. A two point conversion pass attempt was batted down.

Following the kickoff return to their own 42, IBM started their next drive on the ground, and then Masamoto began finding receivers, connecting with #81 Shouta Matunaga, the second time on a 3-yard pass that put the  Big Blue on the board. Their extra point attempt was blocked. "Big guys in the middle of the line," said IBM head coach Shinzo Yamada simply, referring to Obic's #11 Kevin Jackson who blocked an extra point and one field goal, and IBM's #34 James Brooks, who manage to block two Obic field goal attempts and an extra point, despite having some trouble with cramping.







But in a pattern that would repeat itself throughout the game, whenever the Big Blue would draw close, the Seagulls would pull away again. #83 Taro Mizuno took the next kickoff, found a hole on the left side, and went 98 yards for a touchdown. This extra point conversion was successful, and Obic led 16-6 with four minutes of play remaining in the first quarter.


IBM responded with a 15 play, 66-yard drive bridging the quarters, which ended when Jackson blocked the 33-yard FG attempt. Obic responded with a a 33-yard FG attempt of their own...which was blocked by Brooks.


Masamoto was somewhat off-target throughout the half, and was intercepted on IBM's next drive. QB #3 Kevin Craft, who started last year but has been sitting out most of spring, came in to direct the Big Blue offense on an eight play, 66-yard drive, culminating in threaded pass to #81 Takashi Kurihara in the back of the end zone to bring the score to 16-13.


But Woolsey responded with a six play, 62 yard drive in the waning moments of the half, hitting Mizuno on a 31 yard post, to make the score 23-13 at halftime.


Midway through the half, Obic moved into IBM territory, but #6 Shun Sugawara, in place of Woolsey,
was intercepted by #20 Takato Yabe. Masamoto was back in at the controls for IBM, and he engineered an eleven play, 79 yard drive, running it in from two yards out, to bring the score to 23-20.

Another 33 yard FG attempt by Obic was blocked along the way, but in the final period, Woolsey directed a ten play, 82 yard drive that resulted in a TD, hitting #85 Ryoma Hagiyama from 12 yards out, to make it 29-20. The extra point was no good.

Kurihara took the kickoff at his own seven, and ran it back 93 yards, and suddenly the score was 29-27 midway through the fourth quarter.

At this point Obic began using their running game to chew up time. IBM did get the ball back with under four minutes left, but were hurt badly on a 3rd down intentional grounding by Masamoto, forcing IBM to kick from their own 3.

Obic was able to keep the ball, throwing on fourth down to maintain possession, and run out the clock.


IBM won the Pearl Bowl last year. Obic also won it in 2014 and 2012, as well as in 2005.

The two teams will face each other once again at the Tokyo Dome on September 5th, in the opening week of the fall season.

Untimed Down Chippewa Hail Mary Miracle: What Happened?

In week 2 of the NCAA regular season, Central Michigan stunned #22 Oklahoma State 30-27, on what may have already given us the Play of the Year for the 2016 season.

With no time left on the clock on an "untimed down", Chippewa QB Cooper Rush threw a 42-yard Hail Mary to Jesse Kroll short of the goal line. As Kroll was tackled, he flipped the ball back to trailing receiver Malik Fountain at the 9, who then ran across the field to just inside the opposite pylon for the game-winning touchdown.

If you haven't seen it already, here's the play.


Central Michigan was declared the victor. Later it was brought to the attention of the officials that they had made an error in granting CMU the untimed down.  That came after Oklahoma State was called for intentional grounding on their 4th down- on a play where rather than punting, the Cowboys sent NO receivers downfield for the "pass play", as the ball was snapped with 4 seconds left on the clock.

According to Rule 3-2-3 of the NCAA rule-book: "The period is not extended if the foul is by the team in possession and the penalty includes loss of down."

There is currently no mechanism in the NCAA to change the results of a game if such an error is made, even if it falls on the last play of the game. [see Duke-Miami 2015]. Article 3b of the NCAA rule-book states: When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final. Many are calling for that rule to be changed to allow for corrections of errors on the last play of the game, and that proposal should be given some consideration.

The MAC officials (on the field) and the Big XII officials (in the booth, who can alert officials on the field in circumstances such as these when significant errors are made) were subsequently given a two game suspension.

Many think Oklahoma State has been cheated out of a win that could become significant if they are in contention for the college football playoffs.

However, what I believe ALSO requires serious consideration is that rule about not extending the game on a loss-of-down penalty, particularly in the case of a change of possession. In other words it seems to me that the officials' ruling, though  it was not a correct interpretation of the rules as they exist, was probably a better, fairer one. The current wording of the rule seems to assume that the team committing the penalty is trying to retain possession of the ball, and does not take into consideration the exact situation which occurred: a loss-of-down penalty AND change of possession.

[Loss-of-down penalties are few, and they only include intentional grounding and some form of illegal touching or kicking the ball.]

Though their ruling was incorrect according to the letter of current  rules, the officials "common sense" decision that a team should not benefit from committing a penalty would seem to hold the higher moral ground, even if there is an appeal process applied to the ending of games.

Allowing CMU an untimed down after the intentional grounding honestly seems like the more reasonable thing to do. As it stands, any team ahead on 4th down, can literally run out the clock, and then intentionally ground the ball (actually throw the ball high and out of bounds) or kick the ball around to run out the clock, leave all their eligible receivers in to block, and the penalty will not count against them.

Many sports have written into their rules an allowance for the officials to interpret the rules and make judgements in any instance not covered by the rules, or when a player or team somehow "makes a mockery" of the rules by exploiting them.

If we really wanted to go down in the weeds, we could say that in such cases the clock should have been reset to the instant the penalty occurred: i.e. as it was an INTENTIONAL grounding penalty when the ball was released from the QB's hands- especially as there were no eligible receivers going downfield for the pass, and the penalty is one of taking a deliberate action, rather than the consequence. I don't have a view of the clock and exactly when that ball was thrown (presumably there was or the QB would have just knelt down as the clock struck 0); but if there was indeed any time left on the clock, the loss-of-down and change of possession should have taken place at that point.

2015 Japan X-Bowl

Over the years, the X-League Championship games have often been filled with excitement and gone down to the end, and this one was certainly no different.

Down 21-10 midway through the 4th Quarter, The Panasonic Impulse rallied, scoring with 1:11 remaining to take the lead, and held on for their first X-League championship since 2008 over the defending champion Fujitsu Frontiers. They were helped out along the way by three costly interceptions thrown by Frontier QB Colby Cameron, two of them coming late in each half leading to scores.


On Fujtsu's first possession QB #3 Colby Cameron engineered a 10-play, 90 yard TD drive for the Frontiers, scoring on an 8 yard pass to #87 Yuji Mizuno.




Both teams then took turns moving into enemy territory before punting, until late in the 2nd Quarter, when Fujitsu tried to move quickly in their 2-minute offense for a possible score. It went well for a couple of throws, until Cameron threw again into the flat, where it was intercepted by #10 Emory Polley, who ran it back 32 yards to make it 7-7 with 23 seconds left in the half.  Polley said he tried to bait Cameron. The QB simply said, "It was just a forced ball, and I wasn't accurate...he's a good corner."




So the game was tied, 7-7 at halftime.

The main feature of the Halftime Show was some singer apparently famous for some famous song or another [not seen].

 And oh, yes. Cheerleaders. Lots of cheerleaders.
 















etc.

Anyway, in the 3rd Quarter both offenses began to establish themselves: the Impulse on the ground, the Frontiers in the air.  Panasonic gained 164 of their 298 yards in the game rushing, led by  #33 Shun Yokota who had 16 carries for 98 yards. Panasonic's first drive of the half ended with a FG, giving them a 10-7 lead.

Fujitsu responded with a 9 play, 76 yard drive, capped by a 16 yard pass from #3 Cameron to #22 Junpei Yoshimoto to retake the lead and make it 14-10.

Two series later, Fujitsu started from their own 8, and drove all the way to the Panasonic 10, but Cameron was intercepted by in the end zone.

Several times in the game Cameron was able to complete passes deep, including a 30 yard toss to #87 Mizuno, and throws of 59 and 32 yards to #81 Teruaki Clark Nakamura. Cameron finished 25-42 for 322 yards and 3 TDs, but 3 costly INTs severely hurt the Frontiers.  "Trying to make a play, and sometimes you try to make too many plays,"  he said.

Undaunted, after forcing a Panasonic punt, Cameron marched the Frontiers down the field, scoring in 6 plays from the two-yard-line, on a throw to #17 Takeshi Akiyama, and Fujitsu had  what seemed to be comfortable 21-10 lead with just 7 minutes to go. Panasonic failed to convert on 4th down, and the game appeared to be all but over with Fujitsu taking over near midfield with 5:21 to go.

But Fujitsu chose not to play conservative, immediately going to the air. Cameron inexplicably threw an interception over the middle, setting up the Impulse in at the Frontier 42. "You're taught, when you are 8, 9, 10 years old, never to throw the ball late across the middle. That's my fault, and I've just got to learn," said Cameron.

The very next play, #8 Tetsuo Takata found #15 Tatusya Tonka deep, and while the 2-point conversion failed, Panasonic suddenly only trailed 21-16.

A penalty on the kickoff return pushed the Frontiers back to their own 12. Three plays netted 0 yards, so after the punt and return, Panasonic was in business at the Fujitsu 33 with 3:28 left. On the fifth play of the drive, from the Frontier 15, #8 Takata was able to hit #89 Taiji Koyama, and The Impulse was suddenly ahead. Takata then rolled out and ran in the two-point conversion to make it 24-21.

Fujitsu was then in desperation mode. But Cameron lost the ball carrying it on a  4th down scramble, the Impulse took over with 36 seconds left, and the sizable Impulse crowd celebrated.


The Impulse felt they were able to follow their game plans: Polley said the defense wanted to try to get pressure on Cameron and "see what happened". On offense, OG #61 Scott Duffy said, "We wanted to run the ball, and we did. They're a good team." Overall, Futjitsu outgained Panasonic 401-298. Game MVP Tetsuo Takata was 12-17 and 134 yards passing for the Impulse.

Center #65 Edmond Davis said they, "went to the pass a little bit to open up the run, but basically we stuck with the game plan. We had two or three different situations, but we had it. We had everything. We knew they weren't going to play us like they played everybody else this season...The D-Line, instead of trying to fill their gap, they were trying to stalemate, so we were able to take advantage and get one-on-one with the linebacker, and the middle opened wide up."

Clearly disappointed with the result, Cameron said "...it's part of the process, part of the job."
But he praised the Impulse defense, "They did a good job getting pressure, but actually today, they played what was on film. I was shocked.  So many teams try to surprise you. They played base defense, and really good team defense...They do a very good job. They have a safety, #12 [Imaishi], he was comes up in the box, really well, like a mini-Kam Chancellor [Seattle Seahawks]."

X-Bowl 2015 Tokyo Dome (aka The Big EGG) 12/14 19:00

Perennial Kansai powerhouse the Panasonic Impulse return to the Tokyo Dome for Japan X Bowl to face X-League defending champion Fujitsu Frontiers. The Impulse last won the X-League's championship game in 2008, and last appeared in 2010. Kickoff is at 7PM.

Both teams come into the game at 8-0, making it through the First Stage, Second Stage, and then their semi-final games undefeated. Fujitsu beat the Obic Seagulls 27-6 to reach the final, while Panasonic scored four TDs in the 1st quarter en route to a 45-17 victory over the Nojima Sagamihara Rise.

The Frontiers kept the Impulse out of the championship game the last two years (and three of the last four). Fujitsu finally won the title last year after failing five times. 

Panasonic DL David Motu said, “I’m really glad...this is my third year, and we’ve lost to Fujitsu ever since I’ve been here, so we’re ready to get our revenge...We all believe it."


They'll be facing former Louisiana Tech QB #3 Colby Cameron, who is rolling along again this year.  He was 31-47 for 360 yards in the semifinal. But Cameron credits his receivers such as #81 Teruaki Clark Nakamura, #22 Junpei Yoshimoto, and #87 Yuji Mizuno, saying,  "They’re the play-makers, not me.”

Cameron joined the Frontiers last year and threw for 445 yards and four TDs in the 48-24 victory over Panasonic, which ended the Impulse's string of five consecutive West Division titles.

 Panasonic head coach Nobuyoshi Araki says,“After the big shock last year, we made a lot of changes in our roster. By changing how we approach each day, we’ve made it here today.”

X-League rules now allow up to four foreign players, in addition to foreign players who played for Japanese Universities, such as #17 Motu (Nihon University), and Impulse #61 Scott Duffy (Waseda) from Huntington Beach, CA, who switched from playing DL to OL. Duffy was joined on the OL this year by  #65 Edmond Davis (Alabama State), to open holes for #24 Ben Dupree (The Citadel), a former triple-option QB. On the defensive side of the ball, the Impulse added DB #10 Emory Polley (Brown), and #21 Carlton Jones (Alabama State) to join Motu on the DL.

In addition to Cameron, Fujitsu has DB #40 AL-Rilwan Adeyami (San Diego), and LB #16 Nixon Tra Shoun Oshae (New Mexico). RB #29 Gino Gordon (Harvard), who was last year’s game MVP, has a leg injury that will keep him out of the championship game.

Panasonic will try to pressure Cameron, but that's easier said than done. “He sets up deep and the timing of his passes is so quick, says Araki, " Lixil, Obic or whoever, had a strategy to pressure him, but couldn’t get to him. If you blitz, he soon finds the open spot. He makes it very difficult.”

Cameron this year is 178-256 for 2,350 yards and 28 TDs versus only 3 INTs. He was injured in last year's X-Bowl, and did not play in the second half of that game, nor in the Rice Bowl against Kwansei Gakuin, which Fujitsu also won, with QB #12 Keiya Hiramoto filling in for Cameron.

For their part, Frontiers head coach Satoshi Fujita is concerned about Dupree behind that offensive line, "He is very quick and fast. He has the ability to get into the end zone. All we can do, is just do our job and make tackles.”

The winner will face Ritsumeikan in the Rice Bowl on Sunday, January 3rd (2PM). Ritsumeikan defeated Waseda 28-27 on Sunday at Koshien to win the Japan collegiate championship.

IFAF 2015 World Championship

-Canton, OH

Japan and the US face off once again in the 2015 International Federation of American Football World Championship.  It will be the second time the two teams have played each other this week, and the second time they have met in the IFAF 'World Cup' Gold Medal game.  They are the only two teams who have won the championship, each team has won two each.

The 2015 tournament was originally going to be held in Stockholm, Sweden. However local organizers had to cancel the event due to lack of sponsorship and other financial difficulties. The scheduled twelve team tournament was pared down, and relocated to Canton, OH, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and "birthplace of professional football". Austria, Germany, and Morocco had to drop out because of the added expense of traveling to the US.


Earlier this week in Round 2, the #1 seed US team defeated #3 seed Japan 43-18 in a game that was actually quite close at the half. Japan had the ball late in the second quarter and was driving, trailing only 8-3.  But the US dominated the Japan team in the second half.  Kevin Burke and Dylan Favre [yes, nephew of THAT Favre ] shared duties at QB for the US, rolling up 580 yards of total offense. Shohei Kato, was 28-of-49 passing for 273 yards and MVP for Team Japan.

Japan rebounded with a strong showing against #4 seed Mexico behind Tetsuo Takata, scoring quickly and harassing QB Roberto Vega all afternoon into four interceptions, as Japan won 35-7.  The US later steamrolled France 82-0 to set up the Gold Medal rematch.


The tournament presents a somewhat punishing schedule of four rounds in eight days, with games three days apart. Japan was the beneficiary of a Round 1 bye in the tournament, as #2 seeded Canada withdrew from the tournament late in April, leaving the tournament with only 7 teams.  Canada cited budgetary and sponsorship difficulties, as well as scheduling conflicts for Canadian players trying out for Canadian Football League rosters.

The 2011 World Cup tournament in Austria, Canada came back late in the 4th Quarter and holding on to defeat Japan 31-27, before losing to the US in the championship game.

International football fans may well remember the 2007 championship held in Japan.  A typhoon nearly postponed or cancelled the championship game, but the US team (coached by John Mackovic) managed to defeat Japan in double overtime, 23-20, in what turned out to be a tremendous game.   It was the first championship for the US, and the first time they participated.  Japan had won the previous two world championships (held in 1999 and 2003).

Japanese defensive lineman Yasuo Wakisaka, at age 46, is the only player to appear in every IFAF world championship tournament since its inception in 1999.


The Gold Medal game will kickoff at 7PM EDT Saturday (8AM Sunday Japan time). 
The Bronze Medal game between Mexico and France will begin at 3:30.

2014 Japan X Bowl

The monkey is finally off their back With the Seagulls no longer in their way, the Fujitsu Frontiers finally sailed to the 28th X League championship, the top level of American Football in Japan.

Before a crowd of over 25,000 at the Big Egg. the Frontiers overwhelmed the IBM Big Blue 44-10.  They will meet K.G.- the top collegiate team- in  the Rice Bowl on January 3rd.

The Frontiers had lost all five of their appearances in the final going back to 2002, including four appearances in the previous eight.   This year snapped the Obic Seagull's four year reign at the top of the X-Leage.

Harvard alum Gino Gordon (Harvard) ran for four TDs for Fujitu and was named the game's MVP.

American QBs (Colby Cameron and Kevin Craft) started for both teams, in a game that featured a good deal of short passing and crisp tackling, until the defenses began to tire.

Craft (SDSU/UCLA) opened for the Big Blue by throwing and connecting on his first four passes.  But then a pass in the flat was intercepted by Shinya Miki and returned 45 yards for a Pick-6, and Fujitsu never trailed.  Craft would do on to throw two more interceptions in the first half.  A fake FG attempt by IBM in the second half was also intercepted.

Craft said he was showing the effects from several injuries, and felt that he couldn't move and avoid the rush the way he wanted, but gave most of the credit to Fujitsu.  "There was always someone in my face. They're real good, and they have a lot of depth. Of course they have great palyers and resources."

Fujitsu added a FG at the end of their first offensive drive.  Another interception on IBM's subsequent  play from scrimmage gave the Frontiers the ball at the Big Blue 12 yard line. Gordon scored the first of his four touchdowns on the next play, and it was quickly 16-0 halfway through the 1st quarter after James Brooks blocked the extra point conversion.

IBM was able to sustain an 80 yard drive early in the 2nd quarter, scoring on a 5 yard pass from Craft to John Stanton (St. John's) to make it 16-7.  It looked like the tide had turned when the Big Blue were able to make a 4th down stop on the Frontier's next series, but another interception was followed another short drive and a TD run by Gordon, and it was 23-7 at the half. Gordon finished with 17 carries for 112 yards.

Most IBM drives were repeatedly  stalled by sacks and mistakes, due in no small part to relentless pressure from Fujitsu. Craft went 23-40, 235 yards and one TD, but it was the three interceptions that really made the difference.  John Stanton had 8 catches for 47 yards.

 Satoshi Tagawa finished the game for IBM throwing 9-10, but their final drive ended just short of the goal line as the clock ran out.

Colby Cameron was 13-21 for 115 yards and no interceptions, and Keiya Hiramoto finished 6-9 for 106 yards for the  Frontiers.

After the game:

Craft:

"We thought we could throw the ball...and they were gassed, they were calling timeouts on defense.  But [we made] too many turnovers and mistakes."

"They did some things we hadn't seen on film" playing Cover, 2 etc.

Gino Gordon:

Who has relatives in Japan, says he hopes to be able to stay at least  one more year, "but that's gonna depend on my girlfriend."

Fujitsu has had difficulty finishing strong in big games in the past, and carried that unfortunate reputation.  That seems to have finally been corrected.
"It was great to finish.  That has been a point of emphasis this year- shorter practices, but more intense, American style."

X-Bowl 2013

One again, the Fujitsu Frontiers were  unable to take the top prize in football in Japan, and the Obic Seagulls return to the Rice Bowl as X League champions.

A highly entertaining- though often sloppy- 27th Japan X-Bowl thrilled the 22,488 who looked on.  At key moments the crowd was as loud as any I can remember in the Big Egg.

Fujitsu won the toss, but their luck soon turned bad. #12 QB Keiya Hiramoto was injured on a flying sack, and the Frontiers turned the ball  three of the first five times they had the ball. #18 Akihiro Izuhara took over for the injured Hiramoto, and on their second possession a strip sack gave Obic the ball on the Fujitsu 34 yard line. Four plays later #6 Shun Sugawara hit #18 Noriaki Kinoshita on well-timed 14 yard slant for a TD, though missed the extra point was missed.

A couple of drives later Obic marched 82 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a HB Option Pass from #20 Takuya Furutani to #89 Akimitsu Mori.  The replay clearly showed that Mori juggled the ball and did not gain possession until after his knee had struck out of bounds, but Japan does not allow for instant replay to overturn calls, so the TD stood. The Seagulls successfully went for two to make it 14-0 at 12:55 in the 2nd quarter, and #1 Yusuke Kaneoya added a field goal later in the half to cap another 11 play drive, and so it was 17-0 at half time.

It should have been a much worse for Fujitsu, Izuhara seemed rattled, threw an interception to #25 Keizaburo Ichikawa, who returned it 56 yards to the Frontier six yard line; later a fumble by RB #20 Keita Takanohashi  at their 22.  But Obic failed to capitalize in both cases, Sugawara throwing an interception of his own from the three yard line on second down; and again from the three after the fumble, as #40 Al-Rilwan Adeyami stripped Sugawara of the ball into the end zone.  Adeyami tried to run it out, but officials gave them a touchback.  Here again the officials seemed to miss the call- the replay seemed to show Sugawara's knee was down just short of the goal line before the ball came out.

Throughout the half, Fujitsu had tried unsuccessfully to run wide, and Izuhara seemed uncomfortable doing anything other than throw to the flat and the corner.  #11 Kevin Jackson was an especially disruptive force coming off the edge hampering the Frontier running game and with the pass rush.

Obic Head Coach Makoto Ohashi said he  told his defense before the game and  at half-time to be patient and have confidence in themselves and in the game plan, which for the most part, seemed to work well.





The second half didn't start much better for the Frontiers- Obic crossed midfield before punting.  Hiramoto returned to QB for Fujitsu, only to be tipped and intercepted by DL Byron  Beatty at the 32 and returned all the way to the Fujitsu four. 

On the next play, Sugawara found #85 Ryoma Hagiyama in the end zone to amke it 24-0 midway throught the third quarter. 


Izuhara and the Frontiers seemed to get some confidence back, mixing inside runs and passes, and were finally able to get on the board with  a 37 yard Hidetetsu Nishimura field goal to make it 24-3 with 5:37 left in the third quarter.

Adeyami made a nice interception of Sugawara early in the fourth quarter, and Izuhara marched the Frontiers 61 yards down to a score, throwing to TE #48 Eiji Shjiraki from four yards out, to make it 24-9.  Inexplicably, Fujitsu went for two here and failed.

[Had the first score been a TD rather than a FG, a two point conversion might have been understandable- 3x8=24, thereby meaning only two more "scores" would be required, though expecting to convert two-point conversions three times is something of a long shot.  24-10 Fujitsu would have meant Fujitsu could try for two later; or just go into overtime, as if they were that fortunate to tie it  up with two 7 point scores in the fourth quarter, Obic's defense would likely be rather tired, giving Fujitsu pretty good odds in overtime.]

Obic went three and out, and Fujitsu took over with 6:38 left took eight plays (and two timeouts) to go 55 yards, with Izuhara keeping the ball on fourth and goal to score and kicked to make it 24-16 with 2:23 remaining. 

The onside kick failed, Obic took over near midfield and ran the ball three times, and then Fujitsu called their final time out with 44 seconds remaining.  Kaneoya's punt was partially blocked, no Frontier dared handle it, and the ball dropped and continued spinning at the  Fujitsu 31 yard line, surrounded by Seagulls disciplined enough not to touch it.  17 seconds had expired before the official finally blew the play dead. 

Working without timeouts, Izuhara was able to move the Frontiers across midfield, suddenly unafraid to use middle crossing routes, eventually hitting #22 Junpei Yoshimoto who reached the Seagull 36 with for a first down with 3 seconds remaining.  Fujitsu was able to line up and spike the ball, giving them one second on the clock.

Ohashi inserted Kinoshita and other athletes for the anticipated Hail Mary, which the Seagull defenders were able to knock down, and once again come away with the victory.  He said they had practiced that, figuring that the game was very likely to come down to such a play.



[The half time show was...some short J-pop idol which is something I hardly know anything about.  I am pretty sure she would say the same about American Football.]


Foreign players featured prominently in the game. Besides Byron Beatty's  big interception and return for the Seagulls, Kevin Jackson was chosen MVP, and Al-Rilwan Adeyami of Fujitsu was awarded MIP. 






Obic will face Kwansei Gakuin in the Rice Bowl on January 3rd.  KG defeated Nihon University 23-9 on Sunday in the Koshien Bowl.

2013 X-League Pearl Bowl

After spotting the Fujitsu Frontiers a 10-0 lead at halftime, the Kajima Deers took control in the second half and prevailed 17-10, in Japan's 36th Pearl Bowl.

The Frontiers went up and had opportunities to go out to a big lead in the first half, but squandered too many opportunities.  Fujitsu bested Kajima 18-14 in first downs; 275-207 in passing; and 361-308 in total yards, but could not hold on to their early lead, nor rally at the end, once again falling short.

Fujitsu won the toss, and elected to receive (most Japanese teams choose not to defer).  They started their opening drive with three straight swing passes, and continued to work the edges and flats. Keiya Hiramoto then hit Shimpei Yoshimoto up the seam for 25 yards, and Fujitsu was in business, and they began to move the ball on the ground. 5 minutes in they had scored, Yusuke Shinshi running it in from 7 yards out.
Kajima used their superior size to move into Fujitsu territory , but Daisuke Aoki's 47 yard FG attempt was blocked by Paul Yasui rushing up the middle.


Fujitsu quickly drove and threatened to score again, but a short 22-yard FG attempt missed.

A Frontiers blitz put the Deers in poor field position, and the punt was returned to the Kajima 40.  Fujitsu drove down, and the next FG attempt was successful, making it 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter.

The Frontiers began to wear down the Deers defense, as Kajima began to miss tackles, trying to make arm tackles from out of position.   Another Fujitsu drive got them close, but a sack resulted in another kick wide by Daichi Gotoh, so the score remained 10-0 at halftime.

Kajima went to work quickly in the second half, moving the ball through the air on a brisk drive, (#10) Takuya Yamashiro hitting (#11) Naoki Maeda going straight up the sideline for a 29 yard TD to make it 10-7. 
The next time they had the ball, from midfield (#81) Yasuhiro Miyamoto caught a shallow cross and outran most of the Fujitsu defense, finally knocked out of bounds at the 5. On 3rd down, (#25) Yujiro Iwai caught the ball on a double slant near the end-line, appearing to step out, but it was ruled a TD, to give Kajima the lead 14-10.  Fujitsu was suddenly on its heels, after dominating the first half.

Kajima LB #37 Kenjiro Ohodate finished with a game-high 11 tackles.

Both teams used the shallow cross and check-downs frequently in the second half, until Kajima had the lead late, when they hit a couple of corner routes to move the ball into field goal position, where ## converted to make it 17-10 with 2:35 remaining.

Fujitsu would not down easily, however.  Starting from their own 23 after the kickoff, they  moved the ball past midfield, helped out by a face mask penalty.  But after moving into Kajima territory and looking like they had a good chance to possibly tie the game and take it into overtime, Hiramoto, who had such strong first half, suddenly began to feel the pressure.  On second down, instead of throwing the ball away, he attempted to scramble and was sacked for a loss of 15.  They were able to make up half of the distance on 3rd down, but his 4th down pass sailed over the head of his receiver on a short throw, and Kajima took over on downs to run out the clock.


The crowd was officially announced as 19,250.

X-League 2013 Pearl Bowl preview

The Kajima Deers will take on the Fujitsu Frontiers in the 36th Pearl Bowl title game on Monday, 6/24 at Tokyo Dome (aka The Big Egg).

Each team had to overcome big rivals on the way to game, the spring season championship for the top teams in X-League Kanto action.

Fujitsu defeated arch-nemesis Obic 31-13 in a mistake filled game, on May 25th.  The Frontiers held the Seagulls to -21 yards rushing on 37 carries, while former Nihon University QB Keiya Hiramoto has come on this spring to lead the Frontiers.  The win broke Obic's 37 game winning streak, going back to 2010.

The next day, Kajima scored early, then pulled away late, as the Deers beat the Rise 27-12. The Rise bested the Deers both on the ground and in the air, but they settled for a rushing  touchdown and three field goals, while Takuya Yamashiro made their drives count more, connecting for three TD passes.

Both teams hope to use the spring season to propel them to an X-League championship and Rice Bowl berth in the fall.  The Deers defeated the Frontiers twice last year, once in regular season and again in the playoffs at Yokohama Stadium, by a 24-14 score. Kajima then suffered a painful 27-24 loss to Obic in the Japan X Bowl.

Fujitsu last won the Pearl Bowl in 2010, while Kajima took their 9th title in 2009.

Tickets are 1,500円 in advance; 2000円 the day of the game. 
http://www.xleague.com/ticket/


Cheerleaders?

There will be cheerleaders.  Possibly wet ones.

Kickoff will be at 7 PM. 

Japan loses to Canada (again) in IFAF U-19 semi-final

In a game where the Japanese team bested Canada in yardage and time of possession, Canada still found a way to defeat Japan in the IFAF Under-19 championship semifinal, held this year in Austin Texxas, by a 33-24 score.  A last minute touchdown won the game for Canada in the semifinal match in 2009- that game ended 38-35.


Japan recieved the opening kickoff and scored first, but Canada cam back and tied the score on the kickoff return for a TD.  A pick-6 put Japan up 14-7.

Japan trailed 23-14 at halftime, as Japan was plagued by 4 interceptions in the first half.

Strangely, Japan also recieved the 2nd half kickoff, and its initial drive ended with a 31-yad Ariwa FG to pull within a touchdown.

Ikuma Mitsuwa came up with an interception on Canada's next drive.  But Japan returned the favor. 

Japan was able to bring it to within 2 when Kishimura scored on a keeper.  But a 97 yard drive by Canada and a TD on a QB keepers by Hugo Richard put Canada back up
33-24.

Japan was able to cross midfield in the last two minutes, but the drive stalled there, and Canada ran out the clock.

Canada moves on to the Gold medal game saturday to face the winner of the USA-Austria matchup; Japan will be in the Bronze medal game to face the loser.

IFAF Under-19 World Championships

International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship are being held at Burger Stadium in Austin, Texas.  Eight teams representing (in order of ranking): USA, Canada, Japan, Panama, Austria, France, Sweden and American Samoa.


The most anticipated game of the tournament thus far will be the clash between Japan and Canada on Wednesday, July 4th (Thursday morning in Japan).  In the 2008 semi-finals, the Canadians scored a TD pas with 0:16 remaining, to snatch a 38-35 victory.  That game will be shown live on webcast at 5 PM local time, (7 AM Japan Time on July 5th), to be followed by the Austria-USA contest.


Here is the link to watch live and repeat webcasts
http://www.youtube.com/usafootballeducation

For previews on these and info go here.

The Japanese roster includes Kevin Coghlan (currently enrolled at Waseda University), and WR/KR James Takada (Gray).

The final games will be held on July 7th, with the Bronze medal game at 5:00 and the Gold medal game at 8 (7 and 10 AM on July 8th in Japan).


The inaugural International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship was held in 2009 in Canton, Ohio.  The US defeated Canada in the championship game, and Japan took home the bronze by defeating Mexico.

Obic wins 35th Pearl Bowl

The Obic Seagulls once again continued their recent mastery over the Fujitsu Frontiers, pulling away in the 4th quarter to win the 35th Pearl Bowl 31-10.

Obic started the scoring on a TD pass, an 18 yard end zone fade to Kentarou Mori from Shun Sugawara to make it 7-0 with 6:14 left in the first quarter. Each team kicked a field goal in the 2nd Quarter to make it 10-3 at halftime.
Fujitsu seemed to have momentum for most of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, moving the ball somewhat effectively on offense- mostly on the ground; and shutting down Obic nearly every time they tried to run wide. The Frontiers came out stronger in the 3rd quarter, as they returned the kickoff to the Obic 40 and drove to the 15, before missing a 32 yard FG.

The Seagulls went backwards on their next possession, and Fujitsu took over at the Obic 47. It took them four plays to get to the end zone, with Yuusuke Shinshi carrying the ball in from the 7 to tie the score. Obic responded on their next drive with a good return and a 12 play drive, but it stalled and ended with a missed FG.

But Fujitsu was not able to continue its success as a combination of bad breaks, and big plays by Furutani and Kinoshita put Obic back on top. Kinoshita took an end around 61 yards on an electrifying run as they scored with 2:33 left in the quarter to make it 17-10, and WR Shimizu hit Furutani on 40 yard pass on the first play of the 4th quarter put them up 24-10.



Nakanishi scored from 8 yards out to finish the scoring, making it 31-10 with 3:14 remaining.



Fujitsu was plagued by a couple of interceptions and numerous dropped passes as they went 12-30 and picked up only 87 yards in the air. They also suffered from atrocious punting, as Gotoh uncharacteristically shanked several punts that gave Obic a field position advantage throughout much of the game, including his first punt of only 11 yards, and the last which went but 15.

QBs Sugawara went 6-10 and Yoshida was 12-18 passing for the Seagulls, each throwing a TD pass. Obic enjoyed a 13 minute advantage in T.O.P., which is not surprising given the Frontiers' no-huddle offensive attack introduced last year. But Obic seemed less affected by it this year, the Seagulls head coach Makoto Ohashi admitting that Obic has been practicing specifically for Fujitsu all spring long, as they will have to go through them in the autumn to repeat- actually "three-peat"-  as X-League champions.

While they have enjoyed success in the X-Bowl over the last two years, the Seagulls won the Pearl Bowl for the first time since 2005. Kinoshita was named game MVP. In addition to his TD run, he had 5 catches for 40 yards and kick returns of 20 and 22 yards.

6/25 2012 Pearl Bowl

Arch-rivals Obic Seagulls and Fujitsu Frontiers meet once again on Monday night (June 25th) in the 2012 Pearl Bowl at Tokyo Dome. Kickoff is at 7 PM. In the semi-finals Fujitsu dominated the Nojima Rise 31-6. Obic defeated the Kajima Deers in a shootout 47-31.

The Pearl Bowl crowns the X-League's Kanto area division I champion for the spring season (the Impulse took the Green Bowl for the Kansai title).  

Tickets are 1,500 yen in advance and 2,000 yen at the door. Seating is non-reserved and children up to high school age are admitted free. The doors will open at 5 PM.

JPFF playoffs 2012-1-14

The Urawa Ulowers(!) will meet the Brandings in the Eastern Championship game on January 29th.

Urawa was able to hold off the Kawasaki Grizzlies in the first game, winning 19-14 on a late interception.

In the second game. The Tachikawa Falcons scored first, and The Brandings trailed at half-time 7-6, but came back with a big second half to defeat the Falcons 32-7.

The winner of the Eastern championship game will meet the western champion in February. The JPFF championship game is the latest of all leagues in Japan.

Rice Bowl LXV

January 3rd (Tuesday)
Kansai Gakuin vs. Obic Seagulls
14:00 Kickoff at The Big Egg (Tokyo)

2011 Japan X-Bowl

2011-12-19 Japan X-Bowl


Three quick, deadly strikes by Noriaki Kinosita in five plays struck mortal blows to the championship hopes of the Fujitsu Frontiers, and were the difference in another nerve-wracking tight X-Bowl battle between the Obic Segulls and the the Frontiers. Despite being out-performed and out-gained most of the night, the Seagulls prevailed 24-17.

Fujitsu seemed in command for most of the ball game, leading at halftime 7-3, and when a 31-yard Fujitsu FG put them up 10-3 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, it looked like that might be all they need.

But Kinoshita took the kickoff, split the coverage and went 98 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt missed to the left. Yusuke Kaneoya had also missed his first FG attempt,, before hitting a 21 yarder on their next and last possession of the first half.

After Kinoshita's electrifying return the Obic fans regained their excitement. The two teams traded 3-and-outs. Then Obic struck deep several times, going 87 yards in just 4 plays- the last 10 on a WR screen to Kinoshita, They followed that up with a trick play 2-point conversion on a fake dive pass from TB Takuya Furutani to TE Akimitsu Mori to take a 17-10 lead with 10:30 remaining.
On the first play of their next possession, Sugawara struck again on a 66-yard bomb to Kinoshita, sending the Fujitsu fans into shock and dismay.

Early in the game, both teams moved the ball on runs up the middle and several scrambles. Karl Noa admitted they did not have a man accounting for the QB.

Fujtsu led the game in almost every statistic, out-gaining Obic 365 to 337 and leading in time of possession by 7-1/2 minutes in spite of their no huddle offense.

"Their no huddle seemed to throw us out of our rhythm" said Noa. "We couldn't substitute, and it definitely had an affect on us", said Jackson. "But we got some hits on their QB, and that made a difference in the end".


All three foreign Seagulls expressed sympathy for Brad Brennan, who once again came close, but failed to make it to the Rice Bowl. "Brad played an awesome game," they all agreed.


Obic seemed intent on stopping the Fronteir's Takeshi Akiyama, and Brad capitalized. Brennan had 9 catches for 128 yards- big catches several on third and long, whether over the middle, on the sideline or on WR screens. Brennan had three catches on the final drive, as Fujitsu drove down to the Obic 11 ib the final minute. Three straight incompletions brought up 4th down. Brennan was able to work himself open in the end zone, but Izuhara's pass was off the mark. Izuhara finished 19-34 with 1 interception.

Kinoshita barely topped Brennan with 129 yards on 5 catches (the last two for TDs), while Ryoma Hagiyama had 8 catches for 91 yards for Obic.

The Fronteirs did a good job of containing Sugawara and the Seagulls- Sugawra picked up only 10 yards on the ground, while Furutani finished with 13 carries for 50 yards. But after a mediocre first three quarters, Sugawara's last four passes went for 43, 24, 10, and 66 (the last for TDs) so he finished 18-23 with no interceptions.

"They were doing a lot of different things," said Obic LG Frank fernandea, "but they always do" "We saw that they were trying to cover the best receiver in the league 1-on-1, so we decided to take advantage of that," added Fernandez.

While no surprise, the Fronteir's no-huddle attack gave the Seagulls some problems.
"we couldn't make substitutions like we wanted," Noa said. Both Noa and Jackson felt that some of the hits they put on the QB took their toll.

Jackson added that he will look forward to playing KG, as their offensive coordinator "is the same guy who brought me to Japan" when he was coaching for the Saeagulls.


When asked what he thought was the biggest factor in the game, Jackson said, "you know, momentum is such big factor in this league." Obic seemed to make it count the most.