And the PFFL 2016 Spring Season Adult League Championship trophy goes to ZIP EM UP of the Iron Conference.

Two teams battled all day to make it to the biggest game of the year.  Out of the Steel Conference came the BILLY GOATZ, who defeated MMG 28-27 in a thrilling game to advance.  From the Iron Conference came ZIP EM UP, who impressively took down VAPOR in a 12-6 victory.  

However, this championship game was not as close as I’d hoped it would be.  BILLY GOATZ is a talented team who had a 9-1 regular season record and I expected them to give ZIP EM UP a better game than they did.  ZIP EM UP dominated the championship game to take down BILLY GOATZ by a final score of 20-6.  Now without further adieu, here’s a quick game recap of the 2016 PFFL Adult League Championship.

Things looked good for BILLY GOATZ from the start.  After a couple of quick passes on their first possession, QB Jordan Fowler found Simon Bekavac, who evaded the ZIP EM UP cornerbacks for a long TD run.  BILLY GOATZ took the lead 6-0, however, that proved to be not only the only time they would hold a lead but the only touchdown they would have all game.

BILLY GOATZ forced ZIP EM UP to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession.  However, on their next possession after a first down pass to Kory Vorum, QB Jeff Bollinger found Kenny Ashmore for a long bomb in which he cut across the field for a TD.  The extra point was good to Bruce Thornton and ZIP EM UP took the lead 7-6.  Both teams would turn the ball over on downs on their next possessions and the score remained 7-6 at the half.

Now the second half would be another story, featuring domination by ZIP EM UP.  Coming out of the half, Bollinger completed two quick passes to Jason Scott.  His third pass was complete to Ashmore who made several moves to evade tackles and run into the endzone for his second TD of the game.  

Despite being down 13-6, BILLY GOATZ failed to get anything going on offense on their next possession.  On the other hand, ZIP EM UP capitalized on their top-notch defense with another touchdown.  ZIP EM UP quick passed all the way up the field on a drive that ended in a TD pass from Bollinger to Scott in the corner of the endzone.  Bollinger would run for the extra point to finish the drive and the game.  

BILLY GOATZ tried to give it a go on their last drive but were forced to turn the ball over on downs due to great defense by Ashmore and C.J. Baker.  The game ended with a final score of 20-6 in favor of ZIP EM UP to earn them the championship win and the rights to hoist the trophy.

I was disappointed in the performance of BILLY GOATZ in this one.  I thought they were one of the strongest teams in the league and that showed all day up until the most important game.  Fowler had one of his worst games of the season, completing just 12 of his 22 passes and throwing for one TD.  His 54.5% completion rate was nothing compared to his regular season rate of 81.7%.  Rick Douglas, who was named the IRONMAN Player of the Year, also failed to show his dominance in this one.  It was their offense, though, that did them in.  During the regular season, BILLY GOATZ averaged 31.9 ppg and they were only able to score 6 in this one.

However, their lack of scoring wasn’t all their fault.  You have to give credit to ZIP EM UP who played lights-out defense in this game.  Thornton and Ashmore were breaking up passes left and right and Baker was a key factor in putting major pressure on Fowler all game.  Bollinger had a solid game at QB, completing 15 of his 20 passes and throwing for 3 TD passes.  He divvied the ball around to his slew of capable receivers, with Ashmore finishing the game with two TDs and Scott catching one as well.

With that all being said, congratulations to both teams on making it to the championship and having great regular seasons.  The victors, ZIP EM UP, came to play not only in the championship but in all their games throughout the day.  That’s what set them apart from everyone else and earned them the title: PFFL 2016 Spring Season Adult League Champions.