Catch the Beasts as they face off against the Glacier Boyz and the Wild Aces against the Zappers this week! The action begins at 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET on twitch.tv/FCF and VENN
By Josh Davis
Anticipation was built for this game. It was the return of Johnny Football. Hell, Beasts owner Marshawn Lynch threatened to play while he was in the booth for the first game, so that caught people’s attention.
The way it started didn’t disappoint. Zappers QB Johnny Manziel took the first snap and ran all the way to the 2-yard line. One play later, SB Anthony Jones had the Zappers on the board.
Not to be outdone, it only took 1 play later, QB Quinton Flowers went deep to WR Alphonso Carter for a TD. The 2 also connected on the 2-pt MAN UP! Giving the Beasts the lead 8-6.
The next drive would be Manziel doing Manziel things. After an 11-yard pass to Lamarcus Carradine, no one else would touch the ball. Johnny would put the Zappers back on top with a 2-yard rushing score.
This game, we got our first INT, first fumble, and our first defensive TD. The Shut Down Squad was the best defensive unit all night, totaling 11 pass breakups, 2 sacks, and 3 tackles for loss.
Flowers wasn’t the only Beasts QB to have a great night. TJ Edwards ended the game with 96 rushing yards and a passing TD to WR Christian Saulsberry. Isaiah King led the Beasts receivers with 2 catches for 30 yards, Saulsberry also had 2 for 30 and the score. Smith and Carter had the 1 catch each for their TDs.
The QBs controlled the run game this time. Three of the 4 had over 50 yards.
The Zappers’ fans called more passes than runs, but Manziel and Marchi had a tough time with completions. It’s good that they can run.
Manziel ended 1-5 with 11 yards through the air, and 68 yards on 7 carries with a score. Marchi was 3-10 with 68 passing yards and a TD, 4 carries for 57 yards and 2TDs.
TE Deylon Key had the lone TD for the Zappers, but Raphael Leonard, Kavontae Turpin, Joshua Johnson, and Caradineall ended with 1 catch a piece. Stand out Damon Sheehy was unable to get a reception, as the Shut Down Squad made it a point to not let him be the guy to beat them.
The Beasts fans called a perfectly balanced game, and the players ran it to perfection. Flowers was 5-8 with 123 yards and 2 TDs. Edwards was 2-4 for 24 yards and a TD, with his monster ground game. Even though Flowers got the game MVP, TJ led the league in rushing this week.
In the end, the Beasts defense was the difference, as they beat the Zappers 48-44.
Final Thoughts
We knew the QBs had big arms, we knew the players had been learning the playbooks, but the execution of the offenses called by the fans looked great. We’ve seen new things before, but never quite like this.
We saw the monster names behind the teams – Bob Menery, Marshawn Lynch, Renne Montgomery, Miro, and Richard Sherman – right there in it and being fans. The trash talk between Lynch and Sherman was great. Gotta see how Quavo and Menery are gonna respond to the talking Lynch did.
More to the point, let’s see if the Glacier Boyz fans are gonna make some different decisions during the draft. Some didn’t pan out as expected.
There were some things that will be worked on, this was just Week 1, and as fans, we know that practice helps prepare, but NOTHING replicates the real thing. The first-game nerves are now gone. It’s no longer in the future, Fan Controlled Football is HERE!
Fantasy football meets Madden meets real-life FOOTBALL.
And we cannot wait to see what’s next.