Fleagles Top Hindrance 2-1 on Last-Second Miracle TD

The Filthasmellfia Fleagles won a hard-fought match against the Hindrance black orc squad 2-1 on a last-second, desperation touchdown. The Fleagles got their 2 TDs from gutter runners Devermin Sniff and A.J. Brownrat, who leads the team with 4 touchdowns on the season. Hindrance scored on run by goblin Clyx, who rushed for a game-high 40 yards.

Clyx laughs maniacally on his way to the endzone for the TD that tied the game with just seconds remaining.

“I’m happy with the win,” said Coach Spearinme after the game. “But I got to say, I’m not happy wit the fact that a goblin outrushed our entire team. Give the little guy credit though. He was like a tiny green gutter runner out there.”

Filthasmellfia got its first TD midway through the first half on a hand off from thrower Skenny Snickett to Sniff near midfield. Snickett had received the kick off cleanly and settled back in a cage of blockers, scanning the field as his gutter runners set out on short, deep and intermediate routes. With his deep threat taken away after the goblin Nizur tap-danced on  A.J. Brownrat’s face deep in Hindrance territory and the troll Mok “Half-Ton” closing in on his blockers, Snickett kept his cool, escaped the pocket, and rushed up field to hand the ball to Sniff.

“I got to give Snickett credit; that rat really knows how to keep his head when things start to look tough,” said Coach Spearinme. “Our last thrower wasn’t so good at keeping his head. Well, to be fair, his head only fell off when we carried him off the field after a chaos blocker ripped open his throat in our second game. But you know what I mean.”

With defenders closing in on Snicket as he made the hand off, and blitzer Ratdon Grime throwing a key block that knocked black orc Arguntak “Shin-breaker” to the ground, Sniff was able to streak up field untouched. With a pesky goblin in pursuit, the gutter runner didn’t try to eat up any clock and skittered across the goal line for the TD midway through the half.

Devermin Sniff scores with one of Hindrance's goblins close behind.

Hindrance had plenty of time to go for the equalizer before halftime, but the aggressive Fleagles defense was up to the challenge. After kicking deep, the rats swarmed up field to cut off the goblin Clyx from his blockers. Even though the goblin scooped up the kick cleanly, he was soon in trouble, with only two other goblins nearby to block for him.

“Any time you got goblins blocking for goblins,” you know things are going your way,” said Coach Spearinme, who waved Brownrat forward to blitz the ball carrier. The gutter runner pounced on Clyx, raking his paw across teh goblin's arm as he sunk his teeth into his shoulder. Clyx and the ball hit the ground in a spray of blood, and Kenfilth Gainsmell immediately scooped up the ball. As he raced off toward the endzone to give the Fleagles a commanding 2-0 lead, the gutter runner forgot one thing—how to dodge.

Nizur, who was standing nearby, kicked out his tiny goblin foot, and, as Gainsmell was already beginning his touchdown dance, he tripped right over it, losing the ball and ending the chance for a defensive scoop-and-score. Though Hindrance was able to retake possession of the ball, the half ran out before they could cross midfield.

“You don’t expect a gutter runner to fail a dodge like that,” said Coach Spearinme after the game. “I mean, you expect them to get pounded into the grass, you expect them to kill each other out of petty jealousy, but tripping over a goblin foot … Usually that’s something they can avoid.”

After receiving the kick to start the second half, Clyx once again grabbed the ball for Hindrance. As he began to move up field, however, he was again cut off by the Fleagles aggressive defense, which tried to cut him off from his slower black orc blockers. The gambit paid of for Filthasmellfia as Grime blitzed Clyx from behind, driving his shoulder into the back of the goblin’s head near midfield.

As the ball bounced around the pitch, the Fleagles were unable to take possession, despite Grime getting his paws on it momentarily. Hindrance then used their strength advantage to regain control as black orcs thrashed rats around the field by their necks, arms, and tails. When the dust—and blood—settled, Clyx had regained possession and made his way up field, with the Fleagles now down to 6 conscious players on the pitch.

Asked if he regretted the aggressive defensive approach, Coach Spearinme defended his decision. “Look when you’re coaching rats against black orcs, you can either stand back and get bashed into the pitch, or you can charge forward and get bashed into the pitch,” he explained. “At least in the latter case, you’re moving forward. And you know what the great Mouskey Malboa said: ‘it’s not about how hard you hit—it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’ Of course, the 5 players we had in the KO and injury box weren’t moving anywhere, but you get my meaning.”

The Fleagles had one last shot to keep Hindrance out of the endzone when Sniff charged through an opening Clyx’s cage of blockers and took a couple of swings at the goblin ball carrier. Miraculously, the little guy ducked not one but two swings from Sniff’s paws and then kicked a swift boot into Sniff’s nether regions, sending the gutter runner to the pitch. Giggling maniacally, Clyx then scampered into the endzone for the tying touchdown.

With only seconds left on the clock, it looked like Filthasmellfia would have to settle for a tie, but Spearinme began frantically shouting to his players to line up in an odd formation, crowding the line of scrimmage and the goblins lined up there. With all of the black orcs and the troll guarding the endzone, Fleagles blockers began furiously shoving the goblin Styx while the kick was in the air. Blitzer Jayflegm Ratter and linerat Jake Smelliot, pushed the goblin hard into Brownrat’s back, helping the gutter runner gain enough speed to get downfield before the clock expired.

With Brownrat streaking into Hindrance territory, Sniff scooped up the ball and flipped it forward to his teammate. The speed that the shoved goblin had given him had Brownrat poised to make it to the goal line in time, but there was one problem. The black orc Garak “The Bear” stood in his way, pounding his bloody mailed fist into his other hand, waiting not very patiently to take the gutter runner’s head off. 

With a feint to the left with his right foot and tail just as he approached the black orc, Brownrat spun and ducked as Garak swung wildly at him. But the brute hit only air as, Brownrat dodged past him and scored the winning touchdown just as the whistle blew.

A.J. Brownrat dodges around Garak at the goal line to score the last-second game-wining touchdown.

“We call that one the ‘Filthy Special’,” said Coach Spearinme. “Just a little something we were working on in practice. We picked it up from a college team actually—wood elves. I believe in elven they call it the ‘un tirn tee-dee.’ Hey, I don’t know what the literal translation is, but it sounds beautiful to me.”