Knights odd men out as West division playoff race is settled, Owls finish on top with undefeated season, Sheird return fuels Fireballs victory, and Czerwone Byki will play at home to start the playoffs

Czerwone Byki gain second seed with 52-16 defeat of Warriors

The afternoon game on Sunday, August 15 between the Poznań Czerwone Byki and the visiting Ruda Śląska Warriors lost a lot of its luster, as the day before the Bielawa Owls blew out the Krakow Knights and the KFA Fireballs Wielkopolska defeated the Gliwice Lions.  Those results meant that Poznań would only miss the playoffs if they lost to the Warriors by at least 55 points. That did not happen as the Czerwone Byki clinched their place in the postseason with an emphatic 52-16 victory.

The game was not without significance with the win giving the Fireballs not Czerwone Byki an away first round playoff game in three weeks. The two teams finished with the same record of 4-2, a game ahead of the Knights and two games behind the Owls. The Fireballs were, however, outscored by their opponents this season, giving the Czerwone Byki the tiebreaker edge for the second seed.

The home team raced out to a 20-point lead early in the second quarter. Bartosz Kędzia's 54-yard touchdown run opened the scoring in the first quarter and the frame ended 14-0 when Kamil Kłoskowski caught a five-yarder in the end zone from Wojciech Boguś. Tomasz Mietlicki took back an interception for a touchdown in the second, and it looked like Poznań was cruising.

The Warriors came back when Andrzej Chojak hooked up with Sebastian Tyrka for a 16-yard strike that cut the lead to 20-8. The Poznań offense did not score in the second quarter, and there was hope at halftime for the team from Ruda Śląska, who lost to the Czerwone Byki 21-12 in the teams' other matchup this season.

The Czerwone Byki made a switch at quarterback for the second half, turning to Patryk Barczak to replace Boguś. The move paid immediate dividends as Barczak beat the Warriors with both his arm and his feet. He ran for two touchdowns in the half, and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jakub Kłoskowski in the third quarter, which ended 33-8. The victors sealed the game in fourth with both Mietlicki and Barczak running for their second scores of the game.

The Warriors finished the season at 0-6, a record that does not look as bad when you consider that they lost four games by 11 points or less. Still, they will not play a meaningful game again in 2010, while the Czerwone Byki will move on to the wild-card round of the PLFA II playoffs. They will host a game against the third-place team from the East division on September 4, although their opponent has yet to be determined. It will be either Torpedy Łódź, Scyzory Kielce or the Płock Mustangs, who all play their final game of the regular season next weekend.

Jordan scores five times in 54-0 win to end Krakow's playoff hopes

The Bielawa Owls completed an undefeated regular season and kept the Krakow Knights out of the postseason with a decisive 54-0 victory on Saturday afternoon in Krakow. Desmond Jordan added to his league-leading touchdown total with five more, coming in a variety of ways, and fellow American D'Andre Faison was effective for the Owls at quarterback in their final game before the playoffs.

The Owls scored two touchdowns in each quarter with both of their first-quarter scores coming on runs by Jordan, who finished the regular season with 22 touchdowns. The Owls led 26-0 at halftime after a short touchdown run by Faison followed by his only touchdown pass of the day. That went to Jordan who scored from 15 yards out.

The second half got off to a bang when Jordan scored perhaps his most spectacular touchdown of the season, on a 95-yard kickoff return. The Knights could neither score themselves nor stop the methodical destruction which continued with a short touchdown run by fullback Bartosz Migut that made the score 39-0 after three.

Jordan's final touchdown, a 30-yard run, and a one-yard plunge by Daniel Kołodyński provided the fourth quarter points for the Owls, who will have a bye in the first round of the PLFA II playoffs. They will shoot for a spot in the title game when they play at home on September 11, although their opponent will not be determined until after the wild-card round games are played.

The Knights finished the season at 3-3, with two of those losses coming to the Owls. The 2010 schedule was not kind to Krakow, the only team that had to play Bielawa twice. The Knights finished a game behind both Poznań teams in the West division and played well all season. They will look to carry that positive play into the 2011 campaign.

Fireballs net third seed with comfortable 38-12 victory over Lions

Willie Sheird's return to health could not have come at a better time for the KFA Fireballs Wielkopolska, as the star quarterback threw two touchdown tosses to compatriot Delmonte Blackwell to advance the team to the playoffs with a 38-12 defeat of the Gliwice Lions on Saturday, August 14 in Ornontowice. The Fireballs finished the season in third place in the PLFA II West division.

The result means that the Fireballs will play the Warsaw Spartans in the wild-card round of the PLFA II playoffs on September 5, unless the Spartans can somehow manage to defeat the unbeaten Białystok Lowlanders by 60 points next weekend. The Fireballs finished the season with a record of 4-2, losing out on the tiebreaker for second place with their crosstown rivals, the Poznań Czerwone Byki.

The Fireballs will be pleased to advance to the postseason after losing the two games in which Sheird sat out. The American did not find his rhythm until the second quarter in his return, when he hit Blackwell from five yards out to break the scoreless tie. Sheird ran into the end zone himself later in the quarter to put the Fireballs up 12-0 at the half.

They extended the lead to 25-0 by the end of the third quarter, when Jarosław Wenc trotted 25 yards around end to the end zone and Blackwell caught his second touchdown. The early part of the fourth quarter belonged to Przemysław Gołębiewski, who scored twice to put the Fireballs up 38-0. His first touchdown went for 65 yards.

Gliwice avoided the shutout later in the fourth when Tomasz Olczak hauled in a 25-yard pass from Marcin Kazimierczak. The Lions put six more points on the board shortly before the final whistle when Patryk Paluszak took an interception the entire length of the field for a score.

For the Lions, the final score was not nearly as bad as the one from the teams' first meeting this year, a 56-0 blowout victory for the Fireballs. Nevertheless, the box score and the final two touchdowns will be little consolation for Gliwice, who gave up a PLFA II-worst 226 points during their completed 1-5 campaign. For the Fireballs, however, the outlook is rosier as they now have three weeks to prepare for their trip to the capital in 2010's 'second season'.

Next week's preview

The final weekend of regular season play for 2010 will feature all six teams from the PLFA II East, as that division's final playoff spot is determined. The loser of the Torpedy-Scyzory matchup will be done for sure, while the winner will be hoping for a Rocks upset over the Mustangs. The Spartans and Lowlanders go at it on Saturday in Warsaw, where the home team needs a 60-point victory to garner the division title. In other words, it's basically a playoff tune-up for both teams.

PLFA I

Season complete

PLFA II

Saturday, August 21, 12:00 PM: Warsaw Spartans-Białystok Lowlanders

Sunday, August 22, 12:00 PM: Torpedy Łódź-Scyzory Kielce

Sunday, August 22, 2:00 PM: Radom Rocks-Płock Mustangs