December 19, 1932
It’s Conference Championship week!
The winners of Sunday’s Conference Championship games will go on to face one another in the Uplantic Bowl in Tiny Sea Coliseum on January 1.
Unfortunately, due to ISP issues, Uplantic Football is back to a blog-only format, indefinitely. The connection just isn’t reliable enough for streaming to work on a regular schedule. I’ll still be doing retro game streams on twitch.tv/lowkisapfoot when the ISP allows for it.
Follow LowkiSapfoot on twitch to watch live broadcasts, someday, again, maybe!
Northern Conference Championship
Salvation Brothers vs Northsouth Athletics
Trefellen Field, Northsouth, Snowgate
SAL (7-6) @ NOR (11-2):
The UPFF’s top Regular Season team, the Northsouth Athletics, hosted the Salvation Brothers in the inaugural Northern Conference Championship game. The Athletics had the league’s best record, but their only conference loss came at the hands of these Brothers in Week 13. With several late-season injuries to their top-rated defense, the A’s showed signs of mortality in the stunning 40-7 loss. In contrast to the Athletics’ season-long dominance, the Brothers started the year with an 0-5 skid, then miraculously turned things around under backup QB Terry Odom, finishing the season on a 7-1 run to squeak into the NC Championship.
The Northsouth defense would again have to play the Brothers without CB Damon Francis (quad) and FS Roy Gilles (wrist), while FS Cletus Victor (hip) was listed as “doubtful” at game time. LB Taylor Maldonado (knee) was listed as “questionable.” On the offensive side of the ball, Northsouth starting QB Branden Warren (migraines) and WR Virgil Rutledge (toe) were both “probable” to play. Just a few weeks prior, the Athletics were expected to run away with the Pennington Cup, but now, with a plethora of injuries and a surging opponent, the NC Championship is up-for-grabs.
QB Warren and WR Rutledge did make the start for the A’s, and Branden Warren played very well despite still suffering headache symptoms at game time. Warren was 22 of 34 for 271 yards and 2 TDs. WR Ilias Larue had 7 catches for 122 yards and a TD. Brothers QB Terry Odom and RB Milo Whaley (the league’s leading rusher) played decently in the first half, but the Northsouth defense tightened up in the second half. The A’s turned a 17-10 halftime lead into a 33-13 blowout to advance to the inaugural Uplantic Bowl. A Milo Whaley fumble and a Terry Odom fumble on a strip-sack by A’s DT Juan Alberti both led to scores.
“Our boys stepped up with their peers out, just like we needed them to. I’m proud of the squad,” said Northsouth DC James Putnam.
The Athletics pulled together and proved they’re the top team in the Northern Conference. They will face the winner of Chaparrals-Pumas in the Uplantic Bowl.
Final: NOR 33, SAL 13.
Southern Conference Championship
Delle Chaparrals vs Lia Kompos Pumas
Katakien Stadium, Lia Kompos, Kutando
DEL (7-6) @ LK (8-5):
The Lia Kompos Pumas beat out the Delle Chaparrals in the final weeks of the season to earn the SC’s top spot and home field advantage in the Southern Conference Championship game. The Pumas boasted the UPFF’s top rated offense despite relying on three different quarterbacks in a tight race all season long. The Pumas never seemed to face much controversy at the position, and each of their quarterbacks performed very well when the team needed them. The Chaparrals had the top defense in the SC, along with two of the league’s top offensive performers in QB Hubert Aguirre and RB Robert Lavender, both of which have been in the MVP conversation.
The Chaparrals defense came into the SC Championship dealing with a few key injuries. SS Roger K’Tarra (concussion) and FS Robert Montereola (foot) were both “probable” coming into the game, but the Chaps would have to go without LBs Ezra Gudarlearza (back) and Loren Solikaz (hamstring). LB David Sommers (broken nose) was “doubtful” at game time. For the Pumas, their starting QB John Parva was once again “questionable” with a dislocated finger, but with solid play from backup QB Solomon Brito over several weeks, the Pumas surely had a lot of confidence coming into Sunday’s game.
The Pumas won both Regular Season games between these teams, but the Chaparrals came to play this week. Delle struck first with 5 unanswered TDs to take a commanding 35-0 lead. They never looked back, stomping their conference rivals and punching their ticket to the Uplantic Bowl against the Athletics.
QB Hubert Aguirre was out-of-this-world, completing 22 of 23 passes for 298 yards and 5 TDs. The Chaps’ top defense showed up in a big way, keeping the Pumas out of the endzone until the final 3 minutes of the game. Backup QB Solomon Brito played for Lia Kompos, and he was not up to the task against the talented Delle defense. He completed just 38.1% of his passes for 189 yards in the loss. The Chaps put up 462 total yards while holding the Pumas to just 280. The game was so lopsided that an estimated 60% fans left the game at halftime with the home team trailing 35-3.
The Delle Chaparrals’ big win sets up a defensive showdown with the Northsouth Athletics in the Uplantic Bowl, coming up on January 1 in Tiny Sea.
Final: DEL 48, LK 13.
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