January 2, 1933
It’s the biggest football game of the year, on the first day of the year: The Inaugural Uplantic Bowl, kicking off 1933 in championship style from the Tiny Sea Coliseum in Tiny Sea, Harmony!
(Jump to final score)
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!
The Inaugural Uplantic Bowl
Delle Chaparrals vs Northsouth Athletics
Tiny Sea Coliseum, Tiny Sea, Harmony
DEL (8-6) vs NOR (12-2):
Game Preview
It all comes down to this: one final game to kick off the new year and end the inaugural season of UPFF football by crowning a champion! That champion will receive the Pennington Cup, named for league founder Catherine Pennington. Gyles Lydon and his family will be in attendance, celebrating the league’s success along with their own survival and perseverance after of a harrowing weeks-long hostage situation in September. Halftime entertainment will be provided by Farport High School’s marching band, winners of the National Bandstand marching category in 1932, featuring a special dance program by the Delle “Chaparrelles” cheer squad in concert with the Athletics Cheerleaders.
The top two defenses in the league meet in the Uplantic Bowl as the Northsouth Athletics go up against the Delle Chaparrals.
The Chaparrals stomped the Lia Kompos Pumas after losing to them twice in the Regular Season to advance to this game, while the Athletics knocked the Salvation Brothers around in the NC Championship game three weeks after the Brothers handed them their only conference loss. The Chaps defense was tops in the SC and second in the league to only the Athletics. Both offenses were very good in their own right, led by QBs Hubert Aguirre (DEL) and Branden Warren (NOR).
The Athletics are favored to win this game, but it’s bound to be an entertaining contest between two top-notch teams, no matter the outcome!
First Quarter
After a punt by each offense, the Chaparrals struck first on an impressive scoring drive culminating in a 19-yard TD pass from QB Hubert Aguirre to WR Brian Chavekas. 7-0, Chaps!
Second Quarter
The Delle defensive line, aka “The Delle Wall,” got busy on the next drive. The d-line sacked Branden Warren three times on the drive, with back-to-back sacks turning a 2nd-and-6 from the Delle 14-yard line into a 4th-and-24 and a 39-yard FG by Athletics K Laverne Rikaso to make it 7-3.
The Chaparrals marched down the field again on the next possession. Aguirre connected with Chavekas again for 32 yards to set up a 6-yard TD pass to Chevekas once again on the next play. The Chaparrals had a 14-3 lead with 4:50 to go in the first half.
With 1:29 to go in the half, the Athletics got the ball and scored on a quick drive ending in a 28-yard TD pass from Branden Warren to WR Kasey Correa to make it 14-10, Chaps, at the half.
Third Quarter
The A’s got the ball to start the second half, trailing by 4 points. A 20-yard pass from Warren to WR Ilias Larue followed by a 17-yard run by RB Jake Wood put the A’s in the red zone. A pair of penalties on Delle set up a 1-yard TD run by Wood to give the Athletics a 17-14 lead.
The Chaps took over with 6:02 left in the third quarter. Aguirre once again turned to Brian Chavekas on 3rd-and-9, but he couldn’t reel it in, and Delle settled for a 33-yard FG by K Christopher Simone, tying the game at 17.
Fourth Quarter
The Athletics took over late in the third and Branden Warren sliced up the Delle secondary but then stalled on a quick drive that ended in a 31-yard FG by Laverne Rikoso to make it 20-17, Northsouth.
The A’s defense forced a punt to get the ball back with 9:55 to go, but Delle CB Neal Weaver stepped in front of a Branden Warren pass intended for RB Anthony Gasporra. Weaver nearly had a pick-six, but was brought down by his shoestrings at the Northsouth 26-yard line. Aguirre completed 3 straight passes to WR Tony Muriuki, including an endzone fade from the 3-yard line for a TD, putting the Chaparrals back on top, 24-20.
The Athletics got the ball back with 7:42 still remaining. Warren led a masterful drive, with RB Anthony Gasporra rushing for 22 yards on the drive to help set up a pass to WR Ken Elizondo to put Northsouth back in the lead, 27-24. The drive took 6:03, leaving the Chaparrals with just 1:29 to get into field goal range and try to force the first overtime game in UPFF history.
Athletics DE Robert Onias slammed Aguirre into the turf for a negative 6-yard sack to start the drive, forcing the Chaparrals to burn their first timeout. After 2 incompletions, the Chaparrals ran a WR screen on 4th-and-16. WR Amarina’a Martin was wrapped up after a gain of just 4 yards. The A’s took over, ran out the clock, and rushed the field to celebrate their victory as the first team ever to win the Pennington Cup!
The Chaparrals fought hard, but victory seemed to be the destiny of this Athletics team all season long, and in the end it was indeed their lot to lift the Pennington Cup. Congratulations to the Northsouth Athletics, 1932-33 Uplantic Bowl Champions!
Final: NOR 27, DEL 24.
Northsouth Athletics QB Branden Warren earns MVP honors in the Uplantic Bowl, completing 22 of 39 passes for 269 yards and 2 TDs.
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