Mountaineers Win Atlantic Bowl XI
The Mountaineers defeated the Hotheads to win their first league championship. Despite posting a respectable 135 points, the Hotheads were crushed by the Mountaineers who broke their own single-week scoring record by posting 216 points. The previous record was 209 points (the Mountaineers now hold four of the top five single-week high scores).
The Mountaineers were led by Matthew Stafford who posted 520 yards on 36 completions for 5 touchdowns and a successful two-point conversion for a total of 55 points. Meanwhile, Ray Rice rushed 24 times for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns for a total of 36 points while Michael Turner had 17 carries for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns for a total of 31 points. Marques Colston contributed another 33 points off of 7 receptions for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Hotheads' streak of league championships came to an end this season. Having come into the title game as the three-time defending league champions, the Hotheads had already broken records for most consecutive league titles (3) and most overall league titles (4) in either the AFFL or CFFL. No team in either league had even appeared in three consecutive title games, much less won them. So, a fourth consecutive Atlantic Bowl appearance sets a new record unlikely to ever be topped (unless the Hotheads make a fifth appearance next season!).
However, this was not their week. With Aaron Rodgers benched because of the Packers having already clinched a top seed in the NFC playoffs, the Hotheads turned to Kyle Orton. Orton simply did not fill Rodgers' shoes, but even if the Hotheads had the foresight to acquire Matt Flynn (and who would have?), his 56 points to lead all scorers for the week would simply have negated the Mountaineers' Stafford's 55 points. The Hotheads would still have been unable to overcome the 100 combined points of the Moutaineers' Turner, Rice, and Colston despite the very respectable 20+ point performances by the Hotheads' C.J. Spiller, Larry Fitzgerald, and Brent Celek.
With the season having come to a close, any team owner that knows at this time that he or she will not return to the league should inform the commissioner as soon as possible. However, owners will not be formally asked to commit to returning for next season until late Spring. If any owner has a rule change suggestion, please post your thoughts on the league message board so that others can view and comment.
| League Standings |
| | Overall | Division | Points | |
| Eastern Division | W | L | T | % | W | L | T | % | YTD | Week | Streak |
| Terrible Towels | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 2224 | 0 | L1 |
| Hotheads | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .583 | 2210 | 137 | L1 |
| TailGators | 7 | 8 | 0 | .467 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1829 | 0 | L2 |
| Silver N Blackjacks | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 0 | 5 | 1 | .083 | 1264 | 0 | W2 |
| Central Division | W | L | T | % | W | L | T | % | YTD | Week | Streak |
| Mountaineers | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 2216 | 216 | W4 |
| Raw Dawgs | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 1817 | 0 | L1 |
| Acme Packers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 1471 | 0 | L3 |
| Got Stripes? | 0 | 13 | 1 | .036 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 949 | 0 | L8 |
| Western Division | W | L | T | % | W | L | T | % | YTD | Week | Streak |
| Dean's Nose Guards | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2083 | 0 | L1 |
| Mean Machine | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 2067 | 0 | L1 |
| Texas Firebirds | 6 | 9 | 0 | .400 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1632 | 0 | L2 |
| Carolina Storm | 1 | 12 | 1 | .107 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 1395 | 0 | L8 |
| Game Recaps |
| Hotheads | 137 |
| Mountaineers | 216 |
| - Game Recap |
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| Next Week's Matchups |
No games have been scheduled for next week. |
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