FWL Bowl II

Frankfurt        7  7  7  3 -- 24
Mexico           7  0  0 14 -- 21


Mexico - Armstrong 13 pass from Allen (Ford kick) 0-7
Frankfurt - Phillips 24 pass from Case (Baker kick) 7-7
Frankfurt - Carter II 44 blocked punt return (Baker kick) 14-7
Frankfurt - Barnes 49 pass from Fiedler (Baker kick) 21-7
Frankfurt - Baker 27 FG 24-7
Mexico - Walker 17 pass from Allen (2-Point conversion failed) 24-13
Mexico - Walker 16 pass from Allen (Abdullah run) 24-21

In the runup to FWL Bowl II there was a lot of panic, due to the amount of fans wanting to travel from Mexico the league agreed to switch venues to the Azteca Stadium instead of the Waldstadion which could hold only 50,000 fans.

The Galaxy were not happy but they were very professional and agreed to travel to Mexico. So could the young surprising Aztecs upset the favoured Frankfurt Galaxy, they had a chance playing at home.

The game got underway and after the opening kickoff the Aztecs behind 3rd stringer Damon Allen moved the ball confidently. On the second play of the game Allen gained a huge confidence boost when he hit WR Wayne Walker over the middle for a 26 yard gain. FB Joe Abdullah then ripped off 16 yards and the Aztecs were quickly threatening. Abdullah had another good run of 7 yards and then Allen play faked and found his TE Tiji Armstrong for the touchdown just 3 and a half minutes into the game.

What could Frankfurt do ? Well the Galaxy also looked superb on their first possesion, Case threw to Phillips for a short completion then found his TE Bobby Olive over the middle for the first down. All-FWL HB Bobby Phillips then ran for a 19 yard gain and two plays later FB Ralph Dawkins ran up the middle for 10 yards. On 3rd & 3 the Aztecs were looking to stop the run but Case play faked superbly and found Phillips with a short pass, Phillips managed to turn upfield and cut back for a great 24 yard touchdown. The game seemed like it would be a classic, the score was 7-7.

The Aztecs came right back behind Damon Allen. Allen found his TE for another first down then scrambled later for a 23 yard gain. Despite starting the first ever game of his FWL career, Allen was looking confident and a natural starter. The Galaxy defense stiffened and K Cole Ford came on to attempt a FG. Ford had hit 2 of 3 FG's in the season but hooked this short kick and the 32 yard FG attempt was wide.

Then both defenses started playing better, the Galaxy could do nothing and had to punt and then the Aztecs were forced to punt after Wayne Walkers 3rd down catch was marked just short of the first down. That proved to be a huge play as Toby Gowin went back to punt and block specialist Alonzo Spellman came through to block the kick. Poor Gowin was scrambling for the ball with huge defensive ends Spellman and Carter II looking for it also. Spellman blocked (crushed!) Gowin away from the ball and huge Jon Carter II, the former NY Knight picked up the ball and rumbled 44 yards downfield with the ball and the Galaxy had scored a superb special teams touchdown. With the kick the Galaxy now led 14-7.

Both teams could not move the ball late in the 2Q, Allen was forced to scramble once again but this time despite gaining a first down on a 13 yard run, Allen was hit hard by S Chris Hall and was forced to leave the game. On came backup Casey Weldon who himself was injured with a strained chest muscle.

Both QB's could not move their teams and the score remained 14-7 to Frankfurt at halftime. The Galaxy could have increased their lead after recovering a Vaughn Dunbar fumble but Jon Bakers 37 yard FG attempt was wide.

At the half the Galaxy did not seem to be playing to their potential but their defense was playing superb limiting Vaughn Dunbar on the ground and knocking Damon Allen out of the game after a confident start.

The 3Q however started in tragedy for the Galaxy. On the second play Stoney Case was hit hard on a huge sack by DE Karl Wilson and Case had to leave the game with sore ribs. Backup Jay Fiedler who deputised for Case in the playoffs came in but on his first pass attempt Fiedler was sacked by LB Shawn Woodson and the Galaxy had to punt. The Aztecs now had momentum and had to get back into the game behind Damon Allen. Allen had come out of the locker-room at halftime to huge cheers by the Mexico fans after having x-rays which were negative. Allen came out throwing hitting Walker with a first down pass then Greg McMurtry with a pass which brought up a crucial 3rd down. Finally Dunbar broke through the line for the first down and the drive continued. Jon Carter II however continued his great game chasing Allen for a 5 yard loss, on 3rd down Allens pass was incomplete and on came Cole Ford for the FG attempt. Ford however was short on a long 51 yard FG attempt and the Galaxy still led but by just 7.

Both teams were forced to punt but finally Frankfurt started moving on their next possession. Fiedler looked shaky however, he had attempted 2 passes, completed 1 and was sacked twice. However late in the 3Q Fiedler started looking confident after throwing a quick 17 yarder to Travis Hannah. His next pass over the middle was incomplete to Lew Barnes, but Barnes had spotted that the safety was coming over too quickly so Barnes suggested a play to Fiedler. Fiedler pump-faked on the next play to Barnes and the safety bit on it and Barnes was wide open for the catch. Barnes was clear by 10 yards when he caught the ball and he scored on a 49 yard pass from Fiedler. Frankfurt were now leading 21-7 and the Aztecs had to come back into the game.

Both teams had to punt but Mexico seemed to have great field position early in the 4Q at their own 46. With Dunbar struggling against the tough Frankfurt defense, backup HB Derrick Clark came into the ballgame. Clark looked rusty though, first of all he was stopped for a 5 yard loss then he caught a screen pass for a further 2 yard loss. However Allen was playing the game of his life and on 3rd & 17 with the game on the line, Allen threw over the middle again for Wayne Walker and Walker caught the ball for the first down. On 2nd & 8 at the Galaxy 31 the Aztecs knew they had to score soon, Allen was under pressure and tried throwing over the middle to his TE but veteran LB Marlon Brown made a huge play as he picked off the pass and the Galaxy took over.

The Galaxy with just under 10 minutes left needed to put the game away, Fiedler quickly hit Hannah with a first down pass then handed off to Bobby Phillips twice and the Galaxy now faced a big 3rd down. The ferocious Mexico defense line had an all out blitz but Fiedler behind a great block by Greg Skrepanek scrambled right and headed downfield. Fiedler eventually was pushed out of bounds by Aubrey Beavers at the Aztec 13 yard line. The Aztecs defense held however and Jon Baker came on to clamly slot a 27 yard FG for a 24-7 lead.

Now with just 5:32 left the Aztecs were running out of time. On a crucial 3rd down Allen hit McMurtry for the first down then hit another two passes, the second a long 27 yard screen pass to Derrick Clark. Two plays later Allen continued his explosive drive with a touchdown strike to Wayne Walker but the 2 point conversion failed and with just 3 minutes left the Aztecs still trailed 24-13.

The Galaxy struggled to take any time off the clock as Bobby Phillips had to leave the game after a big hit by backup LB Jaime Morrissey. FB's Greg Robinson and Buddy Rogers failed to move the ball and Mexico had a slight outside chance to come back. Allen came out throwing and hit Walker for an early first down, two incompletions later the Aztecs faced a huge 3rd down but Allen found All-FWL WR Wayne Walker yet again for a big 26 yard gain. There was just 1:20 left in the game but C Marc Lamb who entered the game with an injury made it worse and he had to leave the game. After a short Clark catch the Aztecs had a 4th down pass at the Galaxy 16, who would Allen go to ? Yes it was Walker again who made a leaping catch in the corner of the endzone on a fade route and the Aztecs went for two. Abdullah ran through the middle and now the Aztecs trailed by just a FG, how they wished Cole Ford had made one of his attempts earlier in the game.

The onside kick was unsuccessful and LB Fabray Collins celebrated recovering the ball. On came backup QB Jay Fiedler who had done a good job in the second half and knelt down twice to run down the clock and the Frankfurt Galaxy under GM Marco Lambert were FWL Bowl Champions !

It had been difficult though, the Galaxy lost both Case and Phillips to injuries but the depth of their squad showed as Jay Fiedler kept the motor running and the great Frankfurt defense made life very difficult for the Aztecs.

Mexico should be proud of themselves though, the Aztecs had racked up 24 first downs to just 10 for Frankfurt and racked up 438 yards to just 210. However numbers can be misleading, the Aztecs scored twice on two late drives when the Galaxy defense was showing prevent. Frankfurt made huge plays everywhere, Jon Carter II's fumble return was a huge play as was Marlon Browns interception. Also Lew Barnes made a great fake for the touchdown on the bomb from Jay Fiedler.

"It feels great to be champions despite my sore ribs" said a delighted Stoney Case after the game. "When I first entered this league I was a backup with Barcelona, now just two years later I'm here holding aloft the FWL trophy, it's a great feeling" said Case.

"All year long we wanted to be in this position and I'm so proud of this team, also credit to Mexico they played superbly and gave us a fright at one stage. Throughout the game though I felt like we were always in control" said Bobby Phillips, "This ones for you Marco (Lambert), our GM's drafted and signed some great players and I feel like we've got a heck of a team here, we're already talking about repeating!"

For Mexico the players were obviously not happy with the result but were happy with their season. "If you said at the beginning of the season that we would play in the FWL Bowl I would have called you crazy!" said Wayne Walker who had a great game with 9 catches for 120 yards and 2 td's. "Damon did a heck of a job but we made some silly mistakes, Frankfurt struggled against our top defense and I think we'll be back next year".

But would Damon Allen be ? "I admit I've had a lot of offers after this game from teams around the league, I obviously would be interested in starting for a team but at the moment I'm under contract from Mexico so I cant really talk about that. I'm a little sore but I'm proud of our team, we fought through many injuries to get here today and we've still got a strong squad for next year" said Allen.

Well the Frankfurt Galaxy definately had a great year, a 12-2 record and another divisional title then two straight wins in the playoffs. The Galaxy also played the game away in Mexico but still triumphed despite not playing to their best. MVP went to S Falandra Newton of the Galaxy. Newton tied an FWL record for tackles with an amazing 17, Newton was everywhere, stopping the run several times and limiting Vaughn Dunbar to just 29 yards and often forcing Damon Allen to scramble on his safety blitzes. Newton also knocked down passes, stopped punt returners and also stopped receivers from making big gains after the receiver had beaten the cornerback.

"I dont feel I should take this award, I mean it normally goes to a player on the winning team and I think Damon Allen deserves it but heck I wont complain" said a smiling Newton after the game. "Our offense was banged up all game but our defense is one of the best and I think this years defense will be one of the best defenses in the FWL for years, we should be proud".