Beating the Spread ...
The Paydirt 2002 tournament rebounded nicely this year
with 14 new players. The AFC Heat Wednesday saw veterans Harry
Flawd and Bill O'Neill squaring off in the title game with Bill's
Chargers using a mix of Off Tackle and Medium Pass plays to top
Harry's Oilers 32-17. The NFC heat had defending champ Devin
Flawd leading his Bears against Bill O'Neill's beloved
Colts. The Bears gave a six point spread but controlled the ball
most of the game and came away with a 25-13 victory. So in the
Super Bowl, crafty veteran Bill O'Neill and the upstart defending
champ, Devin Flawd, squared off once again.
The
Bears spotted the Chargers a six-point spread, and the Chargers
used that plus a Bears first quarter fumble to take a 13-0 lead.
Another Bears fumble (they lost six in the game!!), set up another
Charger score, and it looked like easy pickins for Bill, as he
led 20-0. The Bears got back into it with a 3 yard TD run, but
missed the extra point. The teams traded field goals later in
the period, and at the half, San Diego led 23-9.
The only scoring in the third period was a safety recorded
by the Bears, so heading into the 4th, it was 23-11 Chargers.
The Bears fumbled three times within a five-minute span, stopping
drives each time, and with 8:10 left still trailed 23-11. They
finally got into the end zone to make it 23-18 with 4:20 left,
but it still looked to be in San Diego's control. The Chargers
got
some breaks late, fumbling but recovering with 2:20 and 1:20
left. The Bears defense held and forced San Diego to punt with
:40 left, but Chicago had used all of its timeouts. The first
two passes were incomplete, so with one play left all the Bears
could do is bomb it out from their own 43, and the roll is TOUCHDOWN
BEARS!!!
But wait, Bill's defensive roll needs to be a 1 or 2 to be
a quarterback trap, a 3 or 4 is no effect, and a 5 is an auto
TD - he rolls - .a 2!!!! Chargers win!! Chargers win!! A miraculous
comeback was not to be today, but those six turnovers will haunt
Devin the rest of the off-season. Congrats to Bill for his first
Paydirt title after being stopped in previous years by
the Flawd clan ... enjoy it Bill, we are already preparing for
next season!!
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