Viper Lose Controversial Game

The Tlaxtlan Vipers lost another game on Friday night, going down 2-1 to the Norse Maxwell's Golden Hammer amidst considerable post-match controversy.

The Norse were on a tight "raiding and pillaging" schedule and their longboat was further delayed by several hours - but they came ashore eventually and the game got underway with the Norse winning the toss and electing to receive. The lateness of the hour had a detrimental impact on the alertness of the officials - especially their counting skills!!

A short kick-off put the ball right on the halfway line - placing the Hammer's under immediate pressure. A fierce melée developed around the ball and the Norse were briefly dispossessed. But some frenzied shoving threw two Saurus over the sidelines and opened the way to the End Zone. The Vipers scrambled back but the Norse knocked the nearest defenders out of the way and ... Stalled! Io the Cross of Death used the interlude to further embrace the European playing style, so unfortunately common in the modern game, to repeatedly foul a prone Saurus - eventually KO'ing him off the pitch just before the TD was scored.

The restart began with a riot that put extra time on the clock. The cause of the disturbance was no doubt the Vipers players trying to point out that (unnoticed by both Coaches – but clearly evident in the Cabalvision Replay) the Norse had 12 Players on the pitch. The Vipers sent a couple of Skinks deep into Hammer's territory, the Norse used the extra time (and their extra numbers) to kill a Saurus (Apoth'd) with a hard block by Willie Wonka. The Vipers attempt to score the equaliser came to nothing and the half ended with the Norse still in the lead.

The restart saw the Norse reset themselves in a Perfect Defence, all the more perfect because they again had 12 players on the pitch! The ball, however, was kicked out of bounds and handed to Mextlu who, accompanied by Nuiptl, carried it deep into the Hammer's half of the field. The Norse, aided by the advantage of more than the regulation number of players on the field, were able to surround Mextlu with four defenders and KO'd him off the field and the ball landed next to the End Zone - where Nuiptl, racing around the Norse defenders, grabbed it and scored.

With a Saurus out injured and all three KO'd players failing to recover, the Vipers restarted the match outnumbered – all the more so because the Norse once again had 12 players on the pitch!! The Norse grabbed the ball advanced down the right hand side of the field, but soon found themselves bottled up by a wall of Lizard defenders. But a flurry of big hits, injuring a Saurus, two Skinks, and KO’ing a third Skink), thinned the defenders sufficiently for the Norse to use their outrageously superior numbers to allow Iron Fist the Impaler to carry the ball into the End Zone right on full-time.

A third loss in row puts the Vipers quest for a finals berth in serious jeopardy. Players and management are pinning their hopes on; the fact that the Skinks inability to dodge during recent games surely can't last, that some minor improvements to the Saurus' personal protection gear will prevent further lop-sided biff tallies, and, above all, that the Zeke and the other game officials will ensure only the regulation number of opponents are on the field!!

Dave (aka Axebreaker)