East Wins Casino Bowl X: 26-15

By: Greg Skowronski

The East squad posted a 26-15 victory in Casino Bowl X which featured some big plays, long drives and hard hitting action from the opening whistle to the final gun. Isaac (Ike) Brown, WR for the Minneapolis (MN) Lumberjacks ran the opening kickoff to midfield for the West. The East defense stiffened in the face of poor field position. Linebackers Shane Sportman of the Glen Falls (NY) Greenjackets and Haywood Harris of the Baltimore (MD) Warriors made some hard tackles to stop the West drive. The East drew the first blood by setting up their score with a 41 yard pass from QB, Lamont Baker Jr. from the Baltimore (MD) Warriors to WR, Trivice Sadler from the Charlotte (NC) Power. The first TD of the game came on the next play when Aaron Hairston of the New England Knights blasted into the endzone with a powerful two yard run against a tough West goal line defense. Steve Moser from the Penn-Ohio Raiders kicked the extra point and the East was up 7-0.

The West responded with a 70-yard drive that featured power running and clutch short pass completions. Place kicker, Darrin Whaley of the Philadelphia (PA) Outlaws kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the West squad on the scoreboard. The drive was initiated by QB, Willie Staple of the Minneapolis (MN) Lumberjacks who moved around in the pocket and gave the East defense a lot of difficulty in trying to contain him. Staple’s mobility along with power running by Ulysses Martin of the Racine (WI) Raiders and fullback Brian Davis of the Mid-State (IL) Steel produced first downs. Davis at 6-3, 260 Lbs. moved the pile and pushed defenders off the line of scrimmage throughout the game.

Dan Eck QB, from the Capital City (IL) Outlaws hit four completions in a row and went to Ulysses Martin twice for gains of 10 and 5 yards. Eck hit Ike Brown for a short gain and WR, Edwin Reed of the Minneapolis Lumberjacks on a 22-yard strike. The West did not capitalize with a score because of the defensive efforts of Sam Williams Defensive Lineman from the Arbutus (MD) Big Red, Gary Morrison from the Bay State (MA) Thunder and Ken Hackett of the Glen Falls (NY) Greenjackets.

The East squad dominated the remainder of the first half behind the running of Aaron Hairston who averaged over 10 yards per carry for the game. The East responded to the West score with a 15-yard TD pass from QB, J.R. Hill of the Arbutus (MD) Big Red to TE, Lester Horton of the Baltimore (MD) Warriors. The extra point was wide and the East went into half time with a 13-7 lead.

Following half time adjustments, the third Quarter belonged to the West as FB; Brian Davis plunged into the end zone on a powerful 1 yard run following an East fumble. The extra point failed and the West was behind by only 4 points. Willie Staple hit Marchello Garcia of the Snohomish County (WA) Vikings with a 30-yard TD pass and the west took the lead 15-13. The extra point was a fake kick and holder, QB, Dan Eck rolled out to pass but the result was an incomplete pass. The East squad spent most of the third and fourth quarters double covering receiver, Wendell Mosley from the St. Louis (MO) Bulldogs.

Just as the third quarter belonged to the West; the East owned the fourth quarter. The West relied on power running to protect a lead but the offensive line that played well for the whole game had a lapse on blocking for a punt deep in their territory and the East defensive line blocked the punt. This set up another score for the East as Aaron Hairston powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run. Steve Moser added the extra point and gave the East a 20-15 advantage.

The blocked punt was the turning point of the game. The West squad tried to repeat their long drive of the first quarter. They moved the ball to midfield but fumbled. The East then moved the football to the West 18 yard line relying on the running of Aaron Hairston and his team mate Edward Taylor also of the New England Knights. On a fourth and four situation on the 18 yard line, the East decided to go for the first down. Edward Taylor burst through the West defense and scored on a blazing 18 yard TD run making the score 26 to 15. The extra point failed With minutes remaining the West moved down the field but time ran out and the East won Casino Bowl X.