Tradition Bowl 2019
Sin City is your champion
 |
| Godfathers Robert Woods catches a 13 yard pass for a TD in Sin City's 27-6 victory over Erie. |
Two teams not favored to make the championship round defeated the odds to reach the big show. Erie made it on the legs of Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy, also backed by one of the league’s stingiest defenses. Sin City overcame a 2-4 regular season start on the back of its stalwart defense and an Alex Smith All-Pro worthy season. After the pre-game festivities ended the Tradition Coin was flipped and the Godfathers had won the toss. Opting to send their strength onto the field first they chose to kick off.
First Quarter
Tyrod and company took the field for the opening drive. On the 5th play of the game starting Godfather free safety Rodney McLeod was lost for the game. On the next play Silence fans rose to their feet as Keelan Cole tested the secondary and streaked down the field against a defense focused on the run with the rookie safety substitute caught cheating up. Tyrod’s pass went off Cole’s finger tips and the Godfather’s breathed a sigh of relief. The Silence drive would stall after 7 plays. The Godfather’s would take their opening drive to Erie’s 25-yard line and Codey Parkey was sent onto the field to put the first 3 points on the board. Erie’s second drive would stall after 6 plays. On the Godfather’s second drive the Alex Smith went deep to Robert Woods and Josh Norman picked off the ball setting up the Silence at Sin City’s 39-yard line. Tyrod again took the offense onto the field and would drive the Silence to Sin City’s 19-yard line where the drive stalled, and Robbie Gould was sent in to tie the game at 3. This would be the only time Erie would make it into the red zone! The Godfather’s took the ensuing kickoff out to their 24-yard line. The drive would culminate in a Kamara 2-yard touchdown to close out the first quarter. The highlight play of the drive was a short pass to Josh Gordon who raced down the sideline for a 43-yard long gain. End of Q1 score 10-3.
Second Quarter
Erie started the 2nd quarter with possession of the ball on their own 38-yard line. Again Keelan Cole streaked past the defense, again the substitute safety cheated up to stop the run and again Tyrod missed Cole for the long gain. The drive would get as deep as the Godfather’s 32-yard line. A key battle occurred on this drive on 3rd and 9 at the Godfather’s 32. Sin City was expecting pass and the Silence ran James Conner off tackle left. Jason Pierre-Paul stepped up into the hole to stuff the run for a 1-yard loss. This key yard pushed the ensuing FG into Robbie Gould’s 33+ range and cut the makeable percentage in half. The FG attempt went wide left and the Godfather’s defense stepped off the field feeling they’d rather be lucky than good any day! The rest of the second half was littered with defensive stops and punts. The Godfather’s special team helped to setup great field position when Isaiah McKenzie took a Vogel 40-yard punt for a 44-yard return giving Alex Smith the ball at Erie’s 24 yard line. Smith would drive his team to the 6-yard line. The Erie defense would then force the Godfather’s back to the 15-yard line and Codey Parkey would hit his second FG of the day. Two key injuries occurred at the very end of the half. Jordy Nelson came up gimpy with 1-minute left in the quarter and would not return in the second half. This was key as he was a source of unlimited receptions for the Silence. With the clock running out Bilal Powel plowed off tackle and starting NT for the Silence had his ankle rolled up on. He was sent to the locker room for x-rays and later it was determined his day was over.
End of Q2 score 13-3.
Third Quarter
The Godfather’s received the opening kick hoping to extend their lead. Instead 3 plays in Alex Smith threw his second interception on the day. This time looking deep for Josh Gordon, Harrison Smith out jumped the receiver and came up with the pick on the 50/50 throw. Harrison’s INT setup Erie at the Godfather’s 40-yard line and the Silence looked to capitalize on the turn over. Just 2 plays later Tyrod Taylor threw short for Mercedes Lewis, but Budda Baker subbing for the injured McLeod, stepped in front of the slant and intercepted the pass; bailing the Godfather’s out of another hole. The Godfather’s ensuing drive quickly stalled, and they were forced to punt. Tyrod & Co. took to the field. On the drive the Teach sent Keelan Cole deep, this time the Godfather’s were in perfect defensive formation for the play but despite the odds Taylor hit Cole for a 58-yard completion. Demarcus Lawrence was livid, complaining to the refs that he was held and with his grievances heard the flag was thrown. Offensive holding negated the 58 yard reception for the Silence. The penalty sapped the momentum from the offense and the Godfather’s D forced another punt. Alex Smith could not get any offense momentum in the third quarter and his team would punt 3 times. The Silence had two more opportunities in the third quarter. One was a 4th and 1 at mid field that Coach Bryan elected to go for. The Godfather’s sold out on stopping a look in pass, Erie ran McCoy up the middle. This time it was Ndamukong Suh defying the odds and stuffing McCoy for no gain and a change of possession. On Erie’s last possession of the quarter again they sent Cole long, again the Godfather’s were defending the run and again Taylor could not hit the open receiver! The drive would make it to the Godfather 27 were Robbie Gould would connect on his field goal, closing the gap to one touchdown. Erie CB Josh Norman was lost to injury with 4:48 left in the third quarter.
End of Q3 score 13-6.
Fourth Quarter
Alex Smith knew the game was at a tipping point and rallied the offense. He led his unit onto the field to start the fourth quarter and engineered the best Godfather drive of the night. In total the drive took 11 plays, traveled 75 yards and consumed 5:24 off the clock. The drive highlights were a Bilal Powell 19 yard run up the gut; a Josh Gordon reception on a short pass for 20 yards and a Robert Woods 13 yard scoring strike to widen the gap to 2 TDs. The Silence started the next drive with great field possession thanks to a Cordarrelle Patterson KO return of 39 yards to the Erie 44! Tyrod marched on to the field looking to rally his troops and close the score deficit. Sin City CB Kyle Fuller had other plans, stepping in front of a Tyrod pass to Keelan Cole for an INT on the second play of the drive. Sin City went into clock kill mode with 9 minutes left and the ball at their 41. After three stuffed runs Sin City had to punt. Pinned back to the their 9 yard line Tyrod again stepped onto the field looking to close the 14 point deficit. A correct double team, a successful linebacker challenge and an incomplete short throw left Erie with a 4th and 8 from their own 11 with 5:42 to play. “The Teach” as the Erie players affectionately call their coach decided to go for it. Tyrod dropped back on 4th down to pass and Demarcus Lawrence started to take over this game. The sack challenge was against DLaw but the sack was assigned to K.J. Wright, loss of 10 and Sin City ball at the Erie 1. Alvin Kamara fell into the end zone on the very next play to extend the Godfather lead by 21 with 5:06 left to play. Erie would take over at their 25 down by 3 scores. Erie drove to the Godfather 43 and then Demarcus Lawrence happened again. Tyrod Taylor attempted an end run to Lawrence’s side of the field. A great impact challenge occurred and Tyrod was stripped of the ball. K.J. Wright recovered the fumble with 2:24 left on the game clock. Sin City would run three plays and punt with 1:07 left on the clock. Erie would not give up and drove to the Godfather’s 32-yard line with 1 second remaining. The Teach determined to put more points on the board sent Robbie Gould onto the field. Strat though had other plans… the variable FG pushed this again into the 33+ section of Gould’s card and again he would miss the FG. One final Strat happens moment and the game & season ended.
End of Q4 score 27-6
Summary
Bryan called one hell of a game and was stymied by rolls that just didn’t go his way tonight. He put together a heck of a team and one hell of a season. A big congratulations to him. Tonight’s game was a summary of the Godfather’s season. Some fortuitous luck, strength of D when the D card was called and just enough offense to get the job done. Bryan and I had commented during the game how many white 6’s had come up and that the red dice kept seeming to total 3,5,7 & 9. Those 7’s were huge because they lead to a lot of incompletions and both of Alex Smith’s long pass picks.
The way the dice on the night didn’t allow for much offensive production on either side of the ball. Offensive honors go to LeSean McCoy’s 16 for 46 rushing and 11 for 78 receiving effort.
Defensively the game ball goes to the entire Sin City defensive line. Ndamukong Suh and JPP both had critical stops on Erie drives that were effective as turn overs as mentioned above. Demarcus Lawrence’s reassigned sack and forced fumble put the game on ice.
Thanks to everyone behind the scenes that make this league happen! Have a great off season everyone.
2017 Erie 6, 2017 Sin City 27
| ||||||
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
OT
|
Total
| |
2017 Erie
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
2017 Sin City
|
10
|
3
|
0
|
14
|
0
|
27
|
Scoring Plays
| ||||||
Qtr
|
Clock
|
Team
|
Scoring Description(Extra Point)
|
Score
| ||
1
|
8:24
|
2017 Sin City
|
C.Parkey 42 yd. field goal
|
3-0 SIN
| ||
1
|
2:06
|
2017 Erie
|
R.Gould 36 yd. field goal
|
3-3 SIN
| ||
1
|
0:00
|
2017 Sin City
|
A.Kamara 2 yd. run (C.Parkey kick)
|
10-3 SIN
| ||
2
|
3:00
|
2017 Sin City
|
C.Parkey 32 yd. field goal
|
13-3 SIN
| ||
3
|
0:36
|
2017 Erie
|
R.Gould 44 yd. field goal
|
13-6 SIN
| ||
4
|
10:12
|
2017 Sin City
|
R.Woods 13 yd. pass from A.Smith (C.Parkey kick)
|
20-6 SIN
| ||
4
|
5:06
|
2017 Sin City
|
A.Kamara 1 yd. run (C.Parkey kick)
|
27-6 SIN
| ||
Other Highlights
| ||||||
Qtr
|
Clock
|
Team
|
Event
|
Player
|
Yards
| |
1
|
14:42
|
2017 Erie
|
QBSack
|
Jason Pierre-Paul
|
-4
| |
1
|
4:30
|
2017 Erie
|
Intercept
|
Josh Norman
|
25
| |
1
|
1:48
|
2017 Sin City
|
Return
|
Alvin Kamara
|
33
| |
1
|
0:54
|
2017 Sin City
|
Pass
|
Josh Gordon
|
43
| |
2
|
14:42
|
2017 Erie
|
Return
|
Cordarrelle Patterson
|
35
| |
2
|
10:12
|
2017 Erie
|
Missed Field Goal
|
Robbie Gould
|
50
| |
2
|
6:00
|
2017 Sin City
|
Return
|
Isaiah McKenzie
|
44
| |
2
|
3:18
|
2017 Sin City
|
QBSack
|
Kendell Beckwith
|
-8
| |
3
|
13:48
|
2017 Erie
|
Intercept
|
Harrison Smith
|
10
| |
3
|
13:12
|
2017 Sin City
|
Intercept
|
Budda Baker
|
13
| |
4
|
9:54
|
2017 Erie
|
Return
|
Cordarrelle Patterson
|
39
| |
4
|
9:00
|
2017 Sin City
|
Intercept
|
Kyle Fuller
|
0
| |
4
|
5:24
|
2017 Erie
|
QBSack
|
K.J. Wright
|
-10
| |
4
|
2:24
|
2017 Erie
|
Fumble
|
Tyrod Taylor
| ||
4
|
0:00
|
2017 Erie
|
Missed Field Goal
|
Robbie Gould
|
49
| |
Team Statistics
| ||
2017 Erie
|
2017 Sin City
| |
First Downs by Rush-Pass-Pen-Total
|
4-14-2-20
|
6-8-1-15
|
Third Down Efficiency
|
6-17-35%
|
3-12-25%
|
Fourth Down Efficiency
|
0-2-0%
|
0-0-0%
|
Red Zone Efficiency (pts-poss-pct)
|
3-7-43%
|
24-28-86%
|
Total Offense-Plays-Avg Yards Per Play
|
264-76-3.5
|
240-57-4.2
|
Total Net Yards Rushing
|
72
|
70
|
Total Rushes
|
24
|
24
|
Average Per Rush
|
3.0
|
2.9
|
Passes Completed/Attempted
|
25/50 (50.0%)
|
16/32 (50.0%)
|
Net Yards Passing
|
192
|
170
|
Avg Yards Per Pass
|
4.1
|
5.6
|
Sacked/Yards Lost
|
2/14
|
1/8
|
Punts/Average
|
5/42.2
|
6/45.3
|
Punts Received/Return Yardage
|
1/1
|
4/59
|
Kickoffs/Returns
|
3/89
|
2/62
|
Interceptions/Returns
|
2/35
|
2/13
|
Penalties/Yards
|
4/26
|
5/68
|
Total Fumbles/Fumbles Lost
|
1/1
|
1/0
|
Time of Possession
|
34 mins 9 secs
|
25 mins 51 secs
|
Average Drive Start
|
ERI 28
|
SIN 37
|
Passing Stats
| ||||||||||||
Att
|
Comp
|
Yds
|
Comp %
|
Yds/Att
|
TD
|
TD %
|
INT
|
INT %
|
Long
|
Sack
|
Rating
| |
2017 Erie
| ||||||||||||
Tyrod Taylor
|
50
|
25
|
206
|
50.0
|
4.1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4.0
|
15
|
2/14
|
44.3
|
2017 Sin City
| ||||||||||||
Alex Smith
|
32
|
16
|
178
|
50.0
|
5.6
|
1
|
3.1
|
2
|
6.3
|
43
|
1/8
|
51.3
|
Rushing Stats
| |||||||||||
No
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Long
|
TD
|
2 Pt Conv
|
Fumbles/Lost
| |||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
LeSean McCoy
|
16
|
46
|
2.9
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
0/0
| ||||
Tyrod Taylor
|
6
|
16
|
2.7
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
1/1
| ||||
James Conner
|
2
|
10
|
5.0
|
11
|
0
|
0
|
0/0
| ||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Bilal Powell
|
11
|
60
|
5.5
|
19
|
0
|
0
|
0/0
| ||||
Alvin Kamara
|
9
|
5
|
0.6
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
0/0
| ||||
Alex Smith
|
4
|
5
|
1.3
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
0/0
| ||||
Receiving Stats
| |||||||||||
No
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Long
|
TD
|
2 Pt Conv
| ||||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
LeSean McCoy
|
11
|
78
|
7.1
|
13
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Keelan Cole
|
5
|
45
|
9.0
|
15
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Martellus Bennett
|
3
|
42
|
14.0
|
15
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Cordarrelle Patterson
|
2
|
7
|
3.5
|
10
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Marcedes Lewis
|
2
|
13
|
6.5
|
12
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Jordy Nelson
|
1
|
8
|
8.0
|
8
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Kenny Stills
|
1
|
13
|
13.0
|
13
|
0
|
0
| |||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Robert Woods
|
4
|
43
|
10.8
|
13
|
1
|
0
| |||||
Alvin Kamara
|
3
|
18
|
6.0
|
9
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Josh Gordon
|
2
|
63
|
31.5
|
43
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Bilal Powell
|
2
|
19
|
9.5
|
11
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Alshon Jeffery
|
2
|
23
|
11.5
|
12
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Jamaal Charles
|
1
|
6
|
6.0
|
6
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Virgil Green
|
1
|
7
|
7.0
|
7
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Clive Walford
|
1
|
-1
|
-1.0
|
-1
|
0
|
0
| |||||
Field Goals
| |||||||||||
1-19
|
20-29
|
30-39
|
40-49
|
50+
|
Totals
|
% Made
| |||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Robbie Gould
|
0/0
|
0/0
|
1/1
|
1/2
|
0/1
|
2/4
|
50.0
| ||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Cody Parkey
|
0/0
|
0/0
|
1/1
|
1/1
|
0/0
|
2/2
|
100
| ||||
Punting
| |||||||||||
No
|
Avg
|
Net
|
Tb
|
Inside 20
|
Long
|
Blocked
| |||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Justin Vogel
|
5
|
42.2
|
30.4
|
0
|
2
|
59
|
0
| ||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Chris Jones
|
6
|
45.3
|
45.2
|
0
|
4
|
58
|
0
| ||||
Kickoff Returns
| |||||||||||
No
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Long
|
TD
| |||||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Cordarrelle Patterson
|
3
|
89
|
29.7
|
39
|
0
| ||||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Alvin Kamara
|
2
|
62
|
31.0
|
33
|
0
| ||||||
Punt Returns
| |||||||||||
Ret
|
FC
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Long
|
TD
| ||||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Trevor Davis
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1.0
|
1
|
0
| |||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Isaiah McKenzie
|
4
|
0
|
59
|
14.8
|
44
|
0
| |||||
Individual Defense
| |||||||||||
Tackles
|
Sacks
|
Fum Rec
| |||||||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Kendell Beckwith
|
7
|
1
|
0
| ||||||||
Lamarcus Joyner
|
7
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Kareem Martin
|
4
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Bobby Wagner
|
4
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Harrison Smith
|
4
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Josh Norman
|
3
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Nigel Bradham
|
2
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Steve McLendon
|
2
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Derek Wolfe
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Corey Peters
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Alex Okafor
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Ronald Darby
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Myles Jack
|
7
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Deion Jones
|
7
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Jalen Ramsey
|
5
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Budda Baker
|
5
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Jaquiski Tartt
|
4
|
0
|
1
| ||||||||
Jason Pierre-Paul
|
4
|
1
|
0
| ||||||||
K.J. Wright
|
4
|
1
|
1
| ||||||||
Trae Waynes
|
3
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Kyle Fuller
|
3
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Demarcus Lawrence
|
3
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
DeForest Buckner
|
2
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Ndamukong Suh
|
2
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Rodney McLeod
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Bruce Irvin
|
1
|
0
|
0
| ||||||||
Interceptions
| |||||||||||
No
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Long
|
TD
| |||||||
2017 Erie
| |||||||||||
Harrison Smith
|
1
|
10
|
10.0
|
10
|
0
| ||||||
Josh Norman
|
1
|
25
|
25.0
|
25
|
0
| ||||||
2017 Sin City
| |||||||||||
Kyle Fuller
|
1
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
| ||||||
Budda Baker
|
1
|
13
|
13.0
|
13
|
0
| ||||||
Game Story
| |||||
With a solid effort Sin City beat Erie by the score of 27 to 6. Bilal Powell rushed the ball 11 times for 60 yards. Sin City took the early lead outscoring Erie 10 to 3 in the first quarter. Despite losing, Erie had the advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 34:09.
| |||||
