Avengers Move on to TUFL Super Bowl

On a warm night in Keller, TX, the Fort Worth Avengers held off a determined North Texas Stampede to move on to the TUFL Super Bowl.  Defensive back Emerson Settle came up with an interception at 4:45 left in the game to seal the 14-0 Avengers victory.  Settle had battled knee problems all night.

“Big heart.  He won’t give up,” said defensive coordinator Dan Hunt of Settle after the game.  Settle, at times, looked as though the the night was over for him as he came to the sidelines in pain.  “Wouldn’t give up; made the plays when we needed it; kept coming back.  His knee was bothering him all night, but he knows what the game is.”

With the win, the Avengers become the Northern Conference Champions, giving them that elusive championship.  In spite of being among the oldest of the teams in the TUFL, a championship had eluded them.  On Saturday, June 13, the Avengers will travel to Prairie View A&M to play the Edinburg Landsharks at Blackshear Field.

For the Stampede, it is the end of a terrific playoff run.  The Stampede slipped in at the number 8 seed and promptly knocked off the number 1 seed Hunt County Longhorns.  Then, as if that weren’t enough, the Stampede traveled to Shreveport to knock off the number 2 seed Port City Jaguars.

“We came together as a family and did what we had to do,” said Stampede head coach Freeman.  “We actually started playing Stampede football.  The season didn’t even speak for us as far as what we were capable of doing.  We had a couple of games slip. . . . we didn’t play like we were supposed to.”

“I think the team stepped up, period,” said Coach Freeman when asked about the difference in the playoffs. “It wasn’t just one person.  The team came together and our motto was to ‘play as one,’ and that’s what we did, played as one.”

The championship run is quite an achievement for long-time semi-pro football player and first year head coach Darrel Brummett.  “We’ve got an awesome group of guys.  I can’t ask for anything better.  Awesome group of guys.”

“I didn’t expect to be the head coach this year, but my body is broken down after playing 13 years of semi-pro football,” said Brummett Saturday night, taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane. “Starting off with the Texans, going to the Mid-Cities Rush, going to the (Dallas) Diesel, and then playing for the Crowley Cougars and then the Avengers.”

“I’ve played center all of my life; we have one of the best offensive lines I’ve ever seen in this league,” Brummett said.

The first half of the Northern Conference Championship game was rather undramatic, but with 3:56 left in the half, quarterback Terry Barber engineered a touchdown drive just before halftime.  Aided by a late hit, the Avengers marched down the field, starting from their own 15 yard line.

With 27 seconds left in the half, Barber found Chuck Steward over the middle for a screen that scored the first touchdown of the game.  The PAT was no good, and the Avengers led 6-0 at halftime.

The second half was more of the same as the Avengers were content to use their running game to grind out a clock-draining win.  After a fumble recovery by D. Burleson, the Avengers marched toward their second and final score.

With 6:22 left in the third quarter, Tyrelle Staples burst through for a 10 yard touchdown.  Cedrick Miller added the two point conversion, and the Avengers had a 14-0 lead.

The Stampede made it into the red zone at the end of the third quarter, but came up empty when a fourth and goal pass from quarterback Josh Lanfear was broken up by cornerback Tim Williams.

Congratulations to the Avengers and the Stampede for great seasons.