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.

Emerson Settle had a big night for the Avengers

“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.

Members of the Avengers celebrate their championship

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.

In the directory of rivalries in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, I’m not sure that the one between the Fort Worth Avengers and the North Texas Stampede is at the top, but its intensity has been just as strong nonethless.  The two teams know each other very well, and they have a history in the playoffs.

Last year, in the conference semi-finals, the Avengers, led by veteran quarterback Terry Barber, rallied in the fourth quarter to pick up the win.  Just a few years ago, the Stampede were playing in the TUFL Super Bowl.  This year, the two teams have not played, but the players are very familiar with one another.

The two teams, however, have taken different routes to the North Conference Finals.  For the Stampede, the season almost seemed lost.  Entering in to Mother’s Day weekend, the Stampede had to win and the Weatherford Bullets had to lose in order to make the playoffs.  The Stampede was able to get the win over the Vernon Jaguars, and, the following week, the Abilene Gladiators beat the Bullets giving the 6-4 Stampede a berth in the TUFL playoffs.

Their reward for making the playoffs?  A first round match-up with the defending TUFL Champions and 2009 Co-Central Division champs, the Hunt County Longhorns.  The Longhorns was everyone’s favorite to win the TUFL again, but the the Stampede had different ideas.

The Stampede delivered an almost improbable upset knocking off the number one seed Longhorns 32-31 with their defense stopping two Hunt County drives inside six minutes left to play in the game.

The following week, the Stamped travaled to Shreveport where they knocked off the number thwo seed Port City Jaguars 19-12.  Once again, the Stampede relied on its hard working defense to preserve the win.

The Avengers entered the playoffs 9-1 and Co-Champions of the Central Division with the Longhorns, but were given a third season due to tie-breakers.

The Avengers were matched up aginst the very talented Texas Xtreme in the first round of the playoffs coming away with a 31-17 victory.  In the second round, the Avengers held on to a 36-34 against the Abilene Gladiators.

The game should present some good match-ups.  The Stampede are led on defense by defensive ends Willie Freeman and Chris Square, both with NFL type size.  For the Avegers, the offensive line is led by stellar tackle, Greg Dolan, a former Texas Longhorn who has wowed everybody in the league.  The match-up between Dolan and the defensive ends for Stampede should be among the best.

Both teams are led by big, strong quarterbacks.  Few quarterbacks are bigger, anywhere, than Stampede QB Josh Lanfear.  Lanfear stands about 6 foot 4 and weighs about, depending on who you ask, over 250 pounds.  Lanfear will make use of receivers Demarcus Bates and Shannon Whitfield.  Lanfear will also use the running of David Smith and Lamar Hanks to help move the chains.

For the Avengers, they rely on Barber at quarterback, to help keep the chains moving.  He counts on a balanced attack, and he will get the ball in the hands of Alex Martinez on third downs to help pick up the first down.  Several members of the Avengers offense are explosive, but few are as explosive as receiver Quinten “Q” McKinney.  The talented receiver is a big play-maker for the Avengers.

On defense, the Avengers use several players to get the job done.  They are anchored up front by Gartrelle Cooper, Brandon Clay, Dawayne “Train” Vanderwork, and Detron Forbes.  Linebackers David Constance, Aaron Armour and Fernando Castaneda help lead the second line of defense.

The Avengers will host the Stampede at Keller’s High School at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 6.