The Shining Exemplars (High Elves) vs the Frostlords (Norse)

The weather was perfect for Blood Bowl as the two unbeaten teams at the top of the SAD League ran out on to the pitch for their clash.  Unlike previous games, the crowd seemed be in full support of the high elf team, although that may have been mostly the appreciative wolf whistles aimed towards the bloodweiser babes in the Exemplar dugout.  With the Shining Exemplars hiring two journeymen for the game, the injured Gethin Topazil returned to join them in the scrimmaging line.

After winning the toss, the Frostlords elected to receive. Eager to start well, The Shining Exemplars were straight out of the traps with a blitzing play, catching the norse off guard, but failing to get to the ball nonetheless.  Thrower Trygve scooped up the ball, ran forwards and drilled a pass straight into the hands of a waiting norse catcher, who raced down the norse right wing towards the touchline.  Running across the field, Phoenix Warrior Geraint Mirrorwind blitzed the ball carrier, dispossessing him, and stopping the score.  The ball bounced into the crowd, and ended up on the halfway line.

The Frostlords began to take their revenge; unaware of the fervour of the norse Blitzers, the elves had set up in their normal spread-out pattern, but their wide receivers soon found themselves quickly pushed off the sidelines into the crowd.   Still, it didn’t stop Saf Firestone from picking up the bal, and attempting a spiralling pass towards Aneirin Starsight, who had raced into the norse endzone.  Unfortunately, the throw wasn’t strong enough and fell just short of the elf Dragon Warrior.  Still, whilst his compatriots were suffering the attentions of the almost rabid Frostlords further down the pitch, Starsight managed to pick up the ball, and run back into the endzone for the first touchdown.

The Frostlords returned to their half of the pitch to receive the ball once more.  Eager to make a good impression on his return, Topazil took out Trygve for the rest of the match, and Starsight attempted to get the ball clear, but failed in his throw.  Norse Lineman Torock retaliated by removing elf Lineman Amethysti from the game, as Torgve, (the other norse Thrower), threw a successful pass to Catcher Sigurd who ran off to the endzone.  Needing to Go For It to score on that turn, the norse catcher slowed down, and slowly wandered over the line the next turn, with no elves left in range able to stop him.  The score was tied.

There was not enough time left in the first half for The Shining Exemplars to score again.  As the elves set up to receive the ball, for the third game in a row, the crowd took out an elf with a thrown rock.  This time the rock smashed Iago Emeraldas in the face; even though he would have died had it not been for the intervention of the Exemplars’ apothecary, he still suffered a broken neck and would be forever hampered by the after-effects.  In the last turn of the half, Mirrorwind gathered in the ball, and threw a completion that would give him a new skill at the end of the match.

After half time, things started to go badly for the elves.  Although they were receiving, the Frostlords outnumbered them on the pitch.  Despite a quick snap, the pressure exerted on the Exemplars meant they failed to get the ball out of their own half, the disturbing presence of the Yhettee Icehammer putting them off their passing game. The norse ended up with the ball, and only a failed Go For It roll on a catcher stopped the Frostlords from taking the lead; Starsight sprinted to pick up the ball from the endzone, and threw an excellent pass to Mirrorwind.  In an attempt to get the ball free from their half, Mirrorwind handed off to Einion Rubyheart, but the elf Lineman spilled the ball under pressure from the norse.

In the resulting norse push, Lineman Torstein took out Mirrorwind, and removed him from the game by killing him outright!  The norse were able to run into the endzone with Sigurd, and score again to go into the lead.

There were only two turns for the Exemplars to try and get an equaliser; as they set up to receive, the heavens opened, and the pouring rain that began to drench the teams and pitch meant that another score would have been a very tall order.  The norse team pushed very hard for a third score, and the elves only just managed to stop them, but not before Saf Firestone was pushed into the crowd, and also killed!  (That now puts the death rate at seven deaths over the five Exemplars’ games so far).

After the game, the Exemplars’ roster was a sorry sight indeed, now with three Journeymen for the next game, and new Phoenix Warrior Berwyn Quartzon replacing the sorely missed Mirrorwind.   Meanwhile, the Frostlords went straight into another match against the Red Skulls; a win against them would lift the norse team to the top of the table.

Pitchside Reporter: Brychan