Crescent Moon 1
Osman Ghazi
Darklands 2
Zara The Slayer (2)
A Zara the Slayer inspired Darklands produced their finest display to end their season on a high with victory over the blood-lusting Crescent Moon, amid turmoil in the restless stands.
With the Darklands electing to receive, it was left to Zara the Slayer, recalled to the squad for their final game, to collect the kick off from her own end zone while the Darklands offensive line began to trade blows with the Moons defence.
It was a vicious start to the contest as 3 players were carried off in the early exchanges, with Darklands ferocious start clearing the left wing for Zara to rush into, whilst being admirably protected by her teammates. Jek the storyteller found himself too close to the touch line and was surfed by the blitzing Abu-Bakr as the Moons defence desperately regrouped to no avail. Zara showed true star qualities as faced with Abu-Bakr she expertly dodged her way out of trouble to put the Darklands 1-0 up midway through the half.
The restart left Crescent Moon having to retrieve the ball from inside their end-zone but with vampire Ali knocking himself unconscious when trying a thunderous uppercut on Ogre Dagg Head-Splinter, the Darklands defence sensed the chance to heap the pressure on the Moons offensive line as the ball was left unattended. That was until Abu-Bakr retrieved only to find himself facing the on rushing Darklands defence and with this his long pass up field to Uthman Ibn Affan failing to find the mark.
A disorganised scramble for the ball began, and with the clock ticking towards half-time, Abu-Bakr retrieved the ball with the end-zone in sight but was overcome with a lust for blood. Blinded by thirst, Abu-Bakr - with ball in hand - went searching for a nearby thrall but instead feasted on the watching home-crowd! Darklands had survived to lead at half-time 1-0.
The second half began again with the Darklands on the front foot with Zara the Slayer palming off the advancement of vampire Abu-Bakr not once but twice as ball carrier Umar played catch with Uthman Ibn Affan and with this, a rampaging Dagg Head-Splinter took it upon himself to pommel the ball carrier. An unmarked Zara gratefully collected the ball as it fell kindly with an empty field in front of her, while her team mates set about the formation of a line of cover.
A desperate lunge by Abu-Bakr was palmed away by Zara as Abu-Bakr then decided to follow his team mate into the crowd for his mid-match appetiser, leaving Zara the simplest of tasks to run in unattended to score Darklands second and wrap up their historic first win.
Uthman Ibn Affan, who narrowly avoided a Darklands blitz, took the Moon into Darklands territory for the first time in the match, but his adventure was short lived as - with Zara’s assistance - Hob the storyteller flattened Affan causing the ball to bounce off-field.
The away crowd's hostile intentions were made clear as they launched the ball back into their Darklands end zone! It was a foot race that Osman Gazi won to get Crescent Moon on the scoreboard.
The pressure on the humans intensified as the vampires gained temporary control of the ball and Darklands' nerves visibly jangled yet again, a theme that has plagued Helmut Laban the thrower all season, as he once more fumbled the pick up.
Fury in the stands and from amongst the staffing coach could not be contain, and it spilled onto the field through a wizard's crackling fireball. All that stood in it's wake collapsed - friend and foe - and the Darkland Ultras flooded the pitch hunting down the fallen humans.
From behind the crypt's shadows calmly walked the figure of the headcoach and a necromancer, both wearing a menacing demeanor upon their face. The coach raised his right arm in front of him and swiftly brought it down like an act of slicing.
It was a command! The Ultras tore into the Darkland players mercilessly, and the blood streamed across the astrogranite. The vampires flew in to feast on the freshest bodies for their post-match meal but it wasn't long before they sensed dark magic turning flesh necrotic.
What were intended to be scenes of jubilation turned into a horrorific sequence of cold-blooded massacre and magic. The Darkland players were murdered! The disturbing twitches of death throes turned silent and the stadium froze.
From the silence, a deep-throated incantation boomed across the floor and penetrated the into the lying bodies, who jolted into mechanically disturbing involuntary motions. The groans of perpetual exhilation struck fear into the supporters, who backed-away, and witnessed the resurrection.
Like a newborn fawn in spring, the Darklands' dead arisen!
Mango's Valuable Player - Zara the Slayer. The sole survivor of the brutal attack on Darklands - it was her two touchdowns that made the difference tonight.
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