FCF 2022 Results: Terrell Owens Shines in Knights of Degen Loss; Johnny Manziel Sits
The final week of the 2022 Fan Controlled Football regular season occurred Saturday with all eight teams in action at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, and it did not disappoint.
The Kingpins opened the action with a 24-20 win over Bored Ape FC to improve to 3-4, and the Glacier Boyz followed with a 28-20 win over the SB Stars to improve to 3-4.
Unfortunately for Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, the Knights of Degen fell to 8oki 36-30, but Johnny Manziel's Zappers pulled off a miraculous 42-38 win over the Beasts to close out the weekend.
Fan Controlled Football Week 7 Results
Kingpins 24, Bored Ape FC 20
Glacier Boyz 28, SB Stars 20
8oki def. Knights of Degen 36-30
Zappers def. Beasts 42-38
Recap
The Kingpins picked up an impressive win over Bored Ape FC, which had just one loss.
Running back Daryl Virgies opened the scoring to help the Kingpins take an 8-0 lead. Virgies entered with 46 carries for 181 yards and four touchdowns.
The defense then followed with a huge hit to force a turnover.
The Kingpins took a 16-0 lead after a run by quarterback Tirri Jones before Bored Ape FC responded with a touchdown by slot receiver Kevin Felder to cut the gap to 16-6. Felder had been quiet, entering with just five catches for 73 yards.
Meanwhile, Jones has been one of the Kingpins' best players. He entered as the second-best rusher in the league with 52 carries for 288 yards and seven touchdowns and also ranked among the top passers with 36 completions and 14 touchdowns on 82 attempts.
Bored Ape FC added another score on a run by quarterback Vidal Woodruff to make it 16-12. Woodruff entered Saturday having completing 22 of 51 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions in addition to rushing for 86 yards and a score.
The Kingpins put the game out of reach with a touchdown by tight end Joshua Johnson, who has been an impact player. He entered with six catches for 121 yards and five touchdowns.
In the second game, the SB Stars opened the scoring with a quick pitch to Ismail Brooks, who put his team up 6-0.
The Glacier Boyz responded with a touchdown of their own on a run up the middle by slot receiver Harrison Dreher and took an 8-6 lead. But the SB Stars responded with an impressive touchdown by Tyis Boykin to regain a 14-8 lead.
The Glacier Boyz went up 22-20 thanks to two touchdowns by running back Brycen Alleyne sandwiched around a score by D'Vonn Gibbons.
Alleyne has been the most effective running back in the FCF, having entered with 72 carries for 349 yards and eight touchdowns.
Defensive back Julian Charles recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to cap the scoring.
The third game of Saturday's slate between the Knights of Degen and 8oki was arguably the most exciting as a number of stars came out to support Terrell Owens and the Knights of Degen. Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, Marcus Peters, Marshawn Lynch and Todd Gurley were among the players in attendance.
While 8oki won the game 36-30, it was by no means an easy victory. That said, they got off to a great start when quarterback Mitch Kidd found receiver Joseph Boykin for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Knights of Degen responded quickly with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Ed Crouch, who cruised into the end zone without being touched by a single defender. Crouch then found Owens for the two-point conversion to give KOD an 8-6 lead.
Things got rough for 8oki on the next drive when Mitch Kidd threw an interception to Knights of Degen defensive back Marquill Osborne. KOD made the turnover count as Crouch found Owens once again, this time for the touchdown, to take a 14-6 lead just before halftime.
8oki came out of halftime with a quick response to KOD's late first-half touchdown. Kidd connected with Boykin for his second touchdown of the game to cut Knights of Degen's lead to 14-12.
The Knights of Degen could not be stopped offensively on their next drive as Crouch scrambled out of the pocket to find receiver Jacoby Herring for the touchdown, extending their lead 22-12.
However, 8oki made it interesting late in the second half when Kidd found receiver Patrick Smith to make it a 22-18 game. They also converted on the two-point conversion Comeback Rule to make it 22-20.
The Comeback Rule allows the trailing team to keep the ball by converting a 10-yard play on one possession to maintain the football.
With 8oki up 28-22, Crouch continued his impressive evening for Knights of Degen by rushing for a long touchdown to tie the game 28-28 with 26 seconds remaining. Owens then completed the two-point conversion to put KOD up 30-28.
With the game appearing over, Kidd found Smith for a long completion with 12 seconds remaining to set up a prime scoring opportunity for 8oki. Malcolm Ballard then rushed in for a touchdown to win 36-30.
It was an incredible game for both Crouch and Owens despite the loss. Owens, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, finished with multiple two-point conversions and multiple touchdowns.
The final game of Saturday’s slate ended with the Zappers defeating the Beasts 42-38 to close out the regular season.
However, the Zappers got out to a rough start as the Beasts wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when quarterback Alphonso Howard found wide receiver Jordus Smith to give his team an early 6-0 lead.
The Beasts added to their early lead when Zappers quarterback Kelly Bryant tossed an interception to defensive back DaShawn Benton, who returned it for a touchdown to put the Beasts up 12-0.
After going down by two scores, Bryant and the Zappers responded with a touchdown pass to running back Shuncee Thomas to cut the Beasts lead to 12-6.
However, the Beasts responded quickly to regain their two-score lead, going up 18-6 when Howard found Smith for his second touchdown of the night.
That said, Bryant and the Zappers would not be silenced as he rushed in for a touchdown and later the two-point conversion to keep his team within distance and down just 18-14.
The back-and-forth continued when Howard found receiver Lamarcus Caradine to give the Beasts a 24-14 lead just before halftime. The Zappers responded on a touchdown from offensive lineman Alex Heil to make it 24-20 game at the half.
It was an impressive play altogether, but it started with wide receiver Terrance Williams taking the ball up the middle of the field before sending a lateral pass to Heil for the score.
The Zappers came out of halftime to take a 26-24 lead over the Beasts on a touchdown pass from Bryant to Josh Johnson.
The Beasts eventually went on to score late in the second half when Howard found Smith for the receiver’s third touchdown of the day. His touchdown gave the Beasts a 30-26 lead.
The Zappers responded on yet another touchdown run from Bryant to take a late 34-32 lead before the Beasts responded on Smith’s fourth touchdown of the day to go up 38-34.
The final minute of the game was perhaps the most chaotic as Bryant threw an interception that was picked off by Beasts defensive back Julian Charles with the Zappers down 38-34 to the Beasts.
The Zappers went on to win the game 42-38 on a defensive touchdown with just four seconds remaining. The Zappers defense forced Howard to fumble and scooped up the ball to score.
That said, Howard was undoubtedly down and it shouldn’t have been a fumble but in Fan Controlled Football, it was up to the fans to make the call, and they voted it to be a fumble.
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel did not appear in the Zappers’ final regular season game.