That was one rambling-ass last post.

So, unfortunately for the Big Foot Chiefs, the dream season ended last night with a 20-0 loss to Wautoma/Faith Christian. The score kind of betrays how close the game really was. Both defenses were lights out, but WFC had the benefit of some suh-weet field position because of Big Foot's inability to get anything going on defense. Admittedly, Big Foot's ability to force turnovers gave them some pretty good field position, too, but they couldn't get anything going. I think Big Foot may have been a little shell-shocked; a team that probably averaged around 200 yards rushing from the first game of the year through the playoffs was completely stuffed.

The passing game couldn't get going (until the final drive, when Wautoma was playing off and keeping everything underneath) mostly because it seemed like as soon as the ball was snapped two to four defenders were in the backfield. On two occassions, Steve Dowden (Big Foot's quarterback) lost a ton of yardage on sacks, backpedalling with defenders right in his grill.

Speaking of that last drive, with just a few minutes left in the game, FSN Wisconsin put up a graphic showing that Big Foot had only gained, like, 37 total yards. The record for least yardage in a D4 game was 75. Thankfully, with Wautoma playing off, Big Foot was able to gain enough yardage to get up over that mark; I would have been pretty disappointed to see the Chiefs finally fight their way into a Championship game with only an answer to a trivia question to show for it. Now, Beloit Turner can hold on to that dubious distinction.

It's easy to play the "what if" game (and frankly, given the lack of success Big Foot could muster offensively no matter what they tried and where the ball was, it's probably a waste of time, but still...) but I look at two plays that could feasibly have changed the complexion of the game. Early in the second quarter, with the score tied 0-0 after a few short possessions and punts by both teams, Big Foot running back T.J. Schaid took the ball off tackle to the right. He had pretty good seal blocks and, after a gain of about five yards, looked like he was going to turn the corner and have a safety to beat for six. Before he got the chance, a Wautoma linebacker laid out and got him by the fackemask, twisting him off balance and tripping him up. Without that facemask, there's a good chance Schaid, with his speed and burst, is gone giving Big Foot the first points on the board. Maybe striking first gives a boost in confidence, maybe not....

The second play came shortly thereafter. Wautoma had a first and ten at the Big Foot 44 after a good scramble by quarterback Jacob Abbrederis. They lost five on a run attempt, then Abbrederis fumbled on a fake hand off, picked it up and was tackled bringing up a third and 18. A false start turned that into a third and 23 at Wautoma's 43. On the third down play, Abbrederis was getting a lot of pressure from his left; he was able to escape the pocket to his right and, while being dragged down, get off a dart to a receiver for a gain of 19. A punt on a fourth and four was downed at Big Foot's three yard line. A first down run was knocked back to the one, and a second down pass was picked at around the 20 setting up Wautoma's - and the game's - first score.

Now the rub is that a replay showed that Abbrederis's knee hit before he threw the ball. If Wautoma's punting from their own 35 instead of Big Foot's 48, there's little to no chance that ball is downed at the three. (Factor in that Wautoma's last punt was a fourteen yard shank, and there's no telling what Big Foot's field position is.) So in an alternate reality, either T.J. Schaid scores early in the second, or at the very least, Big Foot isn't forced to play with their backs on their own goalline, gifting Wautoma with the sort of field position that turns into points.

Of course, those two plays alone wouldn't change the fact that, in the second half, Big Foot was completely unable to move the ball, or that it seemed like the Chiefs' defense wore down and Wautoma's offense was able to gain some yards, but a two score swing turns a 20-0 game to a 13-7 game....