Super Bowl IV
Dakota Vipers (14-4) vs. Yukon Yeti (18-0)
7 to 49
Box Score
Team 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
Vipers 0 0 0 7
Yeti 0 7 21 21
Team Statistics
Dakota Yukon
216 Total Offense 397
23 Rushing Yards 158
193 Passing Yards 239
12 First Downs 14
327 Total Yards 427
2 Turnovers 0
6/14 3rd Down Conv 2/5
1 Off Redzone Att 6
10:24 Possession Time 9:36
Individual Statistics
Passing (team, position) Rating Yds TD Int Comp / Att Comp% Avg Sack Long
Ben Harris (YY, QB) 137.7 237 5 0 18 / 26 69 9.1 0 27
Todd Price (DV, QB) 51.7 193 1 2 19 / 38 50 5.0 0 23
Rushing (team, position) Yds TD Att Avg Fumb BTk After 1st Hit 20+ yds Long
Tim Peterson (YY, HB 146 2 11 13.2 0 1 13 1 69
Ben Harris (YY, QB) 7 0 1 7.0 0 0 0 0 7
Charles Burnett (YY, FB 5 0 2 2.5 0 0 0 0 4
Jermaine Rojas (DV, HB 17 0 17 1.0 0 0 14 0 8
Jeff Bruce (DV, FB) 6 0 1 6.0 0 0 1 0 6
Receiving (team, position) Rec Yds Avg TD YAC Long
Mack Pleasant (YY, WR) 4 33 8.2 1 23 14
Lamar Craig (YY, WR) 3 44 14.6 1 23 23
Tim Peterson (YY, HB) 2 27 13.5 1 7 19
T.J. Oliver (YY, WR) 2 44 22.0 1 12 27
Richard Cummings (YY, WR) 2 20 10.0 0 0 15
Charles Burnett (YY, FB) 1 2 2.0 0 1 2
Bobby Hughes (YY, WR) 1 15 15.0 0 1 15
Roscoe Terrell (YY, WR) 1 17 17.0 0 12 17
Derek Pruitt (YY, TE) 1 16 16.0 1 0 16
Neil Parker (YY, TE) 1 21 21.0 0 5 21
Adrian Emanuel (DV, WR) 6 77 12.8 0 2 21
Karl Harry (DV, TE) 4 46 11.5 1 12 17
Terry Spires (DV, WR) 3 16 5.3 0 1 9
Brad Jean (DV, WR) 2 33 16.5 0 1 23
Jeff Bruce (DV, FB) 2 -2 -0.5 0 2 0
Jermaine Rojas (DV, HB) 2 22 11.0 0 3 14
Defensive Leaders (team, position) Tackles Misc.
Lionel Nipper (YY, MLB) 10 3 TFL, 1 Pass Defl
Andre Harry (YY, CB) 6 1 Pass Defl
Warrick Walton (YY, ROLB) 3 2 TFL, 1 Pass Defl
Antwaan Mason (YY, SS) 3 1 TFL, 1 INT (26 yds), 2 Pass Defl
Ted Watts (YY, CB) 1 1 INT (13 yds), 4 Pass Defl
Kicking (team, position) Misc
Gabe Olson (DV, P) 2 FGA, 0 FGM, 1 30-39 FGA, 1 50+ FGA, 1 XPM, 2 KO
Ronnie Johnson (YY, K) 7 XPM
Richard McCaffrey (YY, P) 8 KO, 4 TB
Punting (team, position) Avg No. Yds Net Yds TB Long
Richard McCaffrey (YY, P) 36.3 3 109 69 2 54
Gabe Olson (DV, P) 33.6 5 168 161 0 40
MVP
YY HB Tim Peterson (146 yds rushing, 11 att, 2 TD, 27 yds receiving, 2 rec, TD)
Additional Information
Dakota Kicker Santana Millard missed the game due to a strained back.
Analysis and Recap
The Yukon Yeti are Super Bowl Champions for the third straight year. The game seemed to be a stalemate for most of the first half. Yukon punted the ball away three different times before finally driving down the field with under two minutes in the half. Ben Harris found TE Derek Pruitt in the corner of the endzone, putting the score at 7-0 Yukon at halftime. Dakota punter Gabe Olson was forced to play kicker due to Santana Millard's strained back, resulting in a missed 38 yard field goal as time ran out in the first half. Yukon came out very strong in the second half. After a decent kick return from T.J. Oliver, the Yeti opened with a dominating 69 yard rushing play orchestrated by solid blocking by the front line and solid running by HB Tim Peterson. Although Yukon rarely uses their running game, every time Peterson got the call it was to great effect. Yukon compiled 21 points in the third quarter, securing a relatively comfortable 28 point lead. Dakota's offense failed to get anything going until midway through the fourth quarter. In short, Yukon's defense provided a decent backing to a mistake free performance from the offense. The second half saw Yukon throw together 42 points, 21 in each quarter, an impressive performance to be sure. Perhaps if Dakota had started stronger, the game would've gone differently. As soon as the second half was underway, it was clear that Yukon was going to run away with their third straight title. Overall, Yukon's balanced and consistent attack wore down Dakota's defense while constant pressure on the QB and stout run defense prevented the Vipers from mounting all but one successful drive to the redzone.
Conclusions
Dakota put together an impressive run after clinching homefield advantage in the playoffs. Their experience in the tough conference of the NFC North has helped them play good teams and beat them when it matters. Will they return with equal force next year? I doubt it. Although I don't see it as unlikely that Dakota posts another double digit win season, the competitive NFC North could just as easily go to the rising Springfield Knights or the always fighting Madison Timberwolves. I don't see them returning to the Super Bowl next year unless they make some grand off-season acquisitions or have a very lucky year.
Yukon is clearly still on top of the NFA with its young stars, versatile receiving corps, and improving defense. However, Yukon faces a series of contract expirations that may be inescapable this off-season. To name a few: WR T.J. Oliver, MLB Anthony Moss, FS Jon Baker, K Ronnie Johnson, P Richard McCaffery. Combined with the rise of certain backup players, the most prominent of course being QB Ben Harris, Yukon faces a unique challenge. Having just signed QB Torry Mathis to a 7 year contract at the start of the 2006 season, the Yeti have only a year before Ben Harris' contract expires. The question is: will he even last that long as backup? Harris is clearly at the caliber of starting QB now. Who will Yukon choose? Of course, the series of dilemmas Yukon is facing this coming off-season is almost entirely due to the fact that their franchise is experiencing unprecedented success. Can they do it again next season? Quite possibly. Whichever QB the Yeti go with, they still have an offensive leader in the form of WR Mack Pleasant and two versatile backs behind center. Right now, Yukon is spending more than most teams in the league, but also taking in more due to their success. Without much cap room to work with, Yukon may be forced to make some cuts to their talented roster. How much will this actually impede their success? Probably not too much. The Yeti are still the team to beat.
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