Skylarks win championship
X League champion Onward Skylarks from Tokyo won the second japanese championship in team history beating college champion Hosei University Tomahawks, also from Tokyo, 30-29 in the Rice Bowl in front of about 33.000 fans. The game was decided by a missed extra point try following Hosei's 29-23 lead. Following that mistake by the Tomahawks about one minute into the fourth quarter the Skylarks regained the lead with a touchdown plus extra point six minutes later at the end of a ten play 79 yard drive.
The fans in the Tokyo Dome saw a wild first quarter with the Skylarks taking the early lead with a 100-yard kickoff return. The Tomahawks answered with a touchdown following an eleven play 73 yard drive. After an unsuccessful onside kick try by the Tomahawks the Skylarks scored on the next play with a long pass and regained the lead. The Tomahawks then tied the score again, this time following a trick play when a 57-yard pass from WR Takuro Honma to WR Kazuya Togura took Hosei close to the Skylarks endzone.
(Text: Dieter Hoch)
X League Scores and Standings
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Skylarks face Tomahawks in Rice Bowl
The Onward Skylarks and Hosei University Tomahawks will play for this year's japanese championship in the Rice Bowl on January 3. The Skylarks defeated the Kajima Deers in the Japan X Bowl, the championship game of the X League, 24-21 while the Tomahawks clinched the Rice Bowl spot with a 45-43 win against the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters in the Koshien Bowl, the college championship game.
The Japan X Bowl saw a couple of momentum changes and a dramatic finish when Deers K Hiromichi Kashima missed a 39-yard field goal attempt to tie the game and force overtime with time running out. The Skylarks took a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter by converting two turnovers into ten points. When it looked like the Skylarks were cruising into the Rice Bowl turnovers changed the flow of the game with the Deers scoring two touchdowns following interceptions and the Skylarks' defense being unable to stop the Deers' punishing ground game. With about two minutes left in the third quarter the Deers took a 21-17 lead when RB Naohisa Ikeba scored on a 1-yard run.
The Skylarks regained the lead early in the fourth quarter with a trick play. After they reached the 5-yard line but were stopped inches short of a new first down they sent in the field goal unit. Instead of kicking the short field goal attempt holder Masanori Ishikawa ran for a 10-yard touchdown. The Deers had a chance to force overtime when they marched from their own 15-yard line to the opponents 22 in 14 plays. But with just a few seconds left a 39-yard field goal attempt went wide right.
(Text: Dieter Hoch)
X League scores and standings
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Seagulls and Silver Star reach playoffs
The defending X League and japanese champion Obic Seagulls and the Asahi Beer Silver Star are the first teams to clinch spots in this year's Final 6. WR Ken Shimizu, QB Manabu Tatsumura and DE Kevin Jackson provided the highlights in the Seagulls' 54-22 win against the Fujitsu Frontiers in week four of the X League season. Shimizu opened the game with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and added another touchdown with a 94-yard kickoff return in the final minute of the first quarter after the Frontiers had just cut the deficit to 21-13. With about two and a half minutes left in the first period Jackson had given the Seagulls a 21-6 lead with a 45-yard interception return.
The Frontiers kept the game close with a 47-yard touchdown pass by QB Mitsuhiro Tsukino less than 30 after Shimizu's second score. The Seagulls took control of the game when Shimizu caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Tatsumura, who completed nearly 88 percent of his pass attempts, five minutes into the third quarter that gave the Seagulls a 37-22 lead.
One day after the Seagulls' win the Silver Star had little trouble to defeat the Nissan Skyliners 24-0. After a scoreless first quarter the Silver Star took a 7-0 lead when RB Takashi Yoshioka caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from former NFL Europe QB Kentaro Namiki five minutes and 17 seconds into the second quarter. After a second touchdown pass, this time from QB Hayato Arima, had given the Silver Star a 14-0 lead after three quarters RB Ikunori Hanna increased the lead to 21-0 with a 6-yard run five minutes and 33 seconds into the fourth quarter.
(Text: Dieter Hoch)
X League scores and standings
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Upset in the west
In week 3 the 2006 X League season saw the first huge upset when the Naigai Denki Marvies defeated the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers in a west division match in Kobe 21-17. The Marvies scored the decisive touchdown with four minutes and 36 seconds left when QB Takahiro Terao ran the ball into the endzone from four yards out. Terao was the man of the match. He attempted only two passes but ran 22 times for 144 yards. His performance overshadowed a great performance by Asahi's WR Osamu Momozawa. He caught ten passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns and gave his team a 17-14 lead two minutes and 42 seconds into the fourth quarter when he caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from QB Yujiro Katsura.
The Marvies had taken the lead for the first time about two minutes earlier when RB Hideaki Nagasaka, following a 41-yard kickoff return by Tadao Nishimura, scored on a 2-yard run. After Momozawa's touchdown Nishimura had another good kickoff return (46 yards to Asahi's 46-yard line) that set up Terao's game winning score.
X League scores and standings
QB Takahiro Terao
(Text: Dieter Hoch, Photo: Naigai Denki Marvies)
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Top teams win in opening games
The top teams of the X League easily won their opening games of the 2006 fall season. In the first game of the new season the Kajima Deers in the east division defeated IBM BigBlue 37-9 in front of 3.476 spectators in the Tokyo Dome. After Koki Kato provided the only touchdown of the first half with a 67-yard fumble return in the fourth minute of the second quarter that gave the Deers a 10-3 lead the Deers took complete control of the game when RB Naohisa Ikeba scored the first of his two touchdowns (2-yard run) midway through the third quarter for a 23-3 lead. Ikeba finished the game with 108 yards on 16 rushes and scored his second touchdown (7-yard run) one minute and 31 seconds into the fourth quarter.
In other east division action the Onward Skylarks handed the Meiji Yasuda Pirates a 31-14 defeat. After leading 10-0 at halftime the Skylarks left no doubt about the outcome of the game when they scored two touchdowns within one minute and 18 seconds early in the third quarter. First RB Masatoshi Sugihara scored on a 6-yard run just under two minutes into the second half and after the Pirates were forced to punt on their ensuing possession Sugihara returned the ball 62 yards for another score that gave the Skylarks a 24-0 lead.
In the central division defending X League and National Champion Obic Seagulls routed the Renesas Hurricanes 56-3. The Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead three minutes and 44 seconds into the first quarter with a 33-yard field goal but the Seagulls finished the next two drives with 1-yard touchdown runs by RB Takeshi Shindo and added a third touchdown on a 69-yard punt return with time running out in the first period. The Seagulls had two 100-yard rushers, Hiroshi Furukawa (17 rushes for 120 yards) and Takuya Furutani (9 rushes for 104 yards). Furutani gave the Seagulls a 35-3 halftime lead with an 11-yard run with a minute and 44 seconds left in the first half and Furukawa added a touchdown on a 29-yard run with three minutes and 15 seconds left in the third quarter that increased the lead to 49-3.
In the west division Matsushita Denko Impulse beat the As One Black Eagles 33-0. Impulse opened the scoring with a 93-yard kickoff return by RB Masahiro Ishino who had eight rushes for 80 yards and also scored on a 41-yard touchdown run that gave the Impulse a 26-0 lead with three minutes and 25 seconds left to play in the game. The game was dominated by Matsushita's defense that held the offense of the Black Eagles to 44 total yards (minus one yard rushing), forced three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) and added a touchdown with a fumble recovery in the endzone by DE Hirotoshi Kanzui in the final minute of the first quarter that gave the Impulse a 16-0 lead.
X League scores and standings
(Text: Dieter Hoch)
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