Impulse takes X League crown

(December 13, 2008) - Panasonic Denko Impulse advanced to the Rice Bowl on January 3 with a 28-14 victory against the Kajima Deers in the Japan X Bowl in Osaka. In the Rice Bowl the defending national champion will play the college champion who will be determined in the Koshien Bowl on December 21 (Kanto League champion Hosei University Tomahawks from Tokyo vs Kansai League champion Ritsumeikan University Panthers from Kyoto).
The outstanding player of the Japan X Bowl in Osaka's Kyocera Dome was RB Masahiro Ishino. The 29-year old national team player (World Cup winner 2003) gained 195 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns. Early in the game it looked like the Deers could knock off the defending champion but after the Deers had taken a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter the Impulse answered with an 18-play drive that ended with a 2-yard run by Ishino. Following a punt return to the Deers' 30 yard line Ishino scored his second touchdown (13-yard run). And with less than a minute to play in the first half Impulse capped another long drive with a 3-yard run by RB Takatoshi Kobayashi that gave them a 21-14 lead at halftime. In the first minute of the fourth quarter Impulse increased the lead to 14 points (28-14) with a 16-yard run by QB Tetsuo Takata.

(Text: Dieter Hoch)

Scores and Standings

Deers beat BigBlue

(October 8, 2008) - In a key game in the race for the two playoff spots in the X League's central division the Kajima Deers defeated IBM BigBlue 17-7. Since BigBlue already had lost to the Obic Seagulls they are out of playoff contention. RB Shoichiro Sato ran for 92 yards and both touchdowns for the Deers. BigBlue's only tochdown came with five Minutes and 28 seconds left in the game when WR Ian Sample scored with a 49-yard catch. But two minutes and twelve seconds later Sato scored his second touchdown to give his team a ten point lead again.

(Text: Dieter Hoch)

Scores and Standings

Key victory for Oaks

(September 13, 2008) - The Onward Oaks opened the season with a 39-20 win against Asahi Beer Silver Star in one of the key games in the X League's east division. Lead by a brilliant QB Shun Sugawara who completed 19 of his 21 pass attempts for 300 yards and three touchdown and had no interception the Oaks scored on the first two possessions, first about four minutes into the game on a 23-yard pass from Sugawara to WR Shigeaki Inoue and two minutes and 18 seconds later on a 40-yard pass by Sugawara to WR Kazuyuki Maeda. The Oaks later added a safety and a field goal on the final play of the first quarter to take a 19-0 lead. Silver Star scored on the first play of the second quarter following the ensuing kickoff with a 98-yard kickoff return but at halftime still trailed by 19 (7-26). They closed the gap twice in the third and fourth quarter but both times the Oaks answered with touchdowns of their own.

(Text: Dieter Hoch)

Scores and Standings

Kinoshita shines in Seagulls win

(September 10, 2008) - The Obic Seagulls came back from an early 10-0 deficit and beat IBM BigBlue 35-17 in the opening game of the X League's central division. In one of the key games in the fight for the central division's two playoff spots BigBlue took a 7-0 lead when former University of Hawaii WR Ian Sample returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. About six minutes later Korean K Choi Kyung Ho added a 51-yard field goal.
Then Obic's offense lead by rookie QB Masato Kinoshita took over. Three minutes and 14 seconds after Ho's field goal Kinoshita threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to WR Shinya Furutani to cut IBM's lead to three points. Five minutes and 55 seconds later the Seagulls took the lead for good when Kinoshita hit WR Ken Shimizu with a 33-yard touchdown pass. The Seagulls capped their next possession with a 1-yard touchdown run by RB Takuya Furutani and took a 21-10 lead into halftime. Any hopes for a comeback ended for BigBlue when S Takayuki Terada increased Obic's lead to 28-10 with a 27-yard interception return early in the third quarter.

Scores and Standings

Finies upset Marvies

(September 8, 2008) - The 2008 season in the X League opened last weekend with three games in the west division. While the two traditional powerhouses Matsushita Denko Impulse and Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers easily handled their opponents the Kobe Finies surprised the Naigai Denki Marvies with a 21-24 win. Behind three touchdown passes by QB Masaharu Sato, two to WR Daisuke Matsuoka, the Finies took a 24-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. The 17 point deficit was too big for the Marvies to overcome. Sato completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 141 Yards and did not throw an interception.

Scores and Standings