All X League Class announced

(February 22, 2015) - On Sunday the X League announced the 2014 All X League Class. X League and Japanese Champion Fujitsu Frontiers and their predecessors, the Obic Seagulls, combined for 16 of the 24 players on the all-league team. Representing the Frontiers are QB Colby Cameron, RB Gino Gordon, WR Teruaki Clark Nakamura, G Shun Mochizuki, OT Yutaro Kobayashi, LB Shoichiro Suzuki, DB Al-Rilwan Adeyami, DB Shinya Miki and K Hidetetsu Nishimura. The Seagulls had a second best seven players selected: RB Takuto Hara, WR Noriaki Kinoshita and G Yusuke Yamamoto on offense and DE Kevin Jackson, DT Shota Tomita and DBs Takeshi Miyake and DB Keizaburo Isagawa on defense. Kinoshita was also selected as return specialist while Jackson set a new record with his tenth selection.

The remaining eight slots on the all-star roster went to five different teams: the LIXIL Deers (DE Shuhei Suzuki, LB Kenjiro Odate and P Daisuke Aoki), IBM BigBlue (TE John Stanton and DE James Brooks), Nojima Sagamihara Rise (C Derek Faavi), the Elecom Kobe Finies (LB Mutsumi Takahashi) and the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers (OT Haruhisa Kurokawa).

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Frontiers win Rice Bowl

(January 4, 2015) - About three weeks after claiming their first ever X League championship the Fujitsu Frontiers also won their first National Championship by beating college champion Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters 33-24 at the Tokyo Dome. Playing without injured QB Colby Cameron RB Gino Gordon became the primary weapon for the Frontiers' offense rushing for 95 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. His second touchdown, an 11-yard run two and a half minutes into the fourth quarter for a 30-24 lead, provided the game winning points. Gordon, who was later voted the game's MVP, scored his first touchdown (3-yard run) early in the second quarter for a 10-7 lead.

The Frontiers added ten more points in the second quarter for a 20-10 lead at halftime. But the Fighters came back in the third quarter scoring two touchdowns on consecutive possessions. First RB Seija Hashimoto cut the Frontiers' lead to 20-17 with a 1-yard run and at the end of the Fighters' next possession QB Kei Saito threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to WR Takato Kido for a 24-23 lead with ten seconds left in the third quarter.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Game Report at The Japan Times Online

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Frontiers take X League title

(December 17, 2014) - The Fujitsu Frontiers took their first ever X League championship by beating IBM BigBlue 44-10 in the Japan X Bowl. Next for the Frontiers is the Rice Bowl on January 3 where they face College Champion Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters. In the Japan X Bowl the Frontiers' defense set the tone by forcing five turnovers with four of them leading to touchdowns. With both starting quarterbacks forced to leave the game by injuries Fujitsu's RB Gino Gordon became the MVP of the game, rushing for 112 Yards on 17 carries and scoring four of his team's five offensive touchdowns.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Game Report at The Japan Times Online

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Rise upset Finies

(November 2, 2014) - Nojima Sagamihara Rise handed the Elecom Kobe Finies their first loss of the season beating the surprise West Division champion 41-14 in week one of second stage play. RB Takashi Miyako ran for 293 yards and scored the first three touchdowns for his team with runs of 55, 83 and 30 yards. The Finies scored their first points with a 5-yard touchdown pass from QB Inoke Funaki to WR Masahiro Tonai when they were already trailing 24-0 and did not score again before the Rise had added 17 more points to their lead. The Finies can still reach the final stage by beating the Obic Seagulls on November 16. The Rise will next face the Seagulls on November 9.

In other games the LIXIL Deers scored two touchdowns in a span of one minute and 26 seconds in the third quarter on their way to a 23-7 win against the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers at Expo Flash Field in Osaka. Midway through the third quarter with the Deers leading 3-0 QB Shohei Kato threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to WR Yasushi Nakagawa for a 10-0 lead and just 86 seconds later LB Takashi Makiuchi put his team up by 17 points with a 35-yard interception return.

In Tokyo the Fujitsu Frontiers scored 44 points in the first half alone in a 65-0 rout of the Asahi Beer Silver Star, piling up 654 total yards on 61 plays. RBs Keita Takanohashi and Gino Gordon had two touchdown runs each in the first two quarters and QB Colby Cameron added two touchdown passes to WR Teruaki Clark Nakamura.

Game Statistics Rise vs Finies

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Game Statistics Challengers vs Deers

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Game Statistics Frontiers vs Silver Star

Game Report at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Finies stay unbeaten, take division title

(October 21, 2014) - The Elecom Kobe Finies accomplished a historic first: With a 28-0 win against the As One Black Eagles in the final week of first stage play they became the first team other than Panasonic Impulse and the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers to win the West Division of the X League. The Finies defeated both traditional powerhouses on back-to-back weekends in late August and early September. In the second stage they will face the defending X League and Japanese champion Obic Seagulls from the Central Division and Nojima Sagamihara Rise from the east.

Against the Black Eagles the Finies' offense did not score until the fourth quarter. The lone score through the first three quarters was provided by LB Rocky Poutoa-Alo who scored with a fumble recovery in the endzone with about one and a half minutes left in the second quarter. Early in the fourth quarter RB Tomomi Hase scored with a 1-yard touchdown run and later QB Inoke Funaki threw touchdown passes of 43 and 1 yards to WRs Kakuto Hori and Masahiro Matsuda.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Week 5 wrapup at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Deers surprise defending Champion

(October 21, 2014) - The final round of first stage action ended with a surprising finish in the Central Division when the LIXIL Deers beat the defending X League and Japanese Champion Obic Seagulls 23-17 at Yokohama Stadium. The outcome itself would not be too big of a surprise when two of the X League's best teams face each other, but while the Deers had a couple of close calls earlier against the All Mitubishi Lions (31-28 in week 1) and Asahi Beer Silver Star (20-10 in week 2) the Seagulls did not even allow a single score through the first four games.

The Deers handed the Seagulls' defense their first points of the season on the first play of the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown pass from QB Shohei Kato to WR Naoki Maeda. The Deers had a 14-10 lead at halftime and added two field goals in the third quarter. The Seagulls came within three points with a 6-yard touchdown run by WR Noriaki Kinoshita early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win in the end but with just over three minutes left to play they waisted a great scoring opportunity with a fumble after reaching the Deers' 4-yard-line.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Week 5 wrapup at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Frontiers too much for BigBlue

(October 5, 2014) - The Fujitsu Frontiers proved to be too much of a challenge for IBM BigBlue on both sides of the line of scrimmage and won the week 4 matchup 41-13 at Kawasaki Fujimi Stadium. The defense held IBM's offense to under 300 yards, and Colby Cameron won the highly anticipated battle of the two top US quarterbacks in the X League completing 21 of 30 pass attempts for 230 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. Cameron, the former Louisiana Tech signal caller and NCAA record holder for consecutive pass attempts without an interception (444), also ran for a score. IBM's Kevin Craft, who had a big game the week before in a 30-21 win against Nojima Sagamihara Rise, completed 20 of 31 pass attempts but was limited to 169 yards and had only one touchdown pass against three interceptions.

The win against BigBlue puts the Frontiers in position to capture the East Division titel with a win against the Rise in the final week of first stage play on October 20. In this case the Frontiers in the second stage would play against the second place team from the West Division (Impulse or Challengers) and the third place team from the Central Division (Silver Star or Lions). If the BigBlue finishes first stage play in second place in the East Division they would face the first place team from the Central Division (most likely defending X League and national champion Seagulls) and the third place team from the West Division (Impulse or Challengers) in the second stage.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Week 4 wrapup at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

BigBlue beats Rise, Frontiers next

(September 28, 2014) - IBM BigBlue took a big step towards their goal of reaching the final stage for the first time since 2010. QB Kevin Craft threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns and lead his team to a 30-21 win against the Nojima Sagamihara Rise. The win enhances the BigBlue's chances to reach the semifinals because as a second or even first place team in first stage play they will get "easier" second stage pairings than as a third place finisher. Each second stage division puts together one first place, one second place and one third place finisher from the first stage divisions.

BigBlue's win creates a battle for the eventual division title next week when BigBlue faces division favourite Fujitsu Frontiers. With a win IBM would take the title, if the Frontiers win the final standings in the east division would be determined by the outcome of the week 5 matchup between the Frontiers and Rise.

Game Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Week 3 wrapup at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Finies move closer to 2nd stage

(September 14, 2014) - Just two weeks into the 2014 X League season the surprising Elecom Kobe Finies are one win away from qualifying for the second stage for the first time. After upsetting Panasonic Impulse in week one they did the same to the other traditional west division powerhouse in week two, beating the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers 16-12 with a relentless defensive effort and enough firepower by their veteran leaders on offense, QB Inoke Funaki and RB Ryohei Kaneshiro. The Finies scored all their points in the first half and their defense held the Challengers to just 61 total yards.

At Kobe's Oji Stadium Funaki was responsible for both offensive touchdowns. The 31-year old former FBS College Football player (Hawaii 2006 through 2009) scored with a 61-yard run in the first quarter and added a 22-yard touchdown pass to WR Masahiro Matsuda in the second quarter. A 23-yard field goal by Jun Matsuoka increased the Finies' lead to 16-0 with three minutes and 40 seconds left to play in the first half.

Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: X League)

Finies upset Impulse

(August 30, 2014) - Jun Matsuoka's 39-yard field goal in overtime gave the Elecom Kobe Finies a 24-21 upset victory against the Panasonic Impulse at Kobe's Oji Stadium. Impulse struggled on offense and their defense was surprised a couple of times by long passes from QBs Inoke Funaki and Keijiro Kasuya. Still, the team that was heavily favoured to win the game went ahead twice in regulation by touchdown runs from last year's rookie sensation Shun Yokota. The Finies tied the game with three minutes and 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Kasuya hit local hero Masahiro Aso with a 35-yard touchdown pass and K Yoshiro Takai added the extrapoint. Aso, a rookie, played College Football at Kobe University and was the Kansai League's leading receiver in 2013.

Statistics

Game Report at www.xleague.com

Week 1 wrapup at www.xleague.com

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: Elecom Kobe Finies)

Strong finish helps Deers to avoid upset

(August 25, 2014) - The 2014 fall season in the X League started in thrilling fashion when the LIXIL Deers came back from 14 points down, scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and finally beat the All Mitsubishi Lions 31-28 in front of more than 4.000 fans at the Tokyo Dome. K Daisuke Aoki scored the game-winning points with a 19-yard field goal with 72 seconds left to play. Deers QB Shohei Kato had a stellar performance completing 78 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

The upset-minded Lions weren't bad either. Highlighted by two touchdown passes from QB Shoma Taniguchi and a 93-yard touchdown run by RB Yasuhiro Suzuki the Lions took a 28-14 lead into the final quarter. But the Deers responded by scoring two touchdowns within a span of just under two minutes early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28.

Statistics

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: LIXIL Deers)

Seagulls win wild Pearl Bowl final

(June 24, 2014) - The Fujitsu Frontiers may have found the guy to lead them to a championship in QB Colby Cameron but for now their claim to dethrone the Obic Seagulls as the top team in the X League was put on hold. In a wild Pearl Bowl final QB Shun Sugawara first lead the Seagulls to the game-tying touchdown as time expired and then scored with an 8-yard run in the second overtime to give his team a 37-34 win in front of nearly 17.000 fans at the Tokyo Dome.

The game saw seven lead changes in regulation, the last one with just under nine minutes left when Cameron, who joined the Frontiers this spring after unsuccessfully trying out with the NFL's Carolina Panthers last summer, threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Sei Kyo for a 28-22 lead. The Seagulls needed a huge offensive effort to avoid defeat going 81 yards in two minutes. With time running out Sugawara found RB Takuya Furutani in the endzone for a 19-yard touchdown pass. And the Seagulls could have won the game right there but K Yosuke Kaneoya who had already missed a PAT following the first touchdown again could not convert.

Read more:
Game Report 1 at www.xleague.com
Game Report 2 at www.xleague.com

Statistics

(Text: Dieter Hoch)

Impulse reclaims spring title

(May 25, 2014) - One year after losing the Green Bowl Final Panasonic Impulse took revenge beating the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers 35-7 in this year's Green Bowl Final at Kobe's Oji Stadium. Last year the Challengers prevailed 16-8 for their first Green Bowl title since 2006. The key to Panasonic's victory were two touchdowns in a span of just 72 seconds in the third quarter. First RB Shun Yokota scored on a 2-yard run to give his team a 14-7 lead with four minutes and 40 seconds left in the third quarter and one minute and 12 seconds later LB Kohei Unuma increased the lead to 21-7 with a short punt return. In the fourth minute of the fourth quarter Yokota scored his second touchdown with a 34-yard run and two minutes later QB Yuma Nagayoshi added another score with a 15-yard run.

Read more:
Game Report at www.xleague.com

Statistics

(Text: Dieter Hoch / Photo: Panasonic Impulse)