July 23, 2024
By Evan Lepler
Tuesday Toss: Week 13 | Part 1
1. Oakland's Two Win Weekend
Behind an extraordinary throwing display from Evan Magsig, the Oakland Spiders snapped long losing streaks at both San Diego and Los Angeles to create some positive momentum heading into the playoffs.
In two games, Magsig threw for 1,460 yards, a larger sum than all but two of his teammates compiled for the entire season. His individual game totals, 813 throwing yards against the Growlers and 647 vs. the Aviators, were third and sixth among single-game throwing totals across the league this season. More notably, they were one and two for highest single-game throwing yard totals in victories.
“Yea, Evan balled out this weekend,” said Spiders teammate Walker Frankenberg, who also threw five assists in Saturday’s 26-22 win over San Diego. “He’s been the hub of our offense and he shoulders a lot of the load for us, both on and off the field [...] His deep throwing has leveled up to an elite level, and his ability to get out of the double team trap has neutralized what was a source of early-season turnovers for us.”
Magsig finished the two-win weekend with 14 assists, nine more hockey assists, 132 completions, and just four throwaways. For the season, his 628 completions rank second in the league, while his 4,562 throwing yards were the third-most among all players.
“[Evan’s] a fantastic leader, he has a big voice in the huddle, he has a lot of care for his teammates, he’s one of the most talented players in the league, and he’s all those things at once,” said fellow Spider Max Williams. “He is a generational talent and he embodies what it means to be a Spider.”
After a four-goal win against the Growlers on Saturday, snapping the team’s eight-game losing streak at San Diego, the Spiders overpowered LA for a 23-16 triumph on Sunday, their first win in Los Angeles since May 3, 2015. Before Sunday, Oakland had lost its last 11 trips to LA.
“This past weekend was really great for us,” added Williams, who returned to the field for the first time since breaking his right medial malleolus, a bone on the inner side of the ankle, back on May 17 against Salt Lake. “Going into the SoCal road trip having not win a game in LA or San Diego in the past several years is a challenge on its own, especially considering the emotions surrounding the end to our season last year. Everyone on the team is well aware of the history [...] Even though our playoff standings weren’t affected by the outcomes of our games, we were incredibly motivated to fight for wins against San Diego and LA.”
Rejoining the O-line, Williams registered five goals and four assists in the two games. Jake Thorne added 12 goals in the two games, while Raekwon Adkins chipped in with six goals and three assists. Aside from trailing 5-4 at the end of the first against the Aviators, the Spiders won or tied all seven other quarters they played on the road in Week 13 to finish the regular season 8-4, the team’s best regular season winning percentage since 2015.
“Heading into this upcoming weekend with momentum after handling our business and putting together two complete games definitely helps validate the confidence we have in ourselves,” said Frankenberg. “Towards the beginning of the season, we sometimes struggled putting together a full four quarters, so doing so in our recent wins will be the blueprint to follow in the Seattle game.”
2. Montreal's Two Win Weekend
Nearly a full continent away from Oakland’s SoCal success, the Montreal Royal also capped their regular with a multi-win weekend, earning a 23-18 road victory at Toronto on Friday before outplaying Boston in an 18-14 home triumph on Sunday. Tobe Decraene concluded his rookie campaign with two virtually flawless stat lines, closing his season with 10 assists, four goals, over 900 total yards, and no throwaways. Quentin Bonnaud wasn’t bad either, tallying eight goals, three assists, and two blocks on the weekend, which doubled Montreal’s season-long win total from two to four.
“Tob and QB definitely shined, but our team worked well together and deserved the wins,” said Montreal veteran Kevin Quinlan. “Top to bottom of our roster, we had contributors and showed a glimpse of what we can be.”
In Sunday’s win over the playoff-bound Glory, the Royal were delighted to pick up their first victory over someone other than Toronto this season, though it was also a reminder of many of the missed opportunities throughout the year. In fact, five of Montreal’s eight losses were by just one or two goals.
“I think the way I would describe this season is the season of ‘what if,’” said Decraene. “If we won the close matches, where would we be?”
As mentioned in yesterday’s Honor Roll, Decraene finished the regular season third in the Association with 52 assists, tied for fifth with 18 blocks, and produced the sixth-most total yards across the league.
3. For Glory, Season Comes Down to Saturday vs. New York
The most important news from Boston’s final weekend of the regular season was that Jeff Babbitt was ok. He departed Sunday’s matinee in Montreal midway through the third quarter with a non-contact injury, but he does not expect to miss Saturday’s marquee matchup against his old team.
“I rolled my ankle,” said Babbitt. “I will be good to go for the [Empire] game.”
Babbitt produced six goals and three blocks in Saturday’s 26-21 victory over Toronto, but that relatively small margin of victory meant that the Glory would have needed to knock off the Royal by at least 15 goals to steal the East Division’s top seed away from the Breeze. A 14-goal win would have meant a coin toss. But knowing that the Royal were not likely to be so thoroughly obliterated, the Glory appeared to take their collective foot off the gas a bit on Sunday.
“We were definitely flat,” said Boston Captain Brendan McCann. “The mantra was to take the game one point at a time and not worry about winning by 15. I don’t think that mattered though. The team was low energy, and when the first quarter was tied at fours, there was a sense of ‘well, we aren’t winning by 15.’ Montreal played well, though, credit to them. Tobe is a beast. I said this last time we played them too, they would be a playoff contender in most other divisions. They are young and athletic, and I would expect them to keep improving for the next few years.”
Peter Boerth and Orion Cable combined for 11 goals against the Royal, while Ben Sadok dished six assists, but the Glory D-line went a paltry 2-for-7 on break chances, and Boston completed just 5-of-10 hucks in their second game of the weekend.
After a 9-3 season, easily the franchise’s best campaign in team history, the Glory’s reward is a home game against the two-time reigning UFA champions. It should be a fascinating showdown in so many ways, but my biggest feeling is this: at the end of the game, it’ll be an enormously disappointing defeat for whoever comes up short.
From Boston’s perspective, after signing one of New York’s top players, finishing second, ahead of the Empire in the standings, and earning a home playoff game, it would be remarkably crushing to lose at home and finish the year with back-to-back setbacks. On the flip-side, if the league’s greatest dynasty just fades away with two straight losses against DC and Boston, that would be stunning in itself.
Remember, New York has not missed Championship Weekend since 2017.
Once again, it feels like whatever happens will feel historic, and I can’t wait to be there in person to see it.
4. Philly Wins the Commonwealth Cup
With the game airing live on NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Phoenix led 9-8 at halftime and never trailed during the final couple quarters, hanging on for the narrow 18-17 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. Sean Mott, who has played in every single game for the Phoenix in seven straight seasons, led the way with six assists and 590 total yards.
“It felt great keeping the Cup here in Philly,” said James Pollard. “No team had won the Cup game in back-to-back seasons until this year, taking our Cup record to 3-1.”
For the season, Saturday’s battle featured a pair of four-win teams, with the Phoenix taking the triumph to finish 5-7. It was the third straight year that Philly closed the season strong, but the Phoenix also recognized that they fell well short of their preseason expectations.
“We greatly underachieved, and we know it,” said Pollard. “I know we can compete for a top spot in this division, we just have to do it every game instead of one New York game or one DC game…I feel that if we had won that double overtime game in DC, it would have drastically changed the course of our team this year.”
5. Minnesota and Chicago Demolish Detroit
Over the course of a couple days, the score went Minnecago 54, Mechanix 30.
On Saturday in St. Paul, the Wind Chill routed Detroit 30-16, snapping their two-game losing streak and improving to 9-3 atop the Central Division.
“I’m not sure I’d consider this a bounce-back game,” said Minnesota Captain Brandon Matis. “We played better despite a jumbled roster, but we still lacked consistency on both ends of the ball at times. I will say, this was a rare year where we didn’t fare as well at home, so it was great to end the regular season on a high note in front of our fans.”
The Wind Chill will host the winner of this Sunday’s Chicago-Madison game for the right to advance to Championship Weekend.
“We’re feeling good about what we’ve built, but we know where the bar is,” said Matis. “The real work is just beginning.”
Gordon Larson continued his recent scoring tear, delivering four assists and three goals on Saturday against the Mechanix, while Tristan Van De Moortele tossed six assists with no turns. Also noteworthy was Gabe Jagt, younger brother of New York’s two-time UFA MVP, Ben Jagt, making his Wind Chill debut, tallying two goals and a block.
One day later, Nate Astrom’s big game in Chicago’s 24-14 win might have lifted the University of Illinois product onto one of the league’s all-rookie squads. The 20-year-old Astrom tallied five scores and five blocks in the Union’s double-digit victory.
“Nate Astrom is great,” commented Union Captain Sam Kaminsky. “He’s a true rookie and his defensive ability makes him look like an established vet. Asher Lantz and Jace Bruner left in the offseason, which means we lost our top two block leaders. Nate Astrom has stepped in perfectly to one of those spots.”
Detroit was only down 12-9 early in the third, but Chicago’s 5-0 tear basically put the game away, sending the Union into the playoffs with a winning 7-5 record.
“I’m most pleased with how we finished the game,” added Kaminsky. “We had some fumbles in the second quarter which led to our halftime message: let’s win each of the remaining quarters and take this momentum into next week. We did that and are satisfied with the result to finish off the regular season in front of our home crowd.”
Detroit’s Jake Felton tossed 13 assists, scored six goals, produced almost 1,500 total yards, and endured 17 throwaways across the two-loss weekend for the Mechanix, capping maybe the wildest statistical season in UFA history. Felton finished the year, his first in the league, with 66 assists, most in the Association, and 81 throwaways, more than double the amount of the next highest number in the league. He also finished number one in both throwing yards and total yards, but all of these figures just added up to one win.
The Mechanix, despite snapping their historic 81-game losing streak with an emotional triumph over Pittsburgh on June 22, still head into 2025 having been beaten in 85 of their last 86 games.
6. Austin Keeps Dallas Winless
Like the Wind Chill and the Union, the Austin Sol groove into the playoffs following a win over an overmatched opponent. Austin pounded Dallas 28-18 on Saturday night, improving the Sol to 7-5 and dooming the Legion to 0-12.
Jake Reinhardt dealt a career-high eight assists to pace the Sol, while Kyle Henke and Joey Wylie were involved in six scores apiece. Alec Wilson Holliday added seven goals to his season, capping a 2024 campaign where he led the UFA with 60 goals scored.
This does not necessarily mean that big numbers are meaningless, however it’s also undeniably true that, for the 2024 season, the league’s regular season goals and assists champions, respectively, combined to win just one game.
7. Portland’s Ben Thoennes Erupts for a Dozen Dimes
Speaking of big numbers, Portland’s 21-year-old Ben Thoennes tossed 12 assists on Sunday night in the final game of the regular season, three more than the next highest total for a player in a game this season. Despite the many dazzling throws and his 961 total yards, the Nitro still were walloped by Seattle 26-17.
“Since it was the last game of the season, it felt like there was less pressure on us to win—though we were definitely still trying our hardest to—and that allowed me to feel more comfortable taking some of the high-risk, high-reward throws that ended up working out,” said Thoennes, which is pronounced “tho-ness. “Also, Henry Wayte and Conner Stillwell are really fun cutters to get to throw to since they usually know what I’m looking for and both made impressive plays to bail me out when it was needed.”
Still, the Cascades cruised, with Garrett Martin scoring eight goals and Khalif El-Salaam compiling six assists and three goals. Seattle’s D-line produced 11 breaks, whereas Portland’s had just two.
“Thoennes played incredibly,” said Martin. “Catching and throwing hucks all night long with no fear [...] They hucked on pretty much every possession and came down with more than usual. He’s a very talented thrower who got to showcase that range with no risk, basically. That throwing talent led to one of the craziest stat lines I’ve seen.”
But Martin still thought his teammate was the top star on Sunday night.
“Not to take anything away from [Thoennes], but I think Khalif was the player of the game. Multiple huge skies, tons of yards himself, and tons of scores to back it up. Leaf showed that he can still dominate and take over when he wants to. He was also incredibly efficient and still left space for others to use their superpowers.”
The Hammer
Four games this weekend will determine the elite eight for the 2024 season, and each contest has its own quirks.
The obvious choice for “Game of the Week” is the East Division opener, scheduled for 1 PM on Saturday, between New York and Boston. The full previews are certainly forthcoming, but it’s safe to say there are more juicy storylines than the typical first round playoff encounter, perhaps more than the other three divisional battles combined.
I think the Empire probably deserve to be considered a slight road favorite, but I’d also be surprised if the Glory went down quietly. Possession will be at a premium, and every turnover will feel game-changing.
“I’m hoping we can get a ton of fans out to support us and put on a show,” said Boston’s Brendan McCann. “This franchise has been on an upwards trajectory each year, and I think there is a general sentiment that this is the year that we make the jump to championship contender. Only time will tell.”
The South Division contest is the only first round matchup that features a team that went 2-0 against their opponent during the regular season, as Carolina claimed wins by three and by seven, respectively, against Austin this past spring. This will be also be the third straight season that the Flyers and Sol are squaring off in the playoffs, as Carolina eliminated Austin in 2022 before the Sol returned the favor in 2023.
“It’s gonna be a tough one, but I think we’re as confident as we can be coming off a tight home game against Atlanta and then two strong performances leading into the playoffs,” said Austin’s Jake Reinhardt.
In the Central, Madison’s hosting Chicago after clobbering the Union 21-13 just a couple weeks ago, and both team’s know that clean holds will be at a premium.
“Statistically speaking, we are both top defenses in the league,” said Chicago’s Sam Kaminsky. “So it’s going to come down to whose offense can get off the field and get their strong defense out there. And not losing the second quarter by six will be very important too.”
Indeed, the Union endured a disastrous second quarter, getting outscored 7-1, when the teams met recently. But it’s also hard to imagine the Radicals playing as clean an offensive game—Madison tied a franchise record with just eight turnovers—when they face Chicago for the second time in three weeks, and this time with postseason pressure.
“If Chicago plays their best, we’ll have to earn our opportunities and punch them in,” said Madison’s Kelsen Alexander. “Last time we played them, we had three turnovers in the first half. That’s a recipe for success.”
And out West, Oakland at Seattle feels like the biggest toss-up of them all. Is there a way to bet on this game going to overtime?
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” said Oakland’s Max Williams. “We’ve beaten Seattle in their home, we’ve had to mount a comeback, we know what it takes and what it feels like to win in Seattle. We’ve found a lot of chemistry as a team and we’re right where we want to be heading into the playoffs.”
Both teams won by one on the other’s home field during the regular season, and both are obviously coming off dominant victories on Sunday.
This also will be Seattle’s first home playoff game ever, as they try to earn another trip to Utah.
“We want a rematch with Salt Lake badly,” said Seattle’s Garrett Martin, “but we can’t overlook the Spiders. They’re a feisty bunch that can punch with anyone. I think our games against them back in May aren’t going to be good data for what to expect, honestly. Both teams have grown and changed a ton, so I’m excited to see them again. I think our offense has like three players that weren’t playing O last time we played them, and our D schemes have gotten more diverse. Both lines have also gained a ton more chemistry and trust with each other. It’ll be exciting nonetheless. I expect a full crowd to come out, especially since the ‘Scades haven’t seen the playoffs in eight years.”
