Lightning still perfect, Typhoon wins second

The Shell Lightning and Tinian Typhoon emerged victorious from their highly competitive campaigns upon the CPA Airport Field on Saturday as they downed the Express Electronics Eagles and Barbarians, respectively, in the continuation of the 2005 Commonwealth Football League.

The Lightning extended their unbeaten streak to four games despite their vaunted passing game gaining only 62 yards through the air, but they found the answer in their running game by scoring four touchdowns and racking up a team-high 221 yards on the ground.

Since quarterback Brian Hahn was playing his first game under center in three weeks, he had no qualms handing the ball off to his choice of five running backs. Donny Fejeran led the stable with 94 yards and a touchdown for an average of 7.2 yards per carry, but fireplug Roger Tudela powered out 59 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Lightning.

It couldn’t have come at a better time for Hahn, as the able QB managed to complete 5-of-22 passes—six if you count the pass he completed to Eagles cornerback Junior Ray.

The role reversal continued for the Eagles as seven ball carriers from the league’s most punishing running attack gained 51 yards on 20 carries, and the league’s top rusher, Stanley Iakopo, was held to minus two yards on three attempts after an early injury kept him sidelined throughout most of the game.

But Dane Lizama rose to the occasion by completing 10-of-14 passes for a season-high 224 yard—96 of which went to his favorite receiver Mark Wallace. Wallace reeled in an 11-yard touchdown pass, but his leaping grabs along the sidelines fueled Lizama’s aerial assault on the Lightning’s defensive backs.

Injuries and penalties also played a part in the game, as the Eagles lost mammoth run stopper Faasefulu Tigilau early on after taking a shot in the leg, but the Green Machine suffered a blow after multi-positional threat Luka Tapua’ialupe scored a 40-yard touchdown as he was ejected from the game with a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties alongside of teammate Mika Iakopo. After watching their loss from the sidelines, the duo will also be unable to aid the Eagles next week as the ejection carries a one-game suspension.

The Typhoon improved their record to 2-2 and secured a berth in the playoffs by winning the third game in their history by defeating the Barbarians 26-18 in another exciting contest in which the teams were separated by only a touchdown.

Once again the Typhoon special teams and defensive units came to the rescue led by game-breaker Blake Manibusan, as the sparkplug ran a kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown and picked off a Plasido Tagabuel pass 65 yards to the end zone for another score. P.J. Borja also put points on the board for the Typhoon by adding the CFL’s second and third successful point after attempts on 2-of-4 occasions.

The Typhoon made their second quarterback change in three weeks as Juanis King returned to take snaps after Anthony “Ton” Borja injured his fingers on the job, but King had no problems running the offense as he completed 13-of-30 passes for 201 yards.

Wide receiver Ringo Reyes led the air attack with four receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown pass, while deep threat Leo Pascua reeled in six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Despite passing all over the field, the Typhoon couldn’t run the ball to save themselves as they totaled a negative 34 yards on the day.