“The Red Star Strikers are coming to the end of a disappointing season, with their only win in the first four rounds coming because of a forfeit. Still, two draws have helped to keep them in touch with the upper end of the table. They face Schola, a Chaos side who have performed well in the past with winner's trophies in both Regional and Conference divisions. This season they've chalked up two wins and suffered a loss, with another win coming via forfeit. They'll be looking to advance their title claims at the expense of the Red Star Strikers.

The Chaos side won the toss and elected to receive. The Dwarves took to the scrimmage line to prepare as best they could for the big bodies of Schola. After an ordinary kickoff from the Reds which went straight to Diripio II, the Chaos side started to assert their physical dominance. Dominus Mortifer II knocked out Pol Pot, before a foul from Diripio II killed Mao Zedong! Luckily the Reds had some medical staff standing by to revive him, but were understandable nervous about having used up their medical resources so early in the match. Diripio II still had the ball, which made him even more of a target when the time came for the Strikers to strike back. Lavrenti Beria stood up and smashed the beastman, putting him out of action for the rest of the day and sending the ball flying. Schola did not try to regain possession, instead trying to inflict more damage on the Dwarves and gain a numbers advantage. This plan came unstuck, however, when Vis III, the big Schola Ogre, tried in vain to block Vladimir Lenin, falling down in the process. Deng Xiaoping then went after Pecus III, clearing a path to the ball after kncoking the beastman out. Vyacheslav Molotov eventually picked the pill up but was encircled by Schola defenders. Leonid Brezhnev tried to clear the way, pushing Fera II into the crowd, but it was Molotov and Brezhnev who were soon pinned againt the sideline. The Reds took the attack to another level as Ho Chi Minh got into the game by putting Vis III out of it and probably out of next week's game as well. Brezhnev blocked his way out of trouble ad Molotov blitzed and attempted to get behind some of his teammates. Karl Marx, however, attempted to hit Dominus Deus IV but only did a number on himself and was carried off. Bellua VI got up and managed to knock down the ball carrier, which led to the big Chaos Warrior Dominus Nex III picking up the crumbs and charging down the field. Ho Chi Minh, with a taste for blood, hunted down big Nex and Molotov grabbed the loose ball and passed long to Brezhnev who had found himself open. The long bomb miraculously found its mark and Brezhnev, perhaps more miraculously, gloved the ball cleanly. The dwarves were happy to bide their time until the half before scoring, with Dominus Mortifer III also making a trip to the KO box after Deng Xiaoping got violent with him. Leonid Brezhnev eventually crossed for his first ever touchdown.

Thanks to a secret dwarf ingredient in his drinking water, Carnero could not join his teammates for the beginning of the second half. And what few teammates there were! Pecus, Pugna and Mortifer were all knocked out, whilst big Vis and Diripio were out for the duration. With the Dwarves receiving, only seven Schola players stood to face them. To make matters worse, and appalling kick gave the ball to the touchdown scorer in Brezhnev to begin the half. Lenin thought eleven on seven wasn't enough. He promptly knocked out Fera II to restart proceedings. Following this lead, Ho Chi Minh smashed Bellator III which led the beastman to cough, splutter blood, then fall over dead! Dominus Deus IV responded by putting Pol Pot out for a couple of weeks and Bellua IV knocked out a dazed Kliment Voroshilov. Deng Xiaoping, in turn, badly hurt Bellua as the numbers were reduced to four on nine. Things got worse as Auris IV failed to see a counterpunch from Lenin coming. The blow to the chest stopped his heart and he became the second corpse in a Schola uniform. From there, the Reds were happy to put a containment policy in place, running down the clock to avoid further injury. Brezhnev run in his second touchdown in an uncharacteristic ballhandling role. Schola could only field three to go through the formality of the restart, but the result was a convincing 2-0 win for the Strikers.

The Strikers will be happy with this. Their touchdown after kicking set up their win. They will be pleased that they seem to have found their imposing offence again, scoring five casualties and killing two opponents. Maybe they will get back to their bashing, bruising best. With two games to go in the season, they will feel they have a chance to still snare a promotion spot.

Twahnlow Votes
3 - Dominus Deus IV

The Chaos Warrior was the most dangerous Schola player on the pitch. He inflicted two casualties and was one of only three players that were still standing at the end of the match.

2 - Bellua VI

Made an important blitz which provided a rare highlight for the Chaos side.

1 - Dominus Nex III

Nex was almost alone in running the ball today. He didn't get far, but still got further than anyone else.”