NC Fusion Men's League Recap: Week 7
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Before we get into the madness — and there is madness — we need to talk about something bigger than lacrosse. Bigger than the playoffs. Bigger than Marty's contract.
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Now. Where were we.
He's Back: The Marty Contract
Guess who's back. Marty. That's right — the holdout is over. The contract got signed. Rumors place the deal at approximately $1 million, guaranteed, with fully covered insurance. Marty said if he's going to be in the action, he needs the protection. And that's why Marty chooses Protect3D — with their personalized 3D-printed braces and protective facemasks for athletes, they were a no-brainer when it comes to protecting the money maker.
The "Pay That Man" movement worked. Labor wins again. Welcome back, Marty. The sideline cameras are rolling and the content machine is operational. We missed you. We'll never admit how much.
Protect3D Player of the Week
Speaking of Protect3D — last week's Player of the Week poll delivered a stunner. Griff "The Humble Goalie" Glover dethroned Rob "KeeperOfTheGatez" Innella by two votes, ending Rob's stranglehold on the award. The humble goalie lives up to his name — quiet, consistent, lets his play do the talking.
Rob, naturally, is not handling this well. He's calling for an investigation. He wants a recount. He wants to see the voter rolls. He wants to know if Griff voted for himself, if Duncan voted twice, and whether the poll was conducted on a secure server. At this point I would not be surprised if Rob files a formal grievance with the league office, which does not exist.
This week's poll is live now. We just had two playoff games. Go vote. And remember — this is a democracy. Rob's feelings are not a factor.
PLL Watch: Rising Sun, Rising Views
The PLL has been in Japan lately. And you know whose views have been increasing in Japan? Not Friday Night Film Room's. Rob "KeeperOfTheGatez" Innella's.
Why? Well, we'll let you deduce your own reason. But if you've been around the Beer-Cooler the last few weeks, you've heard the buzz. We're not saying anything. We're just saying it's interesting. Draw your own conclusions. Watch the tape.
Also, breaking news right before this hit the press. We just got word that Rob “KeeperOfTheGatez” Innella has been spotted in Asia campaigning for Season MVP and doing one hell of a press-run.
Grant Ament and Players Academy are still on the calendar. Get your nephew registered today.
Titans 35 – Grinders 19
Titans move to 7-0 | Grinders move to 1-6
Not sure what the game plan was for the Grinders, but it did not involve defense. They left their goalie hanging against a run-and-gun team that doesn't know the meaning of the word "slow down" — partially because they can't spell it and partially because they don't want to.
And that goalie? Let's talk about him. Because even with the score being what it was, Coach has to take a moment to recognize the man in the cage.
Everybody who watches 6's lacrosse knows it can't be fun for a goalie. Shorter field, less defense, faster pace — more shots. If the Titans put up 35, how many shots do you think were taken? Take that number and add some. Now look at the man who stood in front of all of them.
CJ "Bright And Early" Peake — the youngest player in the league — battled. Stepping out of the crease all fourth quarter to thwart fast breaks. Standing tall on every crease shot. Never backing down. This kid is up early practicing before school, after school, and has been spotted helping youth games on the weekends with TYLA — all to come stand in cage on Sunday night and let these old-timers feel like they still got it from five yards out. Different kind of tough. MVP material if you ask me. Watch out, Rob. The kid's coming for your throne and he doesn't even have a driver's license yet.
To start the game, you had Matt "Weight Room" Scriven scoring — on both ends. Can't make this up. To start the game he rips it from 15 yards and scores for the Titans. Next possession, takes a ricochet off the leg and it bounces past Rob for a Grinders goal. His Pfeiffer counterpart Chase "Kayaking" Henderson — probably the best faceoff man in the league — connected with Scriven later in the game on a beautiful feed that reminded you these two have been running together for a while. Pfeiffer to Pfeiffer. Chemistry is undefeated.
The game stayed competitive for a few minutes, but then the Titans settled in and the Grinders never slid. Up 10 going into the half and it was curtains from there.
Connor "The Freshman From Williams" Phothisen chipped in another goal. The young guys keep getting buckets and this league is better for it. Some other regulars also showed up on the stat sheet for the Titans as well, with AJ “The Methodical Methodist” Mejia ripping corners and Matt “The Doctor” Manning keeping his goal streak alive with his crease cuts and surgical aim. This team is clockwork.
When Coach was reviewing the film, a name kept showing up on the stat sheet that doesn't usually show up in these recaps. Matt "Off The Record" Weichel quietly dropped 3 goals and a dime of a bounce pass through two defenders for a backside snipe to the top left. Just disgusting. At one point he snuck a pass through the defense to Bryce “Butter on the top shelf” Craig — who didn’t think a pass was possible within 15 yards during a men’s league game — and just beamed the guy. And he wasn't going to tell anyone. Wasn't going to write about it. Wasn't going to mention it. The man edits every word of this column and still tried to leave himself out. Sorry, Matt. Coach sees everything. The tape doesn't lie. Back to being invisible next week, I'm sure.
Now. I need to address something I saw on film that I was not happy about. Late in the game, with the Titans up 20 — twenty — a gentleman in a High Point helmet found himself one-on-one with the goalie. And instead of finishing the play like an adult, he started spinning in circles. Just rotating. Like a ballerina at a recital. And then scored. Nobody on the sideline thought it was cool. Nobody in the film room thought it was cool. And Coach certainly doesn't think it's cool. You're up 20 against a goalie who's been standing in there all night battling for his life. Show some respect. We don't need to do that. Moving on.
While we're in the Grinders section — shoutout to Mike “Brick Wall” Rogers, who continues to be one of the most underrated players on that roster. The man sets picks like he's being paid per collision. Blowing guys up. Flattening anything that moves through the middle. We got it on tape last week and it's beautiful. If there were an All-League team for violence disguised as screening, Mike is first ballot.
The Grinders were without last week's highlight reel Henry "Holy Schnikes" Sloyan, and without that firepower it left big shoes to fill. Zach "Long Sleeves In Any Weather" Frohne (feedback was heard and nickname was changed) was flowing like water through defenders as usual — the man simply does not acknowledge seasons or thermometers. Mitch "Lunch Pale" Kanowicz, the former Goalie out of Maryland, was doing what he always does as a retired tender — playing both ends of the field with the kind of blue-collar effort that makes Coach tip his cap. Real grit guy. The kind of player who gets to the field early, does the dirty work, and doesn't ask for a highlight reel. His shot takes a minute to warm up — first quarter Mitch is finding his range like a man adjusting the sights on a rifle — but once it's dialed in, he's putting them on frame. But even with Frohne flowing and Mitch grinding, it still wasn't enough gas in the tank to keep up on the scoreboard or in transition. Mr. Accountability showed up last week. He did not make the trip this week. Grinders head to the consolation game.
NightHawks 17 – Storm 16 (OT)
NightHawks move to 3-4 | Storm fall to 3-4
This was the game. Right here. If the Titans-Storm barn burner last week was the regular season's masterpiece, this was the playoff appetizer that almost stole the whole meal.
The game was tight from whistle to whistle. Both teams scoring, both teams locking up on defense. 9-8 NightHawks at the half. Solid ball movement by the Storm — everyone contributing, keeping possessions alive and finding seams. But the NightHawks' silly turnovers were, paradoxically, keeping them in the game too. The theme of the night was Griff "The Humble Goalie" Glover making a spectacular save only to see the ball firing right back at him three seconds later because his team coughed it up on the clear. Griff wasn't playing goalie. He was running clearing drills.
We'd be doing a disservice if we didn't recognize Wyatt "Crime Stopper" Dwyer for the Storm — a 6'5" lefty who drew the unenviable assignment of guarding Duncan "D-Murda" Glover all night. That's not a job. That's a sentence. And Dwyer served it admirably. At 6'5" with a lefty check, he's got the wingspan of a regional airport and he used every inch of it to make Duncan's life miserable. D-Murda still did D-Murda things — we know how this story ends — but Dwyer made him earn every single one. The kind of defensive performance that doesn't show up on the stat sheet but absolutely shows up on film. The man was out there trying to arrest Duncan's entire evening.
16-15 NightHawks with three minutes left in the fourth. After a couple of attempts from both sides, the Storm tie it up. And here comes Duncan "D-Murda" Glover bringing the ball back down with less than 40 seconds, pausing to say hi to the camera as he walks by. Just walking. Casual. Island time. His thought process — last shot, last goal, hero ball. The reality — Storm defense coming up with the stop — skip pass to bobbled catch. Overtime. 3v3 sudden death. New rules for the playoffs, boys.
And this is where the story gets good.
In OT, the NightHawks win the faceoff — and it's Garrett "ECU Guy" Hess who comes up with the clamp. Hess has been catching stride the last two weeks and this was his biggest moment of the season. One to watch in the finals. He gets the ball to Duncan, who carries it down the left alley. You're thinking about the island. He's thinking about the island. But he heads to X instead. At this point you're expecting him to drive and dump it to "Orange Guy." But as he drives left and creates contact at 5x5, you see Duncan "D-Murda" Glover post up — with his mended wand, the stick that exploded, rebuilt, resurrected, reborn — and he just rips a nasty behind-the-back.
Game. Set. Match.
The wand is back. The villain is back. And the NightHawks are in the finals.
🚨 Public Service Announcement
We need to pause the recap for a moment. Coach has been sent photographic evidence — a side-by-side comparison, submitted anonymously — of what appears to be a textbook case study in the ancient and controversial art of thumbing.
Now, we're not going to name names. We're not going to point fingers. We're certainly not going to point thumbs. What we are going to do is present two photographs and let the court of public opinion do its thing.
Photo A: A player cradling the ball. Hand placement... questionable. Thumb location... suspicious. The ball sitting in that pocket like it's been glued there by a higher power. Or a lower digit.
Photo B: That same player's stick in motion. No thumb. The ball exiting the pocket. The ball isn't releasing. It's being evicted. Correlation or causation?
We're not accusing anyone. We're just asking questions. Is this art? Is this science? Is this a fineable offense? Some in the league think so. Others say it's gamesmanship.
The evidence is above. You be the judge. The league has no comment. The accused has no comment. His thumb, however, has been very active.
Championship Preview: The Main Event
Rob "KeeperOfTheGatez" Innella vs. Duncan "D-Murda" Glover.
This is the matchup the league has been building toward all season. The loudest mouth in the league versus the guy who doesn't need to talk because his stick does the talking for him. Reigning Verizon Wireless MVP versus the man trying to rip it from his hands.
The Titans are 7-0. Undefeated since the league's inception. Rob has been chirping about this moment since the first faceoff of the inaugural season. Duncan has been lurking, flexing, getting suspended for reasons no one will confirm, and scoring goals that make you question whether physics applies to this man.
Get your popcorn ready. Be there Sunday. And download the app.
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— Coach Friday Night Film Room
