The Glacier Boyz and Wild Aces advanced to the Fan Controlled Football championship game in improbable fashion Saturday night, taking down two favorites in the semifinals.
Zappers quarterback Johnny Manziel suffered an undisclosed injury in the first half of a 32-6 loss to the Wild Aces. Despite the talent of Josh Gordon and quarterback Logan Marchi, the Zappers struggled to put points on the board.
It was an equally rough night for the top-seeded team in Fan Controlled Football. The Beasts had been the most electric team all year, going 3-1 this season until suffering a stunning upset to the last-place Glacier Boyz, 38-20, on Saturday.
The Beasts and Zappers will now face off in a third-place game next Saturday ahead of The People's Championship between the Wild Aces and Glacier Boyz.
The Wild Aces took a 16-0 lead into halftime as Manziel looked a bit rusty after missing the last two weeks following dental surgery and Marchi made some uncharacteristic mistakes.
None was bigger than a pick-six Marchi tossed with only seconds remaining in the first half, forcing a Zappers team already known for its passing game to shorten its playbook even more in the final frame. After the Wild Aces scored on the opening possession after intermission, the Zappers put Braden Smith in at quarterback down 24-0 only for him to take a crushing sack on his first snap before the team got stopped at the goal line a few plays later.
The Wild Aces took off on a 48-yard touchdown run on their first play after the goal-line stand to go up 32-0 and all but solidify their spot in the title game. The only bright spot for the Zappers proved to be a last-second touchdown pass from Marchi to Gordon to avoid the shutout.
It was a similarly shocking result in the first game of the night, too.
The Beasts' QB duo of TJ Edwards and Quinton Flowers finally proved fallible with the season on the line after scoring in bunches over the past four weeks. The 20 points tallied Saturday was the fewest they scored all year. The 38 allowed was the second-most the Beasts gave up all season.
Led by former Florida State star Deondre Francois, the Glacier Boyz booked themselves a trip to The People's Championship. Like everything else in FCF, fans voted on what to name the league's title game.
The Glazier Boyz opened up a 14-6 lead at halftime and poured on the points late in the second half to stun the Beasts. After the Beasts tied it up 14 minutes into the final frame, the Glacier Boyz again took control with Francios darting into the end zone to seal the win with 23 seconds left.
It's by far the biggest upset of the season in the FCF, and the Glacier Boyz couldn't wait to gloat over it.
They'll now have to sustain that momentum next week against another underdog team trying to capture the title.