Playoffs? You wanna talk about playoffs?

Sure, since last night finished off the first round of this year's NHFFL playoffs.The match between the Elks and Porkchops was a continual exercise in catch up for the Elks, but by Sunday night it boiled down to this:   they needed Drew Brees to score- a lot- but not by using the services of Pierre Thomas or Robert Meachum.  A 67 yard pass to Meachum later, the 'Chops had their first playoff win, 47-37, and will go on to face the B2s next week.  They've split the 2 games this year, but the most recent was a 27-7 'Chops win just 2 weeks ago.

On the other side, get ready for Rangers/Aguas III after the Aguas blast the Greenwoods 69-34.  Two scores each from Mendenhall, Wallace, and Garcon (see? The Colts ARE good for something), and two long strikes by QB Alex Smith led the way.  This was the first meeting between the two returning teams in the playoffs, as they used to be in opposite divisions.  The Rangers won the first matchup with the Aguas when both were undefeated, 30-21 in game 6.  Three weeks later, the Aguas handed the Rangers their second loss of the season, 32-29.

Of course, despite the gaudy 10-2 record the Rangers are emotionally underdogs in this match.  Why?  Let me show you the fifteen year record of the Rangers in the post season.
1997- lost to Greenwoods 28-19. (Greenwoods won SB I)
1999- lost to T-Cubs 32-23.(T-Cubs won SB III)
2000- lost to Greenwoods 26-23.
2001- lost to T-Cubs 33-22.(T-Cubs won SB V)
2002 - lost to Beagles 43-24.
2004- lost to SVA 44-21.(SVA won SBVIII)
2005- lost to Beagles 45-18.
2009- lost to SVA 35-16. (SVA wins SB XIII)

Yep, the Rangers have an 0-8 gorilla on their backs.  However I must admit that I didn't know that 4 teams had beaten them twice each.  Of the remaining 4, the B2s are 5-6 in the postseason with a win in SB VI; the Aguas went 1-5 in their previous incarnation, splitting two matches with the KCAs; and the 'Chops are in their first season.  First year teams (outside the founding ten) have had mixed results in their rookie years.  In 1998, the SVA (7-7) and the T-Cubs (6-8) both missed the playoffs; in 2002, the Elks took a division title with a 10-5 record, but that included a season ending 2-5 slide and a 37-20 loss to the eventual champs B2s; and in 2005, the Ragin' Rhinos missed the playoffs with a 6-6 mark, while the State Ducks made it with their 6-6 record but got hammered by the Elks 30-17 in round one.  That means that the 'Chops are the first first-year team to win a postseason game.