1	2	3	4	F
IRWIN HELLIONS	6	8	8	0	22
The Pimps	0	7	3	9	19

The Irwin Hellions upended the favored Pimps in Super Bowl V behind a dominating performance by its Buccaneer defense. Warren Sapp and company frustrated The Pimps' offense all game long, registering five sacks and forcing three turnovers, including a fourth quarter fumble recovery that sealed the win for the defending champions.

Rookie Dominin Rhodes held his own in the Super Bowl with a third quarter 8-yard touchdown sprint.

Despite playing below expectations for most of the season, Irwin's Buccaneer defense turned it up a notch during the postseason. During Championship Week, the Bucs hammered the P.W.O.P., surrendering only six points to the No. 3 seed. The Pimps' Packer defense also entered Super Bowl V on a high note, leading their club past the explosive offense of the Abstract Machines, and setting up a formidable defensive showdown.

True to form, Super Bowl V was destined to be a defensive struggle from the outset. The game opened with a pair of three-and-outs and four straight punts. The Pimps' Packer defense drew blood first, at the midway point of the first quarter, intercepting a Brett Favre pass intended for Jimmy Smith and returning it to Irwin's 32 yard line. Yet the Hellion defense answered with sacks on second and third down to push Mark Brunell and The Pimps out of field goal range.

After a touchback on the ensuing punt, the Hellions finally found some daylight and drove the ball deep into Pimps' territory behind the powerful legs of Curtis Martin and breakaway speed of Dominic Rhodes. Martin had consecutive inside carries of 8, 12, and 7 yards before Rhodes carried a pitchout 21 yards to The Pimps' 24. Favre then hit Johnnie Morton with his first pass attempt of the drive on a quick slant for 6 yards. On the next play, Favre faked to Martin and handed off to Darnay Scott on the reverse, who slashed his way down the sideline and hit the goal line pylon to score the game's first points. Not having an active place-kicker, Irwin chose to go for two, but Rhodes was stood up in the backfield, limiting Irwin's lead to six.

The second quarter opened with The Pimps' fourth possession of the game. Running four receivers wide, Brunell began to finally chip away at the Hellion defense with quick slants and screen passes. Jerry Rice and Rod Smith found small openings over the middle to carry the team back into Irwin territory. Yet on first and ten from the Hellion 48, Brunell had his pass tipped at the line of scrimmage, and it was intercepted in stride by Derrick Brooks, who returned it 44 yards to The Pimps' 8-yard line. Two plays later, Curtis Martin powered his way in from the 1-yard line for the score. This time, Irwin converted the two-points with a lob to Johnnie Morton, giving the defending champs a surprising 14-0 lead.

The Pimps finally answered on the subsequent drive. Starting out on their own 38 following a 34-yard kickoff return, The Pimps went no huddle and marched down the field, slicing through the Hellion defense. Jerry Rice caught two passes for 26 yards, and Shaun Alexander caught a pass out of the backfield for nine additional yards. Brunell then hit paydirt with a 27-yard bullet to a streaking Peerless Price over the middle. Price went untouched into the endzone, and, an extra point later, The Pimps had cut the deficit in half, 14-7.

The two clubs traded punts once again before the half, with neither offense breaking back over the 50. The second half started with much the same defensive flavor. The Pimps suffered a three-and-out on their first possession, but capitalized on a muffed punt return by Irwin's special teams, recovering the football on the Hellion's 32. Once again, however, the Hellion defense stopped The Pimps from getting a first down. Place-kicker Jeff Wilkens was gold on the first field goal attempt of the afternoon, connecting from 46 yards out to draw The Pimps to within four.

On the ensuing possession, Brett Favre engineered his best drive of the game, going four for five for 61 yards. Dodging Pimp blitzers, Favre connected with Darnay Scott on a 37-yard post pattern that put the Hellions back into red zone. Three plays later, from the 8-yard line, Dominic Rhodes exploded to the outside and charged into the endzone. Rhodes then caught a screen pass to convert Irwin's second two-point try of the game, pushing the Hellions' lead back up to 12.

Now down 22-10, The Pimps got the ball back with four minutes left in the third quarter, and Mark Brunell went back to the no-huddle in hopes of breaking through the tightening Hellion defense. Jerry Rice and Shaun Alexander each contributed first down catches before the offense stalled yet again. Frustrated, The Pimps punted the ball back to the defending champions on the final play of the third quarter. With a heightened sense of urgency, The Pimps Packer defense attacked the line stuffing the Hellion running game on first and second down. Then, on third and eleven, Favre was hit as he threw, and defender Mike McKenzie snared the tumbling pass for an interception and interjected life back into the Eastern champs by returning it 29 yards for a defensive touchdown. The extra point attempt was nullified with a holding call against The Pimps, and the second attempt was blocked outright by the Hellions, keeping the score 22-16.

Irwin went back to work on the clock, running the ball at the heart of The Pimps defense and tossing conservative slant passes to keep the chains moving and the clock ticking. The Pimps' defense finally dug in at midfield and forced Irwin to punt the ball away. The Pimps' offense, which had been shut out since halftime, came back on the field needing six points to tie. Brunell challenged the Irwin secondary right out of the gate, hitting passes of 12 and 15 yards to Rod Smith and Peerless price, respectively. Shaun Alexander then took a shotgun draw up the middle for nine yards and into Irwin territory. The drive hit a snag with Brunell taking a sack back at The Pimps' own 45, but the battered quarterback answered right back with a dart to Jerry Rice for a long first down. Four plays later, Ronde Barber deflected a third down pass attempt intended for Rice, forcing a fourth and six from the Hellion 23 yard line. With only 5:39 showing on the game clock, The Pimps elected to take the three points with a field goal to cut the lead in half.

Warren Sapp and the Tampa Bay defense were given MVP honors for keeping The Pimps at bay.

Up three points, the defending champs were five and a half minutes away from repeating as Super Bowl victors, but would have to do their best to keep the ball out of The Pimps' hands. Curtis Martin and Dominic Rhodes carried the ball on five consecutive downs, but only managed 18 yards. Facing a fourth and two, Irwin chose to put its fate in the hands of its defense and punted the ball back to the surging Pimps, who returned the ball back to their own 38-yard line.

Brunell and company got one last shot at the tiring Buccaneer defense. While that defense was beginning to bend, it had only been broken once, back in the second quarter. Yet down three, The Pimps needed only to get into field goal range for a shot at tying the game. The Superdome roared louder than it had all day as Brunell took the first snap of the drive and was immediately flushed from the pocket by Warren Sapp. Scrambling, Brunell dumped off to Shaun Alexander, who slipped past two tacklers for an eight yard gain. Rod Smith caught a four-yard pass and got out of bounds, stopping the clock at 2:06.

Brunell then went for it all on first down, but overshot Derrick Alexander sprinting down the sideline. The Bucs blitzed on the next play, and Brunell was swarmed by defensive linemen. While trying to slip back out of the pocket, Brunell got wrapped up by Anthony McFarlane and had the ball knocked out of his hand. Warren Sapp recovered the loose ball at The Pimp 42-yard line, snuffing out the eastern champions' rally. The Hellions offense took to the field and surged through a disheartened Packer defense. After their second first down, Favre took a knee to run out the clock, securing the 2001 league championship for the Irwin Hellions.

As confetti rained down, the Hellions swarmed on the field, celebrating their second consecutive championship. The Super Bowl V MVP trophy was presented to the entire Tampa Bay defense, who had somehow contained the explosive Pimp offense in the lowest scoring -- and arguably most exciting -- Super Bowl ever. Rod Smith of The Pimps stayed around to congratulate the Hellions, but promised reporters that they'd be back next year. If recent history holds true, so will the Hellions.

Congratulations, Irwin Hellions – 2001 FLF Champions!

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