The third time's the charm for Thomas' Bock Boys, who rumbled past Jody's Colossal Waste of Time 55-36 at the Vortex in the first of two Championship Week games. Thomas, who had previously been 0-2 while playing on the doorstep to the Super Bowl, avenges last year's 1-point playoff loss to Jody and will now be heading to Houston for the league's championship game.

From the very start, it was obvious that the Bock Boys had carried over a lot of the momentum generated in last week's stirring, come-from-behind victory over P.W.O.P.. The unstoppable Priest Holmes led the attack, running for a season-best -- and game-high -- 16 points. Thomas Jones, who came off the bench last week to break the tie against Pirk, got the starting nod this week and made the most of his opportunity. Jones hammered the C.W.O.T. defensive line while Holmes took a breather and amassed a personal-best 11 points. The successful running game served to also open up the passing lanes for Daunte Culpepper (6 points). And while David Boston was shut out, receivers Keenan McCardell (3 points) and Tony Gonzales (11) kept the heat on Jody. Kicker Jeff Wilkins, the hero of last week's Monday Night comeback, had another strong game with 10 points to lock the C.W.O.T. into an early and substantial deficit.

The Eastern Division Champions didn't go quietly, of course. Halfbacks Anthony Thomas and Deuce McAllister combined for 15 points (or 1 shy of Holmes), and quarterback Marc Bulger threw for 9 more while trying to catch his team back up. Unfortunately, two of Jody's big-name receivers clayed an egg at the worst possible time: Plaxico Burress was held to a single point and Laveranues Coles was shut out completely. Steve Smith brought in a modest 5 and kicker Martin Gramatica had his best game in two months with 10 points, but the C.W.O.T. still found themselves down by 13 heading into Monday Night.

A week after winning a playoff game under the Monday Night lights, the Bock Boys made sure they weren't going to lose one here. Thomas' Eagles defense took care of business, pushing around Jody's last-resort Dolphins team 8-2 to ensure the victory. The win sends the Wild Card Bock Boys to their first ever Super Bowl and snaps a remarkable 12-game winning streak the C.W.O.T. had built over Western Division opponents. The loss -- only Jody's second during five Championship Week appearances -- caps the Eastern Division Champions' season with a final mark of 8-6.

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With one division champion already knocked off, the Piana Raze rose to the occasion and shut down the surging Irwin Hellions, 21-13, in the West Championship Game at En Fuego Field. The Raze, whom had dropped their last two regular season games while clinching their third Western Division title, snapped Irwin's four-game win streak to send them home for the holidays.

The Hellions perhaps finally ran out of steam following their late-season run, failing to post the gaudy offensive numbers of the past few weeks. Halfbacks Edgerrin James and Domanick Davis combined for only 7 points on the ground, but draftee receiver Chad Johnson gave a small spark with 8 of his own. Fellow wideout Jimmy Smith brought in an additional 4, but rookie Andre Johnson continued his current slide, managing only a single point. Arguably the biggest offensive hole for the Hellions came on special teams, where placekicker Jeff Reed was shut out for the first time all season. Thankfully, Irwin's Buccaneer defense did what it does best, stripping 18 points from the Raze to keep the Hellions in the game.

The Raze, perhaps sensing the Hellions were out of gas following last week's dogfight with the Machines, used a balanced but unspectacular offensive game plan to grind out the victory. Halfback Jamal Lewis and receiver Reggie Wayne each scored 6 points, while Tiki Barber and quarterback Jake Plummer scored 4 apiece. Santana Moss and Johnnie Morton each had 2, and placekicker Gary Anderson knocked home a team-high 8 on special teams. The game ball, however, should go to the Panthers defense, who stepped up with a 17-point effort to offset the Bucs' big day.

Ultimately, the Hellions went into Monday Night with an outside shot at a rally, but Donovan McNabb -- who scored a season-best 15 points last week -- was limited to 7 of the 15 need to tie the Raze. The playoff win is a long time coming for Piana. In fact, it's their first tournament victory since a 40-21 decision over the Hellions in 1997's Super Bowl I. With the loss, Irwin closes out an impressive rebounding season at 9-6. Piana (9-5) will now meet division rival Thomas at Reliant Stadium for Super Bowl VII.

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