For a full sixty minutes, Thomas' Bock Boys and the Piana Raze gave the 70,000-plus at Houston's Reliant Stadium -- and the millions watching worldwide -- everything they could hope for in a Championship game. When the final whistle blew, the Bock Boys had held off the Raze for a thrilling 45-44 victory in Super Bowl VII.

Priest Holmes struts across the goal line for the first of three Super Bowl VII touchdowns.

Despite winning the apparent shootout by only a single point, Thomas never trailed during the game. The Bock Boys exploded out of the gate, torching the Raze for big plays on offense -- which included a 72-yard touchdown strike to Keenan McCardell in the game's opening minutes -- to build a quick 14-0 lead.

Raze quarterback Brad Johnson did more harm than good in the first half, throwing four interceptions to only one touchdown in the game's first two quarters. Daunte Culpepper and Priest Holmes made the most of the opportunities created by the turnovers, helping Thomas build a commanding 31-13 lead by halftime.

Facing an 18-point deficit with only 30 minutes to play, the Western Division Champion Raze buckled down and clawed their way back into the game. Halfback Jamal Lewis broke a 72-yard touchdown run on the half's opening drive, and he scored once again from 26 yards out on Piana's next possession. Lewis, who gained over 125 yards in the third quarter alone, helped bring the Raze to within four points of Thomas heading into the final fifteen minutes.

Priest Holmes then provided the Boys with some much-needed breathing room, scoring on a one-yard plunge for his third TD of the game. The suddenly dangerous Raze answered less than three minutes later as Brad Johnson hit Donald Driver on a 5-yard slant route to make it 45-41.

After forcing a Bock Boys punt, the Raze drove back inside Thomas' 30-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-seven with eight minutes on the clock, Piana's Gary Anderson connected for his third field goal of the game to bring the Raze to within a point. Said Raze coach Brian Piana:

Jamal Lewis led the Raze back with two third quarter scores, including a 72-yard touchdown sprint.

"At that point, we had put up 31 points in roughly 22 minutes of football, and I felt -- with the way our defense had been playing -- that we'd get at least one, maybe two more drives with a half a quarter to play."

It turns out they only got one, and the Bock Boy defense finally made a stop in the second half. Brad Johnson's pass on fourth-and-four from midfield was deflected at the line and fell incomplete, and Thomas ran out the final 1:24 on the clock. Daunte Culpepper took a knee on the game's final play, and fireworks and confetti signaled a championship for Bockville.

"I'm just so thrilled," exclaimed an exuberant Priest Holmes, who was named Super Bowl VII MVP. "After the disappointment of last year, to come in as a wild card and play a game like this to win the Super Bowl, it's just amazing."

"You have tip your hat to the Raze. I think some of us started celebrating at halftime, but they came back and took us the distance," he continued. "I'm going to go have to talk to my buddy Jamal. He played a hell of a game and had me nervous in the third. But this trophy and this league title are going home to Bockville. How 'bout them Bock Boys!"

How 'bout them Boys, indeed? For the second time in three weeks, Thomas scores a playoff victory by a single point en route to earning its league-best tenth victory of the season. Following the Stereco, the Bock Boys also become the second straight Wild Card entry to run the table and win the Super Bowl, and they bring the League Championship back to the Western Division for the third time in four seasons.

Super Bowl VII will definitely be one for the record books and not soon forgotten. The combined 89 points is the most ever scored in a Super Bowl, and the one-point margin of victory eclipses the three points used to decide Super Bowl V.

Congratulations Thomas' Bock Boys -- 2003 FLF Champions!

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