Around the League: Wrapup of Week 5 Action

With the conclusion of the final round of divisional games, the groups for the second stage have been decided. Here are the groups in the top-tier Super 9:

Fujitsu Frontiers (E1); Panasonic Impulse (W2); Asahi Beer Silver Star (C3)

Lixil Deers (C1); IBM Big Blue (E2); Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers (W3)

Elecom Kobe Finies (W1); Obic Seagulls (C2); Nojima Sagamihara Rise (E3)

East Division

IBM BigBlue 77, Hurricanes 0: Kevin Craft and Satoshi Tagawa combined to complete 20 of 22 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns each, and third-string QB Keiji Kasugai threw for another 114 yards as IBM (4-1) routed the last-place Hurricanes (0-5) at Kawasaki Fujimi Stadium to secure second place for the first time since 2010. Tomokazu Sueyoshi rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns and Ryo Takagi ran for 99 yards and two scores (both had 11 carries) as the BigBlue piled up 781 total yards. IBM scored on every drive until the late in the third quarter, when the BigBlue had the first of four turnovers in five possessions—two fumbles and two interceptions. The defense forced two fumbles and held the Hurricanes to 95 total yards.

Tokyo Gas Creators 38, Meiji Yasuda Pirates 24: Quarterback Hidehiko Tokushima ran for 190 yards and three touchdowns, while also passing for 77 yards and another score, as Tokyo Gas (2-3) defeated Meiji Yasuda (1-4) in a free-wheeling game at Yokohama Stadium. Fumitaka Obana also scored on a short run as the Creators finished 2-3 for the third straight year. Pirates QB Kodai Hirono, who scored twice on 1-yard runs, completed 16 of 33 passes for 317 yards as the Pirates outgained the Creators 407 to 363, but had three turnovers to Tokyo Gas’ one.

Fujitsu Frontiers 7, Nojima Sagamihara Rise 0: Colby Cameron threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Takashi Akiyama in the first quarter, and Austin Flynn had three sacks as Fujitsu (5-0) shut out Nojima (3-2) to capture the division championship with a victory at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki.  Cameron completed 15 of 28 passes for 192 yards while throwing his first two interceptions of the season, the second of which was picked off by rookie linebacker Yoshiki Tanaka in the end zone. Masato Kinoshita completed 19 of 25 passes for 163 yards for the Rise, who only crossed into Fujitsu territory once and never started with good field position as Fujitsu punter Motoki Yoshida put all five of his kicks inside the 20-yard line.

Central Division

Bulls Football Club 16, Taiyo Building Management Cranes 2: Keita Fujiwara threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and the Bulls (1-4) pulled away to beat the Cranes (0-5) at Kawasaki Fujimi Stadium and relegate them to last place in their first season in X1. Tomoki Okuno, who caught Fujiwara’s first TD toss, kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead at halftime. Taiyo scored a safety off a bad snap in the third quarter. Three Cranes passers combined to complete 6 of 9 passes, but had the other three passes intercepted.

Lixil Deers 23, Obic Seagulls 17: Shohei Kato completed 24 of 32 passes for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Naoki Maeda, and Lixil (5-0) recovered an Obic fumble at the Deers 7 with 3:05 left at Yokohama Stadium to hand the Seagulls (4-1) their first loss in the fall since 2009 and win their fourth division title in five years. Daisuke Aoki kicked three field goals in the second half for Lixil, which had lost to Obic in the playoffs each of the past four years. Rookie QB Takushiro Hata completed 17 of 27 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown to Noriaki Kinoshita, who was also credited with a rushing TD after taking a pass in the flat for a score. Both teams had an interception that led to a field goal, but the key turnover was the fumble on the snap late in the fourth quarter recovered by the Deers, after which they ran out the clock.

Asahi Beer Silver Star 31, All Mitsubishi Lions 17: Veteran Minoru Tono completed 28 of 36 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns as Asahi Beer (3-2) rallied to defeat All Mitsubishi (2-3) at Yokohama Stadium in the showdown for third place in the division and a place in the Super 9 of the second stage. Hiroki Matsubara caught 10 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, and Shohei Aragaki had six catches for 87 yards and a score. The Lions took a 10-3 lead in the first quarter when Kenta Ko returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown. Asahi Beer’s Yoshitaka Sakurai kicked a 52-yard field goal for the first points of the game.

West Division

Nagoya Cyclones 34, Nishinomiya Bruins 0: Jun Kawaguchi had a near-perfect day passing, completing 20 of 21 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and the Nagoya defense forced four turnovers in posting its first-ever shutout in X1 as the Cyclones (1-4) rolled over Nishinomiya (0-5) in the battle between the West’s winless teams at Kobe’s Oji Stadium. Yasumasa Ido scored on two short runs and Takeyuki Suzuki caught seven passes for 59 yards and a touchdown for Nagoya, which also got a pair of 33-yard field goals in the second half from Atsuhisa Yamaguchi.

Panasonic Impulse 27, Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers 0: Tetsuo Takata threw a touchdown pass and Shun Yokota ran for a score as Panasonic (4-1) blanked rival Asahi Soft Drinks (3-2) at Kobe’s Oji Stadium in a rare showdown between the two in which the West title was not at stake. Eita Saeki kicked a pair of field goals, and Ryohei Imanishi returned one of three interceptions 85 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory as the Impulse posted their fourth straight shutout following their stunning season-opening loss to the Elecom Kobe Finies.

Elecom Kobe Finies 28, As One Black Eagles 0: Elecom (5-0), limited to Rocky Alo’s fumble recovery in the end zone late in the second quarter,  struck for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat As One (2-3) at Osaka’s Nagai No. 2 Stadium and clinch its first-ever division title. Tomomi Hase scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter, and then Inoke Funaki threw two touchdown passes as the Finies pulled away. The Elecom defense recorded four sacks and two turnovers, and held As One to 153 total yards. Both teams missed a field goal, and Alo’s fumble recovery came after As One stopped Elecom at the 1-yard line.