Lions claw victory over Creators, move closer to wild-card spot

KAWASAKI (Oct. 15)—On the third play of the game, All Mitsubishi running back Yasuhiro Suzuki broke away on a 59-yard touchdown run, and the Lions kept a step ahead the rest of the way. They also kept their place at the head of the pack for the postseason wild-card spots.

Suzuki ran for three touchdowns overall on just eight carries as the Lions defeated the Tokyo Gas Creators 44-17 at Fujitsu Kawasaki Stadium to maintain their place at the top of the Battle 9 standings with a 4-1 record. Tokyo Gas fell to 2-2.

Burly quarterback Shoma Taniguchi completed 14 of 21 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a score, and Hayato Tanizawa kicked three field goals for the Lions, who stretched a 24-17 halftime lead by holding the Creators scoreless in the second half.

“The offense went according to plan  [in the first half], but the defense struggled more than expected, to be honest,” Taniguchi said. “In the second half, they made the adjustment and didn’t give up any points, and at the same time the offense was able to add points. That was good.”

In the second half, Tokyo Gas had limited the Lions to a pair of Tanizawa field goals to keep it a two-possession game. But a key penalty knocked the wheels off the Creators’ first drive of the fourth quarter, and a failed fourth-down gamble deep in their own territory and an interception later on opened the door for the Lions to add two late touchdowns to make the final margin of victory somewhat deceptive.

“We had an opportunity to tie the game to start the third quarter, and we were down a possession and a half, down 10 points for awhile, and we just couldn’t get anything together offensively,” Tokyo Gas head coach Kurt Rose said.

Hidehito Tokushima, one of three quarterbacks regularly used by Tokyo Gas in a unique rotation, threw for one touchdown and ran for another as the Creators outgained the Lions in total yards, 388 to 330, and had more than an 11 1/2-minute advantage in time of possession. But the Lions were the ones who made the big plays when they needed to.

“We only had a short time to prepare, we first had to focus on [the previous game against] Elecom,” Taniguchi said. “But the next game was one we had to win to get the wild card. So I think we took it up a notch and prepared well.

“Just as we planned, our run plays were working, our passes were effective. In the first half, we were able to score on every series. Basically, our offense was in control.”

The Lions’ victory was the latest in the running battle between two similar teams, neither of whom has a foreign player. The teams have now faced each other six times over four years, including clashes in the spring, and All Mitsubishi has a 5-0 advantage with one tie.

Rose knows it would have taken a extraordinary effort from his team, plus some mistakes from All Mitsubishi, for Tokyo Gas to finally knock off its nemesis. As well as his team played, it was not enough against a Lions team that had no turnovers.

The Lions came into the game having pulled off the biggest surprise of the season, a 17-14 victory over the Elecom Kobe Finies. That marked the first time a Battle 9 team had beaten a Super 9 team this season.

For Taniguchi, the elation of that upset win also had its perils. “Looking at it another way, we beat Elecom, so I was wondering if we might take today’s game too lightly,” he said. “That’s what I was most concerned about.

“But in practice, that wasn’t the mood, and we knew that if we lost, we could miss out on the wild card. As a team, we made progress by taking the confidence we gained by beating Elecom and making sure to not be careless in today’s game.”

Taniguchi is an anomaly among quarterbacks. A 27-year-old southpaw out of Ritsumeikan University, he stands just 176 centimeters, but packs 92 kilograms onto that frame, making him a dangerous threat to take off running. He had one-third of the Lions’ 21 rushes, accumulating 37 yards that included an 11-yard touchdown run.

“I think [No.] 15 [Taniguchi] is the best Japanese quarterback,” Rose said. “He just makes plays, he does so many great things. So we put a lot of attention on him, and then the running game opens up.”

Indeed, it was the 169-centimeter, 85-kilogram Suzuki who stole the show with his powerful runs that tore through would-be tacklers. In addition to his 59-yard romp, he scored on runs of 37 and 12 yards to finish the day with 122 rushing yards.

“I’m not very fast, so everyone protects me,” Suzuki said with a laugh. “It’s my strong suit that I’m strong against tacklers, and I was able help the team in that way. I think I showed that well.”

After Suzuki staked the Lions to the lead just 42 seconds into the game, a short punt helped set up a 47-yard, six-play drive that Taniguchi capped with an 11-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.

Tokushima completed just two of his six passes, but they were both beauts and came on the ensuing drive. Starting at the 31, Tokushima connected with Kentaro Yoshijima on a 24-yard pass. Then, on 3rd-and-3 at the Lions 38, he hit Daichi Iwakoshi in full stride to put the Creators on the scoreboard.

The Lions came back with a drive that finished with Tanizawa booting a 48-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, to which the Creators responded with Tokushima’s 23-yard touchdown run to make it 17-14.

Suzuki restored the lead to 10 points with his 37-yard touchdown run, in which he took a pitch out on the right side, slipped a tackle and raced into the end zone. The big play of the drive came when Taniguchi converted on 3rd-and-14 at the 37 with a 21-yard pass to Kosuke Yoshida.

The Creators cut the lead to 24-17 at halftime when Yosuke Kaneoya kicked a 22-yard field as time expired, but they were left to rue not getting more. On the previous play, a pass into the end zone was bobbled and dropped.

“We missed a touchdown chance on third down at the end of the half; obviously 24-21 is a different game than 24-17,” Rose said.

Both defenses stepped up in the third quarter, when Tanizawa’s 44-yard field goal was the lone score. He added his final one, a 41-yarder, on the opening play of the fourth quarter to put the Lions up 30-17.

Still within striking distance, Tokyo Gas launched its bid for a comeback with a 20-yard pass that put them near midfield. But a chop-block penalty on first down put the Creators into a hole that they couldn’t get out of, and were forced to punt.

“It’s two-possesion game, we have a first attempt at the 50ish,” Rose said. “We’re still in the game, but the chop block really hurts us and we don’t convert.”

The next time they got the ball, Rose had to make a desperate decision and go for it on 4th-and-10 at their own 27. A pass fell incomplete and two plays later, Taniguchi threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Takuto Kurihara.

“They’re so good offensively at running, and I didn’t have the confidence that we were going to stop them two times, so on 4th-and-10 in our own end with five minutes to go, it was a tough decision, but I decided to go for it. It didn’t work out,” Rose said.

Linebacker Shoji Nagata’s interception of a Ryoo Murota pass and 59-yard return to the Creators 12 set up Suzuki’s final touchdown run on the next play, making it 44-17.

While all but assured of a place in the wild-card playoff, All Mitsubishi can put the matter to rest with a victory over the Meiji Yasuda PentaOcean Pirates in the regular-season finale on Oct. 29 at Yokohama Stadium.

Taniguchi said the team relishes the opportunity to mix it up with the big boys in the postseason.

“First of all, our goal was to get into [the wild-card playoff] and face an upper level team. In the regular season, we don’t face a top team other than Fujitsu. That’s the place where we can take them on, so we aimed for the wild card.”

—Ken Marantz for the X-League