The Zappers started the season 0-4, traded NFL Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens midway through the campaign, cycled through a number of quarterbacks, had to release one of them for smoking a joint on the field in May and needed a shootout challenge win over the Glacier Boyz just to get into the playoffs.
And now they are your season two FCF champions. Talk about a journey.
Led by quarterback Kelly Bryant's big performance, the Zappers beat the Bored Ape Football Club 42-24. There was no need for Johnny Manziel while Bryant was making plays like these:
Bryant threw for 114 yards and a touchdown, adding three scores on the ground.
Shuncee Thomas added two rushing scores.
The Bored Apes—the best team in the FCF during the regular season—took a 6-0 early lead, the only one they would hold in the game. A late attempt to mount a comeback was snuffed out by a huge hit from Armond Lloyd:
Earlier in the season, Manziel provided the team with a motto of sorts, noting that, "Win or lose, we booze on the Zappers."
Looks like the drink of choice will be champagne on Saturday night.
The 2022 Fan Controlled Football playoff field is set, with four teams vying for the championship starting next Saturday.
Bored Ape and Shoulda Been Stars were able to relax coming into the final week of the regular season. They had already locked up postseason berths last week.
The two-week postseason will start with two semifinal games on June 4. The winners from those games will play in the championship on June 11.
Shoulda Been Stars are the defending champions, though the 2021 team went by the name of Wild Aces. They defeated Glacier Boyz in the championship game.
2022 FCF Playoff Schedule
Semifinals: Saturday, June 4
Finals: Saturday, June 11
Semifinal No. 1: Bored Ape vs. 8oki
Semifinal No. 2: Shoulda Been Stars vs. Zappers
Bored Ape led the league with a 5-2 record in the regular season. They have lost their last two games after starting the year with five consecutive wins. Shoulda Been Stars won the OG Division with a 4-3 record.
The final two playoff spots were decided by a showdown. Glacier Boyz forced a showdown against the Zappers winner thanks to a 28-20 victory over Shoulda Been Stars.
Knights of Degen had the easiest path to the postseason, needing a win over 8oki. Things didn't work out as planned, though, thanks to a thrilling last-second comeback by 8oki.
Trailing 30-28 with 17 seconds remaining, Mitch Kidd found Patrick Smith deep down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown.
Thanks to 8oki's win, they forced a showdown with Knights of Degen with a playoff spot on the line. 8oki took the showdown by preventing the Knights from converting on either of their two attempts.
Despite their 4-3 overall record, 8oki looks like a very dangerous team heading into the playoffs. They handed Bored Ape their first loss of the season last week in a 24-20 game.
As wild as 8oki's victory was, it has nothing on the controversy from the end of the Zappers' 42-38 win over Beasts. Beasts were trying to run out the clock, but Dentarrius Yon lost control of the ball after hitting the ground on a keeper.
Even though a Zappers defender clearly touched Yon as he was on his way to the ground, officials ruled the play a fumble and the defense returned the ball for a touchdown to steal a win.
That left Zappers in a showdown against Glacier Boyz to determine the second playoff team from the OG Division.
Zappers won the showdown 2-1, setting up a matchup with Shoulda Been Stars. The two teams met in the first week of the regular season, with Shoulda Been Stars winning a close 20-12 game.
After squeaking into the postseason, Zappers' potential going forward looks to be very high. They defeated SB Stars 28-24 in their one head-to-head meeting on May 14. They have scored 90 points in three games since being shutout by Beasts on May 7.
SB Stars have lost three of their last four games after a 2-0 start. The defense is allowing 25 points per game during this span.
Based on how all four playoff teams are playing right now, look for Zappers and 8oki to play for the championship. Zappers is operating at peak potential and will finish the season with a title in two weeks.
The final week of the 2022 Fan Controlled Football regular season occurred Saturday with all eight teams in action at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, and it did not disappoint.
The Kingpins opened the action with a 24-20 win over Bored Ape FC to improve to 3-4, and the Glacier Boyz followed with a 28-20 win over the SB Stars to improve to 3-4.
Unfortunately for Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, the Knights of Degen fell to 8oki 36-30, but Johnny Manziel's Zappers pulled off a miraculous 42-38 win over the Beasts to close out the weekend.
Fan Controlled Football Week 7 Results
Kingpins 24, Bored Ape FC 20
Glacier Boyz 28, SB Stars 20
8oki def. Knights of Degen 36-30
Zappers def. Beasts 42-38
Recap
The Kingpins picked up an impressive win over Bored Ape FC, which had just one loss.
Running back Daryl Virgies opened the scoring to help the Kingpins take an 8-0 lead. Virgies entered with 46 carries for 181 yards and four touchdowns.
The defense then followed with a huge hit to force a turnover.
The Kingpins took a 16-0 lead after a run by quarterback Tirri Jones before Bored Ape FC responded with a touchdown by slot receiver Kevin Felder to cut the gap to 16-6. Felder had been quiet, entering with just five catches for 73 yards.
Meanwhile, Jones has been one of the Kingpins' best players. He entered as the second-best rusher in the league with 52 carries for 288 yards and seven touchdowns and also ranked among the top passers with 36 completions and 14 touchdowns on 82 attempts.
Bored Ape FC added another score on a run by quarterback Vidal Woodruff to make it 16-12. Woodruff entered Saturday having completing 22 of 51 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions in addition to rushing for 86 yards and a score.
The Kingpins put the game out of reach with a touchdown by tight end Joshua Johnson, who has been an impact player. He entered with six catches for 121 yards and five touchdowns.
In the second game, the SB Stars opened the scoring with a quick pitch to Ismail Brooks, who put his team up 6-0.
The Glacier Boyz responded with a touchdown of their own on a run up the middle by slot receiver Harrison Dreher and took an 8-6 lead. But the SB Stars responded with an impressive touchdown by Tyis Boykin to regain a 14-8 lead.
The Glacier Boyz went up 22-20 thanks to two touchdowns by running back Brycen Alleyne sandwiched around a score by D'Vonn Gibbons.
Alleyne has been the most effective running back in the FCF, having entered with 72 carries for 349 yards and eight touchdowns.
Defensive back Julian Charles recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to cap the scoring.
The third game of Saturday's slate between the Knights of Degen and 8oki was arguably the most exciting as a number of stars came out to support Terrell Owens and the Knights of Degen. Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, Marcus Peters, Marshawn Lynch and Todd Gurley were among the players in attendance.
While 8oki won the game 36-30, it was by no means an easy victory. That said, they got off to a great start when quarterback Mitch Kidd found receiver Joseph Boykin for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Knights of Degen responded quickly with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Ed Crouch, who cruised into the end zone without being touched by a single defender. Crouch then found Owens for the two-point conversion to give KOD an 8-6 lead.
Things got rough for 8oki on the next drive when Mitch Kidd threw an interception to Knights of Degen defensive back Marquill Osborne. KOD made the turnover count as Crouch found Owens once again, this time for the touchdown, to take a 14-6 lead just before halftime.
8oki came out of halftime with a quick response to KOD's late first-half touchdown. Kidd connected with Boykin for his second touchdown of the game to cut Knights of Degen's lead to 14-12.
The Knights of Degen could not be stopped offensively on their next drive as Crouch scrambled out of the pocket to find receiver Jacoby Herring for the touchdown, extending their lead 22-12.
However, 8oki made it interesting late in the second half when Kidd found receiver Patrick Smith to make it a 22-18 game. They also converted on the two-point conversion Comeback Rule to make it 22-20.
The Comeback Rule allows the trailing team to keep the ball by converting a 10-yard play on one possession to maintain the football.
With 8oki up 28-22, Crouch continued his impressive evening for Knights of Degen by rushing for a long touchdown to tie the game 28-28 with 26 seconds remaining. Owens then completed the two-point conversion to put KOD up 30-28.
With the game appearing over, Kidd found Smith for a long completion with 12 seconds remaining to set up a prime scoring opportunity for 8oki. Malcolm Ballard then rushed in for a touchdown to win 36-30.
It was an incredible game for both Crouch and Owens despite the loss. Owens, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, finished with multiple two-point conversions and multiple touchdowns.
The final game of Saturday’s slate ended with the Zappers defeating the Beasts 42-38 to close out the regular season.
However, the Zappers got out to a rough start as the Beasts wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when quarterback Alphonso Howard found wide receiver Jordus Smith to give his team an early 6-0 lead.
The Beasts added to their early lead when Zappers quarterback Kelly Bryant tossed an interception to defensive back DaShawn Benton, who returned it for a touchdown to put the Beasts up 12-0.
After going down by two scores, Bryant and the Zappers responded with a touchdown pass to running back Shuncee Thomas to cut the Beasts lead to 12-6.
However, the Beasts responded quickly to regain their two-score lead, going up 18-6 when Howard found Smith for his second touchdown of the night.
That said, Bryant and the Zappers would not be silenced as he rushed in for a touchdown and later the two-point conversion to keep his team within distance and down just 18-14.
The back-and-forth continued when Howard found receiver Lamarcus Caradine to give the Beasts a 24-14 lead just before halftime. The Zappers responded on a touchdown from offensive lineman Alex Heil to make it 24-20 game at the half.
It was an impressive play altogether, but it started with wide receiver Terrance Williams taking the ball up the middle of the field before sending a lateral pass to Heil for the score.
The Zappers came out of halftime to take a 26-24 lead over the Beasts on a touchdown pass from Bryant to Josh Johnson.
The Beasts eventually went on to score late in the second half when Howard found Smith for the receiver’s third touchdown of the day. His touchdown gave the Beasts a 30-26 lead.
The Zappers responded on yet another touchdown run from Bryant to take a late 34-32 lead before the Beasts responded on Smith’s fourth touchdown of the day to go up 38-34.
The final minute of the game was perhaps the most chaotic as Bryant threw an interception that was picked off by Beasts defensive back Julian Charles with the Zappers down 38-34 to the Beasts.
The Zappers went on to win the game 42-38 on a defensive touchdown with just four seconds remaining. The Zappers defense forced Howard to fumble and scooped up the ball to score.
That said, Howard was undoubtedly down and it shouldn’t have been a fumble but in Fan Controlled Football, it was up to the fans to make the call, and they voted it to be a fumble.
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel did not appear in the Zappers’ final regular season game.
It turns out Michael Vick isn't coming out of retirement for the Fan Controlled Football league.
Vick tweeted the following on Sunday: "I hung 'em up in 2015 never to return again. Had an amazing time and accomplished so much. I say that to say, they're going to stay hung up and I will not be coming out of retirement. I appreciate the opportunity to play but I'd rather put my executive hat on with the little ownership that I have!"
His message comes after Frank Pingue of Reuters previously reported Vick would play in the league's final day of the regular season on May 28.
Fan Controlled Football is a league where fans call the plays for games that are played seven-on-seven.
It has made more headlines this year because Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is in the league. The six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro nod is third on the NFL's all-time list with 15,934 receiving yards and 153 touchdown catches and has experienced some success in the league.
In fact, Pingue noted "Vick agreed to a comeback after seeing the success that good friend Owens has been having since he signed with the league this year."
Alas, the FCF will not have one of the most electrifying quarterbacks of his generation under center with Vick's decision.
The Atlanta Falcons selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft, and he made three Pro Bowls and looked to be their long-term franchise quarterback. However, his career went on hold after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison in 2007 for his role in a dogfighting operation.
He returned after two seasons away from the NFL and played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers until 2015. He was the 2010 Comeback Player of the Year for the Eagles and made the fourth Pro Bowl of his career that season.
Vick's ability to make plays with both his legs and arm made him a nightmare matchup for defenses, and he could have presented the ability to execute a number of different fan-called plays in the FCF if he suited up.
While Pro Football Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Troy Aikman believes the Washington Commanders will be Carson Wentz's "last opportunity" to prove he can be a franchise quarterback, another football league that features some former NFLers says otherwise.
Fan Controlled Football, which features the likes of Terrell Owens, Johnny Manziel and soon Michael Vick, suggested Saturday in a tweet that Wentz has a future in its league should his NFL career come to a halt.
Since finishing third in MVP voting as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, Wentz has struggled mightily, which has resulted in him bouncing around the league. After spending the 2021 campaign with the Indianapolis Colts, he was traded to the Commanders this offseason.
The 29-year-old completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 3,563 yards and 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 17 games for the Colts. It was certainly an improvement from the end of his days in Philadelphia, but he has yet to prove he can be a franchise quarterback.
If Wentz fails in Washington, the team will likely turn to rookie Sam Howell in preparation for the future. Lucky for Wentz, he can still have a career in Fan Controlled Football if all else fails.
