The Lord Lorne Sundby Cup finally comes back to Baltimore
By "Rich Washington"

Playoffs 2103 (Baltimore) - Coming out of half-time, the massive crowd assembled at Tom Edwards Championship Stadium -- equally divided in their representation of silver/navy and purple/white -- was still on its collective feet following an exciting first half of football in which the Baltimore Ravens held on to a two-score lead over the favored Dallas Cowboys.

The first half had seen both teams play a calculated yet exciting game of chess. In the first possession of the game following the coin flip, the Ravens quickly pushed their way into the red zone on the back of the incredibly shifty Scott Lyght. A pair of tosses to the left and excellent downfield blocking by left tackle Vernon Ashmore yielded runs of both 10 and 11 yards, and quarterback Morgan Sims steered his team into position for All Pro kicker Vincent Little (who was 6-of-9 during the regular season from this range) to send one through the uprights from 40 yards deep.

From their own 20-yard line, it was then the Cowboys turn to show why they have been an absolute menace in the NFC Conference for years. Following a 4-yard stomp up the middle by Bing Bennett trophy-winner Chance Dixon and an incomplete pass to wide receiver Lawrence Childress, Cowboys\' quarterback Wayne Vinson found Remington Carney wide open in the center of the field. Just as Vinson was poised to unleash a strike directly into the heart of the Ravens\' defensive unit, Ernest Turner came blazing in from his blindside. Turner was able to crush into Vinson just as the football was leaving his skillful fingertips. An awkward, tumbling ball flew over the heads of the linemen and directly into the hands of strong safety Charles Wright, who had been playing in a zone close to the line of scrimmage.

The Ravens were unable to take advantage of the situation, gaining only 6 yards against a stalwart Cowboys defense. Little once against sent the ball through the uprights from 35 yards out.

The Cowboys\' offense had an equally catastrophic second-outing. Following a brilliant, 9-yard scramble up the middle by Dixon, the Ravens\' defensive line responded by sacking Vinson twice on play-action passes for 6 and 7 yards respectively.

Following the punt, the tandem of short, efficient passing by Sims and the explosive running by Lyght drove the Ravens 60 yards down the field. The Cowboys were game for brutal retribution and held the goal line strong on three successive plunges into the middle. The Ravens elected to send Little out yet again on fourth and inches, and a 19-yard kick through the uprights put the team up 9 to 0.

Following sterile drives by each team, Wayne Vinson suddenly found his playoff shoes on the next drive, orchestrating a brilliant aerial onslaught which saw him distribute the ball to five different receivers in a 75 yard march down the field. The drive was capped off with a beautiful grab by Childress deep in the corner of the end zone. The Cowboys were suddenly back in the thick of the hunt, down only two points.

The Ravens, hungry for their first championship in nearly half a century, responded quickly. Behind an All Pro offensive line that refused to budge a single inch, Sims demonstrated why he has been a member of the prestigious AFC All Pro team in three of the past four seasons. Following a 6-play, 74-yard drive down the field (which included a eye-opening one-handed catch 29 yards down the field by wide receiver and future Hall-of-Famer Rutger Target) the Cowboys responded viciously. Once again, the unit stood strong at the goal line, stuffing Lyght twice at the 1-yard line. On third down, offensive coordinator and former Miami Dolphins wide receiver John Tasker sent in three receivers and the recently demoted Perry Brock to replace Lyght. The Cowboys eagerly jumped at the snap but were caught completely off guard when center Dwayne Rapid hiked the ball directly to Brock, who charged into the end zone untouched and sent the assembled crowd into an uproar.

The Ravens would head into half-time with a two-score lead, and only a single half of football would keep them what they so sorely desired.

The Cowboys kept the crowd in a frenzy, starting out the second half with an amazing display of offensive potency that left the Ravens defense befuddled. Vinson orchestrated another beautiful drive and Dixon contributed a trio of 8-yard gains to move the Cowboys 63 yards down the field. Vinson then found receiver Robert Clark wide open for a quick screen pass, and an excellent block by Childress allowed Clark to trot into the end zone untouched. The Ravens defensemen were left hanging their heads as they walked off the field, the lead slowly slipping away.

With the Cowboys within a field goal, the Sims-led Ravens offense returned to the field. Following a pair of hard-earned runs, the Ravens faced a 3rd-and-3 situation. The Cowboys secondary completely shut down the receiving corps of the Ravens on the play-action and as the fleet-footed Sims scrambled towards the sidelines, linebacker Finn Terwilliger set course at warp speed and forced a throw out of bounds.

Following a 25-yard punt return by Bobby Knights, the Cowboys once again found themselves in an advantageous position. Though they were unable to capitalize with more than a single first down, they did move into position for Christopher Carrington to send the ball through the uprights from 38 yards deep. The Cowboys had taken the lead for the first time in the game, 17-16.

What followed on the next drive will go down as one of the great moments in sports history. Tasker sent Sims out onto the field with the directive to coordinate the offense with no huddle for the first time in any game -- let alone for Lord Lorne Sundby\'s Cup.

The result was outstanding.

The Cowboys defense was left confused, rushed and in disarray. The Ravens offensive line continued their stellar play, holding the line brilliantly as Sims marched the Ravens back down the field to the tune of 80 yards on 13-of-13 passing. The drive was culminated by a 13-yard pass that found Merril Anderson open in the seam. Head coach Jeff Jobes decided to keep the team on the field and go for the 2-point conversion. Sims unleashed a bullet that slipped just over the outstretched fingers of nose tackle Frank Draper and into the hands on tight end Issac Smith. The Ravens had re-taken the lead by a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The next four minutes were an All World display of defense by both squads, resulting in two insolvent possessions by Dallas and a fumble-to-turnover by Baltimore.

The hard battle then began to take its toll on Dallas with less than half of the fourth quarter remaining.

Down by a single touchdown, the defense began to show signs of fatigue. Though they prevented the Ravens from moving into the end zone, they gave up yet another field goal and the game began to slip out of their reach.

On the ensuing drive by Dallas, the Ravens defensive line ran roughshod over the backfield. Dixon was given little room to work, and despite making the most of it, another pair of sacks on Vinson by purple-clad bulls seeing nothing but red put the Cowboys into a 4th-and-17 situation. The Cowboys offense was left on the field and a pass just out of the reach of an open Childress led to a turnover on downs.

With only minutes seperating them from championship glory and 28 yards to the end zone, the Ravens offensive line readied the hammer and aimed the nail at the coffin.

Baltimore\'s offensive line man-handled the defense of Dallas, allowing Scott Lyght to cut through the trench like a hot knife through butter. The drive was capped off by a 13-yard explosion into the end zone that seemed destined to put the game forever out of Dallas\' reach.

With a little under a minute to go, the crowd stood on their feet as Vinson lined up under center. Down 34-17 and nearly 60 yards away from the end zone, his task seemed impossible. He took a heavy breath, and the world went silent.

The ball was hiked into his hands.

Despite his best efforts, Henry Rucker could not contain Sawyer James, who rushed into the backfield like a man possessed.

James came down hard, dragging Vinson awkwardly to the turf.

The ball stumbled free, bobbling across the backfield.

Then, in a moment that may never be forgotten by residents of Maryland, it was scooped up into the stubby fingers of six foot, 300-plus pound Ricky Heyward who rumbled 32 yards down the field like a bull elephant as the crowd exploded into cheers.

The rest would only be a formality.

Gatorade permeated the cotton of Jobes\' polo and the hats were already on the heads of the offense as the defense anxiously counted down the clock.

Less than a minute later, the Baltimore Ravens were World Champions.

During the post-game festivities, Head Coach Jeff Jobes and General Manager were finally able brush off past criticisms and place their hands on the greatest prize in all the land.

Jobes commended the Dallas Cowboys, first.

\'I think we all owe a round of applause to Flip Sides\' organization. The Dallas Cowboys have been a paragon of victory in this league for years, and it was an asbolute honor to meet them on the field this evening,\' said Jobes.

He later added, \'In fact, to go over the (Buffalo) Bills, (New England) Patriots and Cowboys en route to this moment makes it the most surreal of my life.\'

Howard was eager to give credit where credit is due.

\'While this Cup belongs to the great City of Baltimore, this championship is dedicated to Joe Malloy, for without his guidance I\'d still be the butt-end of jokes in draft reviews,\' said Howard.

\'The next one belongs to me, though,\' he later jokingly added.

The Most Valuable Player award, presented by Commissioner Andrew Lewis, was given to the entire offensive line of the Baltimore Ravens but accepted by left tackle Vernon Ashmore.

\'It has been an absolute pleasure to play before you fans in this wonderful sport,\' said Ashmore. \'I\'d like to announce my retirement from the game of football. However, that is for later.. tomorrow, I\'m going to Disneyland!\'

\'I\'d also like to send a big thank you out to Todd Ricotta and my former teammates on the Green Bay Packers -- you guys are like family to me,\' he added.

Ashmore had spent his entire career in Green Bay prior to this season, and is well known to be quite close with Ricotta.

According to reports, Cadillac will be providing vehicles to each of the five starting offensive linemen of the Ravens.

* This is the first championship game in the history of football which saw a player tear his jersey, and due to a missing replacement, be forced to don one of his teammates\' back-up jerseys. Ashmore, #61 his entire career, finished his last game in the back-up jersey of #64 Larry Walker.

** This is also the first time two players with the same jersey number shared championship Most Valuable Player honors as Co-MVPs in any sport (Ashmore and Walker, #64).