BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – Last week we talked about Brendan and Paul’s quest for the first 10 KPM of their career. That chase continued in week 10, with both players hungry to record a double digit KPM.

Brendan and Paul both got off to slow starts, struggling with accuracy and low cornhole rates in the first few games, including a Game 4 partnership when they faced off against Galz and JV. Brendan and Paul combined to average only 1.9 gross points per round (2.2 for Brendan, and 1.6 for Paul) while squeaking out 19 total gross points (11 for Brendan, and 8 for Paul) in a 21-1 loss to Galz and JV. Brendan outscored JV, 2-1, in the first frame to give his team a 1-0 lead, only to watch the Galz and JV freight train reel off 21 unanswered points to win the game in dominating fashion.

In Game 5 these guys started to turn things around. Paul partnered with his nemesis, JV, to face Brendan and KP. Paul and JV dominated the game, winning 21-8, with Paul leading the way by scoring the most gross points in the game (39, in just 7 rounds) and outscored Brendan head-to-head, 39-29. Paul averaged a RIDICULOUS 5.57 gross points per round, helped by his 8 total cornholes (good for 1.14 cornholes per round). Although Brendan lost the head-to-head match-up with Paul, he still had the second-highest gross points for the game (29) and averaged an excellent 4.1 gross points per round while sinking 6 total cornholes for the game.

This head-to-head match-up seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered, which ignited both players for the rest of the night. They closed their night by partnering again in Game 7 in a showdown with Coach Mike and JV, which is this week’s Game of the Night. Coach Mike asked for the head-to-head match-up with the young buck, Brendan, pitting familiar foes head-to-head at the other end (JV and Paul).

Coach immediately took the student to school, outscoring Brendan 4-3 in the bottom of the first round, tying the game, 1–1, after Paul took an early 1-0 advantage over JV to start the game.

The slow, sleepy start didn’t linger long. Paul and Brendan both outscored their opponents 4-2 in the second round, stretching their lead to 5-1. In the third, Brendan gave Coach a lesson of his own by draining a cornhole and scoring the remaining three bags to throw a 6-1 gut punch. In the blink of an eye, Paul and Brendan ripped off 10 unanswered points to claim a 10-1 lead.

The fourth round was critical for Coach and JV. Down 10-1 with their opponents heating up, they needed an answer. JV blanked Paul 4-0 in the top of the fourth and Coach delivered a 4-1 silencer in the bottom of the frame, closing the gap to 10-8. The next few rounds were nip and tuck, each team adding a couple points to make the game 12-10 after six rounds.

In the top of the seventh, Paul added two more points by outscoring JV 4-2, providing a bit more separation, 14-10. In the bottom of the eighth Brendan nailed a cornhole and an extra point on the board enroute to a 4-1 lead over Coach, making the game 17-10.

Just like earlier in the game, Coach and JV needed to dig deep and respond. Coach clawed back to gain one point in the ninth, while JV matched cornholes with Paul to cancel Paul’s points, keeping his team alive and handing the reigns to Coach Mike.

In the 10th round, down 17-11, JV had to exorcise his Paul demons. He did exactly that, going 4-4 and edging Paul, 4-3 to continue chipping away at the lead, which was now down to 17-12. Coach answered JV’s prayers in a big way in the bottom of the 10th. He dropped two cornholes and scored points on his remaining two bags to score 8 gross points, while Brendan could only manage 3 gross points of his own. Coach sent a powerful message to the young rookie, letting him know it ain’t easy closing matches in LEG. Coach’s 5 point advantage tied the game 17-17, and he needed his partner to overcome his 2018-long mental struggle in matches against Paul. Quick side note – Paul has a cumulative head-to-head advantage over JV this year, outscoring him 172-156, including 112-93 during week 10.

In the top of the 11th round, JV’s burning desire to crush Paul was evident. He was laser focused, teeth clenched, ready to take him down. Unfortunately for JV, his game wasn’t good enough and Paul’s was. Paul dropped a cornhole and two more points to outscore JV, 5-3, and give his team the 19-17 lead.

With the pressure mounting, Coach Mike held a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the 11th round, closing his team withtin 19-18 with one bag left to throw. A cornhole would win the game, 21-19, and everyone knows Coach wanted to drive the final stake through his opponents’ heart. His final back-handed taint tickler was aggressive (would you expect anything else?), at the hole and just missed dropping for the win. Instead, it came to rest on the board, still giving Coach and JV life, tying the game 19-19.

Once again, it was JV vs. Paul, game on the line. This time JV drew even with Paul, 2-2, and breathed a sigh of relief knowing the game was in Coach’s hands. Brendan ended that relief quickly.

• Coach first throw – missed the board
• Brendan first throw – cornhole
• Coach second throw – missed the board
• Brendan second throw – on the board

With two bags remaining, Coach faced an enormous 4-0 deficit. His third throw missed the board again, and now his only hope to keep the game alive was for Brendan to miss his last two bags and Coach needed to drain a three pointer on his final throw. The rookie was a stone cold killer, swishing a cornhole on his third bag for a 7-0 advantage, clinching the game.

Coach missed his final bag, and Brendan chased a cornhole on his final throw for good measure. He came up short of the hole, missing a 10-point round, but posted an 8-0 knockout punch to win a 12 round heavyweight fight, 21-19.

Brendan’s 8-0 final round to win the game is this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment, Brendan’s first of his young career. Congratulations to Brendan on the MSM, and on the clutch performance against one of the league’s grizzly veterans.

Brendan’s final game, and his MSM performance also helped him reach 10.0 KPM! Had he scored 6 points in the final round, he would have landed at 9.9 KPM. That’s how little room for error Brendan had, which is even more clutch he pulled it off.

News and Notes:

• Brendan capped off a great night with the MSM, and earned a 10.0 KPM while going 4-2 overall and shooting 57%. He jumped from #9 in the Power Rankings to #7, and will end his 2018 campaign in style. Unfortunately Brendan is headed back to Tuscaloosa to finish school, but we all look forward to his return to Michigan and LEG.
• Paul made a hell of a run at the 10 KPM for the second straight week, but once again finished just short. He ended his night at 9.8, which is nothing to be ashamed of, and finished with a career-high 61% accuracy (good for second-best on the night, JV was tops at 62%). The only thing that held Paul back from his goal was a low cornhole rate, which was 0.43 per round. Paul is starting to hit another gear in the second half of the season.
• Erik played only one game, and won it. He also had one of his more accurate nights of the season, hitting on 50% of his throws. Erik scored just one cornhole in the game he played, which drove his KPM down significantly, landing at 6.2. However, he did record two footsnags, bringing him within 13 of Adam, who is our league leader (Adam leads 35-22).
• Coach Mike and Bushie spent most of their time playing and talking with Carol and Alex, our honorary guests. Bushie only played one regulation game, which was not a good one. He finished with a 4.7 KPM because of the rust and inaccuracy from only playing once in the last three weeks. Coach Mike finished 0-3 with a 7.0 KPM on 40% shooting, one of his worst nights of the year.
• JV had a very accurate night, shooting 62%, but he couldn’t get anything to go in the hole. His 0.26 cornholes per round was unusually low, but the fact that he still averaged 3.0 gross points per round was impressive despite the cornhole rate. His 8.7 KPM and 4-3 record won’t wow anyone, but it was mostly driven by the low cornhole rate.
• Galz did what Galz does – 3-1 record, 12.9 KPM, 58% accuracy, 0.90 cornholes per round, and 4.1 gross points per round. He stayed at #2 in the Power Rankings, but continues to gain on #1 Tony despite the fact that Tony doesn’t play. Tony set the bar high, at 12.5 KPM, and Galz is like Tiger Woods in his prime, chasing everyone down. Galz cumulative KPM is 12.1 and he’s as hot as ever. It’s going to be exciting to see if Galz can overtake Tony for the #1 spot before the end of the regular season.
• KP had an odd night, which sums up his entire season. His KPM was 13.3, which is his season-high and second highest in the league this year. But, he experimented with a new throw, which resulted in low accuracy (56%) and a 1-2 record. He did score more cornholes (0.96 per round, best on the night) and gross points (4.2 gross points per round, also best on the night), which aided his high KPM. But KP can’t find consistent confidence or results. With the 2018 Postseason Tournament quickly approaching, KP has to find his game or risks starting the first 3 seasons without a championship.