Right - I knew you'd be checking my homework Norm. I saw that seven TD game for LA so I wanted to make sure to note it was a London career high. I should be so lucky for him to toss seven TDs for me - lol.

***BREAKING NEWS*** RB Archie Daniels suffered a leg injury running a pass route midway through the first quarter of the Monarchs 13-3 week 9 win over the Las Vegas Wraiths. Daniels returned to the game after the injury, but was highly ineffective finishing with just 43 yards rushing and adding 25 yards on four catches.

Management is unsure how long the star running back will be sidelined, but the injury will certainly disrupt the Monarchs' offensive attack. Randy Bainter, who scored the game's only touchdown on an 11 yard scamper earlier in the first quarter, and Alvin Dillon will take over rushing duties as London battles to hold onto their AFC South division lead over the Pennsauken Del Fuego Phoenix.

Quarterly report:
Record: 2-2 overall record: 7-5

London limps through the month after a major injury.

- The Monarchs end a four game road trip returning to the site of their 2032 playoff clinching victory. London tops Las Vegas 13-3, but the biggest news is a leg injury to star running back Archie Daniels early in the first quarter. Daniels returns to the game but is clearly ineffective, and Randy Bainter, who scored on an 11 yard touchdown run early in the game, will be called on to carry the load until Daniels can return. London's defense senses they will have to pick up the slack, limiting the Wraiths to only 173 yards of total offense, including just 97 yards through the air.

- Most of the 55,698 Monarchs fans who venture to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in week 10 would be wise to seek a refund after a terrible performance in a 25-7 loss to the Tasmania Devils. Tasmania LDE Buck Dharma dominates the day, recording five sacks - including a safety - as part of the Devils ten sacks in the game. Not to be outdone, Tasmania QB Carl Wise and WR Shoeless Joe Theriot connect on the longest play from scrimmage in the league this season with a 97 yard TD catch and run early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

- Division matchups are always tough, and week 11's rematch with the Roswell Invaders proves to be no exception. The Monarchs end up sweeping the season series from Roswell thanks to a back and forth 23-20 home victory. Neither team can stop their opponent's rushing attack, as London and Roswell rush for 185 and 154 yards respectively. Most of the offensive highlights come in the first half as Invaders RB Elliott Ali scores on a pair of short TD runs in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead. However, on the very next possession London RB Randy Bainter breaks a tackle and is off to the races for a career long 75 yard touchdown run. Bainter makes up for a lost fumble earlier in the game and finishes with a career best 144 yards rushing, and adds 58 yards on seven catches. RB Alvin Dillon scores a TD for the second straight game in the fourth quarter, but a missed PAT keeps things interesting. A fifteen play Roswell drive lasting nearly nine minutes in the fourth quarter stalls out with a field goal cutting the lead to 23-20, but the Invaders can get no closer. The Monarchs' Tough Blokes defense answers the call once again, chalking up five total turnovers, picking off Roswell QB Todd Sather three times and recovering a pair of fumbles.

- A trip to the Big Apple for a showdown with the Brawndo Corp. Dildozers in week 12 ends up rotten, as London falls 24-13. In some ominous foreshadowing, Monarchs QB Matthew Avila is sacked on the first play of the game, one of six times he's dropped on the day. The London defense gets torched by Brawndo QB Brian Roberts, who connects with WR James Brandt for a pair of 75 yard TD catches on the same route in the first and third quarters. Roberts finishes with 305 yards passing and the two TDs, while Brandt tallies 150 yards receiving on his two scores. The Monarchs defense surrenders 436 yards, but tries to keep the game close thanks to CB Osvaldo Costales' second career INT TD from 26 yards out in the third quarter, his seventh interception of the season. London QB Matthew Avila is running for his life all game, resulting in three interceptions, as well as his fourth straight game without a TD pass since Daniels' injury.

Avila has been sacked 20 times in the last four games, and has already matched his career high 36 sacks from 2032 with four games remaining. No other QB in the league has been sacked more than 27 times (Phillip Key - Raiders). Offensive line coach Jay Martinson was brought in specifically to improve pass protection, but has failed in that regard. No matter how the 2033 campaign turns out, unsexy offensive linemen will be the top priority this offseason.

The last quarter of the season begins with a showdown against the surging Arkansas Thrashers, a game that carries major playoff seeding implications. A pair of divisional games against the SnowSharks sandwiching a road game in Chicago against the NFC North leading Bears means a return trip to the playoffs is no guarantee. Despite a two game lead in the scuffling AFC South, management has to make a tough decision on when to reactive Archie Daniels and hopefully claim the franchise's first division title since 2025 in Indianapolis.

Quarterly report:
Record: 1-3 overall record: 8-8

The Monarchs avoid an epic collapse to back into the playoffs as AFC South champs.

- The Monarchs begin the final stretch of the season licking their wounds from a poor showing in the week 12 loss to the Dildozers. London's fans are forgiving, as the largest crowd ever of 59,252 fills Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a showdown with the surging Arkansas Thrashers. The Thrashers start the game sloppy, as QB John Spartan's early interception leads to a short drive ending with TE Bernard Smith's third TD catch of the season. London QB Matthew Avila's second TD pass of the day goes to WR Dale Hale, and a 28 yard field goal pushes the Monarchs to a surprising 17-0 lead. However, the tide begins to turn late in the second quarter as Spartan finds Martin Riggs for a two yard TD pass shortly before halftime. Arkansas' pass rush amps up in the second half, as RDE Michael Cherrito causes absolute havoc. Cherrito records five of his six sacks after intermission. All five of Cherrito's second half sacks were allowed by former Arkansas teammate LT Allan Lawrence, leading some to speculate Lawrence may not have been putting forth his best effort. A 46 yard TD pass from Spartan to WR Muhammad Boudreaux late in the third quarter completes the Thrasher comeback to tie the game at 17. London's only sustained drive of the second half ends in disaster, as Avila is intercepted at the Arkansas one yard line by CB Nat Romanov early in the fourth quarter. London seems confused all afternoon, with little variety in the defensive playcalling. That fatal flaw is exploited by Spartan one final time, as he connects with WR Alan "Dutch" Schaefer for a wide open 27 yard TD with only fifty five seconds remaining, leaving London's stagnant offense with no chance for a miracle comeback in a 24-17 loss. Spartan ends the day with 353 yards passing and the three TDs, while the Monarchs can only muster 220 yards of total offense, thanks to 73 yards lost on eight total sacks.

- Former UCLA RB Archie Daniels must really hate cold weather. That's the only explanation for his horrible performance in week 14 at the Frozen Tundra SnowSharks. The 32 degree day starts off with a bang, as Matthew Avila tosses an 80 yard touchdown pass to WR William Ortiz on the very first play of the game. After SnowSharks kicker Rodney Lezama's 39 yard field goal cuts the lead to 7-3, things get ugly fast. Daniels fumbles on two of the next three possessions inside the London 25 yard line, giving Lezama more chip shot field goals. Daniels third fumble of the first half, which end up being his only three fumbles of the entire season, starts another Frozen Tundra drive inside the London 30 and leads to another Lezama field goal for 12-10 halftime lead. A touchdown pass from Marshall Williams to TE Earl Steel and Lezama's fifth and sixth field goals of the day build a comfortable lead, and even as Daniels tries to redeem himself with a 12 yard TD catch with 21 seconds left, it's not enough as the Monarchs fall again 25-18. London gets a taste of its own medicine, turning the ball over five times total while suffering their third straight defeat. The Snowsharks win pulls them within one game of the Monarchs in the AFC South standings with two games remaining, now owning the tiebreaker.

- A bus ride down the I-94 takes the Monarchs from Wisconsin to their week 15 matchup in Chicago with the Bears. Chicago surprises London defensive coordinator George Markowski again, with a strictly pass happy attack in the first half. Chicago QB George Wilson connects with TE Jamie Richeson from two yards out, and WR Norman Kirkland for a 71 yard bomb to quickly go up 14-0 in the first. London's attempt to turn the tide two plays into the second quarter ends in disaster, as Wilson evades a near safety and heaves a desperation throw to WR Charles Rice. Rice is able to break a tackle and zooms to the end zone for a 94 yard TD catch, putting the Bears ahead 21-0 and ending any reasonable chance the Monarchs had for a comeback. London's atrocious offensive line play continues, as they surrender eight total sacks on the day, three by WLB Dwayne Everett. QB Matthew Avila throws for 419 yards on a career high 63 pass attempts, many aimed at TE Bernard Smith who ends up with 12 receptions for 112 yards. The Monarchs finally get their safety in the fourth quarter, but it's not enough as they suffer their fourth straight loss 27-12. Coupled with the SnowSharks 31-6 thumping of the Broncos, the Monarchs suddenly finds themselves outside of the playoff picture as both teams sport unsightly 7-8 records heading into the season finale in London.

- The nervous energy in the stands and pubs around London is finally released, as the Monarchs cruise to the playoffs for the second straight season thanks to a surprisingly easy 31-9 win over the SnowSharks. Deciding that holding onto the ball is a good strategy this time around, an efficient passing attack leads the team to victory. WR William Ortiz notches two touchdowns on the day from 75 and 8 yards out, and rookie George Payne shows there's more than one talented TE on the roster with a 53 yard score. Matthew Avila ends up with 291 yards on just 14-19 passing with the three TDs. Avila proves he can be quite talented when he's not being buried under opposing defensive linemen, not suffering a single sack on the day.

The win over the SnowSharks gives the London franchise its first division title since 2025 in Indianapolis. While a disappointing 8-8 record is by far the worst of any of the playoff teams, one of those wins came over the Wilmington Argonauts, who the Monarchs defeated 27-13 at home in week one. London gets to host 11-5 Wilmington once again, after the Argonauts defeated the Monarchs 6-0 in the 2032 divisional round in Delaware on their way to the AFC Championship. The Argonauts enter the playoffs coming off a 38-17 thumping of the NFC South champ Shadow Dancers in week 16. With the teams heading in opposite directions, gamblers have Wilmington as one point road favorites returning to London to renew this budding rivalry.

London falls to the eventual AFC champion in the divisional round for the second straight season, as the Dildozers defense dominates in a 16-3 victory in New York.

- The Monarchs begin their playoff run with some revenge, bouncing the Argonauts 20-14 in the wild card round. In London's first ever home playoff game the offense gains only 260 yards as Wilmington holds the ball for nearly seven and a half more minutes. However, QB Matthew Avila makes the most of his time with the ball, tossing a 3 yard TD to RB Randy Bainter in the first quarter, and 14 yards to FB Roosevelt Logan in the third to go up 17-3. As it has most of the season, the defense has to step up to protect the lead. Argonauts QB Robert Arthur throws an 11 yard score to RB Christopher Steele late with less than six minutes left, and a successful two point conversion cuts the London lead to 17-14. The home crowd of 59,537 senses a collapse may be coming, but SLB Mark Weesner picks off Arthur deep in Argonauts territory, and another field goal leads to the final score of 20-14. The Monarchs pack their bags and head to Heathrow for a return trip to Manhattan for a showdown with the Dildozers who won 24-13 in week 12.

- Any dreams of an extended playoff run end on New Year's Day 2034, as the Dildozers control the game with a 16-3 victory. This time London holds the ball for an extra seven minutes, but can't do much with it, mustering only 182 yards of total offense. Mostly that's because they're going in the wrong direction thanks to giving up eight sacks, four by RDE Dwayne Elizondo Macho Comacho. Brawndo's MVP candidate QB Brian Roberts struggles on the day, going just 22-48 for 242 yards with a pair of INTs. His one successful strike, a 50 yard TD pass to WR James Brandt in the first quarter, gives the Dildozers all the points they need. A pair of field goals inside the final three minutes gives Brawndo a cushion to prevent any miracle Monarchs comeback, as they move on to the AFC Championship with a 16-3 win.

Coming into the 2033 season management had penciled in a record of 9-7, so ending up 8-8 with a division title is only mildly disappointing. However, there are major areas to address going forward. Pass protection will be the only way the Monarchs can get over the hump to reach the elite level in Moguls. QB Matthew Avila was dropped 54 times for 509 yards lost in the regular season, and and additional 11 times for 108 lost yards in two playoff games. To put that in perspective, Raiders QB Phillip Key was a distant second in absorbing punishment, getting sacked 36 times for 330 yards lost. Avila's sack total was the highest in the league since Miami QB James Wooldrige was sacked an amazing 93 times for nearly a thousand yards in 2027. Despite his high grade as an offensive line coach, Jay Martinson is unlikely to be retained after surrendering eighteen more sacks than last season.

The Monarchs defense also took a step back in 2033. After ranking seventh in the league in 2032 giving up just 279.1 yards per game, the Tough Blokes gave up 331.1 yards in 2033, ranking 21st. Despite tallying 32 turnovers (26 INTs, 6 fumbles recovered), London could not generate much of a pass rush with just eleven total sacks on the year, led by rookie LDE LaVar Ball and WLB Robert Williams with three each. Seeing how much the offense was stymied by Avila's constant sacks, the defense needs to give the opposition a taste of its own medicine in 2034.

Team MVPs:
Offense: TE Bernard Smith 105 receptions (4th in league, 1st for TEs) 1059 yards (8th in league, 1st for TEs) 3 TDs

Defense: WLB Robert Williams 113 tackles (7th in league) 3 sacks 4 INTs 3 forced fumbles 9 QB pressures