In stunning fashion, Pete the Terp dominated the other participants in the Super Bowl (with a 1-point variance) and captured his second consecutive HSBT victory!  With 452 points in the Super Bowl game, he outpaced everyone else and wound up with 1,246 points – second all-time only to the 1,322 he amassed last year.  For the 2^nd consecutive year, Comeback Kid came in 2^nd place while earning over 1,000 points.

Speaking with Pete the Terp shortly after his stunning win, he had this to offer, “I knew if I picked the game close, the trophy would be mine to keep another year.  I guess a 1-point variance will do it every time.  The Commish’s expert analysis really helped me again.  I’ll be sure to do another Hewesman (not Heisman) Pose with the cherished hardware!”  I asked him which victory he savored most and he told me “next year’s HSBT trophy!”  Wow!!

Congrats to Pete the Terp on his win and to Comeback Kid for his strong finish.

Final results of this year’s HSBT competition are:

• Pete the Terp – 1,246 points and a record-tying 2^nd consecutive win
• Comeback Kid – a perfect season (11-0) and 1,017 points (slightly down from his 1,049 last year); what does it take to win?
• 2017 Winner – the bronze chicken wing award for 3^rd place with 766 points
• Ben the Butler – held on to 4^th place after a promising start, with 718 points
• HenricoFiveOh – a mediocre 5^th place showing for the 6-time winner, with 640 points
• Greg the Great – slumped after his Seahawks were eliminated, and earned 619 points, good for 6^th place
• Buffalo Bill – 535 points and in 7^th place, in part due to his weak SB pick
• JTB – 457 points and just ran out of gas this season (no, you don’t get the #1 draft pick next year)

SUPER BOWL 51 FINAL ANALYSIS
As predicted in my earlier letter to all participants, this SB did go into OT.  It may go down as the best SB of all-time, with the Dirty Birds unable to come back from a 25-point lead.  Is Tom Brady the G.O.A.T?  He has 5 rings to back up that claim, 1 more than anyone else.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Almost like a Dickens novel, who thought the Falcons would be up 21-3 at half?  And totally dominated the Patriots in a super-efficient manner.  That first play from scrimmage, RB Freeman’s 40-yard scamper up the middle, set the tone for the first 30 minutes.  Add that pick-6 for an 84-yd TD and you’re probably thinking this is gonna be a blowout?

After the Lady (thanks for no political innuendo’s) finished up her rollicking Air Gaga act, the Falcons put their last nail in the coffin and held a commanding 28-3 lead midway through the 3^rd Quarter.  Oh, how sweet this victory will be!!  Oh, how shall we blow this lead?

8:31
If you looked at the clock with this much time left in the 3^rd quarter, the Falcons just scored on that easy looking pass and 20-yard TD run by Devin Coleman, to make it 28-3.  Fast forward to this exact time in the 4^th quarter and this is when a NE sack and (another) Atlanta holding penalty took them out of FG range.  From this point forward, everything had to go perfect for the Patriots – and it did.

THE CATCH
Just like David Tyree did a few SB’s ago, Pats WR Julian Edelman made a miraculous catch that bounced off shoes, socks and cleats before being secured to keep another drive alive deep in Falcon territory.

IN THE END
After 2 incredible 2-point conversions, OT for the first time on the world’s biggest sports stage.  The Patriots (who always call “heads”) won the coin toss.  And that is all she wrote, as the Patriots marched down the field and sucked any remaining air out of the tired Dirty Birds D, before James White (14 receptions?) ran it in from 2 yards to start the celebration in Beantown.

FINAL WORDS
I’ll be working on updating all the key stats and will share those revelations with you in the future.  Enjoy the rest of winter and again, congrats to Pete the Terp on his victory!

Until then, I am

~~ The Commish