The defense that came up with the key play that put Obic into the championship game stepped up again, none bigger than on the final play of the game, to give the Seagulls their first X-League title in seven years.
Taku Lee rushed for two touchdowns and defensive back Hayate Kubo broke up a pass in the end zone on the last play as the Seagulls held on for a 13-7 victory over the Fujitsu Frontiers in a thrilling Japan X Bowl on Tuesday night at Tokyo Dome.
"They're a tough team," Obic defensive end B.J. Beatty said. "To hold them to seven [points], you can't ask for a better effort from the defense."
With the victory to cap a pandemic-contracted season, Obic won a record-extending ninth league title overall, and prevented Fujitsu from winning what would have been a record fifth straight. It also puts the Seagulls into the Rice Bowl, where they will face the collegiate champion Kwansei Gakuin University for the national title on Jan. 3 at Tokyo Dome.
Lee was named the game MVP after rushing for 111 yards on 21 carries. He scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 7-yard run in the second.
"It was a very tough game," Lee said. "But I believe in every player, and I just ran forward and forward. I'm very excited to win the championship."
Because of the pandemic, the start of the season was delayed, and instead of a seven-game schedule, the eight teams were divided into two round-robin groups. As one team in Obic's group opted not to participate, the Seagulls only had two regular-season games.
But one was a thrilling 35-34 win over the Panasonic Impulse, which was only secured when Panasonic fumbled on the Obic 1 with :17 left and the Seagulls recovered to clinch its spot in the Japan X Bowl.
On Tuesday night, a blocked extra point after Lee's second touchdown was a precursor to the dramatic finish, which was set up when Michael Birdsong threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Riki Matsui with 1:04 left in the first half to allow the Frontiers to go into halftime trailing 13-7.
Obic had a chance to pad its lead in the third quarter, but Takeru Yamasaki was wide left on a 45-yard field goal attempt. The Seagulls had another opportunity on their next drive, when they gained 59 yards in two plays to move to the Fujitsu 31. But a sack and two penalties as the game moved into the fourth quarter left them punting from a 4th-and-44 situation.
The Frontiers had a chance to finally go ahead when, starting a drive at the Obic 39, they went for it on 4th-and-1 at the Obic 2. But Beatty wrestled down Birdsong, not only preventing a touchdown but also a first down.
On the play, the ball popped loose and an Obic player picked it up and ran for a touchdown, but a video replay showed that Birdsong had hit the ground first. Earlier in the game, Fujitsu also had a fumble return for a touchdown overturned by video, when it was judged the ball carrier's knee had hit the ground before he lost the ball.
With 4:40 left and starting at its own 1, Obic managed to get some breathing space when Lee scampered for a 17-yard run. But the Seagulls were unable to run out the clock when, on 3rd-and-4 at the 27, cornerback Al-Rilwan Adeyami broke up a pass to force Obic to punt.
After starting at the 22 with 1:31 left, Birdsong, who was named the league MVP, scrambled for 14 yards on 4th-and-10 at the 45 to keep Fujitsu's hopes alive, then ran once and completed two of three passes to put the ball on the Obic 6 with :02 on the clock.
But Kubo tipped away Birdsong's intended pass to Matsui in the right corner of the end zone, clinching the dramatic win for the Seagulls.
"I believed in my team and my players," said head coach Makoto Ohashi, the architect of the Obic dynasty that won titles from 2010-13 who returned to the sideline this year after a stint as general manager. "This was the result of our dedication after seven years of frustration."
Quarterback Jimmy Laughrea, who joined Obic this season from the Nojima Sagamihara Rise, completed 15 of 23 passes for 200 yards with one interception.
"It wasn't what I was expecting," Laughrea said of the low-scoring game. "The defense came through. Taku did his job, obviously. It was a good team win."
It was the lowest scoring Japan X Bowl since Fujitsu beat Obic 16-3 in the 2016 game, and the 13 points tied the record for least by the winning team, which was done in 1993 by the Asahi Beer Silver Star and 2003 by the Onward Skylarks.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
