By: Nick Wilk

Staff Writer

We are past the midway point in the inaugural season of the Hammond High School fantasy football money league and there has already been a flurry of blockbuster trades and crazy games, as the week eight slate did not disappoint. This week, the league leaders had some close games. The team lead by Sami Baig (5-2) had a close finish with last place Team Khokar (1-6) 143-129. The strong receiving core of Stefon Diggs and Jaylen Waddle have helped lead Sami’s team to the top. When asked about his season outlook Baig said “I think the season looks bright and I’m looking for first place.”

The other team tied atop the league is led by Jack Ridgell. Ridgell’s (5-2) achievements can be attributed to his success on the trade market. He pulled off a number of blockbuster deals with Kevin’s team (3-4). The first of which shook the league. Ridgell received Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra ST. Brown and Darren Waller for J.K. Dobbins, Christian Kirk and T.J. Hockenson. Many around the league called it the worst trade in fantasy football history. Then the two engaged in another trade, sending Joe Burrow to Ridgell’s team for Allen Lazard. These trades transformed Team Ridgell from a solid team to the league favorite. That being said, he is expected to lose in a stunner heading into Monday night. 

The team he faced this week was Dalvin and the chipmunks (4-3) led by Coach Nathaniel Wilk. He called the league favorite “himself” after he completed the second of head coach Kevin Barry’s major blockbuster trades. The trade package was headlined by the Dalvin and the chipmunks squad acquiring superstar Justin Jefferson in exchange for a package of Kenneth Walker and Deebo Samuel. When asked about who he thought was the league favorite Kevin Barry said “I think Nick Wilk (4-3) has the best chance to win the chip. He’s a super RB heavy team with a bunch of powerhouses everywhere in his lineup. He consistently puts up a lot of points and makes great roster decisions”.

Nick’s team set records over the weekend with the highest scoring week in league history (194). Nick said, “My game went really well this week. All of my players played really well and I think we will keep the momentum going the rest of the season.” He also noted “A.J. Brown, Alvin Kamara and Derrick Henry” as his key contributors. After this week many managers think Nick’s team will finish with the championship win. 

A team that is gaining momentum heading into the late weeks of the playoffs is Kevin Barry’s team. He defeated The Mixon Match lead by Jaiden Ali and after the game Barry was proud of his guys, saying “I played Jaiden this weekend and although I picked up 4 of my starters from the waiver wire I still came out with the win. I think it speaks to my team’s grit and determination that even with 4 starters injured we powered through and came out on top.” Although difficult trades and injuries have hampered Kevin’s team all year long he still is confident in his guys. He said “I see the rest of the season going well. I’m starting to figure out the dimensions of my team and the lineup is really starting to come together.” 

Colin Michaelson’s team (4-3) won 155-139 against Justin Sherbet (4-3) led by Braedan Bzdweka. Braedan attributed the loss to “not starting Melvin Gordon” and added that he is in the market for a WR to improve his team. 

In our final game of the week we had an absolute blowout. Team Ali (4-3) led by Quinten Ali defeated a team led by Chase Endres (2-5) 117-56. While Nick’s team made history, so did Chase’s team but in the opposite way. Chase’s 56 points is the lowest total ever scored. After the game Endres said “My game this weekend went very poorly, through my running backs and receivers every single one of them put up single digits. My best player this week was Josh Allen as he was the only person on my roster who scored higher than 10 points”.

 The league is starting to see who its true contenders are as the playoffs draw closer and some managers can almost feel the $200 first place prize money in their hands. It should continue to be interesting and the excitement should reach its pinnacle at the start of the playoffs on December 11th.