During the 1990s, the Electric Football League was ruled by a pair of brothers, who controlled the championship trophy for the past nine years. With the start of the new century, the Van Pelt dynasty was toppled, torn asunder by a pair of cats. Clawing their way from a wild card spot to the championship game for the second consecutive year, the Carolina Panthers would not be denied in 2000. With deft clock management, the Panthers overcame the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 29-21 in a heated Cordry Coliseum conflict. "It had to be this year," Panthers head coach John Haworth said after his team's victory. "The dynasty had to be ended with the start of the new millennium. It was time for the trophy to be in new hands. I just didn't think those hands would be mine." Even though somewhat dejected after his loss to the Panthers, Carl Lathrop, head coach of the Jaguars, was elated that he was the one who stopped the Van Pelt brothers from making it to the big game with his 26-21 win over John Van Pelt's Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game. "I think it's fantastic," Lathrop said. "I'm never much for dynasties. You get a piece of the pie and give others the rest. You don't just gobble it all up." After an unimpressive 2-2 season, the Panthers turned on the power in the playoffs. In grueling battles, the Panthers downed the Green Bay Packers 23-20 in the wild card game and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 19-14 in the second round game. The Panthers moved on to the championship game after overcoming the Minnesota Vikings in a defensive 13-7 NFC Championship game. Seeming to favor the underdog pattern, this is almost the exact same as the Panther's effort in the 1999 season. The only difference was the final outcome - Haworth clutching the gleaming championship trophy in his hand. In what proved to be a fortuitous statement after his championship loss to the Raiders in 1999, Haworth remarked that it was time for the Daniel F. Reardon Memorial Trophy to grace a mantle other than those of the VanPelt brothers. Well, the trophy is gracing another mantle now and it is the mantle in the House of Haworth - the 2000 Electrobowl champion. "It was a lot of fun," said Haworth, who took the Panthers' coaching job in 1995. "I was real happy with my game plan. I just kept it on the ground and my tight end would break away for a short dump pass that would turn into a big gain or a touchdown. That's really the only pass play I had." Lathrop, who also joined the league in 1995, said that pass play was his bane. After reviewing the game film, Lathrop said that play was the chink in his armor. "On three of the plays he scored on, I left the tight end completely uncovered," the Jacksonville coach said. "He'd say, 'I want to throw it to Walls,' and then he'd either take it in for a touchdown or make it to the goal line. We had a breakdown in coverage there that lost the game for us." Once in the lead, the Panthers maintained it through clock management. With five minutes left in the game, the Panthers made it into the endzone to take a 27-21 lead. In a surprise move, Haworth decided to attempt a two-point conversion. "I saw how much time was left on the clock," Haworth said. "I had not had luck with my kicking game all year. And, by going for the two-point conversion, I could kill some time." In what proved to be the biggest play of the game, Haworth gambled and went for two. Not only did the two-point conversion succeed, it ate more than two minutes off the game clock, sounding the death knell for the Jaguars. Haworth said, "I had a great time. I can't wait to do it again next year." Next time, Haworth will be the returning champion and he will learn what it's like when everyone is gunning for you. We'll find out next year if this is to the Century of the Cats. Back to Table of Contents Penny Whistle #46 Back to Penny Whistle List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Lion's Den Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com