top of page

​

2019 - Kaelan Cements Status as League Legend

​

The sixth Breakfast League season (as the seasons before it) grew more competitive than the rest; however, one league member made his mark as the first in Breakfast League history to complete an undefeated season.

Instead of drafting before the preseason, the League made the decision to draft on Labor Day as many other lesser leagues across the United States like to do. At 7 PM, on the Holiest of Days, Draft Day, the draft commenced. RJ Dechow took the first pick, but the first round would prove to be full of errors. Commissioner Kenneth Pancake (re-elected against three opponents) drafted RB Todd Gurley from the Rams, despite Gurley's slow finish to the 2018 season. That would prove to be a mistake. Ethan Maas would take QB Patrick Mahomes (2018 MVP) shortly after, and his season would reflect that mistake. Eli Thompson was not present online for the draft, and he was forced to auto-draft - however, his lineup looked dominating.

The League passed modest reforms - beginning in 2020, an Injured Reserve roster slot would be added to the lineup. A Hall of Shame was added to contrast the Hall of Fame, and three teams were voted in as members. Finally, an official Constitutional Amendment was passed that would ban any rule changes made within the season - from the first pick of the draft to the end of the last game.

While gameplay began, one topic would dominate discussion - playoff expansion. In the latter half of the season, member Alex Annan came up with a proposal to expand the playoff to six, create four divisions and expand the season by one week. This would result in a large reform package for the Breakfast League that will be detailed later.

Defending champion Kenneth Pancake lost his first three games (and four of his first five), quickly diving out of contention (although he remained a fringe competitor for the remainder of the regular season). And again, Aaron Green, Jared Kmiecik and Dan Jackson Jr. fell behind at the starting gun (at the conclusion of the season, Jared's all-time win % dipped to just below 26%). Eli Thompson won his first matchup with one of the most dominating drafted teams ever to be assembled... but then, nothing. A move was never made, and lineups were rarely changed, if ever. Eli quickly dropped out of contention.

Ethan Maas started with three straight wins, and it looked like he was going to return to glory. Then, he only won a single game more throughout the rest of the season. Sean Alumbaugh, RJ Dechow, Kaelan Carlson and Al Ohlinger would all make return appearances to the playoff. While all of the teams looked strong, Kaelan's undefeated record was drawing eyes. No one had ever gone undefeated in the regular season before - let alone an entire season. Kaelan and Al met in the championship, where it came down to the final game of the League season between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints (Al had Indy WR Zach Pascal and Kaelan was done with a 10-point lead). At the two yard line, the Colts (down 34-0) ran a bootleg pass. As Brissett rolled, Zach Pascal came slightly open in the end zone. Brissett instead threw the ball away. A touchdown pass to Pascal would have won Ohlinger the title. Instead, Kaelan Carlson completed the only perfect season in Breakfast League history.

To go along with that historical accomplishment, the League decided to make some more history. With the knowledge of the coming schedule expansion, the owners discussed the dilemmas in the League: limited playoff access, a short schedule, and automatic playoff bids for division winners. Alex Annan came up with an idea: four divisions of three members, a 16-week season, and a six-team playoff with one-week rounds. That format would begin in 2020, the following season. The League discussed the Great Reformation (as it was so aptly called), and after much discussion, it was accepted.

bottom of page