We started with 800 helmets and now there are 4.
Each of the four Helmet Bowl II National Championship semi-finalists enter their chance at a Championship match undefeated.
Each won their conference championship, then qualified for the National Championship bracket by being one of the top 64 vote-getters in the contest.
Here is the path each team took to make it this far – and selected comments from Helmet Tracker.
Dickinson Red Devils – East Regional, #1 Seed
We noticed this helmet immediately. It’s unique. It’s colorful. Some say outlandish. We thought it would go far, but has exceeded every expectation. When we talked to Assistant Athletic Director Christian Payne, we learned that a driving force in Red Devil vote turnout are the parents of the football team.
Centennial Conference
Round 1 – Bye
Round 2 – defeated McDaniel Green Terror, 80.1% – 19.9%
Round 3 – defeated Moravian Greyhounds, 66.7% – 33.3%
Conference Championship – defeated Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, 66.6% – 33.3%
Johns Hopkins won the conference in Helmet Bowl I and has an instantly recognizable and somewhat classic helmet. We thought they would give the Red Devils a run here, but no.
Helmet Bowl II National Championship
Round 1 – defeated Tufts Jumbos, 59.8% – 40.2%
Round 2 – defeated Misericordia Cougars, 64.4% – 35.6%
Round 3 – defeated Kentucky Christian Knights, 50.3% – 49.7%
This was the most anticipated matchup of the round. The Knights, with a unique helmet design themselves, powered through the first two rounds of the National Championship, getting out the votes in droves. This round was difficult to call right up to the last day when the Devils won by a handful of votes.
Round 4 – defeated Lafayette Leopards, 55.9% – 41.1%
The Leopards sported a strong helmet design with a charging Leopard coming at you out of a strong red L on a white helmet. It was this team who beat the defending Helmet Bowl I National Champion Gallaudet Bison. Texts and emails went out to Leopard fans and students, and the team at Lafayette, led by Anthony Martin, Director of Equipment, came up just short on the final day of voting.
Maine Black Bears – North Regional, #1 Seed
The Black Bears, tucked up in the Northeast corner of the country, use a light blue strip down the middle of their black helmet adorned with an in-your-face bear head, mouth agape. We anticipated a matchup for the Colonial Athletic Association title with the Spiders of Richmond and that is what we got.
Colonial Athletic Association
Round 1 – defeated Towson Tigers, 76.2% – 23.8%
Round 2 – defeated Albany Great Danes, 88.4% – 11.6%
Round 3 – defeated James Madison Dukes, 55.4% – 45.6%
Conference Championship – defeated Richmond Spiders, 57.4% – 42.6%
We loved both these helmets. The Spiders sport a bright red spider on a white helmet. The Black Bears had momentum on their side and were able to stomp to the victory.
Helmet Bowl II National Championship
Round 1 – defeated Fitchburg State Falcons, 55.8% – 44.2%
Round 2 – defeated Saint Francis Fighting Saints, 56% – 44%
Saint Francis put up a great fight with their original looking St. Bernard complete with a barrel under its chin sketch helmet. When the Bears defeated the Saints, we thought that may be the end of the road for them.
Round 3 – defeated West Virginia State Yellow Jackets, 50.5% – 49.5%
West Virginia State sport a very large gold stinging insect and a strong following of voters and votes. They lead off and on throughout the week, but could not overcome the Bears to move to the North Regional Championship.
Round 4 – defeated Lake Erie Storm, 50.1% – 49.9%
Lake Erie surprised us. Cartoon helmets rarely compete well in Helmet Bowl, but their grimacing tornado tore through this tournament without hesitation and nearly achieved the semi-finals.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane – South Regional, #4 Seed
This helmet was tagged from the beginning as a winner. It remains to be seen how far the Hurricane can go. The clean look of the warning flags on a black helmet are instantly recognized as a sign of danger coming. Tulsa, we think, has had the most difficult road to the semi-finals. The helmets the Hurricane faced and defeated may represent the strongest conference and the strongest regional in the contest.
American Athletic Conference
Round 1 – defeated East Carolina Pirates, 76.7% – 23.3%
Round 2 – defeated Southern Methodist Mustangs, 72.9% – 27.1%
The Mustangs put forth a beautiful helmet, chroming the classic red running horse on a white lid. They just couldn’t muster the votes in the AAC.
Round 3 – defeated South Florida Bulls, 75.6% – 24.4%
Conference Championship – Navy Midshipmen, 66.2% – 33.8%
As much as we love the Tulsa helmet, we believed Navy could win the National title. They won the conference for Helmet Bowl I and had a variety of helmets to choose from to go deep into this year’s contest. In our opinion, they chose poorly and did not tap into the voting block that could propel the Academy to a Conference Championship and compete for a National title. Watch out for the Midshipmen in Helmet Bowl III.
Helmet Bowl II National Championship
Round 1 – defeated Mississippi State Delta Devils, 69% – 31%
Round 2 – defeated Liberty Flames, 60.7% – 39.3%
Liberty got out the votes and we watched with anticipation as they beat strong helmet after strong helmet. The Hurricane got the better of them and the contest was closer than the percentages show.
Round 3 – defeated Howard Payne Yellow Jackets, 50.8% – 49.2%
Howard Payne got out the vote. The helmet included much to be commended – the honey comb stripe from back to front, the Texas representation, and the Yellow Jacket itching for a fight. This was a great contest to watch.
Round 4 – defeated Florida A&M Rattlers, 50.2% – 49.8%
The Rattlers were tagged by us as contenders this Fall, with their bright orange lid and the ready-to-strike snake. This was a great contest.
Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm – West Regional, #10 Seed
Who? Where did the Savage Storm come from? This is a great story. The Savage Storm are a #10 Seed and now vie for a chance for a National Championship. These guys have dominated. Period. The dark grey helmet sporting a rough silver sketch of a bison head showed unique and attractive design. Someone in Durant knows how to get out the vote! Amazing run thus far. Can the Savage Storm advance to the National Championship?
Great American Conference
Round 1 – defeated East Central Tigers, 67.6% – 32.4 %
Round 2 – defeated Northwestern Oklahoma Rangers, 58.7% – 41.3%
Round 3 – defeated Harding Bison, 79.9% – 20.1%H
Conference Championship – defeated Ouachita Baptist Tigers, 78.6% – 21.4%
The Savage Storm repeated their Conference Championship from Helmet Bowl I. Strong voting put them into the National Championship bracket of 64.
Helmet Bowl II National Championship
Round 1 – defeated Redlands Bulldogs, 56.5% – 43.5%
Redlands showed motivation and momentum behind a clean helmet design. We thought this contest would be closer. Watch out for the Bulldogs in HBIII.
Round 2 – defeated College of Idaho Coyotes, 50.5% – 49.5%
The Coyotes charged to a semi-final place in Helmet Bowl I and nearly knocked off the Storm here.
Round 3 – defeated South Dakota Coyotes, 56.7% – 43.3%
The Savage Storm faced a strong Coyote helmet for the second week in a row. South Dakota’s treatment with a chome-ish red paw print on a white helmet made for an attractive helmet that was easy to vote for. The votes just didn’t come in strong enough.
Round 4 – defeated Boise State Broncos, 51.1% – 48.9%
This fierce, red-eyed bronco head on a black helmet charged through the contest. We wouldn’t have been surprised to see it advance further. The Broncos, and the Helmet Bowl nation, were surprised with the Savage Storm showing.