Kitten Bowl 2019: Recap, MVP, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The Little Longtails defeated the North Shore Bengals 35-32 in Kitten Bowl VI on Sunday at Hallmark Channel Stadium.

Marbles came through in the clutch for the Little Longtails, as he caught the game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock after the North Shore Bengals were called for an unnecessary fluffness penalty.

The win represented redemption for the Little Longtails since they fell in overtime to the Pouncy Panthers in Kitten Bowl V last year.

With the Little Longtails trailing by two scores late in the first half, Rob Gronk-Cat-Ski Jr. made his long-awaited arrival and scored a pair of touchdowns to put his team on top 22-21 at halftime.

Gronk-Cat-Ski was late and attempted to make his way to Hallmark Channel Stadium on his own personal party bus: The Whisker Wagon:

He did not make it in time for the Little Longtails' semifinal game, and it was unclear if he would be present for the Kitten Bowl final after The Whisker Wagon blew a tire.

Even so, Gronk-Cat-Ski and his buddies lived it up on the bus, much like his namesake—New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski—has been known to do:

While Marbles was the hero for the Little Longtails, their comeback wouldn't have been possible without Gronk-Cat-Ski.

In defeat, the North Shore Bengals squandered a strong performance from quarter-cat Cat-Son Wentz, who nearly led them to victory.

Prior to Kitten Bowl VI, a pair of semifinal playoff games were played to determine who would vie for the championship.

In the first semifinal, the Little Longtails took advantage of a missed extra point by the Last Hope Lions.

With just a few seconds remaining, Mr. McWiggles scored a dramatic touchdown for the Little Longtails, and the extra point launched them into the Kitten Bowl finals with a 24-23 win:

The second semifinal was also a claw-biter, as the score between the North Shore Bengals and the defending champion Pouncy Panthers was tied at 23-23 in the waning moments.

Several North Shore Bengals cat-letes combined to provide the winning score by walking through the tunnel and into the end zone, making it 29-23.

Team captain Davey stole the show for the North Shore Bengals, as he turned in a huge performance despite having only one eye:

During the Kitten Bowl final, Davey was shown getting adopted in one of the biggest feel-good moments of the event.

Davey was one of many kittens who turned heads during Sunday's broadcast, and he is among those who is up for the Most Valuable Kitten (or MVK) vote.

Votes can be cast on Hallmark's website, and the winner will be revealed Monday.

While Kitten Bowl fans will wait with bated breath to see which of their favorite cat-letes took home the hardware, Amy Bellgardt of MomSpark.com accurately pointed out that finding homes for the kittens is the true goal of the Kitten Bowl:

That is precisely what happens with the cat-letes on a yearly basis, as Kitten Bowl host Beth Stern mentioned to Emily Aslanian of TV Insider: "Knowing that every animal I see here and am in contact with finds a wonderful forever home when it's all over is my favorite thing."

The Kitten Bowl is a great showcase for not only the kittens who are involved, but also for rescue kittens in need of adoption across the country.

By bringing awareness to the cause, the 2019 edition of the Kitten Bowl was yet another major success.