Intramural Flag Football Champs

By carolinianweb on November 8, 2017 • ( 0 )

Flickr / Adam Hillicker

Brayden Stamps
Staff Writer

Monday Night Intramural Flag Football at UNCG might not be as popular as the edition that comes on ESPN, but it certainly came close in excitement on Oct. 30. The battles took place at the recreation field where two teams were vying for the right to be the champions of their division. Fraternity brothers, roommates and classmates all united in an effort to reign supreme over their opponent. The setting for the two championship games was almost cinematic; the weather made the games feel like they took place on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in December.

In the first game, the fifth seeded GOLD team hoped to continue their magical postseason run versus the second seeded Juice Men. The GOLD team’s Cinderella run through the bracket was fueled by their stifling team defense. In the Quarterfinals, they held their opponent fourth seeded TDX to 12 points. In the Semifinals, their defense once again carried them to a surprising upset of the number one seed Sigma Phi Epsilon as they held them to 0 points en route to the stunning upset. The second seeded Juice Men earned a bye week due to their regular season success and defeated YOU LIKE THAT by a score of 20-19 in the Semifinals. During the championship game, the GOLD team maintained their stingy defensive reputation and kept the game close and competitive throughout, despite coming into the game as underdogs. Unfortunately, the GOLD team’s defense could not make up for their lack of offense as they failed to convert on both of their extra point opportunities and were held to only 12 points. This would go onto be the key difference in the game as the Juice Men were able to capitalize on their final extra point opportunity which allowed them to escape with a 13-12 victory and the division championship.

In an interview with the quarterback of the Juice Men, he stated that it was their ability to bounce back from bad plays and adversity that allowed them to gain the victory. The free safety for the Juice Men expressed his gratitude towards being able to participate in the game and thanked his teammates for having his back throughout the season.

Onto the next game, the number one seed Zone 5 was matched up against the No. 3 seeded Greensboro Beasts. In the Semifinals, Zone 5 was able to use a strong defensive effort to propel them to a victory over fourth seeded Spartan Blue by a score of 20-6. Also in the Semifinals, the Greensboro Beasts defeated the number two seed Swoldiers by a score of 19-15. In the Championship Game, Zone 5 showed the world why they were the number one seed in the bracket as they delivered a resounding all around effort in a dominant victory over the Greensboro Beasts. The quarterback for Zone 5 delivered a masterful performance as he had a field day scrambling against the Greensboro Beasts defensive line that was simply no match. Zone 5’s quarterback was able to use his quickness and relatively short stature to his advantage as he was oftentimes much too nimble and quick for the Beasts’ defensive linemen to keep up with.

On the defensive side of the ball, the defensive line for Zone 5 was in the backfield all day long delivering constant pressure to the Beasts’ quarterback. This pressure on the quarterback caused two very crucial turnovers that swung the momentum of the game in Zone 5’s favor ultimately leading to 35-26 victory.

After the game, it was all smiles on the Zone 5 sideline as they were asked by an official if they were interested in competing in a tournament in Wilmington over the winter break. Zone 5’s quarterback was quoted after the game saying that he felt as if this was definitely the team’s best win of the season and marveled at their improvement from previous years. He would also go on to encourage other UNCG students to come out and play intramural sports as it is an “awesome experience.” The self-proclaimed coach of Zone 5 also had a few words to offer via his best Marshawn Lynch impersonation. His thoughts on the game were that he “is just here so he will not get fined” and that he “likes starburst.” And like that, the Fall flag football season ended with two new champions.