By Matt Fulkerson/sports editor
Though the first game of SE Campus’ flag football finals Nov. 2 may have started off with a whimper, it ended with a bang.
In the first round of games, Illumanati forfeited to Africca Kings. Team 5-0 was little competition for Los Aztecas as it lost 39-13. TNT defeated Scoregasms 34-14.
Toon Squad narrowly defeated X-Squad 24-20. Comebacks destroyed Juice 33-22. Balls Deep made short work of Unknown 40-31.
During the second round of play, Air Attack trounced Africca Kings 41-18. TNT crushed Los Aztecas 36-16. Ninjas in Paradise annihilated Toon Squad 36-6. Balls Deep narrowly defeated Comebacks 32-25.
As the sun rose on the field, Illumanati were nowhere to be found, providing Africca Kings with an easy first win of the day.
Starting off with only three players, things looked bad for Team 5-0 from the start. However, midway through the first half, Buu Duong took the field, scoring a touchdown on his first play. Unfortunately, his contributions would not be enough to bring Team 5-0 ahead.
Michael Dixon once again proved his worth to TNT. He constantly sped through the Scoregasms’ defensive lines, scoring an amazing 50-yard touchdown in the first half and snagging an interception in the second.
However, Phillip Mustapha of Toon Squad and Trey Eggins of X-Squad provided an opportunity to see two of the tournament’s fastest players face off against each other. Mustapha grabbed an interception from the end zone and easily delivered it 40 yards downfield while Eggins scored a phenomenal 50-yard touchdown in the second half.
In one of the most amazing plays of the day, with 10 seconds left in the first half, Chidi Ekeke of Comebacks leaped over the heads of two towering Juice players to snag a touchdown, sending the sidelines into a frenzy.
Aaron Williams of Air Attack completed a 50-yard pass, helping his team usurp the Africca Kings.
Disappearing players seemed to be the story of the day, as Toon Squad took the field with three players against Ninjas in Paradise.
In the best game of the day, Comebacks could not live up to their name as they faced Balls Deep in a hard-fought battle. With a minute and a half left on the clock, the game was tied 25-25, but a touchdown from Tyron Nguyen allowed Balls Deep to progress to the next round.
The final round of the single-elimination tournament is Nov. 9.