By Eric Poe/sports editor
AK, for the third straight year, has claimed the District Cup, crowning the best flag football team at TCC.
The tournament featured White Chocolate representing NW Campus, The Wolfpack from TR and AK from SE. With fewer teams than usual for the cup, the format was altered to be a round-robin tournament. The rules were spelled out by SE instructional aide Ian Ussery to the teams before the first game.
“If all teams end up with the same record, then we will go by point differential,” he said.
That is what happened as each team finished with 1-1 records. AK claimed the prize as the only team that scored more points than they allowed with a differential of positive 20. White Chocolate finished at minus 7 and Wolfpack ended with minus 13.
After choosing numbers to decide who would play first, Wolfpack and White Chocolate started the tournament. White Chocolate dominated the first fixture, winning 36-6, as The Wolfpack was outplayed in every aspect of the game.
Wolfpack had the ball to start the game, but on the game’s third play, White Chocolate defender Patrick Bittrick intercepted quarterback Weston Foster’s pass to set the tone. Foster threw another interception on Wolfpack’s next drive after it had moved the ball to the White Chocolate one-yard line.
White Chocolate cornerback Brandon Burcie tipped the ball to himself and ran the ball back 20 yards.
Three plays later, White Chocolate quarterback Andy Sullivan hit Bittrick across the middle for a 20-yard touchdown catch. The conversion was good to put White Chocolate up 7-0. Bittrick caught another touchdown pass on his team’s next drive after Wolfpack had a three and out, giving White Chocolate a 14-0 lead. The half ended on a spectacular one-handed interception by White Chocolate cornerback Trent Lee.
The second half was much of the same with White Chocolate safety Jordan Griffin recording two interceptions and Lee catching two touchdown passes. Lee was the center of his team’s offense while also recording a sack on defense.
Lee said his route running was key to getting open.
“They tried to follow behind me, but they didn’t expect me to cut,” he said. “It’s fun is what it is. I’m just trying to stay humble.”
The team had little time to revel in the first game’s glory, however, since White Chocolate played AK in the next game.
AK came out firing on all cylinders with touchdowns by Kevin Tran and Kelly Tran on its first two drives to put AK up 12-0.
The White Chocolate offense could not get started as AK brought defensive pressure on Sullivan every play. The White Chocolate defense could not stop the AK offense either. Receiver Joe Tran was all over the place, making key receptions and even adding a 15-yard touchdown run to put his team up 19-0.
The second half started with an interception by Kevin Tran. Kelly Tran scored two plays later for a 25-0 AK lead.
AK continued its dominance throughout the second half with its defensive stops and offensive productivity on full display. AK added two touchdowns to close out the game, 37-0.
White Chocolate receiver Devante Hill gave reasons why the offense sputtered.
“We had a couple dropped passes we should have had for touchdowns,” he said. “I’m so upset. I hate losing.”
Hill said AK was too good.
“They’re too quick and short. They use their quickness really well,” he said. “They got a lot of chemistry together.”
AK receiver Kelly Tran was confident after his team’s win.
“We gotta keep the trophy here,” he said.
The third and final game between AK and The Wolfpack was merely a formality. With AK going into the game with such a large point differential, it didn’t need to score much to cinch the title.
Still, Wolfpack played like a new team after its first-game debacle, hounding AK while moving the ball efficiently on offense.
Kevin Tran’s ill-advised lateral on the second play of the game was returned by Wolfpack defender Garrett King for a touchdown.
Later, AK quarterback Quang Nguyen threw an interception to Wolfpack cornerback Diego Hernandez, giving Wolfpack hope of ending the tournament on a positive note. Wolfpack scored on a Weston touchdown run to put the team up 13-0.
“I’m glad we decided to start playing now,” Wolfpack coach Nick Escobar said.
Joe Tran had a 55-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 13-6.
The first half ended after another touchdown pass from Foster for a 19-6 Wolfpack lead.
Hernandez added two more interceptions in the second half as his team’s confidence rose with each possession.
Foster added another touchdown run and two touchdown passes after the break for Wolfpack’s 31-14 win, but it wasn’t enough to overcome AK’s tiebreaker.
Hernandez said he wasn’t disappointed with his team’s play in both games, and he was just glad they beat AK.
“We knew what we were doing. We watched AK after our first game. We scouted them,” he said. “We did what we came to do, which was beat AK. But I’m not sure what happened in that first game.”
AK ended the tournament with a loss but was still crowned champion. Kevin Tran was happy to win the title again.
“I’m excited. This is my third one [District Cup win]. We kept our composure throughout even though we lost the second game,” he said. “We definitely played hard.”
Ussery said AK’s dynasty may continue.
“They [AK] keep bringing in new players,” he said. “I think AK is gonna be around for a long time. Well, at least until they lose. Then they might retire.”
