By Martin Paredes/reporter
After three hard-fought games Oct. 16, South Campus learned who would compete in its intramural flag football championship Oct. 23: Nike and the Blazers.
The two teams made it through the regular season and a double-elimination tournament to reach the final two.
The championship will be a rematch of their Oct. 16 game, which Nike won 35-24, propelling it into the final.
The game was a high-scoring affair as no team could be stopped in the first half. Blazers quarterback Alex Hall found Tyrell Dockery twice for touchdowns, one of which saw Dockery catch a ball at the Nike 35-yard line and spin past two defenders to avoid getting his flag pulled before running down the right sideline for a touchdown.
Nike scored via a Kevin Bui quarterback run from 30 yards out and a Lloyd Hunter 10-yard score that saw him stretch the ball past the goal line just before his flag was snagged.
Nike had a 14-12 lead at the half as a Blazers two-point conversion was controversially called back because Hall was just past the line of scrimmage as he released the ball.
To start the second half, Dockery continued making plays as he burst past one defender before tightroping the final five yards down the left sideline for the score.
Newcomer Hieu Thai answered with a 38-yard touchdown as he caught an out pass before shooting down the right sideline to put Nike up 21-18.
The next possession saw the game’s first stop as the Blazers punted after not reaching the first-down marker on three straight plays.
With Nike regaining possession, Bui was all but sacked as the quarterback stopped running. Somehow, the Blazers pass rusher missed grabbing a motionless Bui’s flag. Bui then went from zero to 100 knowing his flag was not pulled. Since most of the players assumed the play was over, they were caught off guard as Bui ran past them still wearing his flag for an easy 80-yard touchdown.
The Blazers bounced back on their next possession as Dedrick Darby caught a five-yard Hall jump pass to put his team within three points. Bui then threw his worst pass of the day, overthrowing his wide receiver on a slant that allowed Darby to jump the route and come up with a huge interception.
The Blazers’ excitement was short-lived as Hall threw into too much traffic, putting the ball in the gut of Dewayne Holmes, who intercepted the ball at midfield.
After a final Nike drive killed most of the clock and saw Hunter find the end zone again, the game finished with Nike advancing to the final and the Blazers a loss away from elimination.
The Blazers would face the winner of the second game, where Balls Deep won a defensive battle against the Spartans.
Each team scored twice in the first half. Tad Do of Balls Deep scored on an 80-yard rushing touchdown and later threw a 28-yard touchdown to his cousin Kevin Do. Shawn Brown caught both of the Spartans’ touchdowns from Chris Williams. The first came on an astounding one-handed catch in which Brown did not break his stride to bring the ball in for the 35-yard score. Brown later caught a ball inches away from being tipped on an out route before trotting for the 80-yard score that reduced Balls Deep’s lead to 14-12.
The only score of the second half came on Balls Deep’s first possession as Do ran for another touchdown, this time from 33 yards out. Both teams had several turnovers the rest of the way. The most significant was a Daniel Do goal-line interception that halted a possible Spartans score.
The final was 20-12 and meant Balls Deep would play the Blazers for the last place in the final.
The Blazers were the fresher team, and it showed as the Blazers jumped out to a 22-0 lead. Long touchdowns by Ferdinand Aguwa (56 yards), Juan Juanes (70 yards), Dockery (47 yards) and Darby (44 yards) exposed a winded Balls Deep team.
The game ended 34-12 and set up a rematch between the now bitter rivals Nike and the Blazers for the championship.
The playoffs started Oct. 14 with Nike beating the Spartans, 27-24, and the Blazers advancing past Balls Deep, who forfeited when none of its players showed up on time.
Nike locked up the first-place playoff seed with a perfect 4-0 regular season. The second-seeded Blazers finished 3-1 thanks to two impressive wins and a forfeit win. Balls Deep, the third seed, finished 2-2. The Spartans’ lone win was enough to help them sneak into the playoffs with the fourth seed. The Cowboyz ended winless, leaving them out of the playoffs.
