By Martin Paredes/reporter

Week two of South’s intramural flag football tournament found favorites Blazers get upset and Thursday’s games get pushed back due to inclement weather.

The first three games kicked off Sept. 30 on an 80-yard field inside the jogging track located on the southeast corner of the campus.

The first game saw the Blazers dismantle the Spartans and hold them completely scoreless in the second half.

A red-zone turnover on downs proved costly for the Spartans who were lucky to be down only 14-6 at halftime thanks to a Blazers wide receiver who dropped a would-be touchdown on the last play of the half.

The second half was all Blazers as both Shawn Brown and Chris Williams threw regrettable passes that were intercepted (one for a score) by game MVP Tyrell Dockery. In the end, the Blazers won comfortably, 42-6.

Game two between the Cowboyz and Balls Deep drew many similarities to game one.

Just like in game one, the score was 12-6 at halftime (in favor of Balls Deep), and one team did end up winning the game handily. The difference between the two games was that the Cowboyz had Brian Abbott.

Abbott, a wide receiver, scored from 10 yards out on a jump ball from an out route where he dove to grab the ball just before it hit the ground and even went the length of the field for a score after burning a few Balls Deep defenders. Unfortunately for the Cowboyz, Abbott’s monster game was simply not enough.

Balls Deep continued right where it left off last week, and its elaborate offense and opportunistic defense led the team to a 48-18 victory.
Daniel Do’s first-half interception eliminated a promising Cowboyz drive. Michael Marinas and Kenny Tran both looked sharp playing quarterback, and Tyron Nguyen scampered for an 80-yard touchdown on fourth down for his second score of the game.

The last game of the day was the real shocker. The Blazers faced off against Nike, which had a lot to prove after an unconvincing game last week.

On the first possession of the game, Nike quarterback Kevin Bui got a Blazer defensive back to bite on a pump fake before throwing a 35-yard strike to his wide receiver Lloyd Hunter for the first score of the game.

The Blazers’ first possession uncharacteristically ended on four plays resulting in a turnover on downs. Nike quickly capitalized on the Blazers’ mistake thanks to another Bui-to-Hunter connection for a 22-yard score.

On their next possession, the Blazers managed to get to Nike’s five-yard line, but an overthrow on fourth down denied them their first points of the game.

After Hunter’s third touchdown grab, Blazers quarterback Dedrick Darby threw an interception to his counterpart Bui, who also plays safety on defense.

The Blazers got the ball to start the second half and found themselves in a similar position, fourth down on Nike’s five-yard line. A Cowboyz blitz forced Darby to dump off the ball to Juan Juanes, who had his flags stripped at the one-yard line. The favorites had just turned the ball over on their first four possessions.

Eventually, the Blazers rallied a respectable 15 points in the second half, but touchdown grabs by Dustin Weatherly and Hunter, who scored his fourth touchdown, put the game to bed for a 34-15 Nike win.

Hunter credited the turnaround from last week to the inclusion of Bui, who was absent for the scrimmages.

“We just didn’t have a quarterback during the scrimmage,” he said. “Having a quarterback makes all the difference in the world.”

Mother Nature had other plans for Thursday’s scheduled games.

At 3:20 p.m., the Spartans and Nike were warming up before their game when suddenly, a torrential downpour had everyone running to their cars. Tournament organizer Amber Kavehkar had no choice but to reschedule.

“Everything’s pushed back and playoffs are a week later due to (intramural) 3-point shootout,” Kavehkar said.

Seven more games are left in the regular season. Then the top four teams will continue into a seeded, double-elimination playoff.

Games will take place 3:35-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.