Open Division Final - submitted by Chris Spittal
While the first three days of play were relatively calm weather-wise, Sockeye and Johnny Bravo were met with a strong wind as they arrived for play Sunday morning. While players were not forced to go directly up or downwind, the slight crosswind was would affect play for most of the game.
“The wind was a significant factor, for sure,” said Sockeye captain Mike Caldwell. “It’s been mild this whole tournament, and to show up today to have 20 mph wind, we were like ‘it’s always like this.’”
The game started with Bravo pulling to Sockeye, who would be heading downwind. Sockeye looked to start with a bang as Chase Sparling-Beckley overthrew a huck for a turn, but ended up catching the first score of the game on from Sam CK after Bravo gave the disc right back. After Sockeye took advantage of a turn by Bravo on its own goal line, Bravo was able to work the disc down field for an easy score to make it 2-1. On the next pull, Sockeye’s Tim Gehret hit but was unable to stop the disc as it rolled out the back of the goal, pinning Sockeye deep in its own end zone. After getting off a quick dump, Gehret got the disc back, but overthrew the swing and Bravo’s Adam Simon grabbed the Callahan score to pull even at 2s.
Both teams were getting open deep, but throws were not always as on-point as they could have been because of the wind. The teams were able to move the disc up and down the field, however, as they traded points to 4-3. Sockeye threw its zone for much of the next point, but Bravo’s J.D. Loube and Parker Krug were able to dump and swing the disc and move toward the goal until a poorly thrown hammer was easily D’d by Sockeye’s Matt Sewell. Sockeye hucked it upwind to Alex Nord, and after a dump to Mike Jaeger, Nord caught the next throw for an upwind break to make it 5-3. Bravo answered on a fast break after both teams turned the disc, as Hector Valdivia found Beau Kittridge with a 55-yard backhand to bring Bravo within a score.
The play on the prior point seemed to rejuvenate Bravo, as a weak first throw off the pull from Sam O’Brien was D’d by Mike Whitaker, and Simon turned and hit Brett Kolinek to tie the game. Bravo threw zone after on the next point, forcing two throw-aways by Sockeye. Krug moved the disc across the field Whitaker was just able to haul in a floating backhand and get his feet in as Bravo took its first lead of the game. Sockeye looked a little uneasy and seemed to be playing a bit tight after Bravo’s run, as both teams were turning the disc in the gusting wind. Bravo was able to swing the disc after a turn deep in Sockeye territory, and Josh Ackley laid out to grab a Matty Lipscomb throw to take a 7-5 lead. Sockeye was able to answer, but Bravo kept its lead to take half 8-6.
Caldwell added the wind was something both teams struggled with early, forcing a lot of bad throws and turns, but strong winds is something Sockeye specifically prepares for and it was able to adjust.
While the late run first-half run by Bravo seemed to rattle Sockeye a bit, the team was still able to move the disc and score even though a few Bravo Ds and unforced errors shifted momentum in the first half. Caldwell said it’s close Semifinal game helped the team deal with the situation.
“I’m glad we had the game we had yesterday against Jam, because when we went down here and got broken, we didn’t panic,” he said. “We had been there before, and we dealt with it, and we executed.”
The wind affected plays for both teams, Caldwell added, but playing in the wind is something Sockeye works hard to prepare for.
“Wind practice is something we always struggle with in Seattle because it’s a calm area, so we trek into central Washington to try to find wind and develop tactics that will let you cope well with wind,” he said. “Sometimes it goes against our natural tendencies, but figuring out what we had to do, which was keep the disc on the upwind side and challenge them to knock us off of it was what we needed to do. And once we fig-ured it out, we were able to cope.”
Coming out of half, Bravo took the pull and headed downwind, but a huck to David Popiel was thrown a tad too far. After fighting to get the turn, Bravo again threw it away and Sparling-Beckley found Nord deep to open move the disc, which opened up an easy score. Both teams were plagued by turfed discs, throwaways and drops over the next few points (although there was some defense to be found in there as well), as Bravo kept its lead at 9-8. Pressure defense forced a few turns on the next point, but Jaeger was able to get the disc back for the Fish, and Nord returned the disc to him after a dump to notch it at 9.
Bravo was able to get a quick score off a dropped dump to go up one, but Sockeye answered right back by working the disc downfield through Gehret, Ben Wiggins and Sam CK, and Caldwell was able to get up for a floating backhand and fell just across the goal line to tie the game again. Bravo’s Mac Taylor hit Ted Tripoli with a forehand, which Sockeye answered with a quick score of its own. Bravo appeared to be playing a little tense after letting Sockeye back into it, which was seemingly causing the turns they were hoping to avoid. Just after the pull, Sockeye’s Seth Wiggins D’d an in cut on just off Bravo’s own goal line, and found Jeremy Cram for the 12-11 lead, its first since 5-4.
A fired-up Sockeye defense came flew down the field off the pull and Ryan Winkelmann got a huge layout D on and in cut, and Nord came down with a floaty hammer between Taylor and Popiel to get another break. A shaken Bravo appeared to lose a little focus at this point, as two drops on easy throws led to a quick score from Will Henry to Ray Illian.
Sockeye was knocking on victory’s door after a turn by Bravo, but turned the disc over out of bounds. Bravo showed it had some fight left as it put the disc in for a score. Sockeye then turned the disc over deep after Nord could not come down with a huck in a crowd, and Whitaker was able to clean up the trash on a huck from Lipscomb, which sailed just over the head of Ackley, to pull within one. After a dropped pull by Gehret, Caldwell got a huge layout goal line D on a forehand, which bounced back into the air and eventually found the ground after rattling between a few players. A few more turns by both sides gave the disc back to Sockeye just past midfield, and Gehret found Sam CK with a backhand on a fast break to give Sockeye a hard-fought win. After meeting with Bravo at midfield, and alone as a team, Sockeye enjoyed a well deserved celebratory beer shower on the sidelines.
“It feels unbelievable. It hasnt sunk in yet it all,” Caldwell said. “It’s just been a wonderful year in so many ways.”
The victory gave Sockeye its second Club Championship in a row, and third in four years.
“It’s just so much harder to deal with mentally than you’d think, just the pressure of coming off a championship year and keeping hungry, although it should be academic,” said Caldwell. “To get all that out of your mind and focus on the present mo-ment, we worked on it all year and it finally came together at this tournament.”
Caldwell said Sockeye has a ton of respect for Bravo, and he knew the game was going to be a fight to the end. “I knew it wasn’t over when we were on the cusp. They’ were going to make a run, they’re gonna make a surge,” he said. “ They’re such a strong team, and so talented and athletic. Match-ups were a huge concern for us in this game because so many guys are just difficult, difficult marks and you really have to structure your game very carefully around them. They’re a terrific opponent.”
Open Division Day Three - Submitted by Chris Spittal
As players took the field Saturday morning in the Quarterfinals, they were met with a soggy ground still wet from overnight rain, a slight wind and although it wasn’t raining, it was a little more humid and sticky than the past two days. Conditions seemed to affect play a bit early as some players were losing their footing and committing unforced turns, allowing teams who came out ready to take early leads.
One of those teams who hit the ground running was GOAT, who was able to establish its deep game early once again. Chain’s deep game had no answer at first, as hucks went just too long or were a bit forced, as GOAT jumped out to a 3-0 lead. After Chain was able to find the end zone, its defense started to key in on GOAT’s deeps, which just allowed GOAT to abuse Chain underneath and work the disc down field to take a 5-1 lead. A game that looked like it could be over early, however, quickly turned into the game of the Quarterfinals.
Chain was able to answer GOAT to make it 5-2 and then got a break back with a D from Rob Barrett, and George Stubbs hit John Hammond from 30 yards out for a score, and Chain was back to their usual selves. GOAT started throwing zone early on points and eventually switched to man, but Chain’s offense was clicking behind Jay Hammond and John Monforti. It cut down on the unforced errors, and took advantage of some Ds and drops by GOAT to take half 8-7 after a big poach D by Josh Ziperstein. GOAT captain John Hassell said Chain was just showing their true colors in re-gaining the lead to take half after falling behind early.
“What happened was we played a great team that’s experienced and they dialed in, put a lot of pressure on us and fought back,” he said. “That was a game that could have gone either way.”
After half, both teams were taking shots deep, which resulted in its fair share of turns and Ds on both sides. After a GOAT’s Jeff Lindquist D’d a deep huck, Scott Nicholls found Jesse Robertson to tie it at 11, and Eric St-Amant hand blocked Ziperstein just off the goal line, leading to a quick score and a 12-11 lead. After trading to 13s, the game was capped at 15 and GOAT was receiving the disc going downwind with whatever wind there was. After turning the disc deep, Hassell skied two Chain receivers deep, and Evan Philips was able to connect deep with Mark Zimmerl on a huck over Chain’s John Hammond to keep the game on serve. Chain’s A.J. Tiarsmith hauled in a huck at the goal line and handed it off to Josh Markette for a quick score, but on double game point Hassell ripped a forehand from about 50 yards out, and Inian Moorthy laid out in the back of the end zone for the game-winning grab, and the right to play Johnny Bravo in the Semifinals. GOAT met Bravo on Friday, falling 15-7, but Hassell didn’t think the teams were too far apart.
“They beat us, but we felt good. We feel like we’ve got some good momentum going, we feel strong and everybody’s pulling some weight right now, so I feel good going into the game” he said, as the team hopes to make some small adjustments and contain Bravo’s offense. “I think it feels like a bonus at this point. We’re just going to go in, throw the kitchen sink at them, and if it works, it works.”
On their way to meeting GOAT in the Semis, Bravo ran into a Boston team that had some trouble Friday, but was able to cruise past Ring of Fire for a spot in the Quarters. Both teams were going deep early, but Bravo was able to put in some Boston turns to go ahead 3-1. Boston began throwing zone to slow Bravo down, but Bravo maintained its lead on the way to taking an 8-6 half. Boston’s offense started to look a little more comfortable as the game progressed, as it minimized turns and Dan Forester and Danny Clark reeled in deep throws. Boston couldn’t stop Bravo’s fluid offense, however, as underneaths started hurting Boston as much as the deeps were. Bravo was able to answer all of Boston’s scores after building a lead, as it reserved its spot in the Semis with a15-10 win.
In the other side of the Quarterfinals, Sockeye came out on fire as it was able to jump out to a big lead early against Truck Stop. Sockeye’s athletic roster overwhelmed Truck Stop with both its zone and man defense by forcing turns and throwaways as it easily took half 8-1. While Truck Stop was able to force some turns of its own behind the defense of Jordan Schwartz and get some points back, Sockeye cruised to a 15-7 win.
Jam came out against Sub Zero and forced them right into their game plan, according to captain Idris Nolan, which was to force risky throws deep. What Jam didn’t plan for, though, was Zero completing those hucks, which they did on most of their points. Sub Zero was able to close a within one just before half after Jam went up a few breaks, but Jam eventually took half 8-6.
“In the second half we tried to adjust. Don’t let them throw deep, let them throw something else, and that started to generate a couple of turnovers,” said Nolan. “Going in, we had a lot of respect for them. They’re obviously a younger team, but athletic, fast, and we thought would be good hard game.”
As the game stayed close in the second half, there were there were some questionable travel calls and foul calls on a number of Jam possessions that started to frustrate the team, and the observers to some extent.
“We just fought through it and were able to put them in,” Nolan said, as Jam increased its lead to 14-10.
Jam was able to overcome a few sloppy points and careless play, which included a Callahan by Sub Zero, and eventually ended the game on a long point with multiple turns by both sides with a final score of 15-12. Looking forward to the Semifinals, Nolan said he had hoped Jam could have finished the game with less turns, which it needed to improve on before playing Sockeye.
“We still haven’t played a full game, all year long, and we’re going to need it right now,” he said.
In it’s Semifinal game, Jam wasn’t able to play the perfect game it was looking for, but it turned it on late and battled Sockeye to the end. Both offenses came out fast, as Sockeye easily worked the disc down field between Tim Gehret, Ben Wiggins and Sam O’Brien, and Jam was able to open it up deep. Sockeye was able to use a Jam turns on hucks to take a 4-2 lead. Mixing in a tough D by Alex Nord, Sockeye built a 7-3 lead and seemed to be controlling the game. After an easy answer by Jam, Sockeye seemed to be cruising into halftime with Wiggins, Gehret and Chase Sparling-Beckley moving the disc almost at-will, Wiggins overthrew Sam C-K and Jam’s Francesco Giorgetti hit Taylor Cascinco with a 40-yard huck to get back a break. After giving up yet another break, Sockeye was able to take half 8-6 on a huck from midfield by Jeremy Cram to Gehret, who started calling for the throw just as he started his sprint from the backfield.
 Bart Watson of Jam and Alex Nord of Sockeye square off in the semi-final matchup. (Photo by Scobel Wiggins) | After half, both teams were moving the disc despite tough D from both sides, as they traded points until Gabe Saunkeah and Nord traded Ds, and Sockeye came away with the score to make it 10-7. While both teams started to get a little careless with the disc by throwing it away and making their own turns, Sockeye was able to keep its lead at three at 13-10. Sockeye captain Mike Caldwell said he was ready for Sockeye to finish the game then, but it didn’t happen. “We have a lot of respect for those guys and we know what they bring,” he said. “We’ve schemed for them and they’ve schemed for us, and basically made every single point a dogfight.” While Sockeye had yet to have a truly close game at the Championships, Caldwell added that it was not a problem to get up and stay up for a game like it expected against Jam. |
“I think we were all ready for it and ready to respond,” he said. “It’s a testament to Jam’s ability that it was just so damn hard.”
Jam began its comeback after a miscommunication on a huck with the cutter coming back in, and Giorgetti picked up the disc and put it deep to Cascinco who continued the fast break to Bart Watson to close within 13-11. While Wiggins, Gehret, O’Brien and Sparling-Beckley were able to flow down field to bring it to game point. With its backs to the wall, Jam answered with a huck to the goal line to Saunkeah, who completed the next pass for a score. After getting a layout D in on Caldwell, Cascinco was able to pick up the trash on a huck to get back another break.
After another unforced turn led to a Jam score to tie it, Sockeye put in a score on a long point that had multiple turns by both sides. Saunkeah then connected on a huge huck with Watson, who skied two defenders, only to have it called back on a travel. Jam didn’t let the call deter them, as they worked the disc down field and Saunkeah toed the backhand sideline and stretched out for a score to tie it at 15. Sockeye’s Ron Kubalanza then hit Sam CK with a huck just short of the goal, and O’Brien hit Moses Rifkin off a huck to take a one-point lead. After deep D’s by Sockeye’s Roger Crafts and Jam’s Watson, Jam turned it over just before midfield on a throwaway. Sockeye’s offense moved the disc toward the goal when Seth Wiggins laid out for a grab on an in cut just before a hard collision with Watson. Wiggins was able to hold on and find his brother Ben, who found an open Sparling-Beckley for the win.
“We came together as a team at this tournament that had not yet this year. Usually t happens before this, but for us it happened during the Boston game on Thursday,” said Caldwell, as he is expecting no less of a challenge in the Final against Johnny Bravo. “They bring a lot of pressure and they have tremendous athletes. They were actually one of the teams we were most concerned about coming into the tournament. Bravo just brings it to you and dares you to get open on them, and I feel like we’re ready for that challenge.”
In the earlier Semifinal match-up, GOAT’s deep game was off a bit early, as it missed the mark on many of its hucks, allowing Bravo to get easy scores by both send-ing it long and working it down field through Josh Ackely, Matty Lipscomb and Forrest Collins. After falling behind 4-1, GOAT’s Andrew Ouchterlony was able to connect with Antatoly Vasilyev from 60 yards away. After Bravo was able to answer on a huck to David Popiel (who ran wild deep on GOAT’s D all game), GOAT got back a break, and both teams slugged bombs back and forth until GOAT’s James Donovan found John Hassell for a score after making a huge layout grab on a huck to the goal line. GOAT was able tie the game at 7s after a layout D by Graham Withers, but Bravo took half 8-7. Ackley said he knew Bravo would face a tough GOAT team, even after beating them the day before.
“I wasn’t surprised. I knew we weren’t going to beat them 15-7 again,” he said. “When elimination is on the line, teams definitely bring it.”
Bravo was able to take the first two points after half as Hassell just missed Kirk Nylen on a huck, which helped Bravo build a 10-7 lead, as Popiel yelled for Bravo to “have some fun” from the sidelines.
On the next point, GOAT went back to the well and tried to hit Donovan deep again, but Bravo’s Beau Kittridge laid out around Donovan’s shoulder to get the D just off the goal line. Bravo responded by putting it long to Lipscomb, who made the grab despite some hard contact from Inian Moorthy as both players went up for the disc, and soon came back down to Earth. Lipscomb spiked the disc right beside Moorthy, who was still on the ground, as tempers flared and sidelines cleared, if just to raise a few voices.
Bravo was able to hold its lead despite giving up a break, and Popiel laid out in the back of the end zone and toed the line to bring it to game point. GOAT’s offense was able to keep their tournament lives alive for one more point, but Bravo answered back to take the game 15-12.
“We gave up a couple breaks, but didn’t let it snowball. It’s going to be a different game tomorrow,” said Ackley. “It should be an exciting game, at the very least.”
Open Division Day Two - submitted by Chris Spittal
Pool E opened innocently enough with Jam and the Condors spending the first few points getting their legs under themselves as they were tied at 2. After that, things quickly got interesting. After the Condors took advantage of a few Jam turns near their own goal to go up 4-2, Whit Clark stared down the Jam sideline after a score, and tempers flared as a Jam player rushed the field and both sidelines met in the end zone. A testy game on both sides, the Condors’ Kin Van Berkel got a D in the end zone, and Geoff Buhl sent the disc 40 yards back to Berkel for the score and a 5-3 lead. There was a little more wind than Thursday, and it seemed to have an effect on Jam early on.
“I think a little bit, the wind played with our head and we tried to change our game too much,” said Jam captain Idris Nolan, as quick turns resulted in easy scores and a big lead for the Condors. “We were down 8-3 at half, but at the same time we didn’t feel like they were that far in front of us."
The Condors were able to take advantage of Jam turns and throwaways by taking care of the disc to take an 8-3 half time lead, but a different Jam team came out after the break. Jam’s defense came out more intense, but the Condors were able to connect on some bail-out hucks on high stalls. After taking the first point after half, Jam’s offense finally started clicking as it answered each score to make pull within 11-8. After yet another D, Jam’s Gabe Saunkeah and Brian Bogle helped work it downfield to pull within three. Taking advantage of some untimely turns by the Condors, Jam was able to tie it at 12.
“We came out and played tremendous D,” said Nolan. “Once we got a couple upwinders, the momentum kind of shifted and I think both teams felt it. We got more inspired, and they got a little tighter.”
Both defenses were contesting throws and getting D’s when Bart Watson had a huge layout poach D, which allowed Jam to take a 14-13 lead. While the Condor’s answered, it seemed to be Jam’s game to lose, as it again took a one-point lead. On the first throw off the pull, the Condors’ Rhett Nichols floated a backhand over Lorenz Stauffer, and Taylor Cascino hauled it in for the game winning Callahan.
While Jam was coming back on the Condors, GOAT was matching hucks with Johnny Bravo, as both teams were able to establish their deep game and trade points to 4s. After Bravo went up one when Andrew Mangan hit Mike Whitaker, Bravo’s tough man D forced a turn and it went up a break 6-4. After taking half, Bravo took the first point for a 9-6 lead and a mix of tough zone and man D was able to get turns as GOAT made mistakes and Bravo go up 12-7. GOAT tried to fall back on its deep game, but had too many missteps, as Bravo pulled away 15-7.
In round two Bravo took on Jam in a battle of undefeateds who had been making relatively easy work of their opponents. Both teams worked the deeps early, but Bravo used an overthrown huck by Jam to get its first break and take a 3-2 lead. Bravo’s offense began moving well and was able to answer Jam’s scores to maintain its lead at 5-3. While Jam was able to battle back just before half, Bravo kept up its defense as Ted Tripoli shut down the dump and MacFearSon Taylor got a huge layout D on the goal line, and Bravo got a quick score to take half 8-6.
“We kind of traded in the first half but ... I think we had more intensity. I think we had a little something to prove,” said Bravo captain Joshua Ackley. “I wouldnt say we did anything different, but we were able to wear them down.”
After taking the first point after half, Bravo’s D was able to force more turns, and poor execution doomed Jam. Colin Gottlieb picked up a turn and connected with Joilan Dahl in stride with a forehand from about 50 yards, and Bravo was in control 10-6. Jam was able to get a few goals late, but Bravo was not turning the disc over and couldn’t be stopped offensively as it took the game 15-9. Ackley was happy with Bravo’s performance, but said there is work left for Saturday.
“We were here last year, and we were in the Semis last year, we’re not going to be happy with that though,” he said.
Both tall and athletic teams, GOAT and the Condors were locked in a slugfest for most of the second round, as both teams’ deep games were clicking. GOAT had no answer for the Condors’ Jimmy Chu on defense, as he pulled in multiple scores, but its offense was able to answer as it took a 6-5 lead. After a huge layout D by GOAT’s Graham Withers on an in cut, GOAT was able to take a 7-5 lead moving upwind, and eventually half 8-5.
GOAT’s Mark Zimmerl and John Hassell moved the disc down the field in the second half to extend its lead, as GOAT was able to move the disc off turns by the Condor’s, as the deep game was not the same as it was early. GOAT was able to answer any score by the Condor’s, including Scott Nicholls squeezing in between two Condors to grab a layout Callahan for a score on the way to a 15-10 win.
In Pool F, Sockeye was looking to further assert itself as one of the dominant teams at the 2007 Club Championships, and it did just that. The Fish opened with an overwhelmed, Sub Zero team that came out tense. Sockeye was throwing zone both up and downwind, pinning Sub Zero in their own end zone and forcing turns and throw-aways as it jumped out to a 5-1 lead. |  | The disc is up for grabs, and Seth Wiggins and Matt "Skippy" Sewell of Sockeye go up against Andrew Brown of Sub-Zero to get it. Skippy came down with it in the win in the first game of the day. (Photo by Scobel Wiggins) |
Boston came out in their match up with Chain Lightning throwing zone, which didn’t phase Chain much, as it easily went up 2-0 behind patient offense. The tone quickly changed, however, as Boston got a break to tie it at 2s, and the teams traded until Boston broke Chain to take half by two. Chain’s Jonathan Monforti said while its defense came out on fire, Chain’s offense was not being consistent and was affected by the gusting wind.
“We got a little bit worried in the beginning of the game, as far as that was concerned. On offense and that hurt us going both ways, downwind and upwind,” he said. “On defense I felt we were still fired up and getting turns, but again because of the wind we had a little bit of trouble putting them in a couple times.”
After half, Chain’s defense carried the team as Dylan Tunnell got the D and Chris Goodson returned the favor by finding Tunnell for the score to tie it at 9s. After the cap, Chain was up 13-12 in a game to 14. Boston had some uncharacteristic turns on offense, but was able to get the disc back to pull even with Chain. On the next posession, Boston’s Fortunat Mueller had a huge layout D on Josh Zipperstein on double game point, but Boston turned the disc over on a rushed and poorly placed huck. Chain’s John Hammond rushed to the disc to find a wide open Jay Hammond with a deep backhand for the win.
“They were forcing backhand a lot, so it gave us a chance to really fire those backhands in there,” Monforti said, as Chain had been having problems air bouncing discs early. “So we fired it in there, right into their gut, and started looking for those big bombs again. And it worked.”
In the second round of the pool, Chain and Sockeye met in a battle of the two undefeateds, while Sub Zero clashed with Boston. Sockeye showed early that it would remain undefeated, as it again ran its zone D mixed with tough man to force turns by Chain as it quickly led 4-1. As the game started to become unreachable, Chain subbed in its younger players, again resulting in easy turns and scores, as Sockeye rolled to a quick 15-3 win.
Sub Zero had clearly bounced back from its loss to Sockeye, as it came out playing well on both sides of the disc and was able to jump out to a 7-4 lead over Boston. Once it had the lead, Zero just had to maintain it, but its defense forced a turn and score after half to go up four. Boston was able to score some goals late, pulling to within 13-10, but Zero was able to walk it through Boston’s zone on its way to a 15-10 win.
Ring of Fire was unable to close out a big win on Thursday, but it snuck past Doublewide and rolled Machine in Pool G to play for a shot at the Quarters. Truck Stop was able work its way through the lower pools to make the pre-Quarters as well, showing its inspired play Thursday was no fluke.
Truck Stop came out on fire on D against the Condors as it threw zone in the windy conditions, and was able to get multiple Ds on the first point alone. The Condors would match their intensity on D, as the teams traded for most of the first half. Truck Stop was the first to be able to take advantage of mistakes, however, as the Condors’ sloppy play and throwaways finally caught up with them and Truck Stop got two breaks behind the play of Brian Stout and Justin Michaliga to take a 6-4 lead.
The Condors answered as Steve Dugan found Tim Paymaster with a huge huck on its way to tying the game at 6s, and it was clear the game would be close the whole way. Just as the raindrops began to effect play a bit, Jonathan Hester and Berkel both had big Ds on in cuts over two long points marred by turnovers and calls as the Con-dors rebounded to take half 8-6. A huge layout grab by George Hughes-Strange right after half pumped up Truck Stop, but Jeff Silverman was able to quiet the sidelines with a big deep D, and the Condors got a break to regain its 10-8 lead. The teams again traded goals until Truck Stop’s offense was able to put in a D as Jake Horowitz found John Agan to tie it at 11. As the rain fell harder, Truck Stop got yet another D, and Stout hauled in a huge layout grab for the lead. At that point, the round was delayed after lightning was sighted in the vicinity of the fields.
After a 30 minute delay when most players retreated to their cars, both teams looked a little shaky on offense as they both turned the disc multiple times. while offense was a little lax, both Ds were playing tight, including Truck Stop’s Jordan Schwartz, who was all over the field on D from point number one. Truck Stop’s offense quickly found its groove as it ran off two points in a row, and finished off the Condors on a crossfield backhand huck from Benjamin Cohen to Stout for the 15-11 win.
Ring, on the other hand, would run into a Boston team that was looking to bounce back after two tough losses. Boston came out ready to claim its spot in the Quarters from the beginning, as early defense took over the game, as Boston easily converted turns and took a 5-1 lead. Ring was able to find a bit of a groove on offense as its deep game opened up a bit, but Boston’s offense was playing very efficiently and held on to the disc, taking half 8-4. Boston’s D became as potent as its O as it received big layouts from a number of players, including Fortunat Mueller, who bid out of no-where to steal a disc from a Ring player. A true team effort on both sides of the disc allowed Boston to quickly take the game 15-9.
An interesting two days at the Championships has given us some new faces in the Quarters, as Bravo will take on the re-vamped Boston team, and GOAT meets Chain in what will be an interesting match-up. An undefeated Sockeye will take on the upstart Truck Stop, and Sub Zero returns to the Quarters to take on Jam.
Day One Results - submitted by Chris Spittal
| While the 2007 Club Open Championships opened on a cool, overcast morning that carried just a threat of rain, few were able to predict the storm that quickly popped up in Pool D. When the day ended, 13th seed Chain Lightning had taken the pool, and Furious George fell to 0-3 on the day. | |
 Joe Kleffner of Rhino beats Jeremy Cram of Sockeye to the disc in the pool play loss. (Photo by Scobel Wiggins) | “I’m a little stunned by the whole thing myself,” said Furious captain Andrew Lugsdin. “It’s a shocking day to lose all three games. You can sometimes have a bad day, but to have three bad games is pretty hard to believe.” The day for Furious began innocently enough with a match-up against Truck Stop. The boys from D.C. vowed to come out fired up to avoid a repeat performance of the 2006 Championships, and they were able to trade points early by taking advantage of some uncharacteristic, unfocused turn by Furious. Noah Eden found Brent Bellinger for a score, and Truck Stop took a 6-4 lead over a frustrated Furious team. |
“We were definitely fired up to come out of the gate,” said Truck Stop captain Sean McComb. “We were able to get up a couple of breaks early, and got our confidence under us.” After fighting through clam D and some different looks from Furious, Truck Stop was able to take half and maintain a lead at 10-8, though both teams were plagued by poor throws and bad decisions at times. | |
Truck ended up taking advantage of Furious’ carelessness with the disc, and Brian Stout and Bellinger connected on a 60-yard huck to go up 13-9.
“Brian Stout had some huge plays,” McComb said of his teammate. “We had some big plays and nice catches, and we were able to close it out.”
After capitalizing on another turn, and another layout D by Dan Everson, Truck Stop took the game 15-10. McComb said playing at last year’s Championships, as well as the experienced gained this season playing against the “big boys,” factored into the team’s performance.
“Last year we came out a little wide-eyed at everything that was going on,” he said. “Getting that experience and adding some players with experience, it really made a difference.”
While Truck Stop was taking care of Furious, Chain Lightning was making some noise of their own against Sub Zero. After trading the first few points, Chain’s offense was able to come into its own, and its D was able to convert turns, allowing them to jump out to a 7-3 lead. After a Sub Zero score, Dan Heijmen and Brandon Malecek did their best to fire up the D line, but Chain was able to get a turn and take half 8-4.
“We had a lot to prove to everybody with everybody saying we were the poorest team in our pool,” said captain Jonathan Monforti. “We came out really fired up.”
Chain took the first point after half, while Sub Zero forced some questionable deep throws and had unforced errors that allowed Chain to go up 10-4. While Zero was able to make a small run and get some breaks back, Chain won the game on a layout Callahan by the Kid, John Hammond.
While Chain’s D was resulting in turns, its ability to take care of the disc after a turn allowed it to run away with the win.
“I felt like we did a good job of taking advantage of their mistakes and not giving it back to them, so hopefully we can keep that up as the tournament goes on,” Monforti said.
In the second round while Truck Stop was trying to pull upset number two, Chain was locked in a battle with Furious. The two teams once again traded early, until Chain took a 5-3 lead as turns kept plaguing Furious.
After Chain extended its lead to 7-4 after a dropped pull, Furious fought back, as Jeff Cruickshank and Oscar Pottinger were able to carry the team downfield off Chain’s throwaways to quickly tie the game at 7s and take half 8-7. Both team’s stepped up their defense and traded points to 10 after Jason Simpson and Hammond helped Chain score two breaks after half.
Furious pulled within one after Chain went up 12-10, but Josh Zipperstein and Simpson were able to connect with Ben Bain and George Stubbs on quick hucks off Fu-rious turns to extend their lead, and take the game 15-11 as chants of “A-T-L” filled the sidelines.
“Against a team like Furious George, a team we’ve never beat, (Chain’s D) were even more fired up to take control of the game. Even when our offense couldn’t get it done, our defense stepped it up,” said Monforti. “We had some sick layout Ds. We’re looking good. We’re happy with where we are right now.”
A second upset for Truck Stop, however was not in the cards as they ran into a Sub Zero squad looking to rebound off a first round loss. Early on the games was slow moving as teams traded points and a number of debatable calls. After Sub Zero found itself up 6-4, very untimely turnovers by Truck Stop, allowed Zero to take half 8-4.
After a request for observers was made at half, Truck cooled off and was able to take the first two points after half to make it 8-6. Sub Zero, however, was able to stop the bleeding, though a huck to Ryan Morgan off a Zero throw-away allowed Truck Stop to stay close at 9-7. In the end, Sub Zero was too much for Truck Stop, as it forced turns and played efficient offense on the way to a 15-10 win that restored some nor-malcy to the pool.
The normalcy didn’t last long though, as Sub Zero went up big on Furious in the third round of pool play, building a 4-2 lead into a 8-3 halftime score. A streaky Sub Zero team combined with a still struggling Furious team resulted in the big lead at half. As hot as Zero was in first half, they came out chilly in the second, as Furious was able to pick away at the lead, taking advantage of more unforced turns and sloppy play by Zero to pull within 13-10.
Sub Zero captain Dave Truesdale said with such a young team (12 of 25 are in their first year with Zero), inexperience and unfamiliarity with each other has made them a streaky team. “It’s just happened to us all year,” he said, as the team may have gotten too com-fortable with such a big lead.
That lead quickly evaporated as a lucky Mark Roberts laid out for a score from Pottinger after the intended receiver fell, making the score 13-12. After turns both ways, Pottinger hit Morgan Hibbert, who laid out in the back of the goal to tie it at 13s. The teams matched each other to 14s, as both teams were flying on defense, but could not catch each other on O.
Zero’s Kevin Riley was able to get a layout D in near the goal line, and Sub Zeros quickly went up one. Furious’ Pottinger then left a backhand floating at midfield, which eventually found the ground, and Charlie Reznikoff was able to get off a break forehand to an almost horizontally-cutting Pat Baylis, who hung on for the winning goal with a laid out defender on his hip.
“I felt like we were playing well at practice and we were prepared for the tournament, but really we weren’t,” Lugsdin said of his team’s surprising performance. An injury to his back forced Lugsdin to sit out the Sub Zero game, and he is questionable going into Friday. “Tomorrow we’ll come and try to win our games and see if we can win the pool. Hopefully we’ll win our pool and get a shot at the Quarters.”
In facing a Truck Stop team that was on fire one game, but cool in the next, Chain was able to knock Truck Stop down with their defense before they had a chance to get up by taking half 8-4. Chain D was able to force a number of turnovers and take care of the disc as they had all day, save for a short run by Truck Stop after half where it pulled within two at 9-7. Chain eventually got its groove back, and pulled out to 15-9 win to take the pool.
The other pools were less eventful, to say the least, but still featured a number of close games. No. 1 seed Jam faced a challenging opening game in Pool A, as Ring of Fire came out ready to play. Big defensive plays by Ring captain Jared Inselman kept the team in it early, as it was able to trade points for most of the first half. Ring failed to take advantage of turns, however, and Jam took half 8-7.
“We have a lot of respect for Ring. I think they were underseeded,” said Jam captain Idris Nolan. “They played tough, and it was nice to come out with a win.”
In the second half, Ring was a little careless at the disc at times and Jam was able to take advantage of the crucial turns Ring couldn’t capitalize on in the first half to build a 12-8 lead. Behind solid play and contributions from every team member, Jam maintained the lead and won the game 15-11.
GOAT began the day looking to position itself for its third round match-up with to decide the pool winner. In facing the Van Buren Boys, GOAT was able to establish its deep game early off unforced errors and poor decisions of the Van Buren Boys. Van Buren’s offense never got clicking, and its defense never had enough stops in them, as GOAT took half 8-6, and controlled the game, cruising to a 15-8 win.
While Jam had their way with Van Buren (a game they won 15-5), GOAT was battling with Ring. They built and maintained a two point lead early, but sloppy play, questionable decisions and inter-squad bickering played both sides, forcing observers to patrol the sidelines. Ring hung tough after trailing by two at half, battling back to 12-11.
Ring’s D was all over the field, and forced some rushed throws and others that were contested, but still found themselves down two thanks. After deep hucks by both sides missed their marks, GOAT’s Scott Nicholls and Jeff Lindquist worked the disc downfield against tough more tough Ring D to take a 14-11 lead before closing out the game 15-12.
While Ring was able to outlast the Van Buren Boys, Jam kept rolling early against GOAT, as the battle for the pool ended up being relatively tame. Jam came out throwing zone, which led to a overthrown huck and a throwaway, and a 2-0 lead for Jam. Nolan said it was Jam’s game plan to give GOAT anything but the deeps.
“We were looking to take away their deep game because it looked like that was what they were winning off of,” he said. “We got a huge lead off that.”
Off of the turns, Bart Watson was letting it fly, as he connected on multiple hucks to build a 6-2 lead. GOAT looked like it may be showing signs of fatigue after a long game against Ring, or Jam is that much faster as Jam took half 8-2. It was more of the same for Jam in the second half: Taking away the deeps and not turning it over. Although GOAT was able to get a few points in, Jam took the game 15-7. Nolan said Jam played well, but he hopes Jam can improve before tomorrow by playing more consistent in both halves, and not letting teams make up ground after building up leads.
“We played all right at times, and that enabled us to get some leads on every team we played, but we were never able to finish them off the way we wanted to,” he said. “Each team got a couple back, and that was disheartening.”
Jam set small goals for itself before each game, he added, and it keeps building up its goals little by little until it reaches its ultimate goal. “We’re still at the point that no matter who we’re paying, we don’t do what we’re supposed to be doing all the time. But we’re getting there,” he said.
In Pool B, much like Pool A, the the day kept building to the third round match up between Sockeye and Boston. Boston was able to build a 4-2 lead against Pike, eventually taking half 8-5, while Sockeye was able to jump out and quickly take half 8-4 against a visibly frustrated Rhino team. Though Rhino cleaned up its game in the second half, it was never able to get the breaks it needed as the teams traded points the rest of the way. Boston, however, looked stronger as the game went on, as its offense kept control of the disc and was moving down the field with ease, eventually taking the game 15-8.
While Sockeye was able to quickly finish off Pike 15-4, Boston face somewhat of a closer game against Rhino. After jumping out to a 5-2 lead behind its offense, the teams traded points until half at 8-5. Rhino was able to chip away at Boston’s lead, but time was running out. After Boston went back up three at 13-10, an overthrown huck by Rhino was answered by a full-field huck by Boston, which took whatever wind was left in Rhino’s sails.
Early on, Boston-Sockeye looked like it could be the game of the day, as the two heavyweights slugged back and forth. Boston went up by one early behind early zone defense and the offensive play of former Callahan winners Mike Zalisk and Fortunat Mueller, but was answered after Seth Wiggins found another Callahan winner Alex Nord off a turn to tie the game at 4s. Boston got a quick D on a strike cut to bump their lead to two, and quickly answered a Sockeye score, as its offense was controlling the disc and playing very efficient. Boston again tried to disrupt Sockeye with zone, but the Fish were able to work it deep and score off a huck to pull within one again.
With the chance to go up three out of half, Boston threw the disc away, which allowed Sockeye to instead make it 8-7. The breaks kept coming for Sockeye as they tied the game at 8s, and Boston’s offense suddenly looked rattled as Sam Rosenthal overthrew his receiver, and Blaine Robbins hit Moses Rifkin at the goal line with a huck, and Alex Nord caught the next throw for a score.
Chase Sparling-Beckley followed with a huge layout D that allowed Sockeye to extend its lead to 10-8. Sockeye kept the defense on, forcing throwaways by Boston and getting Ds (including a layout handblock by Nord), as it outlasted Boston 15-11.
In Pool C, Johnny Bravo came out ready to show it was their pool to lose, ac-cording to captain Joshua Ackley. “We came out with something to prove, that we deserve to be a one seed for once,” he said, as his team was prepping for another showdown with the Condors after a one-point win at Regionals.
The day started easily enough for Bravo, as it went up against Doublewide, while the Condors took on Machine. Bravo was able to jump out to a 6-2 lead over Doublewide, who came out flat and was growing increasingly frustrated. The frustration would continue for Doublewide, as Bravo easily worked to a 15-10 victory, though Ackley said he would like to see Bravo play more consistent in the second half. The Condors, meanwhile, had their hands full with a Machine team that was ready to play. The teams found themselves deadlocked at 4, but the Condors were able to build and hold a lead, as small as it might be, as they won 15-13.
Bravo again went up big early in their second round game, only to fade a bit in the second half. After taking a 6-3 lead and 8-3 half over Machine, Bravo didn’t build much more of a lead, and Machine was able to score points late, although the game was out of reach, with Bravo eventually winning 15-9.
“I’d say in all of the games we came out to a pretty big lead, and we’d trade points every second half, which we don’t necessarily like,” Ackley said, which Bravo would have to improve before meeting the Condors.
On the neighboring field, the Condors has an easier game against Doublewide than it had in the first round, coming out on fire with its deep game to take half 8-4, and eventually the game 15-10.
While Machine was busy working over a Doublewide team that had been over-matched all day, Bravo was busy facing its Regional nemesis. Bravo’s defense controlled the game early, as it was able to increase an early lead to 7-3 over the Condors. After trading points to half, Bravo again let the Condors score more points than it would like in the second half, though the game was never really in doubt. The Condors pulled to within 13-10, but Bravo was able to hold off the rally 15-11.
“They’re a good team, and we played really well,” Ackley said of the Condors. “Our offense is playing really well. Our defense is playing real fired up, and our offense carried us through the second half.”
Ackley said Bravo must have more consistent play if it wanted to be successful in the rest of the tournament. “We definitely like to hold our intensity for both halves,” he said. “It’s going to be a harder pool, so we’re going to have to keep it going or else one of these teams is go-ing to beat us if we play like we did today.”
Open Division Preview - Submitted by Chris Spittal
JAM
The No. 1 seed, Jam is back after taking home its first Northwest Regional Championship since 2001. Somewhat of an up and down season, Jam’s Idris Nolan admitted the team has yet to fully click this season.
“Maybe for a point or a half, but never for a full game,” he said.
The return of Damien Scott was a huge boost to this Jam squad, as has been the play of Nolan, Greg Husak and Dan Hodges. After taking 2nd at Colorado Cup and losing in the semifinals of ECC earlier this year, Jam is looking to find a consistently dominant play, as well as its first Club Championship.
“As for most teams, whether we put it all together at Nationals will determine just how well we perform,” Nolan said. “Our goals are fairly simple ... improve each game, play our best, pay with a passion ... we know the rest will take care of itself.”
Sockeye
Coming into the weekend hot on Jam’s heels as the No. 2 seed, Sockeye is looking to take home its third UPA Club Championship in four years. Led by its four captains Mike Caldwell, Sam C-K, Roger Crafts and Will Henry, Sockeye faced a bit more adversity this season than in year’s past, said Sockeye’s Seth
Crockford, and a loss against Bravo at Labor Day served as a “call to arms” for the Fish.
“Knowing that there are other teams out there that are clearly putting in the work is a great moti-vating factor,” Crockford said.
An early loss to Furious at Regionals might have also been a reality check for Sockeye, but avenging that loss to take second in the Northwest showed the Fish could fight when they have to.
“We believe we have as good of a shot to win this thing as anyone else, so our primary goal is clear,” said Crockford. “That said, the journey is the destination for many of the Fish and we will savor the experience no matter the result.”
Johnny Bravo
Bravo returns to the 2007 UPA Club Championships with the goal of improving on their semifi-nal appearance in 2006 and bringing home a Championship. Captain Colin Gottlieb said Bravo has played a solid preseason at big tournaments leading up to the series, registering wins over Jam, Ring, Rhino, Sockeye, Furious and Doublewide. Though it had few roster revisions from last year, Bravo lost Ryan Farrell earlier this season to a broken foot, and defensive star Adam Zwicke to a torn ACL at Regionals. While the losses could have been huge, Gottlieb said every member of Bravo’s roster has stepped up all year, and he expects the same in Sarasota.
“We honestly do not have any ‘bench players’ this year. Our players have exceeded expectations across the board,” said Gottlieb. “Any of us could go off in any game.”
Furious George
Furious is making its annual appearance in Sarasota, and hopes to reclaim the Championship a year after falling in the finals to Sockeye. While Furious has its share of recognizable names, there are a host of new faces that fill out a solid roster from top to bottom that was able to take the Canadian Championship. Though it comes into play behind two Regional rivals and Bravo, Furious will be looking to make a run and claim its fourth title in six years.
Sub Zero
With a host of new faces, Sub Zero is making its 10th straight trip to Sarasota from Minneapolis. Calling on some younger players from Carleton and other schools in Minnesota, Sub also re-cruited a number of Hodags to fill out its roster. While the young roster was able to once again come out on top of the Central Region, its long list of athletes and defensive studs will be look-ing to carry Sub to a high finish this weekend.
Condors
After experiencing a somewhat large turnover in recent years, the Condors once again lost a few familiar faces, which has given lesser known players a chance to shine, according to captain Whit Clark. The Condors were able to notch wins against Bravo, Truckstop and Machine at Colorado Cup, as well as against Jam at Labor Day, but also lost to Jam, Sub Zero and Sockeye before the series. After losing to Bravo by a point at Regionals, captains Jonathan Hester, Rhett Nichols and Clark will have the Condors looking to break seed this weekend.
Boston Ultimate
A new face from the Northeast Region, this Boston team was formed following the retire-ment/exodus of a number of players, and integrating new players with limited playing experience together proved to be a challenge for much of the year, according to Boston’s Josh McCarthy. Losing co-captain Jeff Graham to a season-ending ACL injury proved to be another setback, but McCarthy said things really came together during its Regional final against GOAT. While the team has performed well, McCarthy insists it has yet to peak, and Boston has the simple goal of “bringing the trophy back to Boston.”
GOAT
The boys from Greater Ottawa and Toronto entered a rebuilding phase following a 2004 season in which it made an appearance at the UPA Club Championships, and punched its ticket to Sara-sota this year after placing second to Boston in the Northeast Region. Taking home titles from Flowerbowl, the Boston Invite, Chesapeake and CHC, it’s safe to say GOAT has been rebuilt. Though it placed second at the Canadian Championships to Furious in August, GOAT will be looking to show off its deep game, ride its athleticism and improve its the high level of play it showed for most of the season.
Ring of Fire
Though it lost half the members of its 2006 team, Ring filled in the holes left by Augie Kreive-nas, Ray Parrish, Paul Klenk, Jon Boling and Mick Ribault to take the Mid-Atlantic Region on its way back to the Club Championships. While the season got off to a slow start for Ring, the team finally started to click after establishing its O and D lines at Chesapeake, and has been solid ever since, according to co-captain David Snoke. With do-it-all player Chris Hinkle and Taylor Pope handling the offense, and Jared Inselmann on D, Ring is hoping to make some noise one game at a time.
Rhino
Following a quarterfinals appearance at the 2007 Club Championships, Rhino began its 2007 campaign hoping to pick up where it left off in Sarasota. While Chris Talarico has described its season as “lackluster” to this point, Rhino has the chance to make it all fade with a strong per-formance in Sarasota. Though it lost players Seth Wiggins and Toaster from last year, additions such as Joe Kleffner and Aaron Richards has Rhino setting its sights on finishing at the top. While it might be a bit ambitious, Talarico said Rhino is not about to aim to place in the middle of the pack.
“Who does that anyway? I mean, you don’t get a free dinner from eating half the ‘Old 96er,” he added.
Doublewide
It all started to come together for Doublewide at Labor Day this season, as the team rode that momentum to a South Regional Championship, according to Doublewide’s Marcus Gavin. A bit younger than in years past, Doublewide lost a number of veterans following 2006, but has crafted a true team that can play both sides of the disc. After compiling a season that included a number of impressive wins and close games, Gavin said Doublewide has yet to peak, but is ready to do just that in Sarasota.
Truck Stop
In just its third year of existence, Truck Stop is making its second trip to the Championships. In traveling to a number of elite tournaments throughout the season, Truck Stop beat the likes of Machine, Chain, Boston and Rhino, but the team still hungers for a bigger win. After a lacklus-ter performance at last year’s Championships, Truck Stop will be looking to show up ready to shake things up this weekend.
Chain Lightning
Chain is looking to build on a strong finish at last year’s Championships, where it fell to Furious in the Semifinals. Chain lost a number of members from last year’s roster, but additions such as Josh Zipperstein and Frank Wooten has Chain ready to play. Coming into Sarasota after taking second to Doublewide at Regionals, Chain will be looking for its big names (Jason Simpson, AJ Tiarsmith, John Hammond and Dylan Tunnell) to make big plays all weekend.
Machine
Another team that might have left Sarasota last year feeling it had something to prove was Ma-chine. Somewhat of an up and down season for the boys from Chicago, it all came together at Regionals where Machine placed second, despite falling twice to Sub Zero. Captains Bill Finn, Tim Halt and Joe Ferrari will lead a tall roster full of athletes into battle this weekend.
Pike
A number of new faces come with Pike this year as it makes its first trip back to the Club Cham-pionships in 2005. Pike lost four players from last year’s team alone, including three long-time veterans, and just seven players remain from its 2005 squad. While Pike may not have per-formed as well as it would have liked at tournaments this year such as CHC and Chesapeake, captain Dan Heckman said the team has consistently improved all season.
“At practice and at tournaments, a new player has stepped up every week,” he said. “Whether a rookie or a Pike vet stepping into a new role, this season has illustrated our depth as a team.”
Van Buren Boys
It’s probably safe to say nobody outside Iowa, and maybe Kansas, expected the Van Buren Boys to make an appearance at the Championships. In its first year of existence, a hodgepodge of former Mixed players and alumni from surrounding colleges were able to persevere through a lackluster season and make a second-day run through the Central Plains Region. The real story will be if they can pull the same trick in Sarasota.
