A hard-played game, went down to the wire. Our second goal was a controversial chip shot that the goalie had to go backwards to save, but the referee ruled it was over the line. In my opinion, it was extremely close and I'm glad the call went in our favor!

We entered the playoffs last in the standings, but first in heart! Everyone was pumped up for the potential doubleheader, as the winner of our 6:00 game would play the #1 seed at 7:00 for the league championship.

The game started out great, with a touchdown on our second possession (long throw to Andre), followed by a pick-six by Kevin and our first PAT of the year, as we got a 13-0 lead right out of the gate. That was the halftime margin as well. In the first drive of the second half, we added another touchdown when Shawn went rumbling-stumbling into the endzone, and we got our second PAT of the year, 20-0.

The opposition responded with a touchdown and PAT to come back to 20-7. Our next drive stalled, and we gave up another quick touchdown, now 20-14 with a few minutes to go. Once again, we went nowhere on offense. The opposition drive marched steadily down the field, ultimately scoring with a minute to go on a play where three of our best defenders missed the ballcarrier's flag. The PAT made it 21-20... so much for our initial 20 point lead!

A minute remains in the game. Time for another one of our trademark last minute drives. It would have to wait, as miscommunication between myself and Andre lead to an interception. We let them score an immediate touchdown so that we could get the ball back. Now we are down 28-20, with one timeout and thirty seconds to go.

First play is a scramble out of bounds, with some positive yardage. The defense is in prevent, so I throw a short pass to Kevin who scampers for the first down, stopping the clock. Next play, no one is open so I go on another scramble. Somehow, defenders keep missing, I keep juking, and I travel almost half of the field forward. Clock stops again on the first down. The following play starts as a scramble, but Kevin is almost open in the flat. His defender is watching both of us, so I motion hard for him to turn upfield. I float the ball just over the defender and just in front of the hard-charging safety, and Kevin beats them both, taking the ball to the one yard line. With the first down, the clock stops again.

Chaos ensues! I'm desperately trying to get our players on the line, because time is running out. The other team is yelling to get defenders into place. In this midst of all of this, I see Harmeet all alone next to the sideline, no defenders within fifteen yards. I plead with the center to snap the ball, but the opposition has called timeout. One second remains. Will history repeat itself with another goalline letdown as time expires?

Yes. Yes it will. The defense calls an aggressive rush, flushing me to the left. Unfortunately, no receivers are open or looking for the ball. I try to cut back to go right, but two defenders pull off my flags.

Still, we were all proud of the season we put together. Ten guys, who mostly knew nothing about flag football, cobbled together 5 highly competitive games out of 7, and put up a playoff fight worth writing about.

Season breakdown:
Game 1: L 14-12, key play was pick-six against us on first drive
Game 2: L 26-0, rematch of Game 1
Game 3: W 12-7, win against A league team capped off with last minute goalline stand and game-saving INT
Game 4: L "48-20", against eventual B league champions, included comeback from 20-0, and 20-20 score with one minute to go. Final margin came from ridiculous Hail Mary attempts returned for touchdowns.
Game 5: L 26-0, against A league team
Game 6: L 19-18, rematch of game 4, lost on a failed two point conversion with 30 seconds left
Playoffs: L 28-20, and tired out the opposition enough that they lost in the doubleheader game ;-)

Would you call out your CEO like this?

Hamstring muscle is at about 95%. I went for an 100 minute run on my treadmill today, logging 8.25 miles. A little slow, but good to be able to run for distance again!

For the first time in the team's three year existance, we won a playoff game Thursday night by the score of 3-0. No second half collapse this time!

The last game of the regular season pitted our 1-4 team against the 4-1 B league leader. We knew we could play them tough, as we were tied with them with two minutes to go in our last game against them. Just like Monday, we played with only seven players, so we were unable to do substitutions throughout the game.

The game started well, with mostly short drives and punts, in a field position game. They scored, we responded with a bootleg touchdown, and they scored again on the last play of the half. Halftime score was 13-6, with us very much in the game.

On the first drive after halftime, they once again scored, but missed the extra point. We responded with a scoring drive of our own, culminating with a touchdown throw off the scramble to Andre in the back of the endzone. Score is now 19-12. Trivia tidbit: To this point, we have not converted an extra point all season. Aprroximately 0 for 8!

Time is winding down, and a defensive stop is critical. The opposition marches down the field with scrambles and short passes. First and goal, pass out of the endzone. Second and goal, our corner Brian breaks in front of the pass with nothing but green ahead of him, but unfortunately he channels former Philadelphia Eagle defensive back Al Harris, and the pass falls harmlessly to the ground. Third and goal, Andre's gamble pays off with the interception, and he might be off to the races! He's at the 20, 30, 40, with blockers! The 50, the 40, the 30, and then a miraculous flag pull by the opposition to save the touchdown. With 1:30 left on the clock and both timeouts, there is plenty of time for the "two minute drill".

Two short passes to the linemen and a quarterback scramble gives us first and goal. Another short pass puts the ball on the 3 yard line, second and goal. Quarterback sneak.... stopped on the one yard line. Third and goal, hoping to catch them offguard we run the same play, the quarterback ends up in the end zone but the referee signals a flag pull down at the 1. Fourth and goal, our last chance to win one for the Shawn, the team organizer (he missed our only victory on the season, the only game he did not play). We line up 5 receivers left, and one running back. Play call is a halfback pass to the quarterback. I pitch the ball to Kevin, and go towards the endzone. Immediately I am levelled by the defensive lineman who was tricked by the playcall. Trying to find the action, I hear the referee's whistle and see his arms in the air. TOUCHDOWN! And I have no idea how.

Score 19-18, and here's where the trivia from before comes into play. We have never scored an extra point. In the huddle, I suggest the play we have tried twice before, feeling that it will work this time (in the previous two attempts, the pass attempt bounced off a receiver's hands). To a man, they channeled former Nebraska coach Tom Osbourne, in the 1984 Orange Bowl against Miami: "We want to go for two. Go for the victory!". I am surprised, but I channel "TMQ" (Gregg Easterbrook): "You're 1-4, what do you have to lose?". For the go-ahead points, we must score from the 7 yard line on one play.

The snap from center is good. I look left, it's covered. I look right, it's covered. The protection breaks down. I scramble out of the pocket. Juke past the first defender, end zone in front of me, with two defenders in front. I try to split them, ultimately colliding with both as they converged on me. I end up in the endzone, looking at the referee. He signals... flag pulled at the half yard line! Perhaps it would have been better if the team had channeled Jon Gruden for the two point conversion instead ;-) Forty seconds to go, without the ball but with two timeouts, our chances for victory are slim.

An incomplete pass stops the clock. A quarterback scramble gives them first down, and we are forced to call timeout. The defense holds on second and third downs, and we call our last timeout with five seconds remaining. Fourth down and 10, if we give up a first down, or if the play runs longer than five seconds, it is game over. The quarterback immediately scrambles for a huge gain, and it looks like all is lost. But wait! A flag is thrown before the first down line. An illegal spin move is called. Automatic five yard penalty, loss of down, and the game cannot end on a penalty. We get one more shot from midfield! The play call is "The Play", from the 1982 Stanford/Cal game. Basically, keep lateralling the ball until you score! The defense plays an aggressive set and breaks into our backfield immediately. I throw to an offensive lineman, but he drops it. Game over, but another close game for our team.

We finish the season 1-5, but we still make the playoffs! Season summary to follow after the playoffs are over.

We got our first real Christmas tree last night! After some initial growling, it looks like Scout is going to welcome the new addition ;-)

A 1-0 lead turned into another second half meltdown. I was a little disappointed with my goalkeeping performance, as I should have saved the second goal. Write the game off to rust, as it has been a long time since we have played!

Hey... didn't we have a blog entry with this title before?

We ran into a team with superior tactics and quarterbacking, who easily picked apart our defense and stifled our offense. I missed a few open throws, plus barely missed two receivers on deep routes that would have made things a bit more interesting. A bright spot for me was pulling in my third defensive interception on the year, but I think I have thrown a few more ;-)

We're off to Elise's brother's house today, for the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday. We figured we might as well drive on the busiest driving day of the year! I fully expect us to have a good time once we arrive.