[TFDA] Lynde's Poupon Slaters Slater's Smurfs 17-14

Christian Schwoerke schwoerkec at yahoo.com
Mon Mar 10 11:04:37 EST 2003


MM/Pat
          ------------Joe (15-10)
Joe
                              ------------Joe (15-12)
Jeff/Frannie
          ------------Mel/Jon (15-9)
Mel/Jon
                                                 -----------Tom (17-14)
Missy/Mick
          ------------Missy/Mick (13-11)
Kenny
                              -----------Tom (12-11)
Tom
          ------------Tom (13-12)
Marc/Becki



Lyndes’ Poupon Slathers Slater’s Smurfs 17-14:
The 2002-2003 Season Wrap-up

The incentive to see captain Joe Slater shave his head bald was not
enough to rally the Smurfs to overcome the endgame drive by the
resolutely spicy Poupon team, and the Smurfs succumbed 17-14 in the
2002-2003 Winter League finals.  Tom Lyndes’ Poupon squad is this
year’s recipient of the Loretta Cup, as well as a batch of trophy discs
to commemorate the season.

The 2002-2003 Winter League’s season-ending tourney was played over
three weekends, an unheralded event in the league’s 15-year history. 
Originally scheduled for the weekend of February 22 and 23, only pool
play was possible, and that was held on Sunday... and only 3 of the 4
6-team pools were able to play their games.  Rain on Friday and
Saturday saturated fields and play shifted from Saturday to Sunday, but
Carrboro’s field site was still too wet and pool D was re-scheduled for
March 1.  Meanwhile pools A and C (playing at Lake Benson in Garner)
and pool B (playing in Holly Springs) had the dubious pleasure of
experiencing winds that averaged 20 mph and gusted up to 40 mph, making
for some of the ugliest ultimate ever, with discs suddenly turning 180
degrees and field-marking cones blowing away to create ill-defined or
non-existent playing areas.  Nonetheless, pool A advanced MaryMolly
Taylor and Pat Inman’s team, along with Marc Kessler and Becki
Cleveland’s; pool C advanced Jeff Faulkner and Frannie Goodrich’s
squad, along with Kenny Dobyn’s; and pool B advanced Missy Summerville
and Mickey Ribault’s team, along with Mel and Jon Proctor’s squad.

The weekend of March 1 and 2 was also subject to “weather,” and while
pool-play games for pool D were held at Lake Benson on Saturday,
Sunday’s elimination games for the eight advancing teams were postponed
because fields at Holly Springs had standing water.  Advancing from
pool D were eventual tourney finalists Joe Slater and Tom Lyndes.

Finally, after a scramble to ensure that fields were still available to
the Triangle Flying Disc Association (TFDA), the WL Tourney’s
elimination games were confirmed to take place at Holly Springs on
Sunday, March 9.  The week-long forecast had predicted a cloudy day,
with a slight chance of an afternoon shower.  Thankfully, predictions
are the products of mortals, with the weather divine, a 65-degree day
with an almost steady 7-mph breeze under cloudless skies.

While teams arrived early enough to begin play at the designated 10am
start, most dithered till nearly 10:15 before commencing their 15-point
quarterfinal matches.  Many players were early shedding extra layers
and applying sunscreen to arms bared with newly abbreviated
long-sleeved jerseys.  It was early observed that several teams were
missing a key player or two because of the re-re-scheduling of the
tourney.  Worst hit in this regard was Jeff and Frannie’s blue team,
missing more than five players, mostly Duke students who’d begun their
Spring break.  Worse yet, this obliged the remaining two women (Frannie
and Mo Olsen) to play every point.  It looked like Mel and Jon’s team
was going to have a cakewalk, but the 15-9 finish was offset by the
game being pushed into a wearying time-cap status.

Of equal note was the performance by Marc Kessler and Becki Cleveland’s
red team, a 12-13 loss to Tom Lynde’s yellow (Poupon) team.  Down at
one point 2-6, the red squad was able to score in bunches to finally
reach 11s.  At this juncture, poised between points, the time-cap went
on and the two teams were suddenly playing a first-to-2 game.  Poupon
scored first, then red.  Everyone poised to play intense defense to get
the disc back, red pulled.  Poupon moved the disc without error or
contest and with a half-dozen throws was celebrating their victory.

MaryMolly and Pat’s green team had overrun everyone in pool A with a
5-0 record on an extremely windy day with a punt-and-d offense, but the
sedate wind was no ally against Joe Slater’s Smurfs.  Too many miscues
and throwaways gave the disc back to the Smurfs, who were not prone to
make the same errors.  The game ended 15-10, the margin made smaller in
the late going as the Smurfs too early relaxed before slamming the door
shut on green’s efforts to rally.

In the Missy/Mick versus Kenny game, there was a quick start by the
navy M/M squad which quickly looked insurmountable.  Down by more than
four near half, Kenny’s maroon team beckoned the wind to come to their
aid, much as it had through-out the season.  And, lo, the wind did pick
up (around 11:15, only to die down again around 12:30).  This gave the
maroon squad opportunity to use their zone defense and quick offensive
transition to gain advantage and close the gap.  While this brought the
game closer, the time-cap came on perhaps too soon to permit the final,
clinching push, and maroon fell 13-11.

Semifinal matchups brought Missy and Mick’s navy squad up against Tom’s
Poupon team, while Joe’s Smurfs matched up again Jon and Mel’s
Kumquats.  These 15-point games went the distance, two full hours and
more.  The navy squad jumped to a quick 5-1 lead against Poupon, with
Mick Ribault, Roger Lassiter, and Gary Aycock taking charge, early
nullifying Poupon’s Augie factor.  Poupon fought back and closed the
half only a point behind.  Navy maintained the lead at the beginning of
the second half, but the seams began to show as miscues from Navy’s big
players began to give Poupon added opportunities.  Additionally, Poupon
relied more and more on their women to get big breaks and open the
field, as they often went to Liz Mahanna and Linda Zier.  In a
time-capped finish, with both teams tied at 10s, game first-to-12, each
garnered a point, with Poupon again snatching another just-by-a-nose
victory, 12-11.

The Kumquats versus Smurfs game was initially tight, with multiple
turnovers by each team due to defensive intensity, but by half the
momemtum lay with the Smurfs who continued to cycle in their several
speedy players.  Key matchups by the Smurfs made it hard for Jon
Proctor and Josh Torrell to have free reign.  Even when Zach Washburn
arrived at half to augment the Kumquat line-up, the Smurfs continued to
stifle the Kumquats.  The time-cap went on at 13-10, and each team
earned two more points before the game’s close, 15-12.

Both semifinalist victors took ten minutes to revive before the
beginning of the 17-point finals match.  Poupon pulled to start the
game.  Fifteen seconds into the point, a bad throw was intercepted by
Poupon’s Tony Montalvo, who deftly shot the disc off the sideline to
Steve Sheslow mid-field, who turned and gunned to Augie Kreivenas for
the game’s first score.  Four more points later, however, the game was
solidly in the Smurfs’ hands, 4-1, the result of several unforced bad
throws and missed catches on the part of Poupon.  After throwing for
the Smurf’s fourth goal (a cross-field 50-yard zinger from Dennis Hall
to Patrick Cogdell), Dennis Hall put up the game’s “most interesting”
pull, a cross-field wank that never went beyond mid-field.  With this
field-position advantage, Poupon scored easily on a ten-yarder from
Linda to Tony.  Nonetheless, the best that could be done from this
point till half was some point-trading, with the score margin still
four points in favor of the Smurfs, 9-5.  The half ended with two Brian
Lang hucks, one 45 yards to Will Lewis, and the other 60 yards to Mike
Moore. 

Poupon got two scores in the error-riddled first points of the second
half, but, in a flawless sequence immediately after, the Smurfs added
another point to their tally.  The defensive intensity increased in the
next, five-minute-plus point as there were several contested foul
calls, with the favor going to Poupon as Shes found Mark Britt in the
endzone with a 30-yarder.  The Smurfs turned the disc over quickly and
Shes again sought the endzone, sending a 35-yarder to Jen Winn.  The
game’s first time out was called during the next point as Dennis Hall
tried to ensure a Smurf score.  Once play resumed, however, several
turnovers gave possession to each side, until finally Shane Greene
ripped a 50-yarder to Mike Moore for another Smurf tally.

The next Poupon point, a 35-yard shot from Trey Jolly to Augie, brought
Poupon within one of the Smurf’s 11.  However, the Smurfs answered with
two more of their own goals, the second featuring two note-worthy
defensive blocks, one by Mike Moore and the other by Ellen Mitchell,
both of the Smurfs.  Mike Moore scored in that point, off a 55-yard
shot by Will.  Two more defensive plays in the endzone by the Smurfs
prevented Poupon scores in the next point (one by Kim Nimmer, the other
by Rob Grau), but Poupon’s Shes returned the favor and stopped a
potential Smurf score in the endzone, setting up another Poupon score. 
Over the next two points, which entailed ten minutes of hard play and a
between-point time out by Poupon, Poupon scored twice more, tying the
game for the first time since 1-1.

The Smurfs made the next sequence of passes flawless and scored
quickly, a shot from Sean Burt to Terry Nimmer.  Poupon kept the score
tied by answering with their own perfect point.  On the next point, an
unforced error gave Poupon possession and Shes the opportunity to hit
Augie in the endzone: Poupon was ahead for the first time since the
game’s beginning, 15-14.  In the next point, Poupon gained possession
on a miscue, and Augie called a time-out, Poupon’s last.  Once the disc
was in play, the set play was countered by the Smurfs, and the disc
moved back and forth between Tony and Augie in front of the goal line,
till Augie got a low, 17-yard pass to a fully outstretched Tony.

The Smurfs took their own between-point time-out (also their last of
the half), with the score 16-14, in favor of Poupon.  Despite the
resolve that comes of such a time-out, it was insufficient to prevent
the unforced error that followed.  Having relinquished the disc to
Poupon, the Smurfs were unable to stop the fast-break flow, which
allowed Paul Damer to hit Liz Mahanna with a 30-yard backhand for the
game-winning score.

Strong defensive play was displayed by everyone, though many times the
efforts did not lead directly to turnovers.  In particular, several
intense layout efforts were seen from Wayne Stone of Poupon.  Good
offensive play not otherwise noted was displayed by Tracey Cate, Lesley
McCormack, Ellen Mitchell, all of the Smurfs.     




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