[TFDA] Blue over Black @ Heatstroke Tourney
Christian Schwoerke
schwoerkec at yahoo.com
Fri Jul 6 10:16:38 EDT 2007
Blue Defeats Black for Heatstroke Victory
Forty-five players (see below) showed up at the Cedar Forks District Park on Wednesday, July 4, to
participate in the dauntingly named Heatstroke Hat Tourney. Players had been randomly
assigned to different teams, with the idea being that all would be of equal strength, at least on
paper. Wednesdays play was to determine how wrong the notion of on-paper parity was, and Blue
did so going away, winning every game.
Because the rosters were relatively small, the tourney format had everyone play 5 on 5, with each
successive point alternating between a gender mix of 4/1 or 3/2. Additionally, the fields were
narrowed to 31 yards and the endzones compacted to 10 yards in depth.
A slight 7-mph wind blue obliquely across the side-by-side fields, prompting some teams to
experiment with a zone (nope, doesnt work), some junk (nope, doesnt work), and some standard
man-on-man (thats better), and man-on-man with a rogue poacher (best of all, as Victor and Troy
will testify). The breeze did help to keep playing conditions somewhat comfortable, permitting
the stand-by EMS personnel to relax and finish some summer reading.
All games were to 9, within 1:10 rounds, and most games were played out before or just after the
one-hour time cap took effect, with the result that there was generally about 5 to 10 minutes
downtime between each game.
At the end of pool play, Blue was atop the standings, 3-0. Game results and standings follow:
Round 1: Blue over Red 9-3
White over Black 9-8
Round 2: Blue over Black 9-7
White over Red 9-5
Round 3: Blue over White 9-3
Black over Red 9-6
Blue 3-0
White 2-1
Black 1-2
Red 0-3
Red was suffering the loss of two players whod signed up, both OOC due to injury or illness, but
the team plugged along with the attitude that every game was a chance to improve. This positive
attitude set up a good semis match with Blue, in the 1 v 4 game. The 2 v 3 game was a replay of a
Black v. White matchup that White had won at universe point, 9-8.
By this time, in this Red v. Black rematch, the Red team had finally worked out some offensive and
defensive strategies. Nonetheless, despite the formidable handling skills of Sharon Tucker and
the strong D and O from Matt Ball, the Red squad found themselves on the short end, 7-9. In the
rematch between White and Black, the White Gardner squad could not contain the hard-running Black
players, in particular Wes Hunt and Rocky Payne, and the game ended with Black up 9-7.
There was a 3/4 game in the final round, pitting White and Red, and both teams were up for the
challenge. Red ran off 5 points to Whites 2, and it was giddy being up by more than 1 for the
first time all day. However, White bore down, and the game, after several long points, was tied
at 5s. Trading ensued, but at 7s, White got the advantage, going up 8-7. Red mustered a strong
defensive line with Dillon Wyatt, Cheech Lee, Elizabeth Terrell, Xian, and Krishna Karra, but the
White team would not be deterred, distracted, or duped, and they moved the disc into the endzone
flawlessly to take home a final-round victory.
Meanwhile, in the 1/2 game, Blue was inexorably wearing down Black, though the points were long
and the turnovers many. The short endzones allowed for a jam-up/clog defense that permitted only
the most accurate throws to connect in the limited space. Blue worked the swing and cross-field
hammer score several times. One such hammer was caught by Blues Keith Hodson soaring above
everyone; he turned and threw a soft 3-yarder to Thomas Wicker who quickly sent another short pass
into the endzone for a score. It was an unlikely combination of passes and personnel, but it
represented Blues multiple means for scoring, besides simply relying on Troy or Mike Resnick
hitting JC running deep. Despite the best efforts of Wes, Marc Kessler, Rocky, Jessup, and Mimi
to move the disc effectively, Blues poachy defense on these narrow fields yielded several
turnovers. The final score: Blue 9, Black 6.
Congratulations and thanks to all for their participation.
Red chose as its spirit disc winner Benjamin Reinhardt, and Blue chose as its spirit winner Linda
Zier. White and Black did not tell this reporter whod been given their spirit discs. All
members of the winning team received trophy discs. No one suffered a stroke, and only a single
person even had a muscle cramp. The EMS squad was much put out.
Teams & Personnel
Blue Red White Black
Linda Zier Sharon Tucker Holly Czuba Sandy Pham
Denice Cunningham Elizabeth Terrell Heather Gardner Ellen Mitchell
Jenny Cornejo Cheech Lee Lauren Gardner Mimi Phan
Chad Rende Xian Schwoerke Ron Hunter Marc Kessler
Troy Revell Ben Reinhardt Bryn Forbes Ruffin Bailey
Michael Resnick Matt Ball Kevin Calcagno Rocky Payne
JC Osborne Dusty Hoefer Jason Fortner Jessup Ferris
Dan Speiser Arnett Brown Martin Newman Wesley Hunt
Victor Maneilly Krishna Karra Jessiah Mellott Mark McEntee
Thomas Wicker Dillon Wyatt David Miller Scott Spillias
Keith Hodson Mike Riley Jason Tan
Grant Gardner Brian Williams
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