Author: Emily Phillips
Already into the second week of play, intramural (IM) flag football is kicking off its first fall semester of competition in Tiger recreational sports history. IM flag football was moved to the fall semester this year to make way for a new sport in the spring. Dodgeball is one of the possibilities that, if met with enough student interest, could join the spring lineup of doubles volleyball, 5×5 soccer and 5×5 basketball.
Flag football teams play 7×7 with games every Sunday evening under the lights on Patterson Field. This year there are eight full teams and nearly 100 students participating in the league. According to Coordinator of Recreational Sports Sae Woon Jo, flag football is a staple sport for the Tigers and is one of the most competitive intramural sports that is offered.
“You’ll see teams go out there on a Saturday morning to practice before game day, and they’ll draw up plays,” Jo said. “It’s really fun to watch.”
However, Jo wants to emphasize that intramural sports are purely recreational and anyone can form a team, regardless of experience. “You can just show up and have as much fun as you want as an outlet from midterms, papers and homework,” Jo said.”It’s a great time to go out and play a fun game with your friends,” Nick O’Connell (senior) said. “Plus, it gives me a reason to be active and take a break from studying on Sunday.”
One team recognized for its competitive nature and success in the league is the fraternity SAE. Last year they won the overall intramural championship, and this year’s flag football team is excited about defending its title. The SAE intramural team, led by SAE President Thomas Whitacre (junior), has already claimed its first round of victories, winning games not only in the flag football league, but also in the A and B intramural 3×3 basketball leagues.”Our team to beat this season is bro-AHLO-gy,” Whitacre said. “They are a really athletic team with a lot of [football] experience.”
However, teammate Noah Applebome (senior) is not ready to give away the championship title. “SAE has the best team,” he said. “Tradition doesn’t graduate. The bonds of our fraternity are shown through outstanding team chemistry on the field.”
SAE player Tom Logan (senior) thinks they can clinch the title as long as they clean up their game before meeting tougher competition. “We played alright in week one, but we have a ton of improvements to make,” Logan said. “Mostly putting some sticky glue on David Nelson’s hands.”
In their first game this year, team bro-AHLO-gy had already “dismantled” the Miami Sharks 28-0 by the end of the first half, according to team captain Daniel Drugan (senior). But, they made sure to keep the game fun by mixing the two teams at half-time and playing the second half out in a less competitive manner. Miami Sharks captain Matt Nixon (sophomore) describes his team’s performance in the game as “subpar” but he attributes the loss to having many team members absent and expects that they will bounce back in this week’s competition.
This past Sunday, bro-AHLO-gy took on Tres Seis, and Drugan expected the outcome to be “a decisive win by bro-AHLO-gy,” as the team’s roster is full of football talent at the high school and college level, including retired varsity Tiger football players Drugan, Tim Creamer (senior), Albert Ramos (senior), Jay Arthur (senior), Jarred Salha (senior) and Jon Fox (senior). However, despite initial predictions, bro-AHLO-gy lost to Treis Seis. “Our team played Tres Seis tonight and we were handed our first loss. Tres Seis played a good game while our team struggled on both sides of the ball. I would not be surprised if our team would play Tres Seis again in the playoffs,” Drugan said last Sunday.
Bro-AHLO-gy team member Jordan Helle (sophomore) is not as sure as his captain that their team will be this year’s champs. “I think the league is wide open this year and everybody has a shot at winning it all,” he said.
While the top teams in the league are full of experienced juniors and seniors, there are a few younger teams who are looking to make their mark in IM flag football history. For example, Full-Speed Gorilla Family is made up of 11 first-years who got their first win of the season at Sunday’s game when Full-Speed Gorilla Family beat the Miami Sharks. “We won something like 58-18 today against the Miami Sharks. It was a good effort on both sides of the ball,” team captain Max Horten (first-year) said. “We’re competitive, but for the most part we are just out there having a good time [. . .] We expect the results to get better every week,” Horten said.
The wide range of skill and experience should make this year’s Tiger intramural flag football season a great one to watch, and the teams encourage more fans to come out and cheer them on.
The games run on Sundays 5:30-8:30 p.m., every week until Thanksgiving break. The top four teams will qualify for playoffs and are seeded by their record, and the top two teams will play in the Oxy Bowl Championship after Thanksgiving break.
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