OK, ok ... another big week has come and gone and we are looking down the barrel of our first finals series ever!
Game 1 was a case of dejavu all over again! Huck and Boomstick lined up for another tug of war matchup. Despite a full length layout by yours truly on the first point to try and take control of the tempo, Huck came out super athletically and ran to a 4-1 lead. With the pressure building, Boomstick clawed their way back to bring things back into contention and leveled the scores at 5all. The back and forth continued with Huck ahead 7-6 when the 45 minute time cap was reached and so it was that overtime commenced. With a minute to go, Boomstick were up 10-9 but Huck scored to level things up. A dropped pass on the line put the disc back in the deadites' eager hands, but that same enthusiasm saw the disc sail out of play, giving it to Huck when the Universe Point Rule came into effect. As Huck brought the disc into play, an unlikely deep reciever took off, building speed as he reached the endzone, catching his exhausted defender unawares. One desperate chase later, the plastic dropped into the Huckster's waiting hands. It was over and Huck took the second double overtime victory this season. This one went down to the wire and was very hotly contested. Easily the most valuable thing was that despite some tense moments, spirit won out in the end and all players left, smiling about the game that was, and the game that could have been.
Special mention should go out to Michelle who, as the only girl on Huck, played almost every point! Going to be a very interesting finals series for all concerned, I reckon!
Game 2 was, as expected, red hot. With Jay (somewhat amazingly) coming out to lead his team, it was a genuine contest between the two top placed teams. End-zone battles flared and in the end, it was the introduction of newcomer Niel Teale who made the difference for Empire. As we have come to expect, the Stormtroopettes, Katie and Krystal were impressive in the middle, cutting to the open spaces and looking for the plastic. Jason Dent found the endzone a number of times off some sweet Nick Murray passes and the Jacob/Wetnose combination paid dividends (as expected). Unfortunately for Jacob, a big fall (and dislocated shoulder) in the endzone brought his night to an end early and it will be a case of 'time will tell' regarding his availability for Tuesday night.
For the Apocalyptos, it was a case of sticking to what works. This is by far the most 'settled' team in the league, having kept the majority of its players start to finish (oh, wait, that's BoomStick too). Jay marshaled a solid offensive strategy, which mostly came up with the goods, but a few crucial drops under pressure cost them dearly! It was pleasing to see Piva slightly more mobile, using her speed to create opportunity and playing a role that is running to her strengths (i.e. running). Cephas played a good endzone game, as did Tyler who has really learned what it means to cut to the corners. Frustrating for Meow handlers was the amount of endzone traffic they had to contend with, making throws difficult to time. Communication is definitely key for all teams in this regard and it is going to be an area of growth next season for cutters to time their runs and clear out if the throw isn't there for them.
Next week is the semi final, with Meow playing Huck at 6pm (ignore the schedule, we changed it out of necessity!!!) and Empire playing Boomstick at 7pm. The beauty of our current organisation is that all four teams are still fighting for a spot in the grand final ... tres excitement!
Don't forget to bring your money for the Primal disc raffle ... $2 a ticket or $10 for 6!
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