Crows, Lonestars, Kangroos Blow Away Centrals Field

The wind is a fickle thing.  It kicks up at unexpected times, it varies in strength and direction at its own whim, and sometimes it can completely change the course of where you’re going.

A strong wind greeted the over 200 combatants that gathered at the Indianapolis World Sports Park on June 11^th for the 2016 USAFL Central Regional Tournament.  It accompanied relentless temperatures that topped out somewhere in the mid 90’s Fahrenheit, and wreaked havoc with the plans drawn up by the 12 teams that took part in front of a worldwide internet audience.

But through the trying conditions, skills, talent, and brute determination shown through.  When the day was done, Austin maintained its double digit win streak, Houston outlasted tough competition, and Nashville got its season back on track.  The home town Indianapolis Giants picked up their first two wins ever, while Ohio Valley and Dallas proved their mettle in high level competition.

DIVISION 1:

The Dallas Magpies have always played with a confident swagger, and on this day they were buoyed by a number of National team players in Jason Wilhelm, Ryan McGettigan, and Bryan Dragus.  Everyone was looking at the game at the end of the day against Austin as the blockbuster to decide it all, but first everyone had two games to play first.

The day in Division 1 began with a game that couldn’t have been any closer at the finish.  Dallas staked itself to an early lead over the 4^th ranked Denver Bulldogs, and led by 13 points with five minutes left to play.  Against the hard hitting ‘Pies and the win, the Doggies got their chances on the counterattack and cut the lead down to a single goal. 

With a minute to go, again Denver found itself with numbers, and a string of kicks found midfielder Brian Reppeto.  Reppeto looked up and saw his teammate, Tyler Ames, in a one-on-one contest with the Dallas fullback, and kicked it towards the goal square.  Ames fought off his would-be defender with one hand, and marked the ball with the other, in what was easily the mark of the day.  He converted from dead in front to level the scores at 31-31 with less than a minute on the clock.   The Bulldogs had one last go in the dying embers of the game as Ames handballed to Dean who was open 25 meters out, but the siren went before he kicked the ball, nullifying the score and solidifying the draw.

In the second round of games, the Magpies would face the Columbus Jackaroos, who went down gamely, but were outclassed by Austin 62-3 in their opener.  Dallas Took full advantage of the wind and, led by Dragus’s kicking and the ball movement of McGettigan and Mike Mayne, built a sturdy halftime lead against the huff and puff of the wind and the Jacks.

But Columbus has been to the top of the mountain on the big stage before as Division II National champs, and they clawed their way back into the game thanks to Clyde Simpson, their inspirational leader, and an ensemble cast of gritty footballers.  The Jacks hacked into the lead and got it to within one point, but were beat by the clock.  Dallas held on 30-29, doing their part to keep their trophy hopes alive.

On the other field, an equally exciting game was taking place.  Denver and Austin, rivals in success, had it out, again with the wind being more than just a spectator in this match.   The Bulldogs had it in the first half and blew away to a 28-9 lead.  Crows fly better with the wind, and when they took it to start the second stanza, they swooped clear with it. 

Nolan Cox took over in the forward line, and with the midfield core of Christian Merritt, Ben Carpenter, and Ben May providing links forward, the Crows pecked and pecked at the Dogs lead until it was gobbled up like a breakfast worm.  With two minutes left, Austin took the lead and held on to win 41-38.

That meant that the final game of the day, a Texas Derby, would decide the D1 victor.  Two teams that were awfully familiar with each other, which had already played each other twice this season, with Austin coming out on top.  Dallas knew, however, how to beat the mighty Crows – they were the last team to hand them defeat back in September.

The opening of the final game was very much back and forth with tight packs and ball movement. The effect of playing three games in such unrelenting heat was visibly taking its toll, however.  Austin’s Cox and Dallas’s Matt Taggart would trade majors to open the game, and Dallas poked their nose in front 25-21 at the break.  In the second half Carpenter, Merritt, Joss Schloten and the Crows used the wind and then packed in the defense, outscoring Dallas 19-0 in the final twenty minutes.  Carpenter, who returned from Australia to play for his hometown club, hammered the final nail in the Dallas coffin to win 40-25. 

All four teams could take something positive from the day.  Austin’s reward on the day was obvious, and they had to scrap for all three wins in the process.  Dallas’s core players played well and asserted themselves as living up to the #7 ranking in the USAFL poll (they’ve since moved up to #6).  Denver, who finished 1-1-1 and into second on percentage, rallied to gain a tie against the win and had the #1 team in the country up against the ropes.  And as for Columbus, they stood-toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country and played them to their tails.   And they did pick up one victory for the weekend as their founder, Chet Ridenour, took home best and fairest.

DIVISION 2:

The middle group began with a barnburner and ended with a rout.  The Houston Lonestars had just one win from five games so far this season, but now against teams that weren’t their Texas rivals, had a chance to flex their muscles.

David Restrepo and David Anastas put their stamp on the tournament early as key forwards for the Lonestars, and in their first game against the Ohio Valley River Rats were the difference makers.  Both players are US Revolution hopefuls, and with coach Tom Ellis’s eyes on them, they made a serious case for inclusion on the team next year.  

The Rats and Lonestars went back and forth for most of the game.  The Lonestars rallied in the waning moments and the ball found Restrepo who slotted it through the big money sticks on the siren to give his club a 24-19 victory.

Up next for Houston was the Chicago Swans, who clipped Tulsa 44-23 in their opener.  Houston had the wind and the advantage, and again Restrepo, Anastas, Jesse Carcamo, and the rest of the team went to work utilizing the zephyr that made itself at home in Indy.  Using their skill and taking advantage of some key mistakes by Chicago, the ‘Stars surged ahead in the second half and won comfortably, 55-27.

All that left was then in Houston’s way was Tulsa, who had three players from the newly formed Oklahoma City Flyers team among their ranks.   The Buffs were 0-2, having lost to Ohio Valley 49-18 in their second game.

The Buffaloes put a fairly stern resistance to their Southern rivals.    They had good skills and pressed forward with efficiency.  It wasn’t enough – The Lonestars played well with and without the wind and skipped home 66-1 winners to clinch their first hardware since being 2013 Division 3 Nationals Premiers.

“We enjoyed the challenge of playing an unknown quantity in Ohio Valley first up,” said Houston president Dave Bryant, “and what is increasingly becoming a competitive rivalry with Chicago in game that ultimately determined the Div 2 winner.  “Having many new guys join the club in the first half of 2016 and a list of 60 it had been difficult to get a team on the park working together with experience and newly skilled players, especially against some very strong Texas competition this year.”

Ohio Valley, who finished off the day with a 28-19 triumph over Chicago, can also take much from the weekend.  Last year’s D3 Nationals runners up beat a D2 team and had the favorite to win D2 at Nationals this year.  Matt Seuling, who has been around the conglomerate a long time, took home best-and-fairest honors for his efforts in the forward line.   They may be heading up a division this year, and if that happens, would easily be among the contenders.

DIVISION 3:

The lower of the three divisions was certainly full of good footy, with two relatively new clubs in Cleveland and Indianapolis squaring off against two teams in a rebuilding phase.  Nashville and Des Moines came to Indianapolis attempting to get their seasons on track after early losses in the season.

The Indianapolis Giants hadn’t won a game in their two year history entering the morning game against Cleveland.  Within minutes, they had it in the bag.  Midfield dynamo Sam Gould ran circles around the befuddled Cannons defenders, and the Giants forwards had enough time to run, kick, serve coffee, read a magazine, and remove any doubt from the match early.  Final score: Indy 86, Cleveland 1.

Thing were much closer on the other field in its opener, as Nashville built a three goal halftime lead over the Roosters, who also had the assistance of a number of Columbus’s reserves in addition to players from Milwaukee.   With speedy Maurice Howell controlling play in the midfield, and Nathan Caldwell taking business up front, the Kangas saw out the game against the wind and held on for a 44-40 victory.

In the second game, Nashville had the Giants, and the wind, for the first half.  Again they staked themselves out to a big lead behind Caldwell and Cliff Cosnahan, who kicked goal that covered 75 meters faster than Usain Bolt.   Down 40-9 at the half, Indy’s Gould, Shane Branscum, and Josh Stenger pulled their team on their back and levied a mighty charge, kicking three goals in five minutes to start the half.  But the Kangas would get over the line, getting up by two goals, 48-36.

That set up a win-and-in situation for Nashville, who faced Cleveland.  The Cannons, who had solid performances from A.J. Olding and a number of their newcomers, tried to salvage one win from the day.  They couldn’t.  Caldwell, Cosnahan, and Tim Fulwider outlasted a tired Cleveland outfit and cruised 52-19 to clinch the D3 title.

As for the homers, the Giants picked up their second win of the day with a resounding 44-10 win over Des Moines.  Again it was Gould and Stenger who powered the offence, but the defense on the day was superb.  Josh Greene, who played the entire day at full back with some cameos up through the middle of the ground, was awarded best and fairest.  As the Giants grow their club under veteran coach Matt Jagger, they can look back on the weekend as a touchtone towards helping the game blossom in the Hoosier State.

WOMEN’S GAME:

The women of the Columbus Jillaroos took part in a metro match last Saturday as well, as they divided into two teams, Pink and Black.  They were joined by Chicago Swans player Amy McGuinness, who kicked a goal for team Pink in the contest.  The Jills have a number of new players to their side this year and they shone, led by Katrina Scherer who was named Best on Ground.  Final Score: Team Pink 61, Team Black 8.