Quebec, Portland, Calgary, San Diego Claim Nationals Flags

Divisions 2-4 in the men’s and women’s divisions may play the undercard to the top flight, but they certainly do not lack anything in terms of importance or intensity.  Old champions in Calgary and San Diego rode again, while the ever growing footy programs in Portland and Quebec raised cups for the very first time on that hallowed weekend in October.

Our look at Nationals weekend concludes with the final four divisions:

MEN'S DIVISION 2: QUEBEC ECLIPSES SUNS IN FIRST GRAND FINAL SHUTOUT

Many punters, including yours truly, tapped the top seeds of the pools to advance onward to the Grand Final on Sunday.  That didn’t happen. 

What did happen was the Sacramento Suns stunning Columbus and Boston on Saturday before easily handling Ft. Lauderdale to book their third straight appearance in a Grand Final.  For Matt Bishop’s team, it was a chance to assert themselves as a top tier club and become the first team to pull a D3-D2 double since Dallas did it in 2009-2010.

Pool B was won by another surprise: the Quebec Saints.  The men from North of the border took down Minnesota and Houston, then upended Chicago to play for their first bit of USAFL hardware.  The Saints came in as a mystery; other than Boston, no other American team had played them this year, but their talent was unmistakable.

The teams played wide open footy in the opening stages of the match, but neither could penetrate the other’s defense.  Sacramento’s Ed Manning was winning a good percentage of his rucks, but the Suns were unable to capitalize.  The Saints would open the scoring with a behind after seven minutes.  Little did anyone know that that first point would be the winning score.

Sacto’s Saleh Tyebjee, who would be named best and fairest overall on the weekend, tried to lead his club forward with some good passages out of the back.  But Quebec’s Phil Manassa and Morgan Whyte were quick to put the clamps as they tried to hit back on the counter.  The Saints would hold most of the territorial and possession play, and it would be only a matter of time before they tallied their first major.  Daniel Robinson shimmied away from a defender in the pocket, put up a contested ball that came to ground, where Steve McCammon gleefully gobbled up the crumbs and gave his team an 8-0 lead late in the half,  Led by the inspirational play of Mel Chen, the Suns would get their deepest venture into Quebec territory, but the Saints defenders would have none of it.  It was 9-0 at the half to Les Quebeçois, but it the issue was still in doubt.

That doubt would become greater right from the blocks in the second, as Luke O’Farrell connected on a lovely looking banana kick from the front left pocket.  Bishop’s side kept to their game plan, however, and they would get forward again, only to be halted by Manassa, who would be named the MVP of the match.  Quebec would the ball inside the Suns’ 50.  O’Farrell would take charge up in the front line, and his marks would end any hope of a comeback.  A nice chain of four marks ended with a Chris Shee screamer, which he converted to extend the lead to 21-0.

Quebec continued to keep peppering away at Sacramento’s sticks, making the score 25-0.  Late in the game, Sacramento asked the umpire crew to check the Saints' personnel against the 50/50 rule.  They had called for a similar count in the first half, but this was misinterpreted as a straight player count.   This second count found the Saints to be clear of the rule, though the Suns' challenge was not without merit.  After the clerical work was sorted out, Quebec saw through the final three minutes game, adding two more points.

The Saints’ long road trip, through 24 hours of driving, and four hard games of footy, ended in the best way possible – victory, and the first shutout in a men’s Grand Final in Nationals history.   A first ever win for the ever-growing AFL Quebec program, and a huge statement from a good team.   For Sacramento, they would’ve loved to have lifted the cup, but their trip on the weekend was also a statement, they too are on the ascendency.

Quebec Saints 4.3.27 defeat Sacramento Suns 0.0.0

MEN'S DIVISION 3: ROSE CITY SHOWS NO PITY; STEELHEADS WIN FIRST

The Ohio Valley River Rats didn’t get much respect during the regular season, not once entering the USAFL Top 20 Poll.  Their convincing win over top-seeded Tulsa and a hard-fought victory over Philadelphia meant that all they had to do was not lose big to the defending D4 champs from North Carolina and they would be through.  A 74-9 whomping over the Tigers saw Sleepy Floyd and crew onto their sixth Grand Final in eight seasons and first at the Divvy 3 level.

Their opponents in the final would be the Portland Steelheads, their first championship game appearance of any sort in their 18 seasons of existence.  Martin Coventry’s charges just about waltzed through pool play, finishing it fantastically with a 45-22 triumph over undermanned Nashville.  In a season where they had beaten Orange County, drawn Golden Gate, and had played the Div 2 finalists from Sacramento very hard, this test would surely favor the boys from the Rose City.

Despite being installed as the underdogs, it was Ohio Valley who had the first cracks towards the stick gallery, but would come up emptier than a wallet after tax day.  After shifting the scene to the other end of the ground, Portland’s Mike Mercourio wrenched the ball away from the pack, then looped home a long bouncing goal to open the game’s checking account.  Mike Borenstein doubled things minutes later off of a nice mark, and the trend was on.

That goals didn’t stun the Rats, as veterans Floyd, Woody Stone, and Jack Jacobs challenged the ball at every opportunity.   They had been in important games in this league for a long time, and they were up to the task.  Trouble is, the Steelheads were just too good, sealing in the ball with vacuum-like efficiency.  When they countered, they caught the River Rats thin, but in the end, could only tick up the scoreboard in one-point increments.   At halftime, they were 17-2 to the good, but their purple-clad opponents were still playing fresh footy.

Stanza number two started the way the first ended, with Portland control the play, but not finding the money part of the Rats’ goalsticks.  After two behinds, Matt Warden used a 25-meter penalty added to a free kick to add the third major for the Steelheads.  As Ohio Valley tried to answer, they were met by Luke Rooney, Will Sandman and the rest of the Portland defense.  But they were persistent, and finally got a major through South Australian Matt Seuling to cut the difference to 25-9.

With a sniff of blood, Ohio Valley tried punch themselves back in the game, but again Portland’s D would hold, and they would use that impetus to finish out the game.  Terry Brasch would finish off a long counter to put the game out of reach with five minutes to go, and Borenstein would add the coup-de-gras before the siren.

Portland’s first even footy flag would be a 37-9 victory, well earned and full of class.  For Martin Coventry, the Tasmanian born ambassador of footy with over 150 games under his belt from coast-to-coast, it would be a sweet victory for the club that has gone from fledgling outfit to one of the most progressive sides in the nation.

Portland Steelheads 5.7.37 def Ohio Valley River Rats 1.3.9

WOMEN'S DIVISION 2: NORTHWEST INVADERS SWEEP COMPETITION CLEAN

After marching through the opening day of play in the inaugural Women’s Division 2 competition with little resistance, the Calgary Kookaburras side, augmented with help from the Portland Sockeyes and Vancouver Cougars, faced the multi-faceted side of Boston / Columbus / Tulsa / Chicago / Houston, led by Jessica Wuetschner.  Much like the Saturday’s conquests, the game went all the way of the Northwest Conglomerate, as they kicked 13 goals and finished off the weekend sweep with an 81-12 mauling.  Though she couldn’t keep her team from falling out of the top two, Wuetschner was named Best and Fairest on the weekend and no doubt helped a side of players still finding their footing in the sport with invauluable lessons.

As for Calgary, it was their first Nationals title since they upended Atlanta in Colorado back in 2008, and for Portland’s Simone Shepherd and Jessica Blecher, they too would go home with championship medals to go with their male counterparts.  With a full side in 2016, Calgary will look to compete in the Division 1 competition and could be fancied as a team that could challenge Denver.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota/Montreal Frozen Angels combination put forth a splendid weekend of footy, and it ended with a 17-0 shutout over the Baltimore-Washington/Arizona Lady Eagle Hawks.  Led by Cooper’s Most Consistent Valerie Moreau, the Frozen Angels finished in second.  It was the first team medal in the long history of Minnesota’s women’s program, and Montreal’s first placement since they combined with New York as 2011 Runners Up.

MEN'S DIVISION 4: SAN DIEGO LIONS ROAR AGAIN, SHOCK POWER

The large and wide open Division 4 competition came down to two clubs who were looking to win their first flags in some time.  Kansas City Power, who were D-3 champions back in 2008, and who were runners up in D4 last year, took on the combo of Orange County’s reserves and San Diego Lions.  The Lions, who are still fledgling along with few numbers than in their glory days, last played in a Grand Final in 2007, when they lost to Denver in the D-1 decider.

The Power, who had the help of a few members of Sacramento to their ranks, made the most of their scoring opportunities, connecting on three of their four scoring shots for majors.  But they were overrun by the Southern California outfit, led Jeffrey Blankman, came home 29 point winners.  It was OC’s third premiership of any sort, and perhaps a much needed shot in the arm for San Diego, who have a good core nucleus to build around when they grow back to their halcyon days.