Double Wing Formation: Magpies, Eagles Kings of East

There is a cliché about cream rising to the top in big events.

On a hot day in Yonkers, New York, the crème was curdled by 90 degree temperatures, but it still rose, steadily, mightily, and with authority.

At the end of it all, through sweat and determination, the New York Magpies and Baltimore-Washington Eagles took with them the cups signifying them as Champions of the Eastern Regional Tournament for 2016.

DIVISION 1:

Four consecutive weeks of footy is not an unfamiliar thing in the sport back in Australia, or really anywhere.  But to play four USAFL contests in a row is a bit of a rarity, and the New York Magpies broke out their quills to write the remaining stanzas of the short story that saw them play every single weekend in the month of June.

This weekend was different, however, as for the first time they would be at home, and they would play two games separated by four hours.   Their first test was against the Boston Demons, a team against which they have fought many legendary battles and have come away victorious, at least in recent years.

But here in the first twenty minutes, they found themselves in a struggle with the Dees, who were powered by rover Jeremy Humm.   All afternoon, Humm would be instrumental in providing link ups to his forward line, and he made a couple of high grabs for good measure too.  Forwards Matt Wood and Chris Wright were making leads and getting looks for goal, and the game was close at the half.

In the second period, however, the Magpies flapped their wings a bit, and spun the Demons out of control.  The ‘Pies began to string possessions together and began to resemble their Australian counterparts from Collingwood (except not at the bottom of the ladder).   Toby Carrington, Andrew Davis, and the forward core would finish off their kicks, and the game, and Magpies took the opener by 24 points, 50-26.

The Demons would look to recover against the Columbus Jackaroos, who impressed despite going 0-3 in the Central Regionals.  Despite missing a couple of key players, including Chet Ridenour and Mark McClure, the Jacks figured to be a good matchup for Boston, and the two clubs had met before at Nationals in Division 2 play.

With their two rucks out, the Jacks inserted big Adam Peterson into the fray, and he handled himself admirably, keeping his team in the center contest and enabling Clyde Simpson and Dan Hamilton to work the ball inside fifty.  The Dees would hit back, and for a time in the first half, both teams traded goals, and though Boston had the lead at halftime, Columbus was very much in it.

Columbus would come out of the chute in the second half firing.  Spectators saw Dan Hamilton put on a fantastic show of his own, and thankfully none of them had to enter a lottery to do it.  With him, Simpson, Phil Prete, and Ryan Rensinger finding lanes, Columbus cut the lead down to 10 points in the waning moments.

Boston’s defense made sure, alas, that that would be as close as they got.  Mike Sheppard buzzed around like an angry dragonfly, and Matt Garafalo and Aaron Tenbuuren had some key clearances to keep the ball on the other side of the field.  The Demons finished 10 points to the good to finish with a split on the day, a result that will make them happy and possibly push them up a spot when the next Top 20 Poll comes out on July 6^th.  What’s more, Jeremy Humm, who controlled both games, was awarded Best and Fairest in D1, taking out all six votes available.

The Jacks had one last test on the day, against the 2^nd best team in the country.   In Indy, two weeks before, they had been overmatched by the only team above New York in the polls, the Austin Crows.   Against New York, they would again keep pace with the rabbit like efficiency of the Magpies and found themselves down by a point in the early going.

It wasn’t long before New York showed their strength, and when Mike Murphy kicked three highlight reel goals back-to-back-to-back, the end was neigh for the knights of Columbus.  The ‘Pies hit the half ton by halftime, and rolled to a 83-13 triumph.  The Magpies rookies played an important part in the victories all day, with Harry O’Sullivan getting the Best Rookie nod.

Along with the women’s victory on the day, Coach Sean Holmesby and his club had a lot to be happy about overall.

“It was a great achievement by our club,” he said.  “Hosting a great tournament, and then walking away undefeated in both the men's and women's competitions. Having the two sides work a lot together at training has really paid off. This year we're a much more unified club, and I feel that it showed on the weekend through the strength of our performances.

“It's been a tough but successful month. We've had 3 consecutive away games, followed by a big tournament, and now we'll use this break to recover. We'll reload, work on our skills, and then continue our push towards nationals.”

New York 8.2.50 def Boston 4.2.26
Boston 5.5.35 def Columbus 4.1.25
New York 14.5.89 def Columbus 3.1.19

DIVISION 2:

Oddly enough, the three teams that the Magpies vanquished on the row: Philadelphia, Baltimore-Washington, and North Carolina all were grouped together and Division 2.  Though the Hawks were the only one with a USAFL ranking coming into the tournament at number 19, the Eagles had just barely missed out on the Top 20 and the Tigers had amassed a number of votes earlier in the season.

There was a time when Baltimore-Washington had Philadelphia’s number, not to mention that of everyone else in the league.  Over the past two seasons, however, the tables turned, and the Hawks ran off four straight wins over the BWEagles before finally losing in Virginia last season.  The teams had equilibrated, and a good match was in order to kick off the day.

Philly brought just a dozen players up the turnpike to compete, and they were augmented by reserve players from New York and later Boston.  But in the early going it was they who had the chances going forward, and Kris Decker, the Victorian native making his second stint with the Hawks, kicked the game’s first goal.   The Eagles had an answer, and it was the youngest player to take the field on the day, 16-year-old CJ Adams, who would open his team’s account.

The Eagles had a 12-8 lead at halftime, and the Hawks would continue to control play and push inside their offensive fifty.  Hardworking forwards Jon Ginsburg, Greg Glasgow, and Ray Cascella augmented Decker’s play up front, and speedy rookie Trey Thatcher wreaked havoc alongside vets Jon Loring and Dan Greenberg.

For all their bluster, however, the Eagles defensive corps, led by Bort Edwards and Ryan Cartwright, forced the Hawks into jittery kicking.  The Hawks would finish with just two majors from eight total scores, and the efficiency of B-W’s offence led to the winning score, again off the younger Adams’ foot.  Though Philly got to within one point, their inaccuracy doomed them in a 19-18 Eagles decision.

Recovery time was at a premium for Philadelphia, because they now had to turn around and play Carolina.  The odds seemed to favor the Hawks, as they had beaten North Carolina in four of their last five contests.  But this was a different day, and the Tiges had with them some fresh blood to mix in with the old.

Nick Bradley darn near got leather poisoning in the opening twenty minutes, and try as they could, Philly’s D was helpless to stop him.  Mike Felland and Pete Capozziello found holes with which to take marks, and sped their way to a 16 point halftime lead. 

The curly haired duo of Stu McKenzie and Erik Hanson shredded the middle of Hawks’ attack like a block of Beemster through a cheese grater, and peppered shot after shot at the goals.  In the end, North Carolina was much the best in a 57-19 thrashing.

That meant that the final game of the day in the division, the Eagles and the Tigers, was the de facto Grand Final, with a draw favoring the Tigers based on their higher percentage win over Philadelphia.  The game lived up to that of a Grand Final, with both teams going hard at the footy and the game bordering on chippy.  The umpiring crew quashed any of that nonsense quKiickly by sending off players, and the crème that rose to the top in the end was that of a delicious encounter between two longtime foes.

The Eagles played the opposite role of that in the first game, as they were the less accurate to their opponent’s more efficient goal kicking.  Kit Drury rose to the occasion – almost literally – taking some of the best marks of the day and converting on a couple of scoring opportunities.  Jay Levesque was equally as good in the middle, and would go on to win Best and Fairest as a result. 

Though Carolina had only had four scoring shots to Baltimore’s nine, they made them all count.  They were only down ten points.

Hitting picked up and so did the ferocity of the play, with Bradley, Fellend and the NC attack putting the pressure on.  They were met by veteran Danny Seow, and hard hitting ruck Tracy Williams.  Though both teams would each get two major scores in the final stanza, the play of the Eagles was slightly more impressive, with individual performances abounding.  The work rate of Keith Thornburg was impressive, as he was able to get to a ball late that led to Levesque’s game clincher.   49-39 Baltimore-Washington, and their first USAFL trophy since the D2 National title in 2007.

“Coming into the tournament the club looked at it as an opportunity to see what worked and what didn't,” said Eagles coach Robert Stankovic.  “We tried a few different things. We were obviously happy with the outcome, but more pleasing was the opportunity it gave us to see where we are as a team at this point of the season.

“Moving forward we will work to improve on the identified deficiencies while maintaining and enhancing our strengths. We look forward to a strong showing the rest of the year and at nationals.”

Baltimore-Washington 3.1.19 def Philadelphia 2.6.18
North Carolina 8.9.57 def Philadelphia 3.1.19
Baltimore-Washington 7.7.49 def North Carolina Tigers 6.3.39