Teal came in with a different game plan this week. The first week, we didn’t play with the same energy we usually do and we didn’t play as loose as usual. This week, we came in willing to take risks, make silly hucks, and live with the consequences, because that’s what we do best. I think the main difference was having the speaker. Without our music, we are nothing but a group of hooligans throwing a plastic disc. Once the music starts, we become a synchronized, beautiful symphony of talent and class.
The game started on the rough side. My streak of winning 3 flips in a row came to an end (although it wasn’t technically a loss for me, just a win for Coral), so I didn’t feel great. Coral Reefers decided to go downwind and we took D, hoping for an early break. The first few points were back and forth, with each team playing smart offense and getting holds downwind. But then we took the first upwind break. That lead to another downwind break and by halftime, we would end up having a lead of 8-4. Coral changed their tactics in the 2nd half, coming out with a zone against us. We were definitely a bit bamboozled, and they got 2 VERY quick breaks. Soon, a very long point would happen with us calling a timeout. A fired up Nes taught everyone on the line how to break the zone and next thing we knew, we scored that point. After this 6-9 point, we would go on a run of breaks, playing great defense and capitalizing on mistakes. Teal would go on to win the game 15-8.
Highlights from the game: I could go on all day about all the great play we had from all our players, but I’ll try to keep this section short and sweet. Sam run through D for a break. Nes dime huck to Sam for the score. Josh playing amazing laying out on D and being a super reliable cutter all game. Fletcher tealing and dealing, mostly dealing with 5 assists. Billy skying 2 people for a hammer, which was unfortunately called back and breaking the mark with a flick over the stack into the arms of a patiently waiting Fletcher in the back corner of the end zone. Gordon with his first score and D of the season. Caio played great on the rail against the zone, catching 2 timely hucks with the deep defender of the zone lacking and getting another D on the season. Manny continued to show why he was such a steal in this draft, playing great D and making smart and timely cuts when we need them. But the MVP for teal was *drumroll please* ………….. Ellie. WOOOO! Ellie played incredible this game, with 4 scores and an amazing D on Coral’s end zone. Some of her highlights include catching a huck from Joe, resetting to Adam, and then getting the score. For a 2nd consecutive week, she also was the receiver of our play of the game, torching her defender for a deep huck from Nes. Even for plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, she was super comfortable dumping the disc and finding players cutting upline, and I can’t recall a single mistake she made this game. I’ve only been playing with Ellie for 2 seasons now, but the strides she’s made as a player have been huge and you truly love to see it. Teal really showed their depth this game, with 8 players scoring and 10 players getting D’s. On coral’s side, Ben had some great deep cuts for scores, Steven had some absolute dimes, and Sam was an amazing cutter all game.
This was definitely a super fun game. Surprise, winning is funner than losing. But I definitely feel like we played more as team, playing to our strengths and building a sense of camaraderie. Even when we got broken, the spirits were never down and we were still having fun, confident we would get the win. This was also a bit of a revenge game for Joe and Billy, as they got swept 3-0 in the series last year against Ben and Bonnie (Rip BumbleDeez), which made this win a little more rewarding. This was Coral’s first game together with their fearless leaders, and it definitely felt like they needed some time to find their rhythm. Even though they’re off to an 0-2 start, I don’t think this is a team that should be taken likely. Definitely a super fun game and we now officially undefeated when Joe brings his speaker!