After a very solid week 2 performance, we were in for our season defining day of games against the heavily favored “Get Shreked” and the only other team even close to matching us in experience, “Puss in Cleats”. Down both of our young ladies, Michelle and Bonnie were in for a tough day, starting with the speed of Naomi and Jo.
We came out on fire against Drew and Co, taking half 6-2 with only a single turnover (miscommunication) in the first half. Surprisingly, our zone gave them fits generating most of the first half turns. Halftime seemed to push the reset button for both teams and it was a much more contested second half. Drew earned his first round pick status, doing whatever he wanted against me offensively and getting a couple of Ds on ill-advised throws. A couple of silly huck throwaways by Michelle on one point, followed by me on the next point had Shreked within one (9-8). I turned to my trusted core of Phil, Ben, and Nic and asked them to finish the game out for us. A few boring scores later, OGres took the win, 11-8.
Highlights: Bonnie and Jo traded deep scores against each other. Our “olds”, KJ and Lyle, played really reliable, typically drawing an Adub poach and finding a way to abuse it. Nic drew the Coley matchup and absolutely crushed it, scoring or assisting on the first four points of the game, getting a pressure D and somehow getting open against the red headed menace. Ben finally completed a huck to Bonnie!
We thought game 2 would be a breeze after going against the athleticism of Shreked. Puss was nearly savage with 5 MMP and 3 FMP against our small army. We came out strong with two breaks and a hold to take a 3-1 lead. Laziness and bad play from our first round pick quickly turned into a 3-5 deficit. After benching the source of our problems and going back to man defense, the “old reliables” got us back in control, taking half 6-5. Lack of legs for Puss let us pull away quickly in the second half, 11-6 OGres.
Highlights: Shea singlehandedly found all the holes in our zone. Great movement from Nan and the ageless Plant had me questioning how the heck we beat the first team of college kids and couldn’t do a thing about these retirement home escapees. Brad used the energy boost he got from an Ohio State loss to dominate this game with 3 scores and 4 assists. Mertz got the phantom leg injury out of the way, so Brad knew he could go all out today! Karl got a bookends after reading an incoming Sam break huck and positioning himself perfectly to poach it out of the air.
We’ve now beaten every team and are bolstering our defenses to stave off the redemption tours coming our way. With no Sarasota Sunset next weekend, our biggest wildcard game is no longer as much of a wildcard. We’re old and feisty and everyone better be ready to get off our swamp!