A journey that began in the early spring finally cultivated into Pike coming together in a thrilling and hard earned victory over Los in the 3rd place game to earn the final bid from the Mid-Atlantic region to the UPA Club Championship in Sarasota Florida.
Coming off a compelling victory over sectionals rival Forge in the swamps of New Jersey, Pike looked to extend their momentum leading into the regional tournament on the battlegrounds in Fredericksburg Virginia.
Seeded 3rd, Pike looked to validate themselves and prove that they belonged in that elite group of teams that would advance to nationals,
Pike started Day 1 against 14th ranked Wilmington. Pike was slow out of the gate but as the game progressed, Pike proved to be the better team as they capitalized off the mistakes of Wilmington and put them away relatively easily 15-8.
In what would be the first of 3 epic match ups with regional rival Los, Pike looked to avenge an embarrassing loss to them in the 2008 regional tournament and prove that they were the better team. Pike jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a quick break. Los responded quickly and began to get their D-Line going. The Los defense suffocated the Pike offense taking them out of their comfort zone forcing the Pike O-Line to make bad decisions with the disc. The Pike D-Line battled but had trouble stopping the deep game of Los. Going down 8-5 at half, Pike came out fired up as the offense began to gel. Tom Carroll and C.J. Kozarski were important cogs in the Pike offensive machine and played exceptionally well making big plays all game. With the score 13-11, the Pike D-Line forced multiple turns on a marathon point that took everything both teams had. In the end, Los grinded out the point to avoid the break and eventually went on to win 15-11.
Letdown and disappointed, Pike moved on to their next game knowing that they must win out the rest of the day to stay alive and gear up for the eventual challenges that they would face on Day 2.
Pike staggered into their next game against inner city rival Philly Love. Pike came out flat in the game with a severe lack of energy, clearly suffering from a post Los hangover playing down to Love with lackadaisical offense and lazy defense. Pike pulled it together with a second half run pulling away in a capped game 14-9.
In the final game on Saturday, Pike would face a familiar foe from Baltimore. Medicine Men came out hungry and took it to Pike with a couple nice hucks and surprisingly patient and effective offense. In a repeat of the Philly Love game, Pike played down to their opponent and struggled mightily barely taking half 8-7. Pike bore down in the second half and grinded out the necessary points to beat Medicine Men 15-10 and advance to Sunday. Pike regrouped after Saturday knowing that bigger challenges and a potential bid to nationals awaited them on Sunday.
Pike arrived at the fields on Sunday geared up to play X-Rates, a team they went winless against in 2008, and move one step closer to a trip to Florida. Pike got the bad news that D-Line veteran Raph Vangelista would be unable to play Sunday with a foot injury but reinforcements arrived in the form of O-Line cutter, Nick Malinowski.
After a lackluster warm-up, Pike tripped out of the gate and stumbled to a 5-2 deficit. The O-Line had trouble moving the disc while the D-Line could not get a D let alone a break. After a D-Line punched a goal in receiving the disc, the Pike D began to get their 1-3-3-zone going. Veteran leadership and grit from D-Liners Tous Careathers, Jon Fink, Tim Johnson, Ellis Kim and J Dono swarmed and overwhelmed X-Rates while young and up and coming rookies like Shaun Krieger and Jason Kunsa converted D’s into scores. Pike closed the half on a 6-1 run and looked to ride their wave of momentum. Pike came out of the half fired up as the offense worked off the energy from the D-Line and began to wear down the X-Rates defense. Handlers Ian McClellan, Alex Kinsey and Dusty Rhodes began to connect frequently with downfield cutters Art Shull and Kozarski who were making huge grabs in the end zone. The D-Line also continued to get D’s from their swarming zone and collected a couple more breaks in the second half to finally put away X-Rates 15-9.
In what was easily the best game of the weekend so far, Pike geared up for a rematch against Los for a chance to get revenge and advance to play the loser of the Ring vs. Truck final.
While the offense was less than stellar, it was the defense that let Pike down in the rematch. With a mediocre at best effort, Pike could not respond to relentless pressure from Los and a constant huck game that had Pike D players chasing discs over their head. Without a single break, Pike broke down and looked overwhelmed by a Los team that wanted it more and played like a team ready to make dents at Nationals.
After watching Truck take out Ring on universe point to win the region, Pike had to pick their heads up quickly to keep their season alive and hope to salvage their goal of making Nationals with a rematch against X-Rates.
The O-Line put Pike on their shoulders and carried the team to a tight but convincing win over X-Rates 15-11. A scary moment occurred in the second half when defensive stud Leon Chou was hit in the head on a collision going for the disc. His constant pressure on handlers and speed on the D-Line would be tough for Pike to replace.
Pike moved on to face Los again for the third and final time with everything on the line. One game left, winner takes all in a battle for the third and final bid to the UPA Club Championship. Pike had already lost twice to Los but seemed ready to respond to the pressure of the game to go and to counter a Los game plan that had already beaten Pike twice.
The Pike offense stalled the first point and gave Los early momentum and a quick 1-0 lead. Knowing that they had to play better, the offense clicked with movement by the handlers and huge plays from the cutters. Justin Illuzi was getting open under all game while the big three of Shull, Malinowski and Kozarski were finishing off points with big plays downfield. On the D-Line, the intensity and fire that carried Pike all year was showing again. Defensive guru Jeff George called for the D-Line to force middle the entire game to take away the huck game of Los. Pike got an early break to put the game back on serve and with the score 6-5, Pike grinded out the point after Dave Baer connected for another assist to take a 7-5 lead.
To advance to Nationals, it would take Pike everything they had. Overcoming adversity and observers who knew nothing of the sport, Pike took half 8-7 with inspired and tenacious play.
The second half saw Los break the Pike O-line to take a 9-8 lead. With the score tied at 9, the Pike D-Line would stage a miraculous run for the ages that would propel them to the cusp of a Nationals birth. D-Line handlers like Ross Littauer, Nick Ongpauco, Aman Nalavade and Alex Grin kept the pressure on the Los handlers with the force middle allowing downfield defenders to make plays and cause turnovers. After a break to take a 10-9 lead, Krieger made possibly the play of the season with a Callahan to give Pike an 11-9 lead and completely took the wind out of Los. Pike would run off 3 more breaks in a row for a 14-9 lead. After a brief hiccup by the O-Line, the score was 14-11 when McClellan unleashed a ridiculous full field backhand that curved ever so beautifully down the home sideline into a sliding J Dono giving Pike an improbable and exhilarating victory over Los sending Pike to Nationals.
Pike has gone through many ups and downs throughout the season, very evident by their play in this tournament. While Pike may be considered a streaky team, the talent on the team is undeniable and a team first motto is the essence of a Pike team that always plays with heart and emotion. Pike came together when it mattered most, with everything on the line and answered the call while silencing the doubters. Pike fought for everything this weekend and every teammate picked each other up when it seemed that the season was spiraling downward.
With 16 newcomers to the Club Nationals scene and a group of savvy Veterans, Pike will be an exciting team to follow in Sarasota and the future bodes will for a team that will continue to get better as the youth of this team continues to thrive.
No comments:
Post a Comment