FSS claims flag football title, 26-14

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Foster
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  51st Force Support Squadron won the 2010 intramural flag football championship here, defeating 51st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 26-14, Dec. 6.
 
Speedsters on both sides of the ball burned up the cold field during a game which displayed long scoring runs and passes for both teams.

In the first half AMXS used a mix of running and timely short passes to eat up the field and the clock, with quarterback Alfredo Catolico connecting with receiver Alton Easton to keep the drive going.

Catolico would strike first for AMXS with a score and the subsequent two-point conversion to put AMXS up 8-0 on their first drive.

It appeared as if AMXS would run away with the game as they held FSS to a "three and out" on their first offensive possession. However, FSS came up with a stop of their own after an AMXS touchdown was called back due to a penalty.

Flags continued to plague AMXS on the next drive, as they were called for consecutive encroachment penalties, giving FSS a short field to work with. FSS quarterback Jamaal Avington hit running back D'Andrea McGee on a short touchdown pass, ending the half with a score of 8-6.

The second half would see long plays on both sides of the ball as FSS struck first with a long touchdown pass. Avington found Corey Banks who made a tough catch on a jump ball for the go-ahead score, 14-8.

AMXS would answer with a big play of their own. After a long kickoff return, Catolico fired a rocket to David Bridges who took it in for what would be the final AMXS score, tying the game at 14-14.

The clock began to tick away as FSS chewed up time and yardage on the ground. Avington ran the option, and kept the ball on a QB sneak for their second go-ahead score, 20-14.

With five minutes left in the game, AMXS needed to drive the length of the field but couldn't convert a first down as FSS clamped down on defense.

With a short field, FSS needed only a couple plays to gain an insurance score. McGee took the option pitch, narrowly escaped a flag pull in the backfield and raced down the sideline for the final score, 26-14.

"I thought they had me for a minute," McGee said. "But I just kept running because I didn't hear a whistle."

After the game, both teams congratulated each other on a hard-fought game and the great season accomplished on both sides.

Catolico said he was proud of how the AMXS team overcame scheduling conflicts but kept trudging along all season.

"We started off well, and sometimes you can make practice and sometimes you can't," he said. "But you go with what you've got and we made the championship game, it was a great season."

Shedric Everett, FSS coach, gave credit to AMXS for such a hard-fought game.

"It was a war, for sure," he said. "But we fought hard for 40 minutes and never let up."