T-Town Throwdown: 2012 Recap – Quarterfinals

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Central Florida vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga

Central Florida started the first game of their day in solid form jumping to an early 3-0 as Matt Reedy hit Brawley Adams with a high release backhand. UTC was able to stop the bleeding, finally getting on the scoreboard with Player Pierce bringing down the huck for the score. It was clear that Chattanooga was mentally affected by the physical play of the Dogs of War, as Pierce showed his defender the disc after making the 3-1 grab. After another hold from UTC, with Chris Mullnix sending it deep to Charlie Coffey, Chattanooga created a chance after eating up a floaty swing attempt. Coffey quickly hit Garret Rigsby on the break-side to get one of the breaks back, 4-3 UCF.

UCF’s offensive line was hard to stop all weekend long, but UTC was able to force another throwaway. However, the pressure of the big game seemed to affect the patient style of offense for Chattanooga as Pierce gave it back on a speedy but low hammer attempt. The tall Misha Freystatter took advantage of the second shot, working a give-and-go with captain Quint Wharton for the 5-3 hold. At this point, the intensity of the Central Florida defensive line began to ramp up, as tighter defense resulted in Terry Murphy stalling out his mark and then hitting Mike Hickson for the break. The Dogs of War broke two more times before half, with Quint Wharton working the dump swing to Garrett Pelton and Mike Ogren hammering to Hickson. The size, physicality and mental toughness of Central Florida proved to be too much to handle for UTC, who couldn’t seem to get a handle on Freystatter and the powerful UCF offensive line. Sticking to their mantra of “Defense Wins Games” the Dogs broke four more times to bring this quarterfinals match to a quick end.

Final Score: Central Florida Dogs of War 15 – Tennessee-Chattanooga 7

Ball State vs. Vanderbilt

Just next door to UCF vs. UTC was the battle between the Wizardz and Brickhouse. With Vanderbilt pulling first, both teams traded until Amir Aschner hit Sam Linton for 5-4 and the first break of the game. Ball State shot right back as Luke Broderick led Dana Granholm to space proving an easy opportunity for an assist to Travis Carpenter. After a Brickhouse hold, Will “Bama” Drumright sent another Ball State deep shot, Andrew Chow went up and got a piece, but Granholm was able to layout and tie the game up at 6s.

On the next possession, a Vanderbilt handler found himself in a high stall situation and pivoted into his mark, drawing the foul that made this heated game rise in temperature. The young mark was outwardly frustrated with the handler’s intentional step into his body on stall nine. Graholm, one of the Ball State captains maintained a cool head and helped to calm this issue down, explaining to the mark why the foul should be uncontested and that he should take a step back on high stall counts. Though this point ended in an uneventful Vanderbilt hold, this big time move by Granholm was one that I believe deserved a shout-out, as he showed a lot of class in this fiery quarterfinals matchup.

Despite tempers being at an all-time high, Ball State maintained composure, shredding Vanderbilt’s zone which had worked so well on the previous day. Hans Rasmussen was able to find space in the poachy look, getting the disc with time to look deep for Granholm and the 7-7 hold. Brickhouse took half, as Linton hit Joe Wagner with an inside-out break flick past a big bid by Carpenter. The club experience of Vanderbilt proved to be too much for Ball State’s squad that still needs to develop their youngsters. Brickhouse also had the advantage of a coach, providing an outside perspective on what defensive looks were effective and how the offense needed to adjust to get things done.

Final Score: Vanderbilt Brickhouse 15 – Ball State Wizardz 12

Harding vs. Oklahoma State

Unfortunately, I did not catch a large portion of this game, as I went to watch Ohio State vs. Tennessee. However, it seemed like the zone that Oklahoma State employed the day before was not as effective on the wind-less Sunday. Harding’s hucks and spread out offense was clicking, and OSU’s game that relied on their stars could not keep up. As a side note, Apocalypse had a mental toughness that could not be matched by any other team in attendance. No matter how large the deficit, Harding always seemed to have enough energy and heart to mount a second effort comeback.

Final Score: Harding Apocalypse 15 – Oklahoma State 11

Ohio State vs. Tennessee

The game to watch this round was certainly Ohio State Leadbelly vs. Tennessee Agent Orange. Arriving at the sidelines just after half, Ohio State was up 8-6 and on offense. With the UT pull going out of bounds, Leadbelly took the time to set up a play. Off the ground tap, Joshua “Dennis Quaid” Owens streaked deep and center handler Zach Kaufman put it out to space. Owens caught the disc just outside of the endzone, and continued to Luke Wilken for the 9-6 hold. Ohio State’s dominance was based on their strength training, overall conditioning and their roster depth. With the ability to throw out two separate defensive lines, Leadbelly was able to keep up constant pressure on their opposition’s offensive line. Amifred Williams was able to exhibit this, getting a run-through D on an inside break attempt. Striking quickly, Michael “Tang” Meilstrup threw an outside-in flick strike to Willaism for the double-happiness break.

Agent Orange ran a very consistent vertical stack, moving through the consistent Mark Allmon. At 10-6, Allmon ran the UT dump-swing all the way up the field, finally finding fellow handler Richey Ward upline who threw the assist for the Vols hold. After a Zach Kaufman and Matt Zenz fail to connect, Tennessee’s defensive offense fails to get a break back on Leadbelly, sending a huck too far. Kaufman connects on his second try, this time finding Alex Kaja deep, bringing the game to 11-7. After their early hiccups, Agent Orange’s O began to click, showcasing that they too could work the deep shot, as Allmon found Jordan Eddy for the quick 11-8 hold. Next, Leadbelly’s Joe Baker made an uncommon mistake, throwing it away and giving Tennessee’s defensive line a chance at redemption which they did not waste. Playing loose and scoring in flashy fashion, Matt Harbaugh hammered to Trey Williams for the 11-9 break.

Ohio State’s offense was unfazed by the break, running their set play off the brick again, this time with Kaufman hucking to a skying Kevin Baumann. Needing to hold, Ward and Allmon ran a very patient stack offense, working it up the field until a bobbled up-line cut gave OSU the chance to put the nails in the coffin. Meilstrup took his shot deep to the Kyle Ratajczak, but the disc had too much zip for the young receiver. Back on offense, Allmon made up for his drop, hitting Matt Twilley upline for the 12-10 score. On the ensuing point, Tennessee’s defensive line followed suit, wasting their chance at breaking and bringing the game within one. After Agent Orange’s first throw turn, Kaja shot deep to Wilken, who made the big grab on a couple of UT defenders. Remaining patient on the goal-line, Wilken found Zenz for the important 13-10 hold.

Late in the game, it became the Mark Allmon show for UT, whose size provided for an advantage to throw inside breaks from various release points. Being left handed gave Allmon an additional advantage, as most marks are not used to respecting looks that would seem far less threatening with a righty handler. Allmon had no problem consistently moving the Tennessee vertical stack, getting open in the backfield or up-line. With him in the center spot, Agent Orange stayed calm until Ward found Twilley for the 13-11 hold. Attempting to step up their defensive intensity, UT’s defensive line began to pressure every single throw. However, despite big bids from large defenders, Leadbelly was able to hold, with Wilken hitting Zenz again, this time on the break-side. Allmon again found himself hitting the stat sheet, this time on the receiving end from Harrison Hayes, 14-12.

UT seemed to have the ability to play teams like Leadbelly relatively tight, but a loss to Auburn in pool play showed that Agent Orange could not assert their dominance on squads of lesser talent. Their heavy club experience contributing to a certain sense of swagger could attribute to the Vols looking past teams as must-win games became must-not-lose games.

Final Score: Ohio State Leadbelly 15 – Tennessee Agent Orange 12