Florida State gets off to a fast start
Pool A: ECU survived an early scare against GCSU winning 13-12. . The Irates showed athleticism early on, manufacturing layout D’s when needed. Emory’s offensive capability was impressive, as they spread the field when successful and had very well timed cuts. However, it seemed that Juice lacked the defensive consistency to beat GCSU, losing 13-7. ECU took the pool winning 13-7. Note: It was erroneously reported by me that ECU lost to Emory earlier.
Pool B: South Carolina was, and still is my favorite to win this tournament. William and Mary looked amazing against Auburn, taking half 7-0, and winning 13-3. Auburn had played USC close giving the impression that the final match up would be a barn burner. USC Darkhorse jumped out to an early lead, 10-3, by poaching the throwing lanes. This disrupted the offense that made William and Mary so potent against Auburn in the previous round. William and Mary gained confidence for Sunday as they brought the score to 12-8 before getting capped. Auburn was missing veterans, and it showed. There was little offensive flow and few play makers to go to. Southern Polytechnic State showed improvement with last year’s team, but still lacked defensive depth and consistency.
Pool C: Alabama and Florida State did everything right to set up a showdown in the final round. Tim “True Grit” Brady help guide the Crimson Tide to the championship round after recovering from a 102 degree fever days before. While the tide were missing 10 players, and down to only 12, they looked capable of scoring and getting D’s. FSU used their depth to keep the intensity up. DUF rode the emotional roller coaster to a narrow 15-14 victory over the Tide, giving them the well deserved first round bye on Sunday.
Pool D: Georgia Southern was the 5th seed in the pool, theoretically giving Clemson the hardest match-up for a one seed. Clemson had trouble out of the gate, struggling to get offensive flow against College of Charleston. The Joint Chief’s defense kept them in the game and allowed them to cruise to victory. Georgia Southern lost an inconsequential game in the standings to Clemson Alumni 13-11 after leading 9-3. However, it seemed that the took a toll on Southern, as Clemson broke away with tough defense after half, winning the pool 13-8. Davidson showed that they were not ready to compete at the high level. They were unable to complete dump passes consistently and showed lack of fundamentals.
Weather and Fields: It was a chilly day, with temperatures creeping into the 40’s. When the sun was shining, it was tolerable. The fields were in decent shape with good groupings for spectator(s) to shift between games.
Savage: Savage was at the fields selling jerseys from the year before and screen printing the current year’s design on any color. They looked particularly good in light blue and gold. I went with the gold and will be posting a picture when I get the chance.
Uniwatch: From here on out I’ll be posting interesting Jersey’s I find. Look for it in the coming week.
Team Analysis: I will be posting more thorough team analysis in the coming week, leaving the weekend for summaries.
Game of The Day: From here on out, every day I attend a tournament I will attempt to identify a game of the day and go into detail. It would be great if other players/coaches/spectators would send in their own games of the day. The game of the day of Alabama vs. Florida State can be found below.
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