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Spring football update

  • Published
  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Reserve Red beat the 552nd ACNS on the last play of overtime in base flag football Tuesday night. Reserve White handed the Gym Rats their first loss of the spring season, 19-13, and Reserve Gold defeated the Navy's Iron Men, 28-6, to record the Airmen's first victory.

In addition, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing 1 slipped past the 72nd Medical Group, 32-27, handing the Medics their first loss of the season.

Red and ACNS were tied, 19-19, at the end of regulation, so the game went into overtime. Each team was allowed four plays to score. ACNS, which had the ball first, was stopped at the 1-yard line on its final play. Reserve Red scored on its fourth play to win, 25-19.

Reserve Red, SCW1, the Gym Rats and the Med Group are all 2-1. ACNS and the Iron Men both are 0-3. Reserve Gold is 1-2. Reserve White, which went undefeated last fall to win the base league championship, is 3-0.

The Gym Rats, on their first possession, advanced 36 yards until quarterback Chris Garza was sacked by White's Adam Hawkins at the Rats' 35-yard line and the Rats were forced to "punt."

(Flag football this spring is being played in the outfield of a Tinker softball field because the football field is in poor condition. Because the outfield has no goal posts, and the "gridiron" is only 80 yards long, whenever a team opts to punt on fourth down the ball is simply placed on the opposing team's 5-yard line. In addition, on conversion attempts, a completed pass counts for 1 and scoring via run counts 2.)

On their first possession, the Airmen marched downfield to the Rats' 10, where Taylor Lamar intercepted a pass from White QB Brian Van Curen.

Garza passes to Elbert Craig, James Callins and Lamar put the Rats at the White 25, where Garza launched a touchdown pass to Michael Rankin (a Sailor who, despite a shoulder injury sustained in a game earlier in the evening, volunteered to suit up for the shorthanded Rats after several of their teammates were no-shows.) The conversion attempt failed because of an errant hike from center. Nevertheless, the Gym Rats led, 6-0.

Subsequently, Reserve White and the Gym Rats exchanged punts until the half.

On the first play of the second half, Hawkins bobbled a pass from Van Curen, Lamar snatched it in mid-air and dashed into the end zone for a TD. Brandon Newhouse caught a Garza pass for the 1-point conversion, raising the score to 13-0.

Van Curen aerials to Ken Sarsycki, Jim Gasaway, Mike Templeman and Chris Jackson put White at the Rats' 10. Templeman gained eight on a reverse handoff, and Hawkins scored on a pass. Hawkins snared another pass for the extra point, making the tally 13-7.

Early in the fourth quarter the Gym Rats bogged down and punted.

Starting from his 5, Van Curen scrambled for 56 yards to the Rats' 19 and added one more on a keeper. A pitchout to Templeman was good for 15 yards, and Van Curen zipped into the end zone for the TD, tying the score at 13. His PAT pass to Hawkins was overthrown.

Garza passes to Rankin and Newhouse gained 16, but Hawkins picked off the next one and was stopped at the Rats' 23. A Van Curen pass to Hawkins advanced White 12 yards, to the Rats' 11, and Van Curen ran it in for his second touchdown of the game. His PAT pass was broken up by Callins, but Reserve White led, 19-13.

With the clock winding down, the Gym Rats had four plays to score.

A couple of passes to Newhouse picked up 25 yards, but on the third play Garza was sacked by Sarsycki after a high snap from center, and Templeman stopped Lamar well short of the goal line as time ran out.

Reserve Gold, on their first possession, proceeded downfield on passes from Ralph Hawkins to Randy Schell and Joe Huizar, and Hawkins hit Brett Nims on a crossing pattern for the touchdown. Mike Rosenthal caught the PAT pass, and Gold led, 7-0.

Iron Men field general Michael Rankin advanced the Sailors to the Airmen's 10 on a mix of quarterback keepers and passes to Shayne Hughes and Roston Mead. Rankin earned six yards on a scramble, then scored on a keeper. Huizar sacked Rankin on the extra-point attempt, making the score 7-6.

Hawkins passes to Rosenthal, Nims, Huizar and Tom Carter, coupled with a penalty against the Sailors, put Gold at the 6-yard line. Nims scored on a pass, and Huizar caught the PAT pass, raising Gold's lead to 14-6.

Rankin gained 50 yards on two keepers, completed a pass to Brandon Ward, and scrambled to the Gold 2-yard line, where he was stopped by Carter. The Sailors picked up only one more yard, and on fourth-and-goal a Rankin pass was broken up by Rosenthal.

On Gold's next possession, Rosenthal sprinted 52 yards on a pass from Schell that put the Airmen on the Navy's 23. Schell then threw a scoring strike to Carter, but his extra-point pass to Huizar was broken up by Hughes. Even so, Gold led, 20-6.

Soon after, a Rankin pass to Garrett Fedder was intercepted by Rosenthal at the Iron Men's 39. Schell lateraled to Hawkins, who lofted a TD strike to Nims, and on the conversion Carter took a lateral from Schell and ran it in for 2 points, raising the score to 28-6.

As time ebbed, Rankin tossed passes to Hughes, Fedder and to Matt Villalobos, but Schell sacked Rankin at the Sailors's 39, and time expired after the Iron Men reached the Gold 15.