Regular flag football season ends; White goes undefeated Published Dec. 1, 2011 By Mike W. Ray Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Reserve White closed out the regular season of Tinker AFB flag football as the sole undefeated team heading into the league playoffs. Reserve White raised its record to 7-0 Tuesday night by whipping the 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron, 28-12. Nevertheless, the Cougars were a stalwart opponent. Although MOS quarterback Justin Gates was intercepted four times, he threw two TD passes against a White team that surrendered only nine points in their six previous games, and he deftly evaded the grasp of a host of defenders throughout the game. White struck on its first possession, when quarterback Jeff Inferrere tossed a pass to Brian VanCuren, who weaved his way into the end zone. Todd Bayles kicked the extra point, giving White the lead, 7-0. White's defense then held, forcing MOS to punt. The Cougars countered in equal measure, forcing White to punt. Although harried repeatedly by White defenders, MOS QB Gates hit Weston Jones for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion attempt failed when Gates's pass was deflected. On White's next possession, Inferrere passed to Jim Sherman, who pitched back to Chris Webb, who scampered into the end zone. Bayles booted the PAT, raising the score to 14-6. After the kickoff, Webb intercepted a Gates pass and pitched out to VanCuren, who scored again for White. Bayles's kick made it 21-6. White intercepted MOS once again to end the first half. The third quarter had just started when White's Justin Sneed intercepted MOS's Gates and dashed for the goal line, but was stopped on the 5-yard line. Inferrere passed to Brandon Thompson for the TD, and Bayles tacked on the PAT. The Cougars marched back down the field and Gates threw his second scoring strike to Josh Martin, making the score 28-12. The conversion attempt failed when White's Mike Rosenthal intercepted Gates's pass. Each squad held the other scoreless throughout the fourth quarter. The game ended when Reserve White deflected a pass from Airman 1st Class Gates, who played high-school football in Sacramento, Calif. MOS ended the regular season 5-2 and in a three-way tie with Reserve Gold and SCW-1 for second place in the Tuesday night division. Neither the brisk fall temperature nor the score chilled the enthusiasm of at least two MOS fans. Senior Airman Keaton Jones paced the sidelines, pleading with his teammates for more playing time. Meanwhile, throughout the hour-long contest, Alycia Carter patiently sat huddled on the sideline while her significant other, Airman 1st Class Dominique Graveley, competed for the Cougars. In other games Tuesday night, VQ-7 was clobbered 39-6 by Reserve Red, and SCW-1 defeated OC-ALC, 20-12. Reserve Gold won by a forfeit because OGI/OSS was a no-show. The VQ-3 Iron Men and the 72nd Medical Group raised their flag football records to 5-1 Monday night, and the 552nd ACNS won by scoring on offense and defense. The MDG trounced the AMXS, 36-6, while the Iron Men, for the second time in 15 days, won by forfeit; this time it was the 963rd AACS who were no-shows. And once again, rather than waste the hour, the sailors held an intra-squad scrimmage. The other game Monday night was a close contest in which ACNS edged MXS Prestige, 9-6. ACNS scored on a 2-point safety when MXS flubbed a hike in the end zone; on a TD pass from quarterback Chris McCoy to Briant Roby, and on a PAT kicked by Airman 1st Class Roby, ACNS Sports Adviser Christopher McQueen related. Ironically, both teams ended the duel with identical 2-3 records. Sixteen teams will comprise two 8-team brackets for the double-elimination playoffs, according to Lt. Col. Ralph Hawkins, co-commissioner of the Tinker Air Force Base flag football league. The winners from each bracket will meet for a one-game, winner-take-all title game, he said. Playoff games scheduled Thursday night, Dec. 1, were Reserve Gold vs. ACNS, SCW-1 vs. Reserve Red, and MOS vs. OC-ALC. Reserve White was declared the winner over VQ-7 by forfeit. Games slated Monday night, Dec. 5, include 72 MDG vs. MXS Prestige, Gym Rats vs. VQ-4, VQ-3 Iron Men vs. 33 CBCS, and 72 SFS vs. AMXS.