Armament Directorate takes 2nd straight flag football title

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Armament Directorate outlasted Security Forces Squadron in the flag football championship match Dec. 11 here to win the title in an overtime thriller, 25-24.  The narrow victory marked the second consecutive championship win for EB.

EB, wearing red jerseys, stuck to their running game, while SFS, in blue jerseys, threw the ball more.  They were both solid on defense.  However, neither team converted any of three extra point opportunities each.  Also, neither team took advantage to score off interceptions in the second half.   

SFS' Marcus Brown intercepted EB quarterback, Savier Stephens', first pass of the first half and was stopped at the one-yard line.  SFS quarterback, Nicholas Ott, then ran the ball in on the first play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead. 

SFS scored again on their second possession, finishing a five-play drive at 5:13, with a one-yard shovel pass from Ott to Zerrick Haymond to widen the lead, 12-0. 

EB finally got on the scoreboard at the 3:25 mark, when Stevens connected on a touchdown pass to Steve Jones, narrowing the gap to 12-6.

SFS bumped their lead to 18-6 with 54 seconds left in the half, when Ott's 23-yard pass tipped off two EB defenders' hands before being caught by Rodney Dowell for the touchdown.

"We're playing good, but we can do better," Dowell, the team captain, said at halftime.  "We're going back into the game with the mindset that the score is 0-0.  We're going to keep applying the pressure and win this game."

EB was determined to come back from the 12-point deficit.

"We've got a short-term memory," said Dante Donahoo, team captain.  "We'll do what we've been doing all season - go back to the basics and play good ball."

EB mounted their second half comeback by sticking to their ground game.

First, they shortened SFS's lead to 18-12 by completing a five-play drive with a 10-yard pitch from Stevens to Jones, two minutes into the half.

Then, with 38 seconds to go in regulation, Stevens scored on a 12-yard run to tie the game at 18-all.  A blocked extra point pass attempt set up the overtime contest.

In overtime, both teams had a four-down possession, on the 10-yard line.

Each team had the opportunity to score and convert the extra point.  A team had to score and convert to put themselves in a winning position.

If both teams scored and converted on the first possession, they would go into another overtime.

The winner would be named when one team scored and converted and the other team did not do both.

SFS won the coin toss and elected to have the ball first.  They scored in four plays on a pass play, but they did not convert the extra point.  SFS took the lead, 24-18.

EB then took possession and scored in three plays on a four-yard Stevens run.

Finally, Stevens successfully converted the extra point on his last run, which gave EB the victory, 25-24.

"We just preserved, executed and stay focused," Donahoo said.  "We don't throw very much; we rely on speed and athletic ability.  It was a great team win and we're happy to take home the championship title for the second straight year."