Mark Miller (22), F Battery, 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, deflects a pass intended for William Green, E Btry., 5th Bn., 52nd ADA, Thursday at Finney Field during the 11th ADA league flag football championship. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Flag football championship
‘Punishers’ take 11th ADA Bde. league trophy
Dustin Perry, Editor
A team that insists on being called the Punishers won the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade league flag football championship 31-19 after scoring a pair of late touchdowns during a game Thursday at Finney Field.
The Punishers - E Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd ADA - were tied with F Btry., 1st Bn., 43rd ADA, late in the second half when Lamar Green caught an interception near his opponents’ end zone and ran, untouched, all the way back for a touchdown. A few plays later, Kenyadle Hemphill gained possession for the Punishers by catching yet another interception, which allowed teammate Tommy Foster to later score the final points of the game with eight second left.
A league rule allowed for seven additional plays after the end of regulation time, but four unsuccessful long bomb attempts kept F 1-43 from closing the gap.
The “Punishers” of E 5-52 celebrate after winning the 11th ADA league flag football championship against F 1-43 Thursday at Finney Field. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Daniel Pluff was the first to put points on the board for the Punishers after catching a pass and making a scoring run early in the first half. Willis “The Prospect” Williams of F 1-43 answered back with a short pass reception, running through a pack of defenders to the end zone. The remaining points in the first half came from Williams’ teammate Brandon Stover and Tommy Foster of the Punishers.
F 1-43 took the lead briefly at the beginning of the second half with an impressively long touchdown run from Mark Miller. The Punishers quickly tied the score with arguably the best play of the game. The ball was handed to Lawrence Wyatt, who ran a short distance before encountering a slew of defenders. He then tossed a perfectly executed lateral pass to William Green, who ran it the rest of the way.
Lamar said his team was able to catch up to and surpass their opponents after revising their strategy based on how the first half played out.
Mark Miller, F 1-43, runs toward the end zone while trying to outmaneuver E 5-52’s Treasure Tobe during the 11th ADA league championship. Photo by Dustin Perry.
“We adjusted in the second half to what they were doing,” he said. “We got really aggressive and got a few blitzes.”
“It was a pretty exciting game from start to finish, but once we turned the defense on, we had the game on lock,” said Foster.”
The victory put the Punishers in the top seed of the post flag football championship being held this week, and as of press time Wednesday, they have worked their way into the semifinals. The final game will be held 7 p.m. tonight at Stout Field.
“We ain’t gonna relax on nobody,” said Lamar. “You’ve got to remember: If you’re No. 1, you’re also the No. 1 target.”