Corey Willie, of F 5-52, spins after getting his flag pulled away by an E 5-52 defender during the game Thursday at Stout Field. Photo by Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery.
Punishers win post title, earn flag football twofer Thursday
Dustin Perry, Editor
The Punishers, as they now demand to be called, laid total claim to the realm of Fort Bliss intramural flag football Thursday at Stout Field after winning the post championship, their second title in as many weeks.
Also known as E Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery, the Punishers faced off against their brethren from F Battery, holding them to a scoreless first half while tallying three touchdowns of their own. That gaping lead put the Punishers in a comfortable spot, one that resulted in a nearly effortless 34-12 victory at the end of regulation.
Lawrence Wyatt kicked things off for E Btry., catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Dan Pluff early in the first half. On the next possession, F Btry. made it to within yards of the end zone but failed to convert a crucial fourth down that could have tied the score. Taking full advantage of his team’s immediate second possession, William Green caught his first of two passes that led to points on the board for the Punishers.
F Btry. once again had the ball and another chance to shorten the gap, but they couldn’t seem to catch a break and threw a pass that was intercepted by Tommy Foster. With 1:02 remaining in the first half, Foster later caught a 10-yard scoring pass. The Punishers led 21-0.
Zack Moll finally earned points for F Btry. with a touchdown run early in the second half. On the Punishers’ next possession, they began to hear shouts from the other side claiming, “They’re just going to keep running the ball” to take more minutes off the clock. Pluff responded by launching a pass to Green, who quickly nullified those claims with another scoring run.
In a last-ditch effort to gain some sort of ground on the Punishers, F Btry. managed to squeeze out one more touchdown when Corey Willie ran the ball in with less than seven minutes remaining. Wyatt bookended the game by running through a pack of defenders and miraculously coming through them and into the end zone with his flag intact.
“Our (offensive) plays were very effective in the first half,” said Wyatt. “Everybody contributed and everyone was getting open. We just exploited their zone and just started attacking the middle. We just played an outstanding game.”