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Dark Knights surprise competition to win intramural flag football title

  • Published
  • By Sam Miller
  • Intramural sports director
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The 334th Training Squadron Gators came into the intramural flag football championship game confident that they would replicate their success from last season, but the 338th TRS-C Dark Knights charged to victory, 20-13, Nov. 17.

The Gators had good reason to be confident -- this was their third trip since 2009 to the big game and they were looking for back-to-back championships. The team comprised of mostly permanent-party members found much success in consistently having the same team return season after season. The 334th TRS finished the regular season near the top of their division at 7-3, just behind the undefeated 81st Medical Group.

With a two-game winning streak to end the regular season, the Gators had no problem taking care of business in the first three rounds of the single-elimination postseason tournament. The 334th TRS defeated the combined 345th Airlift Squadron-81st Dental Squadron team 26-7; 81st Logistics Readiness Squadron, 19-0; and 81st Security Forces Squadron, 20-7, to bring them to a matchup with the American Football Conference champions, the 81st MDG.

After suffering a 25-6 loss at the hands of the Dragon Medics during the regular season, the Gators returned the favor by crushing the 81st Dragon Medics, 20-7, in a quarter-final matchup to determine who would represent the conference in the title contest.

The National Football Conference sent an unlikely candidate to the championship game. The 338th TRS-C team finished the regular season at 6-4 and finished fifth in their division during the regular season. The Dark Knights C-team came into the postseason with a big victory over the Marine Corps Detachment, 40-14, and were also confident they could make a strong run for the postseason title.

With narrow victories in the first two rounds against the 81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron, 21-14, and the Dark Knights B-team, 20-14, a rematch of the final regular season game versus MARDET would determine the NFC representative. The Dark Knights secured their place in the title game with a 19-13 victory over MARDET.

The 334th Gators were the clear favorite to win the overall championship -- they'd been there before and their strong postseason play had them poised to win the championship trophy. But the 338th TRS-C Dark Knights had other ideas -- they weren't playing for second place as everyone else believed.

The Dark Knights scored on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead over the Gators. The Gators first possession was stalled by an interception which was capped off by a touchdown and a converted point-after attempt. The Dark Knights jumped out to 14-0 lead and were clearly not intimidated by the defending champs. A 50-yard pass followed by a two-yard score and extra point finally put the Gators on the board, but they still trailed 14-7 at halftime.

The Gators scored on the opening drive of the second half to cut the lead to 14-13 after a failed extra point. The next possession by the Dark Knights can be described by two words -- clock management. The 338th TRS-C, content with their one-point lead, began to consume large amounts of time by throwing short passes along with short runs, keeping the down and distance to a minimum. Finally the Dark Knights aimed for the end zone and completed a touchdown pass to take a 20-13 lead after the failed extra point.

The Gators get the ball with minimal time left in the game and looked to tie or win with the last possession of the game in hand. The Gators relied on the deep ball all season and it was no surprise a long pass put them on the 25-yard line in a great position to score. On first down, the 334th TRS looked to have completed a pass in the end zone, but the ball was dropped and their last three tries are unsuccessful.

The Gators turned the ball over on downs and gave the Dark Knights the intramural flag football crown.
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