FORT RUCKER, Ala. (October 10, 2013) -- The 158th Airfield Operations Battalion Guardians went head-to-head with A Company Captains Career Course Triple C during an intramural football game as the season gets into full swing.
The Guardians took on Triple C in a tight game that had spectators on their toes Oct. 8, but the Guardians came out on top-beating Triple C, 12-7.
"Tonight was a good win. We played a solid team and it was a slower pace from what we're used to so we had to change it up a bit," said Sgt. Gerrick Smith, captain of the Guardians. "We're 4-1 now and we're feeling comfortable with our record."
The Guardians started off slow but switched up their strategy to ultimately come out on top.
"We just started running the ball and getting possession on our side of the clock," said Smith. "Our defense is fast and our defense is where we win our games, plus we've got big receivers and good hands."
The game started as Triple C took possession during the kick off for a short return of 10 yards. The Guardian's defense started off playing hard but couldn't stop their opponent's 20-yard pass on their first play for a first down at 158th AOB's 40-yard line.
The Captains Career Course players started off on fire throwing pass after pass to get closer to the goal line and managed to get within 9 yards of the goal for 1st and goal.
The Guardians defense went to work and managed to hold A Co. near the goal line and take them to a 4th down only three yards from the end zone. Triple C decided to go for the touchdown, but the Guardians defense was able to rush the opposing quarterback and forced him to throw the ball away for the turnover.
The Guardians took their first possession at their 3-yard line and were able to push down field, but not very far as their opponents held them back at every turn. Favor wasn't on their side as the 158th AOB threw an interception on their 3rd down to give the ball back to their opponents only 20 yards from the goal line.
Despite the unfortunate pass, the Guardians played to their strength and let their defense go to work to force another turnover.
As hard as they pushed offensively, however, Triple C was there to make sure they didn't make any headway and forced a punt on the Guardian's 20-yard line.
Triple C received and managed a 30-yard return and with only five minutes remaining in the half, both teams seemed evenly matched, as neither was able to get on the scoreboard.
A Co. seemed to have the superior offense with their passing during the first half, but they were still unable to get past their opponent's defense, and with two minutes remaining in the half, time was running out.
The Guardians managed to force a turnover at their 40-yard line and started to push downfield and managed to get past the 50-yard line for the first time in the game. A quarterback sack set them back briefly, but they came back with a 40-yard bomb with just 20 seconds left in the half for the first touchdown of the game.
Triple C had only seconds to try to even the score, but couldn't manage to get past the 158th AOB and the half ended, 6-0.
The Guardians had the advantage going into the second half as they took possession and kept their momentum going, powering past their opponent's defense and pushing toward the opposing goal line only minutes into the half.
With a swift 20-yard pass, the Guardians managed their second touchdown to lengthen their lead, 12-0, and put more pressure on the A Co. team.
As Triple C received, they had their work cut out for them and they slowly managed to make their way downfield but needed to pick up the pace if they were going to get back in the game.
They seemed to do just that as they threw pass after pass to get by their opponents at every turn, and even managed a quarterback sneak to score their first touchdown and extra point to get on the scoreboard.
A Co.'s defense managed to hold the Guardians back long enough to force a turnover with just two minutes remaining in the game, and things were looking up for the captains, but time wasn't on their side.
It seems fate wasn't either as Triple C threw an interception with just two seconds remaining, ending the game 12-7.
"I think we're going to go all the way," said Smith. "I think we'll be seeing Bama Bombers in the championship this year."
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