FORT RUCKER, Ala. (December 5, 2013) -- Back from the Thanksgiving holiday, two Fort Rucker intramural football teams took to the field once again for some friendly competition, but only one would leave victorious.
The D Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment Bama Bombers beat the 1st Battalion, 11th Aviation Regiment Waffles 26-0 during a game at the Fort Rucker Physical Fitness Center football field that ended in a mercy ruling.
"We're just happy we could compete after a long Thanksgiving break," said 1st Lt. Devin Linch, player for the Bama Bombers. "We didn't know if we would be able to pull it together, but we did and I'm really proud of the guys."
The game began as the Bama Bombers won the coin toss and elected to kick. As the Waffles received, they managed a 20-yard return to start the game off on the right foot, followed by a 10-yard pass on their first play to keep the first down and their momentum going early on.
D Company's defense came back strong, however, and were able to take their opponents to a fourth down to try and force a punt, but that didn't deter the 1-11th as they went for the first down, which they managed with ease.
The Waffles kept up their aggressive play style and get close to the goal line, but ultimately threw an interception that the Bama Bombers took full advantage of.
With the ball in hand, D Co. made its way downfield toward the opposing goal line, and as their opponent's defense remained strong, it wasn't strong enough to stop a 50-yard play by the Bama Bomber's for first and goal.
As they came within yards of the potential touchdown, the Waffles defense tightened up and managed to catch an interception and keep their opponents from scoring.
Starting from the opposing 5-yard line, the 1-11th had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to get on the scoreboard, but their opponents had other plans.
The Bama Bomber's defense was able to hold the Waffles back and prevent them from gaining a single yard, forcing a punt.
As the clock was winding down in the first half, D Co. took full advantage of their possession and used their superior passing to get right back on the goal line. They quickly followed up with a running play that sealed their first touchdown and extra point of the game.
With only four minutes remaining in the half, the Waffles had to step up their game if they didn't want to fall too far behind, and managed a 20-yard return from the kickoff. They slowly pushed downfield toward the opposing goal line and reached first and goal with only 36 seconds remaining.
The Bama Bomber's brought their A-game defense back and managed to force their opponents to try for a field goal, which was missed.
With nine seconds left in the half, the Bombers threw an interception that the Waffles managed to run back the full length of the field before the D Co. defense stopped them on the 1-yard line and ended the half, 7-0.
The Bama Bombers had the advantage going into the second half as they were receiving, and after a short return they completed a 20-yard pass to put them on the Waffles' side of the field.
Their superior offense continued to dominate the 1-11th's defense as they pushed toward the goal line as their quarterback managed a run to bring the Bama Bombers within one yard of the goal line.
A short toss later and D Co. had their second touchdown of the game.
The Waffles had plenty of time left in the half to make up some ground and stepped up their offense to slowly push past their opponents, but quickly lost any ground they had gained with their second interception of the game that the Bama Bombers ran the full length of the field for their third touchdown.
D Company tried to make up for their missed extra point with a two-point conversion, but were unsuccessful to lead their opponents 19-0.
With their second possession of the half, the Waffles were determined to get back in the game and seemed to once again catch their stride with complete pass after complete pass, but a penalty held them back and resulted in a loss of down, which the team wasn't able to recover from.
Despite a fourth down, the 1-11th decided to try for the goal but were unsuccessful, and as the Bama Bombers took possession, the Waffles couldn't catch a break with another penalty that resulted in a yardage gain for their opponents.
On the following play, D Co. ran a 50-yard play for their fourth touchdown with just minutes remaining in the game, and the mercy rule took effect, ending the game 26-0.
"We're a small team, and some would call that a crutch, but I call it an upper hand," said Linch. "We just like to have fun out here and that's probably our biggest advantage -- we just like to have a good time. If we're all here we'd like to make a run for the championship, but we'll see how it goes."
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