FORT RUCKER, Ala. (December 6, 2012) -- Competition was heated as the D Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment Bama Bombers met A Co., 1st Bn., 145th Avn. Regt. on the football field to play out two games to decide which team would take the title as 2012 Fort Rucker intramural football champions.
A Co., came out on top, beating the undefeated Bama Bombers two games in a row during the final of the double-elimination tournament to be crowned post champions.
"Honestly, the win was kind of unexpected," said Capt. Julius Myers, A Co., 1st Bn., 145th Avn. Regt. quarterback. "These guys beat us in all the games during the regular season and the games have always been really close -- literally coming down to the last play. It was nice to come out here and finish the job when it counts."
Capt. Walter Thomas, team captain for A Co., 1st Bn., 145th Avn. Regt., agreed and said the younger Bama Bombers had him worried when the final went into a second game.
"I thought the young guns were going to beat us because we had to play two back-to-back games," he said. "I thought they were going to outrun us, but we kept our composure and played a great game."
The final started as the undefeated Bama Bombers received the opening kick and pushed downfield for a short return. Their offense started strong, managing to push past their opponents to get first down after first down.
A Co. wouldn't be shown up, however, as their defense got into the game and kept D Co. from their end zone and forced a turnover.
As A Co. took possession, they managed a 20-yard play downfield and their offense continued to push past their opponent's defense to get them to the Bama Bombers' 20-yard line.
D Co. were able to take A Co. to a fourth down, but a penalty against the Bama Bombers awarded their opponents a first down, which allowed A Co. to complete a 20-yard pass and score the first touchdown of the game.
The Bama Bombers took possession and pushed aggressively downfield on the return, but weren't able to push too far past A Co.'s strong defense, which kept D Co. at bay.
An interception returned possession to A Co., giving them the chance to widen their lead on their opponents, an opportunity they took full advantage of as they scored their second touchdown within minutes of gaining possession.
The pressure was now on the Bama Bombers as the first half was winding down, and they seemed to finally find some footing in their offense as they managed to push downfield and get within 15 yards of the goal line.
A Co. managed to take the Bama Bombers to fourth down, but, like earlier in the game, a penalty gave D Co. a first down, which allowed them the opportunity to score their first touchdown of the game with 38 seconds left in the first half.
Not to be outdone, A Co. brought back their aggressive offense, which proved too much for their opponents, and pushed past the Bama Bombers defense to score another touchdown before the end of the half, to lengthen their lead 21-7.
D Co. had their work cut out for them as they went into the second half, but since A Co. received the kick, it was up to their defense to step up its game.
Bama Bombers' defense came back strong and managed to stay on top of their opponents' quarterback, forcing a punt.
As D Co. took possession, they took full advantage of the fact that they were within 45 yards of the opposition's end zone and managed a 30-yard pass to take them to first and goal. They scored their second touchdown shortly after, trailing their opponents 21-14.
A Co. took possession determined to stay ahead of the Bama Bombers, and played more aggressively than before, which led to some careless plays. D Co. managed to pick off a pass and renew their hopes of pulling out a win.
It was still anybody's game as the Bama Bombers found the holes in A Co.'s defense and pushed past their opponents to score another touchdown to tie the game 21-21 with only two minutes remaining.
A Co. took possession as time ran out and managed to push downfield play after play, and with 11 seconds remaining, were able to score a touchdown to win the game 28-21 and push the teams into a second game.
After a short break, the second game started with Bama Bombers receiving the opening kick. They started strong offensively, but an interception changed the pace of the game and gave possession to A Co.
With spirits high from the interception, A Co. pushed hard downfield, but an overconfident pass resulted in another interception, giving possession back to the Bama Bombers.
The teams continued to trade interceptions as neither team made any real advance against the other. Fatigue seemed to set in for both teams and the first half ended with both teams scoreless.
As the second half got under way, both teams were determined to gain momentum as the championship was riding on the outcome of this game.
A Co. took possession and seemed to get their second wind as they pushed past their opponents for first down after first down to get within 10 yards of the goal line. As D Co. tired out, they were unable to stop A Co. from getting past their defense and scoring the first touchdown of the game.
With the pressure on harder than before, the Bama Bombers slowly advanced on their opponents to push the ball to the opposition's end zone, but A Co.'s defense worked hard to keep them from scoring and managed to pick off another pass to retake possession.
D Co.'s defense seemed to falter at every turn as time ran out, and gave way for A Co. to score their second touchdown of the game, bringing the score to 14-0.
As the Bama Bombers took possession, they tried desperately to get past their opponent's defense, but another interception by A Co. with less than two minutes left in the game dashed any hope for D Co. to win the championship.
A Co. held on to the ball until the clock wound down and won 14-0.
Myers said it was good teamwork and planning that led to the team's victory.
"Our linemen did a great job blocking all season, and it was just a good all-around effort by everybody and it worked out," he said. "Usually we play pretty loose and we don't draw out plays or anything, but today we came in with a bit more of a game plan and it paid off."
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