When students flock back to campus on Sunday, March 23, after two weeks of not working on any of the semester-long projects they really should have been working on, the sweet, sweet scent of a Walla Walla spring will be in the air. As the days get longer, the sun gets hotter, another sure sign of spring will be bursting forth from the fertile Walla Walla soil: the return of intramural sports we can actually play outdoors!
Yes, there will be bowling (admittedly a traditionally indoor endeavor), but IM softball, ultimate frisbee, and (IM newcomer) team tennis will all be getting underway shortly after Spring Break!
Tennis replaces IM volleyball, which is being canceled this year due to renovations in old Wembley Stadium (OK, fine, Sherwood Center). Matches in both Division I and Division II will consist of three doubles matches — one men’s, one women’s, and one mixed — with the winner being the team that wins at least two. Matches will be scheduled mostly for lovely spring evenings and can be played on either the indoor courts at Bratton or the outdoor courts.
IM softball (which consists of a single division) will be played mostly on weekends and occasionally on weekday evenings at the soccer complex, as will frisbee (which has both a Division I and a Division II). Some frisbee games will also be played on Ankeny field.
There will be two separate IM bowling leagues, one on Tuesday night and one on Wednesday. There is no skill distinction between the two; both leagues are expected to be equally bad and equally awesome. Both leagues will compete at Bowl-A-Way lanes.
Check back after Spring Break for regular updates on all your IM action!
Sorry, folks, for the delay on getting the blog up and going this semester, but after one full spring IM sports season (basketball) and one set of very time-consuming (but successfully completed!) graduation exams, this author is raring and ready to go.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in an awesome IM basketball season, and especially to the teams that took home the Blue Shirts: Delta Gamma (24-14 winners over Booze Cruise in the Women’s Division finals), and Scientologists for Jesus (57-51 winners over Run ‘n’ Gun in DI), and Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2 (40-32 winners over 2-West in DII).
After a several week trying-to-graduate-induced hiatus, the IM Sports blog is proud to return and announce that 1) graduation looks likely, and 2) the IM Dodgeball and now-concluded IM Soccer regular seasons have both been great successes.
There are still a few regular season dodgeball matches to be played, so its playoff schedule is not yet set. Soccer, though, crowns its champions this weekend. Here’s the schedule (all games are to be played at the soccer complex):
Saturday, December 8: Semifinals
11 am: JRDP vs. Sigma Chi (Division I)
1 pm: Missionaries vs. Threesome (Division II)
1 pm: E-Section vs. Amanda (Division II)
3 pm: Ho-Down vs. Apex (Division I)
Sunday, December 9
11 am: DI final
1 pm: DII final
Check back next week to find out which teams have earned IM Soccer (and dodgeball) Blue Shirts!
Also look for information on IM Basketball (which begins after Winter Break) coming soon!
As sad as it is, the 2007 IM football season is over. The final football has been flung, the final flag pulled, the final Lauren Guest devastating block delivered, and even the echoes of the final over-the-top intense yelling at refs by Luke Marshall and Mike Rathwell have subsided (mostly). But, for those of you who are missing your competitive fix, there’s an IM Sport (or two) for every season. Now stepping to the plate are are soccer and dodgeball.
Soccer kicked off its first weekend of play last Saturday. With 20 teams in two divisions, it is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best IM Soccer seasons ever! Games are played throughout the ever-diminishing daylight hours at the Whitman soccer complex, on Saturdays and Sundays. The playoffs are set for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9.
IM Dodgeball competition gets underway this weekend, also with two divisions of play. Nearly 20 teams of Whitman’s finest (read: kids who love sports they used to play in elementary school gym class) will be looking to demonstrate the Five D’s -— dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge —- in the Sherwood small gym on Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings for the next few weeks. Games are scheduled in half-hour blocks from 4 to 9 p.m. each of those days, with playoffs set for Sunday and Monday, Dec. 9-10.
By winning Friday’s play-in game over sophomore team F Yeah!, Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch earned the right to square off with the Hungry Hungry Hippos in a Saturday evening semifinal.
First, though, the afternoon match-up of the DGs and defending champs What B? saw some serious drama. After star running back Katrina Barlow severely sprained an ankle in the first half, What B? found itself with the ball on the DGs’ 10-yard line, trailing 14-13 with less than a minute left, facing a do-or-die fifth-down play. Ball carrier Lauren Guest attempted to turn the corner and make her way into the endzone, and although she may have stepped out of bounds, the referees conferred and ruled that she scored. After a failed conversion and several failed desperation plays by the DGs, What B? found itself on top with a 19-13 victory and a return ticket to the finals.
The second semifinal saw much less in the way of drama and excitement, as the Hippos won easily over Touch, 13-0, setting up a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s championship game.
The title game, unfortunately, did not live up to its billing. Grimacing with every cut on the field and while leaning on crutches on the sideline, Barlow was solid but clearly not her usual explosive self. Still, she punctured the Hippos defense for an early score to stake What B? to a 7-0 lead. Then, after a Hippos drive stalled in the red zone, Guest stepped up and scored her third touchdown of the playoffs, slamming in another What B? rushing touchdown. After the conversion failed and another Hippos drive stalled inside the What B? 15, the half ended with What B? up 13-0.
The Hippos offense struggled mightily in the second half, and while its defense held after the two early mishaps, What B?’s lead proved to be insurmountable. A great four-year run for the Hippos ended without a blue shirt, while What B? defended the title it earned last fall with its 13-0 victory.
Women’s Playoff Results:
Semifinals:
Hungry Hungry Hippos 13, Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 0
What B? 19, DG 14
Finals:
What B? 13, Hungry Hungry Hippos 0
Division I’s semifinal games went according to seed. The TKEs routed winless Entropy in the first matchup 27-7, with Jay Davidson hauling in two touchdown passes, and the Sigs, bolstered by quarterback Brice Crayne’s return to the field, downed Old E 13-6 in the other semifinal.
Sunday’s match-up of the frats, with Blue Shirts, bragging rights, and IM Football supremacy on the line, was likely the best DI championship game in this reporter’s four years at Whitman. After both teams went four-and-out on their first drives, both QBs threw interceptions on their second possessions (Indy Zoeller intercepted Crayne’s throw and Bryan Ponti pull down TKE quarterback Chris Tobin-Campblell’s errant pass). The Sigs then capitalized on the turnover as Ponti, who played excellently on both sides of the ball, shredded through the TKE defense for the game’s first touchdown. The conversion gave the Sigs a 7-0 lead, which they took into the half.
After the quarterbacks again traded interceptions, the TKEs second offensive series off the second half nearly tied the game, but a diving Sig defender batted down a fifth-down pass in the end zone. On the ensuing drive, the Sigs seemed to seal the victory when Crayne scrambled his way around the TKE defenders and into the end zone. The conversion failed, leaving the Sigs with a 13-0 lead.
After both teams failed to score on their next series, the TKEs got the ball back on a Sig punt with less than six minutes on the clock. After Davidson’s long pass reception shortened the field for the TKEs, Tobin-Campbell connected on the next play with Davidson, who made a fully extended diving catch in the back of the end zone. The conversion cut the Sig lead to six points.
The TKE defense followed with its biggest stop of the season, giving its offense a chance with just under two minutes remaining in the game. After catching a quick slant, Cole Rathjen capitalized on a missed flag pull and a big block from Davidson, breaking up the left sideline before being stopped near the Sig goal line. A few plays later, Tobin-Campbell just barely managed to get outside the defense, reaching out across the goal line with the ball as he slipped trying to turn the corner. An argument over whether he had slipped or dived ensued, but the call-making referee (yours truly) stood by the decision and the tying touchdown was put on the board. The Sig defense wreaked havoc in the TKE backfield on their conversion attempt, but Tobin-Campbell got off a lob in the vicinity of a double-covered Davidson. The Sig defenders tipped the ball out of his hands, but Rathjen was in front of the crowd and miraculously gathered the deflection out of the air to give the TKEs a 14-13 lead. Five Sig desperation plays and two TKE knees later, the TKEs left the field the only way they ever did this season -- as winners.
Men’s DI Playoff Results:
Semifinals:
TKE 27, Entropy 7
Sigma Chi 13, Old E 6
Finals:
TKE 14, Sigma Chi 13
The end of the Division II regular season saw the league turned topsy-turvy. Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II, seemingly unstoppable during its first five games, ended the regular season on a two-game skid that saw it fall all the way to the three seed. Naked Slaughter, which handed Bidnam its second loss on the season’s last weekend, entered the playoffs as the top seed with a six-game winning streak (its only loss having come at the hands of CDMIMMF in Week One).
CDMIMMF, after sneaking into the playoffs as the four seed, brought its A-game for Slaughter in their semifinal contest. The two teams traded touchdowns throughout the game, and although CDM took an early lead, a Sina Yeganeh touchdown reception and a James Franzs scoring scramble put Naked Slaughter up 20-14 late in the second half. CDM responded with scoring drive, capped by a Kern McGee’s short-yardage touchdown reception. The successful conversion put CDM back on top 21-20.
After two running plays brought Naked Slaughter near the CDM end zone, the CDM defense stiffened and forced incompletions on Slaughter’s final three plays to clinch the upset and earn a surprise spot in the finals.
The other semifinal saw once-powerful Bidnam’s continue to reel, falling 27-7 at the hands of Resurrected. Anees Daud led the Resurrected offense with a pair of touchdown receptions, and Galen Bernard and quarterback Ben Kron each chipped in with one to set up Resurrected’s Sunday afternoon date with CDM.
Resurrected looked to make the finals a formality, scoring in what would have been in the first quarter if IM Football had quarters, on Ben Kron’s pass to Noah Moskat. Defenses dominated the rest of the first half, leaving CDM on the short end of a 6-0 score.
Resurrected tried to suck all drama out of the game early in the second half. After a Moskat interception of CDM QB Patrick Herman, Resurrected’s Ben Kron found the end zone on a second-down run.
CDM wasn’t quite done. The teams traded fruitless offensive possessions, but with less than 10 minutes to play, Moskat took a Resurrected punt, broke away from special teams coverage and flew up the right sideline to narrow the CDM deficit to 12-6.
After a huge stop by its defense, the CDM offense was stopped on fifth down when Resurrected’s Kevin Chung dove and pulled McGee’s flag to stop an otherwise clear shot at the end zone along the left sideline. Resurrected QB Kron took a knee, and although CDM’s defensive line slammed hard into the offensive line, there was no shaking the ball loose. Resurrected left the field with the championship while CDM was denied a miracle finish.
Men’s DII Play-off Results:
Semifinals:
CDMIMMF 21, Naked Slaughter 20
Resurrected 27, Bidnam’s World Tou Vol. II 7
Finals:
Resurrected 12, CDMIMMF 6
Although there is no “I” in team, sometimes individual players deserve recognition beyond a pat on the back and a slap on their Alpha Sigma Sigma. So, to honor those players who truly had special seasons, I (after soliciting input from captains in all divisions) am handing out offensive and defensive MVP awards in all divisions. There were several contenders for all awards, and, in the end, all selections are entirely arbitrary. But maybe next time you’re at the Green you’ll find some fodder for discussion from my IM Football Offensive and Defensive MVPs:
Women’s Division Offensive MVP: Lauren Guest (What B?)
This may have been the hardest of the awards to decide. Maggie Reid (DGs) and Lauren Adrian (Hungry Hungry Hippos) both had spectacular offensive seasons, scoring well over a touchdown per game. Kathryn DeVleming (DGs) also had a strong season; although she conceded most of her team’s running-back duties to Reid, she played well at wide receiver, a position where it is often hard to influence the game in run-heavy Women’s IM Football. Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch wide receivers Sara Gasparich and Shae Healey also provided fireworks in one of the league’s strongest air attacks.
But, when push comes to shove -- as it often does when our Offensive MVP, also a strong flag-pulling and physical defender, is on the field -- Lauren Guest’s post-season performance separated her from the rest of the pack. With last year’s unofficial Offensive MVP (no official awards were named last year; this may in fact be the first set of individual postseason awards ever given out in Whitman IM Sports) Katrina Barlow limited by a severely sprained ankle, Lauren Guest stepped up and scored three touchdowns in two games to lead What B? to its second consecutive title. When not running the ball, she provided crushing lead blocks that often left defenders strewn in her wake. Guest certainly made herself at home on the offensive side of the ball this season, and for that she’s our Women’s Offensive MVP.
Women’s Division Defensive MVP: Anne Conners (Hungry Hungry Hippos)While this award could also have gone to Lauren Guest, it instead goes to a player who perhaps had as much success stopping her as anyone in the league: Hippos safety/linebacker/flag-puller extraordinaire Anne Conners. Conners quietly anchored what was likely the league’s best season-long defense. Although she may often go unnoticed, it is only because she does her job so well that it is easy to take for granted. Her unique sliding flag-pulling style is both aesthetically impressive and very effective, and it allows other Hippo defenders to try to make big plays, knowing that Conners will cover for any mistakes of over-aggression. Many would-be scoring plays ended with a flag in Anne’s hand when an offensive player thought she had nothing but open field in front of her. Conners also has perhaps the most unique flag-pulling celebration in all of IM Football: absolutely nothing. She doesn’t thrust the flag in the air, or throw it to the ground behind her. Instead of overreacting after every pull, she acts like she’s been there before. Which she has. Many, many times.
Men’s Division I Offensive MVP: Jay Davidson (TKE)Every DI team this year (with the possible exception of Entropy, which I never saw play) had some serious offensive weapons. Matteo Leggett and Dana Johnson were a dynamic receiving duo for Old E; Siqma Chi quarterback Brice Crayne was likely the league’s best player when healthy, and his WR/RB Brian Ponti could also provide instant offense from anywhere on the field; TKE rookie signal-caller Chris Tobin-Campbell’s scrambling ability and cannon arm were quite the revelation, and Cole Rathjen may have averaged more yards per catch than anyone in the league.
But there was really only one player who could be given the MVP. Jay Davidson saved the TKEs perfect season not just once but twice, hauling in a late-game touchdown pass in both the TKEs one-point regular season victory over Old E and again in the finals against the Sigs. As is befitting a man who is well-known around campus for often showing blatant disregard for his own body, both of Davidson’s game-saving catches were spectacular diving affairs. Davidson also played well on the other side of the ball, hauling in several crucial interceptions. Many players had strong offensive seasons in Men’s DI, but an MVP is a player who always steps up when his team needs him, and this season, Jay Davidson did exactly that for the champion TKEs.
Men’s Division I Defensive MVP: Bryan Ponti (Sigma Chi)Jay Davidson also received nominations for this award, as did Bryan Ponti’s fellow Sig defensive back John Nelson. But Ponti separated himself by using a combination of savvy, positioning, and athleticism that would make any coach proud. Coming down with several key interceptions throughout the year (including one to set up a score in the championship game), Ponti provided a security blanket for the Sigma Chi defense. He always seemed to be in the right place to bat down a pass or to make up for a teammate’s blown coverage with a crucial flag pull. The same explosivity Ponti provided the Sig offense he also brought to the defense, as any pass put up by the opposition could be brought back for six.
Men’s Division II Offensive MVP: James Franz (Naked Slaughter)
Division II this year was so offensive (haha!) I hardly knew where to start in making this list. Nominations were flying at me from every direction, and all of them seemed valid. By season’s end, CDMIMMF’s Ian Henderson had developed into a Deion Sanders-like punt returner and a Brian Westbrook-type running back who was just as good at catching the ball as he was at running with it; Galen Bernard provided serious firepower to the potent Resurrected offense, which was masterfully helmed by quarterback Ben Kron; Noah Moskat also showed up big for Resurrected when it counted most, hauling in a touchdown pass and an interception to set up Resurrected’s other score in the finals.
But Naked Slaughter quarterback James Franz was a one-man show all-season. As league champion Resurrected captain Lewis Silver said of Franz, “He was the entirety of Slaughter's offense. Teams came knowing full well that he was running and still couldn't stop him.” He was the key to Naked Slaughter’s regular season success (and was so on both sides of the ball, possibly leading the league in interceptions), and he played his best in their biggest regular-season wins, scoring multiple touchdowns against both Resurrected and Bidnam’s World Tour. According to Lewis, “Regardless of debates over who the best individual player in DII was, Franz definitely made the biggest difference for his team.” I agree, but would also say that Franz was, in fact, the best offensive player in the league as well as the biggest difference-maker.
Men’s Division II Defensive MVP: Ben Kron (Resurrected)It seems odd that the quarterback on the league’s champions would receive greater accolades for his defensive performance than his offensive performance, but that is going to be the case here. While Kron’s quick cuts and rifle arm were essential to Resurrected’s success, he likely wouldn’t have put enough points on the board to cover for his team’s at-times porous defense if he hadn’t been holding down the fort at safety. His teammates credited him with at least ten touchdown-saving pulls in just the season’s first four games. Like our other defensive MVPs, Kron didn’t necessarily make the most flashy plays (although he could go up for the ball with the best of them), but he covered as many mistakes by teammates as anyone in the league. So while his contribution on the offensive side of the ball was considerable, it was his defensive leadership that really locked down the DII title for Resurrected.
Look, let’s be honest: there’s no sense in doing a full recap of last week’s action -- everyone reading this blog not named Pete Rathwell already pretty much knows how all the games with playoff implications went last weekend. So, for Pete’s sake (haha!), the results of last weekend’s games can be found below; for posterity’s sake, final standings can be found as well.
But at this time of year we’re all looking ahead to the playoffs and not back to the regular season, so the bulk of this week’s post will focus on a playoff preview.
There is still one regular-season game left to play in the Women’s Division: a play-in game. F Yeah! and Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch, both 5-3 but having not played each other during the standard regular season, will square off in a one-game, winner-take-all (or, I suppose, winner-takes-the-four-seed) contest Friday at 4 p.m. on Ankeny. Alpha Sigma Sigma, the veteran squad, must be the favorite over the sophomore-heavy F Yeah!. This game’s winner earns the right to play the top-seeded (and undefeated) 8-0 Hippos in Saturday’s semifinals.
The other semifinal game features a match-up between the 7-1 DGs and 6-2 What B?. This will likely be the harder-hitting of the two games, as both teams are known throughout the league for their big blocks. The DGs won the team’s regular season contest 19-13. As everyone knows, the key to stopping What B? is containing running back Katrina Barlow. The DGs were largely successful at this in the regular season, and will look to repeat the performance. Perhaps What B? will unveil a new wrinkle in their offense, though, looking to spoil the DGs best-laid plans.
Play-in prediction:
Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch, 20, F Yeah! 7
Semifinal predictions:
(1) Hungry Hungry Hippos 19, (4) Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 6
(2) DG 26, (3) What B? 25<
Finals prediction:
(1) Hippos 12, (2) DG 0
The 6-0 TKEs should win in cakewalk over winless Entropy (that’s what you get for naming your team after decay) in the one-seed vs. four-seed semifinal match-up.
Saturday’s second DI semifinal should be a much more interesting contest. The Sigs, 4-2 on the season, should be favored over Old E, whose only two wins came against hapless Entropy. However, star Sig signal-caller Brice Crayne sat out last weekend’s action with a hamstring problem, and several other key players are banged up. And Old E, it seems, is peaking at the right time. Admittedly, Old E’s “peak” only entailed close losses to the leagues top-two teams (13-6 to Sigma Chi and 13-12 to TKE), but its improvement since the beginning of the season has been immense, and they can give any team in the league a run for its money.
If the Sigs can pressure Old E’s DeGroot, causing him to scramble, he’s prone to make some poor throws. If he has time to pass, though, he could pick the depleted Sigs apart. If Crayne is still less than 100 percent, third-seeded Old E could send the two-seed packing.
Semifinals predictions:
(1) TKE 34, (4) Entropy 6
(2) Sigma Chi 20, (2) Old E 13
Finals:
(1) TKE 20, (2) Sigma Chi 14
Naked Slaughter (6-1) enters the playoff as the top seed and riding a six-game winning streak (oh, to be that winning streak). Its semifinal foe will be the team that handed them their only loss of the regular season, CDMIMMF (3-4). That loss, however, came in the season’s first week, and since then Slaughter has been a juggernaut. And in a Week Two rematch, Slaughter avenged its only defeat, downing CDMIMMF 20-13 before steamrolling the rest of the league. CDMIMMF will need some serious breaks go its way to emerge victorious in this game.
The other semifinal should also be an interesting game; second-seed Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II appeared to be the class of the league until the regular season’s final two weekends, when it was downed by both Naked Slaughter and its opponent in this contest, third-seed Resurrected (5-2).
Bidnam’s pair of losses led to a tumble from its season-long perch at the top of the league all the way down to the three seed. Bidnam’s was missing its eponymous quarterback, Bidnam Lee, for at least one of its two season-ending losses, and with him under center this is a different and still dangerous team. If he plays, look for his team to right the ship; if Bidnam is again absent, though, Resurrected becomes the favorite in this game.
Semifinal predictions:
(1) Naked Slaughter 26, (4) CDMIMMF 12
(3) Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II 32, (2) Resurrected (26)
Finals predictions:
(3) Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II 21, (1) Naked Slaughter 20
Before we get to last week’s complete recap of football action, let’s get to something even more important. In my finest Bill Simmons impersonation, I’ve been soliciting emails from my readers. I now present to you those emails/responses:
The discussion about whether the victimized team in the event of a safety must kick or not is not clear. Usually, the rule is that the scored upon team must punt or kick-off from its 20-yard line. Does your intramural program have a specific rule giving the option of kicking or taking a placement of the ball on the 15 yard-line to the victimized team or to the officiating crew? It would seem that putting the ball into play with a kick would open up the game and allow for potentially more consequences to flow from the event. -- Pete “Your Only Loyal Reader” Rathwell, Phoenix, AZ
This question is likely engendered by the Hippos/What B? regular season match-up, which featured a controversial ending: After a safety in the games final minutes, What B? was forced to take a free kick from their own 15 (which resulted in great field position for the Hippos) instead of the Hippos’ ball just being placed on their own 15. The Hippos proceeded to score and win the game by one point.
Referees have used both options this year at different times: placing the ball at the 15 and requiring the team on the receiving end of the safety to take a free kick. The official Whitman IM Football rules are not explicit on which is appropriate, saying only that after a safety “a change of possession ensues.” This seems to imply that the ball should be placed at the 15, and not kicked. All referees have been issued a memo that that is what is to be done is this situation.
As far as a free kick opening up the game more, I think considering how short the halves are (with the clock running until the last two minutes) and the inherently crazy nature of both kick returning (with no downfield blocking allowed) and kick coverage, the two points and loss of possession is enough of a penalty for the safety victims.
Having now played twice against both Old E and Entropy, TKE-1 has had a game against each that I would characterize as "dominant," and a game that I would characterize as "sloppy and average." In the games against Old E, they won the first game by 43 and the second game by the slimmest of margins: 1 point. Their first game against Entropy they rode a stellar defense and a lackluster offense to a 13-0 win, but in the second game they won by 41. To what do you attribute this inconsistency? -- Indy “Distant Relative of Fuzzy (for real)” Zoeller, Walla Walla, WA
I wouldn’t necessarily characterize the TKEs as all that inconsistent — I think the variance in their performance can be explained by circumstance. In the first of their sloppy games — the 13-0 win over Entropy — the TKEs were clearly the better field on the team but played in (offense-suppressing) rainy, cold, windy conditions. Their 41-point win over Entropy is likely more indicative of the difference in quality of the two teams, but does not indicate that the TKEs played better in the more favorable weather.
In their first game against Old E, the TKEs were playing against a team that, while talented, only had seven players suited up and hadn’t played together since its sophomore year championship campaign. Thus, it was no surprise that the fraternity cruised to a big win. But Old E has improved greatly throughout the season, beginning to rekindle their chemistry of the Fall of ’05. If its line can buy quarterback Jeff DeGroot enough time in the pocket for its dangerous wide receiver combination of Matteo Legget and Dana “Superfreak” Johnson to get downfield (as it did in the team’s second match-up, the TKEs last-minute one-point win), its big-play offensive potential is as great as any team’s in the league. They are a dangerous team, and may have surpassed the banged-up Sigs as the TKE’s main competition for the Blue Shirt. Regardless of whether you think the TKEs have been inconsistent, the D I favorites will surely bring their “A” game this weekend for the playoffs.
Women’s Division – Week Four
F Yeah! 24, They’re Good 0
Hungry Hungry Hippos 21, Polka Dots 0
Hungry Hungry Hippos 14, Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 0
Hungry Hungry Hippos 13, DG 0
What B? 20, F Yeah! 7
What B? 21, Polka Dots 0
What B? 33, Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 6
Eat Pooh 8, Dirty Pirate Hookers 7
DG 20, KKGFSU 6
They’re Good 18, Polka Dots 12
Women’s Division – Final Standings
Hungry Hungry Hippos 8-0
Delta Gamma 7-1
What B? 6-2
Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 5-3
F Yeah! 5-3
Eat Pooh 3-5
The Polka Dots 2-6
KKGFSU 2-6
They’re Good 2-6
Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West 0-8
Men’s Division I – Week Four
TKE 47, Entropy 7
Old E 37, Entropy 7
TKE 26, Sigma Chi 6
Sigma Chi 13, Old E 6
Sigma Chi 28, Entropy 13
Men’s Division I – Final Standings
TKE 6-0
Sigma Chi 4-2
Old E 2-4
Entropy 0-6
Men’s Division II – Week Four
Naked Slaughter 19, Bidnam’s World Tour 0
CDMIMMF 41, IHC 0
Resurrected wins by forfeit over Team Hasselhoff
Men’s Division II - Final Standings
Naked Slaughter 6-1
Resurrected 5-2
Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II 5-2
CDMIMMF 3-4
Team Hasselfhoff 2-5
Both men’s divisions have single games this weekend that will decide the top playoff seeds, and both games take place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Div. I game, to be played on Ankeny I, is a rematch of Monday night’s TKE vs. Sig matchup, which the TKEs won by a narrow two points. That means the Sigs will be out for revenge, but the TKEs can clinch the top playoff spot with a victory. Losing by just one point would also clinch for the TKEs, but I doubt they would be too happy to finish the regular season with a loss.
The Div. II game, to be played on Ankeny II, pits the two 5-1 squads that stand atop the standings, Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II and Naked Slaughter. The winning team will earn the first seed in the playoffs, and what figures to be a much easier first-round game against CDMIMMF.
These two games will answer many questions about the top teams in both men’s divisions: Can the Sigs avenge their loss earlier in the week? Or, will the TKEs reign as the dominant team in Div. I, despite its struggles against Old E? How will Bidnam respond to its first loss? Will it head into the playoffs reeling or right the ship with a big win? Can Naked Slaughter live up to captain Sina Yeganeh’s bold claim in his press release and handle Bidnam’s?
This correspondent knows where he will be Sunday at 2:30: standing on the sideline between Ankeny I and Ankeny II, watching both games unfold and help answer some of the biggest questions of the 2007 IM Football.
The Women’s Division, where teams stay together for four years and have time to develop serious rivalries, has enough bad blood to undo all the good done by the annual TKE blood drive. The big games start Friday when two teams fighting for their playoff lives (and with punctuation marks in their names), What B? and F Yeah!, take to the field on Harper Joy at 4 p.m. The team that loses will need some help, in the form of losses by the winning team and by Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch as the weekend continues, to squeak into the playoffs as the fourth seed.
Saturday features a battle of the sororities at noon on Harper Joy, as the heavily-favored DGs take on KKGFSU. But this is just the undercard for the 4:30 clash of the titans between Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch (5-1) and the Hungry Hungry Hippos (5-0).
The hard-hitting action continues on Sunday with the Hippos and DGs playing at 2:30 on Harper Joy. And in the last game of the day, at 4 p.m. on Harper Joy, What B? and Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch play a game that could end with the winning team moving on to the playoffs and the losing team going home.
Although some scores still remain unreported (*cough* get them to me NOW captains *cough*), Week Three was decidedly the most exciting week to date in the Women’s Division. Sophomore upstarts F Yeah! entered the week undefeated but were soundly put in their place by both the DGs and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
The game against the DGs was close until midway through the second half when an interception returned for a touchdown sent F Yeah! reeling and sent the DGs on a 24-0 spurt that ran the final tally to 34-6. The F Yeah!/Hippos contest was never in much doubt, as the Hippos cruised to a 25-6 victory. F Yeah!, it seems, must improve greatly in the remaining two weeks or they likely won’t get a sniff of the Blue Shirt.
The game of the weekend, though, had to be the Hungry Hungry Hippos shocking come-from-behind win over defending champs What B? The Hippos trailed 14-6 at the half -- both of What B?’s scores having come on Katrina Barlow runs, and the Hippos TD courtesy of a scramble by Marnie Burgoyne.
The second half was scoreless until the final two minutes when What B?, backed up to its own goal line, attempted to run an option play but had the pitch land in the end zone for a safety. Then mayhem ensued: the Hippos were awarded two points, but the referees were unsure whether the Hippos were to be given the ball at the fifteen yard line or whether they were supposed to receive a free kick. After conferring with both sets of coaches (as well as receiving a fair amount of verbal input from the fans), the referees decided that a free kick would ensue. (The official rules do not explicitly state whether the free kick or 15-yard-line-placement should happen after a safety, but they seem to imply that placement is the proper call.)
After a short kick and a failed pass play on first down, Hippos wide receiver Lauren Adrian got behind What B?’s defense with only seconds left on the clock and hauled in a Burgoyne bomb before outrunning the defense to the end zone. A successful conversion, followed by a kickoff return and batted-down Hail Mary, the Hippos had earned the victory in what goes down as one of the all-time great regular season IM Football games. It is worth noting, though, that although the Hippos dropped the championship game to What B? last fall, they had also beaten the champs during their lone regular season matchup.
The DGs and Hippos now remain the only undefeated teams in the Women’s Division, with the DGs at 6-0 and the Hippos 5-0. Three teams still remain strong contenders for the last two playoff spots: 5-1 Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch, 4-2 F Yeah! (who struggled to a 10-7 victory over Eat Pooh for their only victory of the weekend), and 3-2 What B?.
Trailing are Eat Pooh (2-4), which tasted victory for the first time this weekend, downing the Polka Dots and They’re Good; the Polka Dots (2-4); the Kappas (2-5); They’re Good (1-5); and those lovable losers, the Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West (0-7).
The TKE’s emerged victorious in both Division I matchups last weekend, but not without some serious drama. In what supposed to be the easier of the two contests, it took a last-minute touchdown reception and conversion, both on receptions by Jay Davidson in the end zone, for the TKEs to pull out a 13-12 victory over Old E. A spectacular reception by Dana Johnson in the back right corner of the Olin-side end zone had given Old E a cushion, and a deep bomb dropped by Matteo Legget while he was behind the TKE defense on a second series was the only thing that kept Old E from sealing the deal.
The second DI game of the weekend was the clash of the frats that we’ve been waiting all season to see. As befits a game of its status, it was rescheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Monday (a coveted prime time slot). Hank Williams, Jr. and all his rowdy friends cheered the TKEs to an early 14-0 lead, as Chris Tobin-Campbell scrambled for one score and Jay Davidson continued his huge weekend, hauling in a T-C bomb for the other touchdown. While both conversions failed, a bad Sig snap in the end zone gave the TKEs their other two points. The Sigs chipped away -- a Brian Ponti touchdown reception and a Brice Crayne scramble cut the lead to 14-12, but the earlier safety proved the difference as the Sigs were unable to score on either of their conversion attempts.
The TKEs, after emerging unscathed from their erratic weekend, now top the DI standings at 4-0. The Sigs are in second at 2-1, but will look to take the top spot from the TKEs in their rematch next weekend. Old E (1-3) remains in third, although after its near-win against the TKEs, it looks to be peaking at the right time, and Entropy still stands at 0-3 after a weekend without a game.
Despite taking the field only once last weekend, Naked Slaughter emerged with three victories, claiming forfeits over both the IHC and Team Hasselhoff as well as actually playing their way to a big 41-26 come-from-behind win over Resurrected. Slaughter quarterback James Franz posted three games worth of stats against Resurrected, rushing for several scores. With two head-to-head wins over Resurrected, Naked Slaughter has the inside track for the (maybe meaningless?) second playoff seed.
Meanwhile, the tank that is Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. II ran into a wall it couldn’t knock down last weekend. Bidnam won the first of its two contests, claiming victory by a score of 27-6 over the IHC, but it looked less than dominant, winning by only three scores over the least accomplished team in the league. And then the near-unthinkable happened: On Ankeny II at 2:30 on Sunday, in an old-fashioned DII IM Football shootout, Resurrected handed Bidnam its first loss of the regular season, 40-33.
The DII playoff picture was certainly muddled by the Resurrected victory. Bidnam, now 5-1, is looking to finish strong next weekend and take the regular-season title wire-to-wire. For the first time, though, they have company atop the standings as Naked Slaughter also has a 5-1 record. The two teams square off with the first playoff seed on the line at 2:30 p.m. this Sunday on Ankeny II.
Resurrected (4-2) could claim the two-seed with a victory of its own next weekend to go along with a Bidnam loss. CDM (2-2) might have already locked up the last playoff spot (if it would report all its scores), but after a 19-13 win over Hasselhoff last weekend, it is certainly at least in the drivers’ seat. Hasselfhoff, which earned its first win of the season by forfeit over the IHC but also lost by forfeit to Naked Slaughter, now stands at 1-4, trailed only by the IHC (0-6).
Week Three is a big week in the Women’s Division, featuring several match-ups of top-tier teams. The first prime-time contest of the weekend comes at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Ankeny 1, as the undefeated DG’s face off against F Yeah!, also 3-0. And that’s just the start for F Yeah!, which must battle the only other undefeated team left in the division, the Hungry Hungry Hippos, at 2:30 p.m. (also on Ankeny 1).
Barring any late-season collapses from these three teams, these two games will likely play a huge role in deciding the top playoff seeds. The action continues on Sunday when the Hungry Hungry Hippos take on What B? (1-1) in a rematch of last year’s finals on Harper Joy at 11:30 a.m. A win for What B? is essential to keep its playoff dreams off life support.
The game we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! After steamrolling the opposition in the first two weekends of play, the top two teams in all of Whitman Intramural Football, the TKEs and Sigma Chi (both 2-0), will clash (loudly, perhaps vulgarly, likely violently, and certainly intensely) on Saturday at 1 p.m. on Ankeny 1. SO, get out there and cheer on your favorite frat! Unless, of course, your favorite frat is the Phis or Betas, neither of which fielded a team this year.
In an (altogether too rare) Intramural Sports press statement released last week, Naked Slaughter captain Sina Yeganeh had the following to say: "Don't underestimate us. I'm going say it right now, that we, Naked Slaughter, are going to make it to the playoffs, and I'm not going to stop there. The finals are going to be us and Bidnam, baby, that's assuming Bidnam can handle the season pressure. You can already see the cracks in Bidnam's shell as the IHC penetrated and scored the first touchdown of the season. The Finals, baby. I guarantee it for my fans."
Easy for Yeganeh to say, as 3-1 Naked Slaughter hasn’t yet squared off against the juggernaut that is Bidnam’s World Tour, Vol. 2, and that match-up isn’t scheduled until next week. Slaughter does, however, play Resurrected on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Ankeny 2). So, if the TKE/Sig game is sold out, or you have some weird grudge against frats (maybe you didn’t get any bids freshman year because you made a fool out of yourself at all the all-campus parties), then head on over to Ankeny 2 to check out the action there.
Also potentially enlightening could be Resurrected vs. Bidnam’s World Tour at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday (Ankeny 2). Bidnam’s, despite leading DII at 4-0 and racking up points at what might be a record-breaking rate if we kept IM Football records, has yet to face Resurrected or Naked Slaughter, likely the second- and third-best teams in the league. It will be interesting to see how Bidnam stacks up in what should be its toughest game yet.
Alpha Sigma Sigma, standing at 0-1 and in seventh place after the first weekend of play, reeled off three wins last weekend to reestablish itself as a playoff contender. Its win over Eat Pooh came by only six points, though, perhaps hinting that it might be a notch down from the Hippos and DGs, teams that beat Eat Pooh by 28 and 19 points, respectively, over the weekend.
In the biggest match of week two, in a battle that stands as a potential finals preview, the Delta Gammas announced that they are definitely for real with a thrilling 19-13 win over What B?, the defending champ. The DGs and two other teams – F Yeah! and the Hungry Hungry Hippos, both as-of-yet-untested by a quality opponent -- are knotted in a three-way tie atop the standings with three wins and zero losses, with 3-1 Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch just a half-game back.
What B? and the Polka Dots are both 1-1, tied for fifth, while They’re Good (1-2), Kappas (1-4), Eat Pooh (0-3), and Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West (0-4) round out the standings heading into the Four-Day Bye Week.
Women’s Results:
Hungry Hungry Hippos 38, Dirty Pirate Hookers 0
Kappas 28, Dirty Pirate Hookers 14
Delta Gamma 19, What B? 13
Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 19, Eat Pooh 12
Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 33, Kappas 13
Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 28, They’re Good 0
With a two wins over likely playoff teams (a 24-0 shutout against Resurrected and a clutch 20-13 win against CDMIMMF), Naked Slaughter had what can only be described as an eye-opening weekend. After avenging its 26-20 Week One loss to CDMIMMF and with a head-to-head win over Resurrected in its non-existent pocket, Naked Slaughter is now in the driver’s seat for the (admittedly not all-that-important) second playoff seed.
Resurrected, despite its loss to Naked Slaughter in the Week Two rematch, stands in second place at 3-1 after a pair of victories of their own -- 37-21 over Team Hasselhoff and a dominating 46-12 performance against CDMIMMF. Resurrected trails only 4-0 Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2, which did nothing to hurt its status as favorites, by downing the IHC team 46-6. Congrats to the IHC, though, for scoring their first touchdown of the year.
Naked Slaughter (2-1) is in third-place but even with Resurrected in the loss column. While Naked Slaughter currently has the tie-breaker via its head-to-head victory, the two teams square off again after the Four-Day Bye Week, meeting on Ankeny at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13. Head-to-head point differential will be the tie-breaker if the two teams split the season series, although the issue is almost moot since there is no "home field advantage" in IM Football. Barring a collapse by Bidnam’s or a surge by CDMIMMF or Hasselhoff (or, I guess, the IHC, as improbable as that seems), the tie-breaker will likely only decide the difference between the second and the third playoff seed. CDMIMMF (1-2) is in line for the last playoff spot, and is trailed by a pair of 0-2 squads: Team Hasselhoff and those lovable losers on the IHC team.
Men’s Div. II Results:
Naked Slaughter 24, Resurrected 0
Naked Slaughter 20, CDMIMMF 13
Resurrected 37, Team Hasselhoff 21
Resurrected 46, CDMIMMF 12
Bidnam’s World Tour 46, IHC 6
In a matchup of Week One’s two whipping boys, Old E proved to be the better team with a 12-6 victory over Entropy for the Win. A last-minute touchdown reception by Matteo Legget gave the former Anderson boys the six-point victory.
Sigma Chi and the TKEs cemented their status as top-dog teams with victories over the second tier teams -- Sigma Chi by a 33-19 score over Old E, and the TKEs by a 13-0 count over Entropy in a sloppy game played in the rain at the end of the day on Sunday.
The Sigs and TKEs are slated to face one another after the Four-Day Bye Week -- at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, on Ankeny Field in what will surely be a hard-fought game with playoff seeding implications. Both teams head to their Week Three showdown with a division-leading 2-0 records. Old E (1-2) holds the third spot heading into the Bye Week, while Entropy (0-3) is a winless cellar-dweller.
Men’s Div. I Results:
Sigma Chi 33, Old E 19
Old E 12, Entropy for the Win 6
TKE13, Entropy for the Win 0
IHC, defeated 53-0 by Resurrected in its only game last weekend, plays David to Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2’s Goliath at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Ankeny 1. If I were a betting man, I’d have to set the spread at 70 for this one. If Bidnam’s shows no mercy, we could see an all-time IM single-game scoring record here.
After that game stay right where you are for more hot Division II action. At 1 p.m. on Ankeny 1, the only two teams other than Bidnam’s to win games in DII’s first weekend -- Resurrected and CDMIMMF, 26-20 victors over Naked Slaughter -- face off in a game that could be a playoff semifinal preview.
After being slaughtered by scores of 59-16 and 41-9, respectively, Old E and Entropy will both be looking for their first win (as well as a leg-up in the race for the No. 3 seed in the playoffs) Sunday at 1 p.m. on Ankeny 2.
What B?, after a cakewalk 19-0 victory in their only Week One game, should be tested twice on Sunday in Week Two. First at 10 a.m., when 3-0 upstarts F Yeah! will surely be looking for a statement victory on Harper Joy. And then again at 2:30 on Ankeny 2, when the Delta Gammas will undoubtedly bring their “A” game to the field, as well as a huge chip on their shoulder for their matchup with the defending champs.
10 am: Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch vs. They’re good - Harper Joy
11:30 am: Resurrected vs. The Naked Slaughter - Ankeny I
11:30 am: Eat Pooh vs. F Yeah! - Harper Joy
1 pm: Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West vs. Hungry Hungry Hippos - Harper Joy
2:30 pm: Delta Gamma vs. They’re Good – Harper Joy
4 pm: Old E vs. Sigma Chi – Harper Joy
10 am: Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West vs. KKGFSU - Ankeny I
10 am: Resurrected vs. Team Hasselhoff - Ankeny II
What B? vs. F Yeah! – Harper Joy
11:30 am: Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2 vs. IHC - Ankeny I
11:30 am: Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch vs. Eat Pooh! - Ankeny II
11:30 am: Polka Dots vs. They’re Good
1 pm: CDDMIMMF vs. Resurrected- Ankeny I
1 pm: Entropy for the Win vs. Old E - Ankeny II
2:30 pm: Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch vs. KKGFSU - Ankeny I
2:30 pm: What B? vs. Delta Gamma - Ankeny II
4 pm: Hungry Hungry Hippos vs. Polka Dots - Ankeny 1
4 pm: TKE vs. Entropy for the Win - Ankeny II
4 pm: The Naked Slaughter vs. CDMIMFF - Harper Joy
In last week’s Division I preview I wrote that the Old E and Sigma Chi would meet in the championship game after eliminating the TKEs and Entropy for the Win in the semifinals. Half of the prediction looks like it will hold true -- the other half, not so much.
After an even start, the TKEs demolished an Old E squad which only suited up eight players in a landslide victory, 59-16. The TKE defense, initially shaky, settled down quickly, picking off five passes and returning three for touchdowns. Sigma Chi was equally dominant in its victory over Entropy, taking the contest by a 41-9 score. I hope everyone paid attention to the part of last week’s preview where I said prognostication is a hard business.
Men’s DI Results:
Sigma Chi 41, Entropy for the Win 9
TKE 59, Old E 16
After some late rescheduling caused by Team Trogdor’s last-second dropout (alas, Team Trogdor, we hardly knew ye), Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2 made a huge statement on the first weekend of the season, winning three games and none of them by less than 19 points.
Team Hasselhoff, which only played one game on the weekend, also looked impressive in defeating the IHC 53-0. CDMIMMF, which ended the weekend 1-2 after being on the receiving end of two Bidnam’s drubbings, also handed The Naked Slaughter a 26-20 loss in a hard fought game. After just one week is seems clear that, barring a letdown, Bidnam’s is looking at a second consecutive trip to the championship game, and this time (as predicted in the preseason preview) they’ll be the favorites to take home the Blue Shirt.
Men’s DII Results:
Bidnam’s World Tour 51, CMIMMF 6
Bidnam’s World Tour 19, Team Hasselhoff O
Bidnam’s World Tour 39, CMIMMF 6
CDMIMMF 26, Naked Slaughter 20
Resurrected 53, IHC 0
OK, I admit it: I was suckered by Kappa captain Chrristie Lundquist’s persuasive email saying the team, which hasn’t made the playoffs in over half a decade, is much improved. But after an 0-3 first weekend (with the losses by an average of over fifteen points) I’m off the bandwagon. So I’m going to retract my initial prediction and make the one that Caroline McCullough and Kathryn DeVleming told me I should’ve made all along: If any sorority team makes the playoffs, it will be the DG’s (who went 2-0 this weekend including an impressive 13-6 win over playoff contender Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch), and not the Kappas. There, so now get off my back, OK?
Sophomore team F Yeah! leads the women’s standings after winning all three of its Week One contests, but it didn’t look impressive in a too-close 13-6 win over the Kappas. Favorites Hungry Hungry Hippos, which looked strong in a pair of 34-6 wins over the Kappas and Eat Pooh, stand only a half-game back at 2-0 (along with the DGs).
Defending champ What B? also looked strong in its only game of the weekend, a 19-0 win over They’re Good. Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch, definitely a playoff contender, currently stands in seventh place at 0-1, and while it isn’t time to panic yet, there are four very strong teams ahead of them in the standings in the DGs, F Yeah!, the Hungry Hungry Hippos, and What B?
Women’s Results:
Hungry Hungry Hippos 34, Kappas 6
Hungry Hungry Hippos 34, Eat Pooh 6
What B? 19, They’re Good 0
Polka Dots 25, Kappas 13
F Yeah! 21, Polka Dots 6
F Yeah! 35, Dirty Pirate Hookers 0
F Yeah! 13, Kappas 6
They’re Good wins by forfeit over Dirty Pirate Hookers
Delta Gamma 25, Eat Pooh 6
Delta Gamma 13, Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 6
As I’m sure you all know, prognostication is a hard business. As you should also know, nobody ever has any idea how an IM season is going to go. So many unknowns come into play. Is there a new, super-athletic freshman section that will take DII by storm? Will Bad Alpha Sigma Sigma’s team chemistry be good after combining two of powerhouse women’s teams? Will key players and coaches be gone for varsity athletics, academic field trips, or visiting boyfriends and girlfriends when the important games roll around? Will any DI teams even show up to their regular season games?
That being said, I, Eli Asch (IM Committee member and Whitman Sports Information Intern) would like to present to you a fearless set of predictions and previews for the 2007 IM Football Season:
This division is usually a mystery -- many teams traditionally feature only freshman (and their RAs), so it is nearly impossible to predict. This year, though, things seem a bit more clear. As always, a returning team looks to be the favorite. This year it’s Bidnam’s World Tour, Vol. 2. Last year they ran the table during the regular season before dropping the championship game 13-0 to the Hot Pinks. They have lost a few key players, but should be able to replace their production. With whom I don’t know, since their captain responded to my question about key players with the following overly serious answer: "We’re not players, we’re a team." Despite this, I’m tagging them as the team to beat.
Another returning team is CDMIMMF, formerly known as the Supreme Court. After last season, in which they went 4-3 and just missed out on one of the playoff spots, these guys, led by captain and defensive lineman Patrick Herman as well as new quarterback Ben Spencer and a solid wide receiver core of Justin Kerr and Kern McGee, look poised to do some damage. Resurrected, a semi-returning team, features players from both last year’s Anderson "D-Block" and "C-Men" squads. Although the loss of Spencer to CDMIMMF hurts, a strong line featuring Kevin Wu should anchor this team. The final returning DII team is The Naked Slaughter, a playoff team last year featuring James Franz at QB and Sina Yeganeh at LB.
There are three new teams in DII this year. Possibly for the first time in history, the IHC is forming a team. Spearheading this charge was La Casa resident and quarterback Alex Kerr, who says of his team’s chances, "If I’m playing quarterback, you know we’re in trouble." Jewett and Anderson halls will field all-freshman-plus-RA DII teams: neither Jewett’s team (named Team Trogdor because it did not submit a name and IM Committee Co-Chair Claudia Yeung thought the captain Andrew Trogstad-Isaacson’s name sounded like the famous Homestar Runner character), or Anderson’s team (Team Hasselhoff) responded to inquiries about their team, so they will go into the season as X-factors. It is quite likely that at least one of them, and possibly both, will be competitive. Probably better than the IHC team, anyway.
Predictions:
Semifinals
(1) Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2 26, (4) Team Hasselhoff/Team Trogdor 13
(2) CDMIMMF 21, (3) The Naked Slaughter 19
Finals
Bidnam’s World Tour Vol. 2 20, CDMIMMF 14
As like last year, there are only four teams in Division I this year, meaning that every team is in the playoffs. This renders the regular season largely meaningless, and only necessary for playoff seeding purposes (and for earning bragging rights, of course). Still, teams that show up and play together during the season tend to be stronger come playoff time, so hopefully the teams will realize this and the regular season won’t turn into a no-show fest like it has in some years past.
Although there is still some roster sorting-out to be done (which varsity athletes allowed to play? Which of the teams claiming Brian Woods will he play for? Is Gabe Frachon really playing?), the early favorites have to be Old E. Starting in 2004-05, E Section put in a strong two-year run in DII, making the playoffs as freshmen and taking home the Champions’ Blue Shirts their sophomore year. After a year off, they look ready to take the DI title. Quarterback Jeff DeGroot, who manages the game well, has a talented and deep group of wide receivers, led by Dana Johnson. Their offensive firepower extends to the backfield, where Curt Lindley provides an elusive presence at RB.
Any of the challengers could take Old E down, though. The TKEs, whose roster is limited by the fact that seemingly every varsity athlete on campus is now a member of their fraternity, still pose a formidable threat. As does the Sigma Chi team, quarterbacked by Brice Crayne, who was recruited to play quarterback for Whitman’s Northwest Conference rival Lewis & Clark’s varsity football team. Brian Ponti, Mike Minckler and several others will contribute on what should be a deep Sig roster.
Entropy for the Win is a conglomerate team, featuring, according to captain Eric Boyd, "Some rugby players, a group from the D2 winning team last year, and a couple others . . . hence the name Entropy." The name seems a bit of a misnomer, as all-Whitman defensive back Charlie Wyman, linebacker Wes Bird, and linemen Mike Patterson and Eric Boyd all provide some serious muscle for what could be, if it gels, a championship-caliber team.
Predictions:
Semifinals
(1) Old E 33, (4) Entropy 28
(3) Sigma Chi 26, (2) TKE 21
Finals
Old E 34, Sigma Chi 28
The Women’s Division, going ten teams deep this year, is full of returning talent. The playoff spots, it seems quite likely, will all be taken by returning teams. Oftentimes, with teams sticking together for four years (or sometimes five or six as new players are brought in) without moving up like in the men’s divisions, there is a season-long learning curve for freshman teams as the face veteran squads who have congealed over the past several falls. That being said, there could always be some surprises.
The place to start has to be the returning champions -- What B? This team is a perfect example of the one-season learning curve, as they were often overmatched during their first-year season, but last year, their second in the league, they rode their four plays (sweep right, sweep left, pitch right, pitch left) and the amazing running of back Katrina Barlow all the way to the Blue Shirt, earned in a hard-fought 12-6 game over the third-year Hungry Hungry Hippos. The success of What B?’s season depends on Barlow, the Reggie Bush of Whitman women’s IM football. If she’s the USC version, What B? will certainly be title contenders and maybe even the favorites; if she’s the pro version (especially the current, 2007-season version), they will likely make a first-round exit in the playoffs, if they even earn a postseason spot at all.
The Hippos also will likely again be among the primary title contenders. Sally Sorte, who hasn’t played for them since their freshman campaign, rejoins the Hippos providing them with an additional deep threat at WR and bringing explosivity to what should be a strong defense. Primary quarterback Marne Burgoyne and running back Claudia Yeung should do damage in the ground-game behind the strong blocking of center Jessie Runnoe. Anne Conners anchors the defense with all-Whitman flag-pulling.
Also chief among the contenders is a conglomerate of last year's two semifinal teams, Bad Touch and Alpha Sigma Sigma (I’ll leave you to figure out the acronym.), now playing under the title of Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch. With captains Katie Avery and Joscelyn Barden forming a Chris Leak/Tim Tebow-style two-headed quarterback monster, and Kat Compton and Shae Healey providing strong play at the WR/RB positions, the only thing that could prevent this team from competing for top honors is if the two once-rival squads that form its roster are unable to mesh.
Perhaps only slightly-less-likely to do turn some heads this season is last year’s Anderson team, F Yeah! Only sophomores but quarterbacked by the strong armed Paige Roberts, coach Matt Morris-Rosenfeld says they may only be a year away from being a championship-caliber team. Also anticipated to be strong is the Kappa team, Kappa Kappa Gamma FSU. While the real FSU has fallen on hard times, the Kappas, haven’t made the playoffs "since 2000 (or so)," according to captain and defensive specialist Christie Lundquist. Graduated quarterback Stacy Takekawa will be hard to replace, but Nikita Parekh, Ashley Durkin and Charlotte Gourley will attempt fill her cleats.
The Delta Gammas, who much like the TKEs in Men’s Division I, lose many of their best athletes to varsity athletics (and this year also suffer from losses to study abroad programs, too), will likely be a step behind the top teams. Sophomore Maggie Reid is an explosive running back and should shoulder the offensive burden for this team, and Shea Morrissey will be a welcome addition as well, possibly on both sides of the ball. Kathryn DeVleming and Christy Irvine will be featured at wide receiver. The Polka Dots are another returning team for whom a playoff berth seems unlikely.
Three teams did not respond to inquiries: Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3-West, Eat Pooh, and They’re Good. Regardless of my lack of knowledge of their rosters, with the plethora of teams stocked with top-level talent, barring a huge surprise, none of these teams will claim a playoff spot.
Predictions:
Semifinals
(1) What B? 18, (4) Kappa Kapa Gamma FSU 0
(2) Hungry Hungry Hippos 26, (2) Alpha Sigma Sigma Touch 14
Finals
Hungry Hungry Hippos 14, What B? 6
10 am: F Yeah! vs. Polka Dots - Ankeny I
10 am: Anderson, What B? vs. They're Good - Ankeny II
11:30 am: The Naked Slaughter vs. Team Trogdor - Ankeny II
11:30 am: Alpha Sigma Sigma vs. Delta Gamma - Harper Joy
1 pm: Bidnam's World Tour vs. CDMIMFF - Ankeny I
2:30 pm: Eat Pooh vs. Hungry Hungry Hippos - Ankeny I
2:30 pm: Old E vs. Sigma Chi - Ankeny II
2:30 pm: Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3West vs. F Yeah! - Harper Joy
4 pm: Hungry Hungry Hippos vs. KKGFSU - Ankeny I
10 am: Anderson, What B? vs. Alpha Sigma Sigma - Ankeny I
10 am: Delta Gamma vs. Hungry Hungry Hippos - Ankeny II
11:30 am: Entrophy for the Win vs. Sigma Chi - Ankeny I
11:30 am: Team Hasselhoff vs. Bidnam's World Tour - Ankeny II
11:30 am: KKGFSU vs. Polka Dots - Harper Joy
1 pm: Old E vs. TKEI - Ankeny I
1 pm: Delta Gamma vs. Eat Pooh - Ankeny II
1 pm: CDMIMFF vs. The Naked Slaughter - Harper Joy
2:30 pm: F Yeah! vs. KKGFSU - Ankeny I
2:30 pm: Dirty Pirate Hookers of 3West vs. They're Good - Ankeny II
2:30 pm: IHC vs. Team Trogdor - Harper Joy
4 pm: IHC vs. Ressurected - Harper Joy
The 2007-08 intramural sports season at Whitman kicks off Saturday, Sept. 22, with the opening slate of flag football games. Twenty-one teams in three divisions (Div. I, Div. II, and Women’s) will compete for the much-coveted yet highly elusive Blue Shirts that go to division champions.
More than 200 Whitman students, staff and faculty members are signed up to participate, again making IM Football one of the largest fall activities on campus.
"We look forward to another successful, competitive and fun season," says IM Committee Co-Chair Claudia Yeung.
Please check back here every Wednesday throughout the fall football season, and for the remainder of the
year, for all the latest IM information. We plan to keep you posted on the latest IM football information,
including standings and previews of the next key match-ups. Next Wednesday: Season Preview!!
Referees’ Meeting: Monday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., Seachris Room (Sherwood)
can be directed to committee co-chairs Luke Marshall or Claudia Yeung,
or other members of the IM Committee: