Photo By Kristen Wong | Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 Black Knights player Miguel Sandoval tries to...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Kaneohe Bay - The bright sun turned up the heat on Pop Warner Field as Marine Aviation Logistics Battalion 24 and Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, survived the final cut for the 101 Days of Summer Flag Football Tournament championship game, Aug. 4.
The MALS-24 Black Knights defeated Kilo Co., 3rd Bn., 3rd Marines, 44-14, putting the Black Knights in first place and Kilo Co. in second.
As the Black Knights awaited their turn on the field, Kilo Co. was battling to play the championship game with their last opponents. The game ending in their favor, Kilo Co. met the Black Knights for a second time as Quentin Redmon wheeled out the official first and second place trophies for the tournament.
Redmon, the drug demand reduction coordinator for the Substance Abuse Counseling Center, said there were seven units represented in eight teams. He said he thought it was neat this year even foreign
service members participating in Rim of the Pacific exercises were also playing in the tournament. For instance, Headquarters Battalion, who played with two Australian service members on their team.
“They can really kick!” Redmon said of the Australian players. “I would love to do an invitational tournament, almost like the Olympics.”
The Black Knights have played in the 101 Days of Summer Flag Football Tournament in past years. They also play flag football on Sundays with a local league, according to Richard Benavides, the Black Knights quarterback. Benavides said the Black Knights only lost one practice game, which was to Kilo Co. The same unit was now standing between the Black Knights and first place.
Black Knights’ coach Daniel Collins said the Black Knights knew from their first loss that it was highlylikely Kilo Co. would make it into the final rounds of the tournament.
“It was really close,” said Black Knights player Christopher Sarabia of the last game against Kilo Co. “We didn’t have our cohesion. It took us two or three games to do that. It’s tough on the body, playing
every day.”
Benavides went into the last game of the tournament confident in a win because of their good defense. After the Black Knights won the coin toss, the players tore through the grass with their spiky cleats, eager to get a touchdown. Both teams were sent sprawling several times trying to gain possession of the ball. By halftime, the score was 20-6, in favor of the Black Knights.
“Our defense is pretty good,” Collins said. “We’ve been moving the ball … we’ve just got to keep it up.”
By halftime, Kilo Co. quarterback Mike Barnes maintained an air of confidence, hoping the team would eventually make a comeback, citing the movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”
Though the game ended 44-14 in favor of the Black Knights, both teams gave each other high fives and walked away with 101 Days of Summer trophies and memorabilia. Redmon commented that the game between Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay and Kilo Co. just an hour before actually felt more competitive and more like a championship game.
But all in all, he thanked the players for participating and felt that it was a good tournament.
“It was a collective effort,” Collins said of the final game. “Everybody did their part.”
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2012 16:55 |
| Story ID: | 93433 |
| Location: | KANEOHE, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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