CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Before the 718th Transportation Battalion flag football tournament began, the Titans of 377th Transportation Company (HET) were the odds-on favorite to capture another championship downrange. The Titans were already crowned as the champions of the Camp Arifjan flag football league in the fall. Shortly after winning that title, the Titans were presented with the Area Support Group-Kuwait trophy as they cruised through the Kuwait flag football tournament.
Leading up to this tournament, the Titans were hearing a lot of chatter from some of the other teams. Several of those teams were awaiting their chance to knock off the heavily favored team from Fort Bliss, Texas. With a few key members of the team out on missions, the nucleus of the team knew exactly what needed to be done in order to defend the trophy. The Titans live by the motto “in order to be the champion, you gotta beat the champion.”
The team got off to a quick start in the Friday night game. They faced a tough opponent in the Leopards of the 553rd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion. The Titans relied on the quickness and speed of former track star Spc. Zebedee Johnson en route to victory. From screen plays to taking handoffs, he was instrumental in helping the team move the ball up and down the field all night long.
In the Saturday night game, the Titans came out a little flat against the Air Force’s 424th Medium Truck Detachment Centurions. In the end, the Titans still prevailed with a 12-6 victory. The defense held its own as it shut down the offensive scheme of the Centurions.
On the third and final night of the tournament, the Titans were faced with a familiar dilemma. Win the first game, and play for the championship in the finale. They did just that. The Titans played the Diablos of 217th Transportation Company in the first game.
This game proved to be one of the most closely matched games the Titans had played since arriving in Kuwait last August. The Diablos came out early with a chip on their shoulders. They picked off three passes to tie the score early in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, the Titans defense played with a “bend but don’t break” mentality. The offense struck first and gave the defense the cushion it needed to go out and play with the reckless abandon it played with all season. The Titans went on to win by a touchdown in a hard fought game.
In the nightcap, the Titans faced another team from 217th Transportation Battalion, the Nut Busters, for the tournament championship. The Nut Busters came out with a lot of energy in the first half, but they were met with just as much energy from an already tired Titans team. The game was played at a slower pace than usual for the Titans. With approximately eight minutes left in the game, the Titans lost the heart and soul of their offense when their quarterback, Sgt. Corey Anderson, went down with an injury.
Sgt. Jesse Fortes stepped in at quarterback and did not miss a beat. He led the Titans down the field for a score that iced the game at that point. On the ensuing possession, the Nut Busters were intercepted near the end zone by Spc. William Booker to seal the deal.
With this victory, the Titans have ended another season of flag football with yet another championship trophy. Though Kuwait has been good to the Titans, the team looks forward to returning to Fort Bliss in the fall to continue doing what it does best, and that is winning flag football tournaments.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2011 03:10 |
| Story ID: | 71738 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Titans Are Champions Again, by SFC Matthew Zier, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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