Sectionals (West Lafayette) as seen by Thor Martin

Everyone was there except Shawn, and some mysterious lefty with hops got on our roster the day before Sectionals

Two pools of six U of I, Us, Purdue, Bradley, SIU, and NIU. Five games on Sat. to 13 and then double elim eight team on Sun, lose in quarters and you fight for the fifth and maybe last spot to Regionals.

Bradley first. They played tough, we split squads, zoned 'em hard, didn't catch swill, let them catch swill, blah blah. Bradley has come a long way in two years of existence. Mama?s won 13-8. We can't throw a decent pass to Bob, thankfully he usually catches the swill. Hit him the numbers guys.

Purdue next. They came out hard and we were like "Hey lets avenge our loss at White Smoke, Rah Rah Blah Blugh." They took half 7-3 supposedly, but I think someone got that confused with the U of I game. But in the second half we opened up our offense and repeatedly hucked it to myself. I called offense on one grab, got clobbered on a couple of others and we ran away with it 13-8, with split squads again.

SIU next. Blanked em. They had eight dog tired players. We went old and hobbled and young guns. O&H had downwind most of the time and coasted.

U of I next. Lets give it a shot to take the pool. They come out more refined then us and quickly take it to half 7-3. We roar back in to the game on some nicely place long passes to myself with some wiley slow and gos on their 6-5 genetically engineered asian. We pull to within two. Trade some quality points. They topper over our zone to score upwind, but we march right back. Nobody could score downwind it seemed. Down winds are traded and they score a big late game upwinder 11-8. We march it up through their zone with some poppity pop pop. Many gets the disc sees crowley not open being guarded in the endzone by a 6-7 guy throws a high I mean high floaty forehand. Everyone stares, crowley bodies like he's back downunder playin' aussie rules. I realize I'm somewhere in the vicinity and promptly go sky these guys who are just beginning to contemplate the idea of going up for the disc, I come down some time later. downwinder down by one, points traded, 12-11 U of I and we still have to score an upwinder. They work it down turn, we work it up turn, work it down call a to score game U of I. Nice game Mama?S. We were not ready for the first few points though. Thinking only the points at the end of the game matter.

NIU, Voelz is out, Fang ankle, and myself sitting from a month off and then four games. They play us hard, and swill us nearly to the breaking point. hello! they're going to huck it on the first pass, would somebody guard that guy sprinting to the endzone. Points are traded to half 7-6, then we bring it and close it out 13-7 or something like that.

4-1 we cross over to play our buddies who had beaten us twice this year NWU who were upset by Ball State and finished third behind ND and BSU. Purdue almost gave us the pool by upsetting a tired U of I in the last game of the day, but alas.

Sunday Sunday Sunday We get to the fields about an hour before game time run about a half hour before game time, stretch throw, do a little endzone and promptly get crushed, by the speed, intensity, determination, skill, and preparedness of the northwestern vomit-monkeys, who played the greatest game I've ever seen from them. We didn't stand a chance 13-0.

Backs against the wall we're fighting for another tournament appearance. Next game is NIU again. We win 13-9 in a non thrilling game. Except of course for the last point. I'm get the disc upwind on the endzone line throw a backhand trailing out of bounds. Belmont leaps from in bounds and throws to a wide open Jeff who promptly and somewhat astonished pancakes the disc for the game winner.

Next Purdue for fifth place and a guaranteed spot to Regionals. We sit and watch them end their game, throw around for ten minutes do endzone for five and then play. The wind has picked up. We immediately score an upwinder popping the heck out of their zone. That would be the last time we saw any of that. They answer back by working our trap by waiting for us to crash and then hitting the holes made in the cup. They're up 3-2. Strictly downwind game from then on. The game went quickly with each team needing only one or two shots at the endzone downwind. Our C zone was smothering. Our Jenny gave us the disc two to three times going upwind, but once we went to man, they would promptly score. 11-11 no cap game to 13 win by two hard at 15 two TO's left. We think we've got our chance going upwind a throw low to my right hand can't stick, they're going down wind. A long break mark forehand to the back cone. Receiver and I on dead sprint, but he's got a break mark step on me, futile bid to apply pressure score, game point. Conveniently seven people beat me to the line, I stare and Belmont gives me a reassuring chest thump. We turn it over, they march it up and turn it over in the redzone. I start screaming for a punt, knowing that that immediately if not heeded will jinx us into a costly turnover. Mark rifles a downwind inside out to Damon turn over, Purdue thirty yards from the endzone. They work put up a hospital, we can't read, and again jump short of a floater for the gabillionth time, disc is bobbled, bodies fall, and a fellow South Bend summer leaguer picks up the nice swill, game purdue. Belmont gets into a futile argument about down or up. Their other upwinder was swill when Bockelman attempted to bat away a disc, macked it and a receiver caught it. This game was full of great toe dragging snags.

We finished sixth and didn't play particularly bad. Our offense, minus NWU moved laterally and subsequently moved up the field smoothly. Our zones were sound and when used correctly gave us an asset against Purdue and Illinois, and our zone offense was good enough to put away the weak zones that we saw. We could have finished second, but we finished sixth. We've got a second chance in two weeks, with the full return of our two best throwers, Rumples out with a bad shoulder, and Bock, Bob and Fang are all nursing bad ankles. Maybe the stars will allign in our favor, I can guarantee you that us playing well won't surprise anyone and that everyone will be ready to play a tough team. If we win its going to be against a team's A game, which means we're just going to have to play that much harder.