The Blue Devils went into the MCFFU Eastern Nationals with one goal in mind, and that was to get back to their winning ways. The theme so far for 2007 has been a loss in the opening round of the tournament and climbing all the way back through the losers bracket only to run out of gas in the championship game. The Devils have finished runner-up at their first two major tournaments in 2007 with their last tournament title dating back to November of 2006 at the Michigan State Championships.

The opening round game against Elite (Washington, DC) set the tone for the tournament as the Devils got off to a quick start and jumped ahead 14-0. A late touchdown by Elite made the score 14-8, but the Devils defense clamped down and shut down Elite's offense to prevent any attempt of a comeback.

In the second game of the day, the Devils met up with the tournaments #1 seed, Yung Crew (Atlanta, GA). Yung Crew's talented group of receivers were able to make big plays throughout the game including a long score before halftime to make the score 14-8. AJ SAUL led the Devils on three scoring drives, one of them in the closing minutes of the game as he connected with MIKE WRIGHT, a key pickup from the DC Jets (Washington, DC), for a touchdown to put the Devils ahead 22-20. A deflection in the back of the endzone by DB ELLIOTT GILES as time expired sealed the victory and advanced the Devils to the next round.

The two wins on Saturday put the Devils in the winners bracket championship game against the DC Dolphins (Washington, DC) on Sunday afternoon. The game was heated from the opening whistle as both teams came out playing instense and physical football. The DC Dolphins were able to score first to go ahead 6-0, but the Devils quickly returned the favor as SAUL was able to find DUPREE LAWRENCE, also from the DC Jets, streaking down the sidelines behind the Dolphins secondary for a long score. SAUL marched the offense right down the field just before halftime as he found WR JASON HAGERTY in the back of the endzone for a score, but a holding penalty took away the touchdown and forced the Devils to attempt a long field goal. JAKE STEWART'S kick looked good from all angles, but the official signaled no-good and the Devils went into halftime ahead only 8-6. The Devils were able to score first in the second half as STEWART kicked a field goal to make the score 11-6. The Dolphins scored late to take the lead 12-11, forcing the Devils offense to move quickly as time winded down. The offensive line of SCOTT MURRAY, JUSTIN EVERETT and WRIGHT gave SAUL plenty of time as he was able to once again put the offense into scoring range. A QB sneak by SAUL that appeared to be an obvious touchdown in the final seconds was waved off as the officials took away another Devils score on a controversial call and spotted the ball just shy of the goal line. The Devils were forced to kick a field goal as time expired and this time there was no question as to whether the kick was good as STEWART was perfect and the Devils moved onto the championship game with a 14-12 victory.

The championship game was a rematch with Yung Crew as they were able to work their way through the losers bracket with wins over the Philly Road Warriors (Philadelphia, PA), Pfuzion (Atlanta, GA), and the DC Dolphins. SAUL scored the first touchdown on a long run to put the Devils ahead 8-0. After a defensive stop, another long run by SAUL and a behind-the-back lateral to JOHN BURD took the Devils inside Yung Crew's 5-yard line. MURRAY then rumbled in on a direct-snap for the second touchdown making the score 16-0. A long touchdown reception by a Yung Crew receiver just before halftime made the score 16-8. Rushers SHAWN BARBER, JESSE HARDIN, and JEFF KOVAL put constant pressure on Yung Crew's QB, forcing him to make quick reads and bad throws throughout the game. SAUL found WR TJ PARKER for a late score to give the Devils a 22-6 advantage and put the game out of reach. DB DOM BOWELL shutdown Yung Crew's talented receivers in the championship game, earning him Defensive MVP of the tournament. SAUL was name Offensive MVP and STEWART was awarded Special Teams MVP.

By winning the MCFFU Eastern Nationals, the Devils earned a paid bid and the #1 seed at the Flag Football World Championships (flagfootballwc.com) in Dallas, TX in March of 2008.