In
the opening round the Devils were once again matched up with
All-Stars/Redzone (Cleveland, OH), which is a combination
of the two teams that the Devils have played numerous times
over the past few season. The Devils scored first and Jake
Stewart added the extra point to make the score 8-0.
The score would stay that way much of the game until Devils'
quarterback AJ Saul's pass
was tipped, intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The
extra point failed, which proved to be the difference in
an 8-6 victory for the Devils.
The
Devils would the meet up with another familiar opponent in
the next round as they were matched up the Raiders (Columbus,
OH), who are the defending national champions. Defensive captain Elliott
Giles made some key adjustments against the Raiders spread
offense which proved to be very successful throughout the game.
The Devils scored first and Stewart added
the extra point to go ahead 8-0, but the Raiders would answer
quickly as they scored a long TD on a blown coverage on 4th
and long. The extra point was no good and the Devils kept a
close 8-6 lead. After several defensive stops by the Devils,
the Raiders got the ball back late in the game looking to take
the lead, but Seth Steiner intercepted
a pitch by one of the Raiders receivers and the Devils offense
was able to run out the clock and seal the victory.
The
Devils road to the championship was filled with familiar foes
as they met up with the DC Jets (Washington, DC) in the winners-bracket
final four. On the Devils first posession, Saul connected
with TJ Parker on a long completion
that put the Devils inside the Jets 10 yard line. After three
straight incompletions, the Saul chose
to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. His decision
paid off as he connected with Steiner for
the score. Stewart's extra
point was blocked to make the score 6-0. The Jets responded
quickly as they were able to get the ball deep inside Devils
territory in one play. The Devils defense stood strong, but
couldn't hold as the Jets were able to punch it in for the
score and take an 8-6 lead. The Devils were able to respond
as Saul connected with Craig
Villwock in the open field, who then made a great play
as he pitched the ball to Hagerty who
raced down the sidelines for a long score. Hagerty made
another huge play in the Jets next drive as he intercepted
a pass in the back of the endzone to seal the victory as the
Devils moved in with a 17-14 win.
The
winners-bracket championship game proved to be a battle of
defenses as both teams were able to come up with several key
stops. After Dominion's (Upper Marlboro, MD) offense was forced
to punt after three plays, the Devils offense quickly drove
the ball down the field on their opening posession and inside
Dominion's five yard line, but were unable to put any points
on the board. Late in the second half Dominion was able to
put a long drive together and get inside the Devils five yard
line, but Giles came up
with key interception and returned it down the sidelines into
Dominion territory. The Devils offense was once again unable
to put a drive together as Dominion's defensive line was putting
constant pressure on Saul. Dominion
got the ball back with under two minutes left in the game and
began putting together a nice drive. They were able to get
inside the Devils five yard line once again, but could not
punch it in for a score before time expired as regulation ended
in a 0-0 tie. Dominion scored first in overtime to take an
8-0 lead, but the Devils offense quickly answered as Saul connected
with Parker for the score. Stewart added
the PAT to tie the score at 8 and force a second overtime.
Dominion's defense stepped up when it mattered most as they
held the Devils on three consecutive plays and forced a field
goal attempt. Stewart's kick was wide-left and Dominion's offense
took the field and was able to punch it in for the score to
knock the Devils into the losers bracket by the score of 14-8.
The
Devils would now have to defeat Sudden Impact and then double-dip
Dominion twice. Due to an injury to OL Chris
Villwock in the Dominion game, the Devils were forced to
switch to a spread offense against Sudden Impact. The switch
proved to be a good choice as the Devils drove right down the
field on their opening drive as Saul connected
with Hagerty down the
sidelines for the first score of the game. Stewart's extra
point was blocked to make the score 6-0. That would end up
being the Devils only score of the game as Sudden Impact was
able to muster up two scoring drives in a 15-6 victory, eliminating
the Devils from the tournament and ending their title hopes.
Two
members of the Blue Devils were named to the All-American team,
WR Jason hagerty and DB Poog
Williams.
Next
up for the Devils will be the Youngstown Flag Football Association's
4man and 8man Spring League's beginning April 12-13.
Photos from
the tournament can be viewed in our team photo album.