Team Oosterbaan takes home the hardwear.
Front L-R: Chris Hopfner, Grady Bridges, Dave Hiltzik, Mark Borowski.
Back L-R: Pete Melgren, Sebastian Harrison, Kevin Cheng, Richi Kanu, Steve Merz, Andrew Bituin
Game 1 (1st vs. 4th semi-final): Bennie Oosterbaan 28 – James Earl Jones 7
The start to the season finale began with 1st place Oosterbaan taking on a hungry Jones team with vengeance on the mind after suffering two losses to Oosterbaan in match play. Right off the bat, Team Jones threatened to kick Oosterbaan out of championship contention with several breakout runs putting Oosterbaan on their heels. Captain Grady Bridges would have none of it, counterattacking with a kick and chase that led to a Sebastian Harrison try to get a lead for Team Oosterbaan. Not much longer after that, Grady would break two tackles and sprint for a try for a 14-0 lead. The Jones team would not let the Oosterbaan players get to the championship that easily though putting together a string of passes of their own leading to a late 1st half try by Steve Offringa. The offense of team Oosterbaan proved too much to handle for a tiring Jones squad as Richi Kanu put up 2 tries in 4 minutes to bring the final score to 28-7. Team Oosterbaan clinched a spot in the championship while Jones would play in the 3rd place match.
Game 2 (2nd vs. 3rd semi-final): James J. Duderstadt 10 – Don Canham 15
The second semi-final match pitted two championship contenders together. Play went back and forth in the beginning until Nick Lazurka, a newcomer to the team who has unexpectedly played the role of try-scorer for team Canham, ran up the sidelines to give his team a 5-0 start. Fellow teammate, Ian Etheart, would score off a pick up only a minute later. Two missed conversions by Canham left the possibility of a comeback by the Dudes definitely within reach. Team Duderstadt knew this and started the second half strong. Evan Noon of team Duderstadt put his team in the opponent’s territory with a 40m run off the kick off to set up a try from Eli Cahan. A missed conversion by team Duderstadt left the score at 10-5. With some great tackles and a recent score, it seemed the Dudes were poised for a comeback. A gap in their defense, however, would let CJ Stock extend Canham’s lead. With 5 minutes left and another missed conversion, the Dudes were by no means done. With two minutes left, Evan Noon of team Duderstadt brought the lead within 5 but there was not enough left in the tank to come all of the way back. Canham won this semi-final and advanced to play Oosterbaan in the championship while Team Duderstadt would have to settle for a 3rd place consolation match with Jones.
Game 3 (5th place match): Stephen M. Ross 19 – Mary Sue Coleman 0
The 3rd match of the night was a battle of the beaten. Ross and Coleman were two talented teams whose consistency either lacked or didn’t pick up until too late in the season. Team Ross, one of the favorites to make a championship run in the beginning of the season, was characterized by the latter trend and proved it in the 5th place match. Great defense and poor offensive ball handling kept the game scoreless until the last minute of the half. Chris Padmos of Ross booted the ball into the opponent’s corner leading to a Joel Conzelmann score. In the second half, Ross continued to play fast and hit their lines with great pace. Conzelmann looked to tack on another try for Ross with a great run to the try zone but was held up. Their disbelief was soon forgotten as Austin Novarro would get a score within the next minute. Offensive breaks just kept on coming for Ross with one by Chris Padmos to make it a 19-0 final score. Had the season lasted any longer, Ross may have seen themselves in a semi-final match and possibly the championship.
Game 4 (3rd place match): James Earl Jones 12 – James J. Duderstadt 19
Looking for a good note to end the season on, James Earl Jones came out fighting hard. Senior Steve Offringa led offensive strikes for the Jones team with his characteristic straddling of defense in search of gaps. This eventually led to his teammate, Evan Rourke, to break down the middle for a nice try. Jones looked strong for most of the half until a break down and string of missed tackles let Zach Kendall score making it 7-5 in favor of the Dudes. To start the second half, a series of great passes by Spencer Scolnick and Evan Noon led to a pretty try scored by John Palladino. Kenny Andutan of Jones tried to tie up the score but a valiant chase by Spencer preserved the Duderstadt lead. More passing by Spencer and Noon led to another try for team Duderstadt making it 19-5 late. A last second push by Jones was initiated by Philippe Kirschen who made a long and brilliant pass to Evan Rourke for a try. A comeback was denied by the clock as time ran out before another attempt could be made.
Grady Bridges looking to attack in the final
Championship: Bennie Oosterbaan 41 – Don Canham 20
Finally, after six weeks of intense training and match play, the sevens championship match had arrived. The match featured a Canham team with a lot of young talent against an experienced Oosterbaan team. The two teams split the regular season series 1-1 building much suspense for the season finale. The actual match did not pan out the way Canham had intended, however, as team Oosterbaan continued their offensive success right from the start. Just a minute after play started, Mark Borowski popped the ball to Dave Hiltzik who split a seam down the middle from 40 yards out for a score. Hiltzik, previously recognized more for his stellar defense, proved he could run the ball too with another long try just a minute later. Canham thought they had stopped the madness after Scott Miller tallied a try making the score 12-5. However, an unfortunate giveaway to an opposing player, Borowski, gave Oosterbaan all of the momentum back following the 70 yard pick for a try. The 10 minute halves of the championship match seemed to play more in favor of team Oosterbaan’s potent offense, especially once Grady Bridges exposed holes in an exhausted Canham defense. An offload to Borowski from Bridges left the halftime score at 24-5. Oosterbaan kept the pace up with a score in the 4th minute by Richie Kanu from Andrew Bituin. Two minutes later, Chris Hopfner of Oosterbaan drove himself in from 5 yards out to bring the score to 34-5. With time running out, Canham managed to tally on 10 points with tries from Nick Lazurka and CJ Stock. They were quickly put down again as Hiltzik scored his third try following a pass from Bridges. In the final minute, Ian Etheart escaped the grip of Hopfner to bring the final score to 41-20.
A few individual awards were handed out after the championship. Chris Hopfner was named tournament MVP while Nick Lazurka was named Rookie of the Tournament.
Rookie of the Tournament, Nick Lazurka
The UMRFC would like to thank everyone who came and watched, making the night a special one for all the players.
