Regionals Recap

First of all, I would like to say thank you to the Best Western in Hartland, MI. Best hotel I’ve ever stayed at for a tourney. The staff was very accommodating and the team had plenty of room (9 rooms in fact).

The day began cold and windy, but the Illini were prepared to heat things up. They started off against Kalamazoo, and once again, Stupca messed up and put the D-line out there to receive. The last minute switch must have caught our O-line off guard, because Kalamazoo broke us on the first point. The Illini got their head in the game and took care of business after that. Or should I say, the D-line took care of business.

We waited for Northwestern to make the trek to our field. We knew their threats: Teddy and Markese. The back hand force took care of Teddy and yours truly along with Lefty took out their biggest long threat. The Illini rolled to an easy victory, but they knew the wheels needed to be tightened for the semis.

Notre Dame and its Royal Irish Catholic fan base met us in our last game of the day. The defense played out of its mind in this game. It took til the second half before we were able to string a couple of breaks in a row, but the game was well in hand by then. The Illini did get a little complacent towards the end, but the O-line buckled down and closed out the game 15-11.

Championship Sunday

Michigan is a tough team, but the O-line flowed smoothly and the D-line caused turns. Unfortunately, the D-line couldn’t capitalize and our Offense got broken first. The Illini never hit the brakes, evidenced by Joel’s sick D’s including a layout in the back of the opponent’s endzone that no one saw coming. But we never stepped on the gas either. Our goal was nationals, not necessarily championship. Michigan took the game, and we geared up for some revenge.

I’ve never beaten Ohio State, and with nationals on the line, it seemed like a golden opportunity to break that streak. Unfortunately, I broke my leg instead. On the third point, Lefty launched a huck that Lamp and I chased down. Lamp laid out before I did and landed on the back of my leg as I was about to jump. I heard the snap and stayed down. The pain was intense for the first two minutes, and I let out a few screams. Then my foot went numb, and my teammates got me off the field. I knew from the sound that I wouldn’t be back on the field for the rest of the game. But the fact that my foot was dangling and crooked as I hopped off the field told me I needed to get to the hospital soon.

I don’t have the details from the game, but I hear the d-line rolled ‘em. Good work guys, hopefully I’ll make it to nationals to cheer you on.