Special Delivery: Captain Pat's Recap Against Ohio State

“C’mon Illinois! Get Intense!...Because this time it counts!” I couldn’t tell whether I was listening to a promo for the All-Star game or the wise words of wisdom from one Charlie O’Brien. Superman was feeling it during the pre-game warmup.

It had been something that was talked about all year long. The team had been disappointed with some of our early season results, but was always comforted by the fact that only Regionals mattered. Only Regionals would determine our fate for the year.

We enjoyed a dream start during the backdoor final. The offense marched down the field to take a 1-0 lead, with Jman jumping out of the gym for the goal. The team was jacked. The defense then proceeded to take control of the game and set the tone over the next three points. After turns, Charlie made some great offensive plays. One of the Illini scores came on an up-line cut by Jake and immediate huck to Charlie. Superman elevated and ripped it out of the sky. We were up 4-0 before Leadbelly knew what happened. Ohio St. would manage to stop the bleeding and cut the lead to 4-1. The offense scored efficiently throughout the rest of the half and claimed an 8-3 halftime lead.

This was the exact opposite situation that we found ourselves in last year against Leadbelly. Knowing it was an elimination game, we could not let up. I reminded the team of the run we put on them last year at Regionals to attempt a comeback. We would have to withstand their surge out of halftime.

The second half proved to be a grueling test. Ohio St. flashed a 4-man cup on the O-line. We were able to work it through the zone with crashes from the handlers and quick movement through the cup. Later in the half, the O-line was challenged as there were several points with multiple turns. However, the game was secured with the O-line’s ability to continually get the D back. There were several huge plays. Three stuck out in my mind. The first was a layout poach D by Joel. Typical Joel D, not paying attention to his man, but rather focused on making the thrower regret living. The second came on an especially long point. We had just turned the disc and I was thinking to myself, ‘Damn, it’d be sweet if they just turned it over on the first throw.’ I was running with my man and then heard a thud. I looked back and the Leadbelly thrower looked to the sky in disgust. The disc lay a foot away from him. Marms had done his thing in the clutch. The last was a D by Dave that can only be characterized as silly. Every once in a while, Dave gets a D that strikes fear in my heart, even when I’m on his team. This was one of them. I had a front-row seat for Dave laying out past Ohio St’s captain throwing them both into a heap. He stuck the D and dust flew up around him. Silly.

The long points proved to be deadly for Ohio St. Our depth won out in the end as we were playing our regular rotation and Leadbelly was playing around 10 guys for most of the game. Receiving at 14-11, we marched it down down the field. Kyle caught an in-cut. Somebody else cut deep and my guy went with him. I was poached under and received the in-cut. I immediately turned and threw the break to Phenom. Joel streaked deep and gave his typical point, indicating for Phenom to put it. Joel withstood the contact and ripped it. Everyone rushed the field and an insane huddle followed.

Illinois is returning to The Show. Whether you call it Nationals, Nayshuns, or nahshuns, we are headed to Boulder.