Grit had a great run at regionals this year.  We suffered an early loss to Florida on Saturday, but fought back through the backdoor beating Cottenmouth, For The Story, and Uproar to play into Sunday.  Our Sunday morning rematch against Florida was again a disappointing loss.  The loss eliminated us from the consilation bracket and our hopes of placing in the top 3.  Our final standing is tied for 5th place with Iron Men.  It was a great weekend to cap a successful season. 

 

Many thanks to everyone who supported us this year.  Special thanks go to Grit's captains, Kevin Richardson (Offense), David Richardson (Offense), CW Sheehan (Defense), and Brian Mente (Defense).  Get excited for 2010! 

New Media is up!

Seeded 3rd, Grit expected to do exceedingly well at sectionals.  The way the pools were set made our trip to the finals look like smooth sailing.  This was a classic case of "over-confidence".  The weekend ended up as expected, but the team certainly created cause for doubt along the way.

 

Saturday morning was cool and cloudy.  Everyone was excited to be playing in great weather after weeks of rain in DFW.  Pool play consisted of three games against Riverside 2, Plasticville, and Black Angus (in that order).  We came out slow all morning letting weaker teams into games with lazy defense allowing the other team to pick up trashy swill.  Finally, during our last game of pool play against Black Angus, we started to turn up the heat.  Things were looking great in the first half and the team cruised to victory in the second half.

 

Then things fell apart.

 

With little time between pool play and the quarterfinals, Grit had to quickly change fields to face Harriet Tubgirl.  We were glad we had won the Angus game, but the excitement from the first half had worn off.  Frankly, we came out and tripped over our own feet.  Harriet Tubgirl came down with poor hucks off of offensive turnovers.  Grit had to work three times has hard on offense and it created three times the anxiety.  Defense couldn't get the offense off the field and the game stayed far too close for comfort.  Finally, in true form to our level of play during the game, we ended on the losing side of universe point. 

 

To say we were disappointed would be an understatement.  We had beaten ourselves in every aspect of the game.  Luckily, we would have an opportunity to redeem ourselves on Sunday.

 

Note, it should be said that Saturday night was a key factor in letting go of the loss to Harriet Tubgirl.  The team once again honored the glorious establishment of Austin's Pizza.  This year was a special year because the City of Austin was hosting the University of Texas versus Texas Tech University football game at Darrell Royal Memorial Stadium.  In other words, the bar was full of less than sober UT and TTU fans. 

 

In brief: the night was filled with introducing our non-big 12 fans to the big 12 bar.  Flip cup ensued, $5 lone star pitchers, Texas wins. 

 

Sunday morning came very early.  Some of the team had stayed out a bit too late to be fully awake for 7:00AM warmups.  One fortunate outcome of Saturday's loss was that we were able to play Crude.  Despite a few inter-squad scrimmages at less than full strength, this was an opportunity for both teams to really show each other how hard we had been working all season.  It was really great to play each other at full strength.  Crude has been working exceptionally hard all season.  It was a great (but early) game.  The strong start was crucial for our most important game of the day against our biggest sectionals competition, Suess.

 

Heading into the game against Suess, we were eager to prove ourselves.  The captains gave a great pre-game talk and the team was fired up and ready to go.  Despite strong efforts on either side, the game was very close.  Suess was up for most of the first half.  They managed to pull down bobbled catches and swilly throws that really helped them keep the lead (Darroh had the luckiest catch ever for a score, the disc wobbled on top of him as he rolled on the ground(2-3 times)... the disc never touched the ground).  In the second half, the game really started to turn our way.  After getting back into the game with a few breaks the score was 10-9, game to 11, Grit wins 11-9. 

 

Our last game was against Black Angus.  We were a little tired from the Suess game, but ready to play none the less.  Despite a poorer showing than Saturday's game, the rematch was still heavily in Grit's favor.  After the game was done, the team was exhausted.  Unfortunately, the weekend was physically and emotionally draining. 

 

Bottom line: Grit takes 2nd place after a roller coaster weekend going 7-1.  Regionals is less than two weeks away.  We have something to prove.

Our post-season begins on September 19th in Austin Texas.  Sectionals is our last test before Regionals.  We've come a long way in the last two months.  Implementing new offensive and defensive sets, working hard in and out of practice.  It has been a challenging season largely plagued by injuries, but we have also experienced more regular season success than in any other year with this core group.  The weather is going to be perfect.  Its time to bring it.

 

There are effectively three teams that will be competing for the top spots this weekend.  Doublewide, Grit, and Seuss.  Certainly there are some other teams that will make for difficult games, Mileage, Angus, Riverside, but our goals will mainly be focused on playing in the finals.  Depending on how the seeding finally pans out, we will likely see Suess in the Semi-finals and Doublewide in the finals.  Looks almost like what happend last year. 

 

This is an important tournament for the club.  We're playing to prove our worth.  The last week has been plauged by rain, so we should all be well rested.  October is almost upon us and we are at the famous intersection of preperation and opportunity.

Thanks for everyone who followed our progress on twitter, @dallasunited.  Great way to keep in touch with friends and family following the weekend.

 

2009 was a different year for Grit at Chesapeake.  We were all very excited and couldn't wait to get on the field to compete.  This is our biggest tournament of the year second to regionals.  Unfortunately we were playing with a short roster of 17 players (although larger than 2008).  Yet, that roster would go on to prove that Grit has what it takes to win key games against highly competitive teams. 

 

Day 1

We were on the lower bay fields at the Potomac Polo Club.  These were the same fields we had competed on in 2008.  All the fields were somewhat inclined and positioned such that play occurred uphill-downhill.  The fields themselves were in very good shape.  The grass was very thick and the ground was very soft relative to Texas standards. 

 

Saturday forecast was for 50% chance of thunderstorms, which luckily held off for the weekend.  The morning and mid-day games were all played under an overcast, drizzly east coast sky with little wind.  By the afternoon, the weather had cleared out and the sun came out in full force.  What had been a cool wet day rapidly turned into a hot and humid day.  We were the last team to finish playing at our field site, around 5:30-6:00.

  

Game 1 (pool play) - 9:00 AM Saturday versus Colt .45

Last year, we lost to Colt .45 in the first game on Sunday at Chesapeake.  It was a frustrating loss, and veterans were looking for revenge.  Whether it was this motivation or the cool pristine weather, we extracted every ounce of retribution on Colt.  We took first half 7-0 and second half 6-2, winning by a margin of 11 points, 13-2.  We were rewarded by our quick win with a two hour bye. 

 

Game 2 (pool play) - 12:30 PM Saturday versus Eastern Motors FB

Coming off of a universe point loss against top-seeded Pike, EMFB was certainly a little frustrated.  Unfortunately for us, their frustration turned into an early lead.  We knew we had better athletes than EMFB, but we couldn't put it together.  They capitalized on several of our mistakes (turnovers) and won the game 13-8.  Little did we realize that this loss would haunt us later in the day when teams were reseeded for crossovers.

 

Game 3 (pool play) - 2:15 PM Saturday versus Pike

Our record versus Pike since 2007 is 1-1.  We've enjoyed playing them at Texas Shootout in Austin during that time, but now we were on their turf, the east coast.  Once again we were the underdogs.  This game proved to be just as good as any other we have had.  The game started off with both teams fighting their hardest to get breaks.  Pike ended up winning the first half 5-7 after rattling a break off right before half.  Things weren't going our way, but we knew we were still in the game and only down a break. 

 

The second half of this game can't be transcribed effectively here.  I can't begin to say how important and incredible the second half of this game was for our team.  In brief, we demonstrated a level of composure and maturity to maintain our intensity, focus, and drive to win in a case where we easily could have lost.  Two important points.  First, offense scored relentlessly.  Second, defense went on a run, converting key breaks at the end of a game.  Grit wins 11-10 on universe point.  (fyi, the point to win was a "TICONDEROGA-CLASS SKY" by K-Rich as described on the twitter account, @dallasunited)

 

Game 4 (crossover) - 4:00PM versus Roots of Rhythm

After pool play was over, we found ourselves in a three way tie with Pike and EMFB for 1st in pool G.  The rules stated that the tie breaker was point differential between the three tied teams.  This did not work in our favor given our close win over pike and -5 loss to EMFB.  Long story short, we ended up third despite having beaten colt by a +11 margin where EMFB nearly lost on universe point. 

 

Regardless, we found ourselves playing Roots of Rhythm (second seed out of pool F).  We knew this was a must win game.  We would have been sorely disappointed with our weekend if we were to lose.  Unfortunately, we started slow yet again and let Roots slip out with an early lead.  Once again we found ourselves down a break at half.  We've been here before and we knew it was going to take a solid showing to get ourselves the win. 

 

Since our team loves last minute comebacks, we let ourselves stay down two breaks until around 10-8 (young players beware, this is not a good strategy).  But, a strong showing is exactly what happened during the last four points of the game.  Despite terrible push-pas turnovers on defense and key successful scores on offense, we put our foot down when our backs were against the wall.  Before we knew it, the game was tied at 10-10 (thanks in no small part to k-rich) with the soft cap on, game to 12.  The ensuing point was one of the strangest we've ever witnessed, but we pulled it out to make it 11-10.  In true Grit form, defense came on the field to win the game.  Point and game, Grit takes it 12-10 after a 4-0 run.

 

Day 2

The weather has completely moved out.  It’s a cool clear morning.  The fields are wet from heavy dew, but the skies are clear and the sun dries things out very quickly.  Fields are still in great shape.  We are still on the lower bay fields of the Potomac polo club.

 

Quick note regarding seeding for the open-tier bracket.  After our win against Roots, we were supposed to play Pike (again); luckily the TDs were very accommodating and worked with the seeding such that we would be playing Mephisto instead.  This was fantastic and we couldn't be more grateful to the Chesapeake staff for working with the tournament format limitations. 

 

Game 5 (pre-quarters) - 8:30AM Sunday versus Mephisto

An early round on Sunday is never "fun", but we were pretty pumped after our big Saturday wins.  We knew Mephisto would be challenging, but a win meant playing elite teams in the quarter-finals.  Side note, Mephisto is out of Quebec.  They are French Canadian.  They all speak French Canadian.  It’s the second "international" game for Grit after playing Goat at Texas Shootout in 2008, but it is the first "international" win.  That makes it 1-1 for Grit versus Canada. 

 

The first half was all about offense.  Both teams traded points straight up until half.  Unfortunately we were broken once again right before half, 8-7 bad guys.  Mephisto proved to be a challenging team.  They had strong athletes and played a physical game, but their lead proved to be largely a result of our shortcomings rather than their performance.  So once again, we were forced to clean up our game and outperform them in the second half.  For the third time that weekend, we successfully stayed the course and pulled out key defensive stops to win the game on a 3-0 run.  This was much thanks to repeated defensive deep skies by newcomer Arthur Corbitt, consensus MVP of the weekend.  Grit wins, 12-10.

 

Game 6 (quarter finals) - 10:15AM Sunday versus Tanasi

After beating Mephisto, we were excited to find out that we would be playing Tanasi from the Elite bracket.  Seeing Tanasi at Chesapeake was a blessing in disguise because it would give us exposure to a key regional opponent that we would otherwise not have seen.  Unfortunately our roster dwindled to 15 for this game due to injuries to Matt Jackson and Kevin Richardson. 

 

Nevertheless we were determined to fight hard throughout the game and learn as much as we could about our opponent.  Yet, after playing in so many close games, we had a very difficult time holding our own against a team who was looking for a win after going 0-4 in the Elites.  We worked hard and had opportunities, but couldn't convert enough to keep the game close.  Grit loses 14-8.

 

Game 7 (consolation bracket for 5th in open-tier) - 12:00PM Sunday versus Sons of Liberty

The loss against Tanasi and the accumulating injuries didn't serve us well (roster fell to 14 after Tanasi due to injury to Phil Rollo).  Since several players had to catch flights between 5:00-6:00, we new this would be the last game of the day.  This certainly did not help our mental fortitude that had proven so strong over the weekend.  We made it a goal to push each other to try new positions, and get out of our comfort zones. 

 

The game never swung our way.  We managed to convert on offense and get a few breaks on defense, but there wasn't enough for us to finish the weekend out with a win.  Some great plays by players grinding out the weekend, working hard in the last game on Sunday.  Grit loses 13-7.

 

Summary of the Weekend

We considered this a very successful tournament for Grit.  We held on to key come-from-behind victories against competitive teams.  We completely decimated Colt .45, who beat us in 2008.  Our offense scored consistently when we couldn't get breaks.  Our defense pushed to get key breaks late in key games.  Several players had big weekends.  Not the least among these was Arthur Corbitt, MVP of the weekend. 

 

Most importantly, the team had a fantastic attitude all weekend long.  We were positive regardless of performance.  We didn't let our mistakes get to us and we thrived off of our big plays.  It is a sacrifice for everyone to travel to a tournament like Chesapeake.  Yet, the team bonding and growth that occurs here is second to none.  Everyone came away feeling great about the team and about each other.

 

Three weeks till sectionals (September 19-20 in Austin).  Key games for Grit will be against Doublewide and Seuss.  Regionals is only a month away.  The season is coming to its peak.  After this weekend, Grit is ready and hungry to win. 

 

Our expectations for this tournament can be summed up in one word.  Win. 

 

As the team gathered Saturday morning, we could tell that the energy was high.  The team was ready to showcase our 2009 talent.  Our goal was singular, play defense, score points, and win games. 

 

We knew it wouldn't be easy.  Saturday we had three difficult games ahead of us, Mileage, Cottonmouth (Arkansas), and Dr. Suess.  Mileage had brought in several players as they prepare for their run in the series to qualify for worlds in 2010.  Cottonmouth is effectively the remake of Ludicrus Speed who gave us the boot at regionals in 2008.  Suess eliminated us from competition at Two Finger in 2008, and they had picked up several TUFF players who didn't get picked up by DW. 

 

Saturday competition started with Mileage.  In 2008, Mileage had always been able to give us fits.  This year was a different story.  We new exactly how to match up in order to shut down their biggest threats.  They had nothing to respond with.  We were able to easily outwork them.  Despite several early mistakes on our part, we managed to keep the gas on defense getting several breaks. 

 

Cottonmouth was a very different team than we saw at regionals last year.  There were certainly a few returning players, but they were hurt by several key absences.  Nevertheless, we were ready to extract revenge for 08 regionals.  We came out early and got several breaks right off the bat.  The game started to get chipy quickly as emotions flared from calls made on the field.  Despite their best efforts, we continued to convert and score points, walking away with a big win.

 

During our game with Cottomouth, we were excited to find out that Mileage had pulled out an ultimate point victory over Suess.  Their effort put us in an essential lock to take the #1 seed into Sunday.  We new it was only guaranteed if we beat Suess to go 3-0 on the day.  Unlike last year's team, the 2009 version of Dr. Suess was filled with much more talented players than in years past.  We knew that we would have to come out swinging if we were going to be able to pull out the victory.  Like most of Satuday's games, the Suess game was very up-wind/down-wind.  If we got a break, we would trade it back.  If they got a break, we had to earn it back.  Towards the end of the game, Suess finally went up a break with only a few points left in the game.  We knew our backs were against a wall, and we went on to score three straight to earn the break back and win the game. 

 

We all left Saturday night with a feeling of cautious optimism.  In 2008, we also went undefeated on Saturday only to be eliminated by Suess on Sunday.  We knew this team was different.  We new that if we didn't make mistakes, executed our offense, and worked on defense, that we would easily win the tournament.  But, Saturday play showed that we were far from perfect.  Even though we won all of our games, we were far from our final goal, to win the tournament.

 

Our schedule for Sunday was quarter-finals against Harriet Tubgirl, Semi-finals, and finals. Three more games to win.

 

Harriet Tubgirl was essentially a team of LSU and ex-Suess players.  They immediately started to go for the downwind huck.  Unfortunately, we weren't ready to respond to their quick attacks.  We let them trade points/breaks for effectively the entire game.  Finally, late in the second half.  Our defense woke up and shut down their threats, allowing us to easily win the game. 

 

The semi-finals was going to be against the winner of Cottonmouth and RiffRaff (UNT).  We were all hoping for a match up with RiffRaff.  Not only did we want to avoid the rematch with Cottonmouth, but we wanted to play against RiffRaff since we have several connections to the team (ex-DU players, current UNT players, etc).  The RiffRaff game was exciting to watch with big plays from both teams, but they just couldn't match us.  We continued to break for scores, and, despite some "excessive" travel calls, we easily won the game.

 

After the semi-finals, we began to prepare for the finals against Dr. Suess.  We knew this would be a difficult game, but we had been successful in achieving our goal to this point, going 5-0.  The first half greatly resembeled our Saturday game.  We traded points and breaks, managing to go up early, but falling behind at half.  Both teams came out ready to play in the second half.  Grit's energy was high but so was our exaustion.  The second half could easily be summed up into one word, "errors".  Despite repeated efforts to pull ourselves back ahead of Suess, we started to drop discs and make poor throws.  Several times we made incredible defensive efforts, earning ourselves a chance to score and break. But we kept putting ourselves back on offense, making it difficult to keep the game in reach. 

 

We ended up going 5-1 on the weekend.  The loss in the finals was disappointing, but we knew it was our own fault.  This was our first non-tryout tournament of the season.  It was exciting to watch players come together to win.  Everyone was impressed with our level of talent, and it was apparent that we were a team to be contended with.