“Destiny Fellas, Here We Come”- Peter Van De Burgt, FSU Coach

The Finals: University of South Carolina (2) vs. Florida State University (6)

Florida State University showed that they were deeper than any team at Joint Summit Classic, by going deeper in the tournament than anyone else. While South Carolina had their chances off of FSU turnovers, the Demented Ultimate Freaks showed their defensive tenacity on nearly every point, every cut, and won 13-10. Florida State was the only team to consistently produce D’s throughout the tournament, giving their offense numerous second and third chances to convert.

South Carolina showcased a talented squad of only 12 men, reaching the finals on the deep

hucks by 6’3” Jacob Evans. Evans’ favorite target throughout the tournament was number 22 (would love to get the names of these guys), who seemed to be able to turn on the afterburners time and time again. In the first half of the game this was the connection that kept USC on serve until FSU broke away 8-5. Peter Van De Burgt kept the “fire on high”, insuring that his player’s relentless D wouldn’t back down.

The Gamecocks were run ragged by the athletic depth of the opposition, and could be found doubled over with their hands on their knees at stoppages in the second half. FSU had mistakes that USC could have capitalized on but every time plays were made by Nick Fletcher, Randy Barcelo, and numerous others. USC cut the lead to one with hard cap looming. After a quick Florida State score, USC rushed to the line down two attempting to get the next point before cap was set. Yours truly predicted the play, Jacob Evans up the line to dish a huck deep to number 22. The disc went up low, and an FSU defender jumped up to swat it to the ground. A quick transition led to the final blow and Florida State took home the $500.

I spoke with Nick Fletcher, captain of DUF, after the game. He was proud to win one for FSU for the first time in a years. “We made a lot of improvements and did a lot of work through the winter after playing badly in the fall”, and I agree, FSU at Joint Summit would trounce FSU at UOA ACCs. Congrats to the Freaks, and keep working hard.

Semi Finals: ECU (1) vs. USC (2) and W&M (7) vs. FSU (6)

ECU (1) vs. USC (2)

The one and two seeds of the tournament met up in the semi finals, with a controversial

ending. Early on featured a huck fest with the prior mentioned duo of Jacob Evans to “After Burners” number 22 for USC, and Joey Cretella to any other ECU player cutting deep. South Carolina likes to run a vertical based horizontal stack offense often centered around . Rather than have slashing diagonal cuts through the middle of the field, the ho was used to stretch the defense going directly in and out the majority of the time. The teams traded points early on, with ECU’s Mark Saba extending his body on a low flying up the line grab to tie the game at 4.

ECU’s youthful throwaways gave the Gamecocks opportunities throughout the game. Taking advantage of a rare Cretella throw going out of the back of the end zone, USC rattled off a four points to take half. With the score 5-4, an errant arching huck got tipped to a waiting USC player on the right sideline. As if it was planned, the cutter wasted no time leading a teammate with a slow floating flick to go up 6-4.

ECU battled back after half with two points, including a perfectly placed back hand huck

from Cretella to the goal line. USC’s speed was showcased, including a layout by “After Burners” for a disc out the back just because “He saw me writing stuff down”. Joking aside, the deep game pushed the Gamecocks out what seemed to be an insurmountable lead at 11-6.

Using a well designed vertical stack and good coaching by Eric Martin, the ECU Irates never gave up. Joey Cretella continued putting the disc deep to the young athletic cutters, specifically number 19, bringing them back in the game. When a deep shot wasn’t available, the disc was often swung to Chris Motsinger or Joey Saba as the Irates spread the field. The offense took advantage of horizontal space made available from a vertical stack. The inexperience showed as the majority of their turnovers were due to throwaways.

After coming within one point of tying the game, ECU’s comeback hopes were drowned when the TD ruled that the hard cap had been placed on the previous point. The Irates were frustrated as the cap had not been announced until the score was 11-10. While Clemson put on a successful tournament, this was an area needing improvement. There were no horns used to announced caps and as a result the games often put the cap on at different times. The defending champions walked away one point away from a shot at the title game after being down 11-6.

W&M (7) vs. FSU (6)

This game started chippy, and stayed chippy throughout the game with numerous tense arguments when discussing fouls. Florida State had difficult converting on turns, with both teams having a tremendous amount of turnovers. William and Mary found the end zone early on play from John Houghton and Acie Craft building a 4-2 lead. “No No” Norris gave DUF some momentum with a sky high grab to bring the score within 1. FSU’s relenting defense that had shown throughout the tournament continued to shine.

William and Mary showed great offensive flow off of vertical and horizontal stacks early on

in the tournament, but seemed out of sync against Florida State. Nick Fletcher would step out of the handler role and be found wide open deep to give them the lead 5-4. FSU would take half 8-6 after battling through more long turnover filled points. W&M tripped up Florida State with a 1-3-2-1, tying the game at 8’s. The next point DUF sliced through the zone regaining the lead. With soft cap called, the defense of FSU stepped up, breaking William and Mary twice for the win 11-8.

Quarter Finals:

The quarter finals were spread apart, so I spent my time meandering from game to game.

Georgia Southern (5) vs. USC(2)

Southern was down 4-0 early, but riding the play of Ryan Randall, took the lead 7-6. USC seemed to come alive once again, running away with the victory 15-8. Unfortunately they lose 4th year Senior Harry Bartels to likely a broken ankle. The game was suspended for at least 30 minutes as the EMTs arrived. Good luck to Harry and get better soon.

ECU (1) vs. Alabama (3).

Bama found themselves down early 6-3, and was employing the use of their 3-2-2 poach zone to bring them back to 10-9. Joey Cretella was blocked on a high release back hand huck and Travis Midkiff laid out sideways to give the Tide possession. Bama would take the lead 11-10, and that’s the last time they would see it. Zack Moore, #44 Alabama, was injured early in the game when his cleats stuck in the ground, twisting his ankle. With the tide practically playing savage already, the team relied even more on Tim “True Grit” Brady. Cretella and ECU brought themselves back into the game, rattling off three straight points. Alabama responded to tie the game at 13, but couldn’t convert on the ECU mistakes. Mark Saba was found all alone in the end zone, giving ECU the win 15-13.

Clemson (4) vs. William and Mary (6)

Clemson kept the game close early with their tough young athletic defense, but could not keep up with William and Mary. W&M went up 7-5, took half, and never looked back. Clemson needs to go up the drawing board as their offensive flow was non-existent at times during this tournament. William and Mary advanced to the semi finals, winning 11-8.

FSU(7) vs. Auburn (10)

Auburn turned a dismal Saturday into a respectable Sunday by breaking seed and making it to the top 8. Auburn lacks experienced depth, and could not keep up with the energy of Florida State. Auburn pulled away from GCSU with 4 straight breaks to win 15-9 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Overall Thoughts:

While it was a little chilly throughout the tournament, the competition was good for all of the teams. There was no one team that could dominate all opponents. Florida State showed that they have arrived, and should be taken seriously in all games. South Carolina was missing several players, playing savage, and still had a chance to win the title game. If ECU can limit the turnovers, they have the athletic talent to stay with higher competition and do some damage. Clemson has some talent, but needs to do a lot of work to get back to where they were last year. Alabama had a chance in every game they played, but just came up short while playing savage. William and Mary showcased a good team game that could make them a difficult opponent to play.

I’ll be doing a team by team analysis as well as posting my Uni-Watch in the coming days. Feedback is always welcomed, see you at ACCUCs next week!