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The 2005 CSA SportsFest series presents: EXTREME
FORCE ONE POINT GETS "EXTREME" One Point avenges a one point loss in round robin play with an overtime win against Dream Team in the championship game to become the inaugural winners of CSA's "Extreme Force", Men's Arena Flag Football tournament. The event was a rousing success as 11 men's teams competed in a five on five sprint style event. Each team played a minimum of three games and the top four teams by record advanced to the elimination round. Round Robin play During round robin, two teams advanced without a loss. A CSA stalwart, Dream Team, carried their CSA league success over into the tournament and advanced to the final four with a perfect record. Dream Team, who have won four CSA men's flag football league championships, won each of their games by one touchdown. They advanced to the elimination round as the top seed. The three wins included an exciting 13-12 defeat of One Point. Really Rottens, who are new to the CSA flag football scene, rode their high powered offense to the final four. They also advanced with a perfect 3-0 record, and scored a tournament high 60 points in their three games. They also had the top rated defense, allowing only 22 points. In the semis they were matched up with One Point. One Point advanced to face Really Rottens by going 2-1 in round robin play. The 2-1 record left them tied with two other teams, Dirtybirdz and Seminoles. All three are familiar with each other from CSA men's league play, so when they faced each other the games were very tight. One Point defeated Dirtybirdz 19-13 during round robin play, so they won the three way tie and entered the final four as the three seed. Dirtybirdz also managed to sneak their way into the final four. This was because of a dramatic 19-12 win over the Seminoles in round robin play. After losing a tight game to One Point, the Dirtybirdz rebounded by knocking off the Seminoles and owning the tie-breaker advantage. This set the final four of Dream Team, Really Rottens, One Point, and Dirtybirdz. This left the Seminoles as the team with the best record not to make the elimination round. They went 2-1, but the head to head loss with Dirtybirdz cost them a final four spot. After opening with two wins, they fell just short. The Seminoles had the events second highest scoring offense, with 52 points, and also scored the most points in one game, 21. Six other teams competed, but did not
advance from the round robin bracket. He Hate Me finished in sixth place with a
1-1-1 record. They had a shot to advance to the final four in a win and get in
game against Really Rottens, but lost 20-10. In the game they did have the only
successful field goal attempt. Eighth place was the new team, Young Guns. Playing together for the first time, they struggled in the first two games, but rebounded in the final game to get in the win column 16-13. The Young Guns also were the only team to return an interception for three points (under CSA's special event rule). Finishing ninth was Roman Meat Helmets, who after a first game blowout looked like it would be a tough day, but responded with a touchdown on the final play of their second game. The touchdown left them down 13-12 and they managed to make a miracle catch on a ball tipped twice to convert the extra point and secure a tie in their second game. Only two teams did not have any wins or ties. Both Candler Park Players and the Warriors made their initial entry into CSA flag football and played competitive games, but were unable to manage any victories. The Final Four All four teams to advance were playing at the top of their game. Dream Team had won three close contests. Really Rottens had the high octane offense going, One Point had played the toughest draw, and Dirtybirdz played the second toughest draw and still managed to advance. The semi-finals matched up Dream Team and Dirtybirdz and the game came down to the last play. Both teams scored on the first possession, but neither was able to convert the extra point. On fourth down, with just over one minute remaining, Dream Team was able to score a on a mad scramble. They were denied on the extra point, giving them a 12-6 lead with under one minute. Dirtybirdz managed to get two plays off, but on the last play of the game, the Dirtybirdz were intercepted in the endzone to end the game. In the other semi-final. One Point matched Really Rottens offense and advanced to the finals with a 19-14 win. The win set up a rematch from earlier in the day. One Point would face Dream Team, with the winner becoming the inaugural "Extreme Force" champions The championship game couldn't have been more exciting. One Point was stopped on the opening drive, and then Dream Team was stopped on their first possession. Still 0-0 halfway through the game, One Point was able to score on a touchdown run by Tournament MVP, QB Pete Bucklin. The conversion was successful and One Point led 7-0. Dream Team responded right away and moved the ball to the five yard line on first down. Two plays later they were in the endzone, and after they successfully converted the extra point, the game was tied with two minutes remaining. One Point had a chance to win the game, but Dream Team's defense kept them from advancing the ball and after stopping One Point on fourth down, time ran out before they could run any offensive plays. The first championship game would be decided in overtime. The overtime format was alternating possessions, so each team would have the same number of offensive opportunities. Dream Team started on offense and were intercepted in the endzone on the second play. One Point simply needed to score to win the game. Passing on an uncontested field goal attempt, Bucklin hit one of his receivers at the 10 yard line on second down and they managed to avoid a flag pull and take the pass to the endzone for the championship winning touchdown and a 13-7 win. Overall, CSA's first time playing in Phillips Arena, on Force Field, was a huge success. The games were fast paced, very competitive, and the ending could not have been more exciting. 483 points were scored in 20 games, an average of 24.15 total points per game. The most points scored in one game was 33 and the fewest was 13. The most one team scored in one game was 21, done twice. Two field goals were attempted and one was made. One interception was returned for three points.
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