WTBL downs TMT in emotion-charged game

ANNA MARIA – Victory slipped through the fingers of the TMT squad in the quarterfinal adult flag football game last Thursday night. In an action-packed contest, the number one team going into the playoffs, We The Best Lending (WTBL), had a tough battle against the number eight team until team TMT appeared to implode in front of the spectators, teammates and referees.

Chase Richardson and his We The Best Lending team scored first, getting past defenders to put six points on the scoreboard. A failed point-after attempt left the score at 6-0.

TMT quickly matched their opponents with a touchdown with 11:45 left on the clock before halftime.

On offense, WTBL quickly lost possession of the football with an interception, putting TMT on the WTBL one-yard line. TMT was able to take advantage of the picked Richardson throw, promptly scored, making it 12-6. TMT then went for a two-point conversion, handing off to Connor Haughey for a nice run into the endzone, giving TMT an eight-point lead 14-6.

Fighting hard against the team with the best record in the league, TMT gave up another six points to WTBL, moving the score to 14-12.

Closing in on the TMT lead, WTBL’s Richardson sacked quarterback Haughey in a critical defensive play. Richardson responded with a touchdown pass that was nullified when he was called for flag guarding.

On the next play, a TMT Hail Mary pass by Sir Williams was not caught by receiver Haughey, who had two WTBL defenders in his face.

At the end of the first half of the game, TMT’s lead remained at 14-12.

The clear underdogs, team TMT was looking solid and on their way to giving We The Best Lending a challenge all the way to the last second of the game.

TMT quickly marched down the field with the first offensive possession of the second half of play. A possible game-changing inadvertent whistle by the referee Tristan Szabo could have given TMT six points and much-needed momentum in the game.

Szabo blew the whistle when he anticipated Kari Hawkins stepping out of bounds. This rare error in the action-packed game appeared to start the unraveling of the ever-fighting TMT squad.

Sending a clear message, We The Best Lending’s Dom Otteni then nabbed a Richardson pass for a quick touchdown and completed a two-point conversion throw to Soultatos.

Down by six, TMT then went three-and-out on the next series, giving the ball back to WBTL.

After rushing yards by Richardson, Cory Banks got the call, making a first-down catch with 12 minutes left in the game.

With TMT’s Hawkins on him like glue, Soultatos made the next touchdown catch, widening his team’s lead to 28-12.

WTBL’s next offensive run ended with a tide-turning contested call on the touchdown play. TMT argued their defense pulled the flag of the WTBL receiver before he crossed into the end zone.

Seemingly the mental straw that broke the camel’s back after what was perceived by the TMT players as a number of bad calls, the TMT emotions ran high for the remainder of the game.

Referee calls were in the heads of the players both on the field and on the sidelines. Non-stop verbal snipes and sneers resulted in two TMT players being ejected from the game by referee Andy Szabo.

With the win in their grasp at one point in the game, TMT saw their chances of moving on to the semifinal round of the playoffs and capturing their first win of the season slip through their hands. Avoiding the upset, We The Best Lending proved once again why they finished the regular season on top as the final second ticked off the scoreboard showing the final score of 28-14.

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23, they meet fifth-seeded TBT, who beat fourth-seeded Sandbar by five points in their quarterfinal match-up. Team Catalyst, who finished with the same record as WTBL in the regular season, faces third-seeded Rays Ramblings at 7:30 p.m. in the last game of the night.

The championship game is scheduled to be played on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m., with an all-star game to follow.