Quad Rugby/Story - Beast of the East

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

November, 2001

Beast of the East captured by Pitbulls
by Thomas Hamill

With every northeast team having some play under their belt before the 2001 Beast of the East, the teams already had preliminary answers to the yearly questions asked at Carousel House in Philadelphia of how strong each team would be during the upcoming season. But new questions arose as Boston's Robert Boothby (U.S.A.) and Casco's Stevie Dunn (Canada) were both unavailable due to national program responsibilities: would Boston be susceptible to its first lost to an Atlantic North team in more than a year? would Casco be able to absorb Ontario's Mike "the Mercenary" Whiteside as a replacement for Dunn? would Philly (Red) be able to thrive in its first tournament with the threesome of Jim Thompson, Dan Drach and Luan "the South African Assassin" Degenaar in place? would Connecticut step back into Beast contention with the transfer in of 2.0 Rick Famiglietti? Rounding out the field were the New York Jets, turning back to cagey veterans following Famiglietti's transfer and the departure of Keith Newerla for college in Minnesota and a second Philly team (Yellow) centered by two young 3.5s and two experienced .5s.

Friday came to an end with Boston holding convincing wins over Connecticut and Philly Yellow. Philly Red took an early two point lead on Casco as Degenaar stopped a driving Whiteside dead in his tracks. Midway through the second quarter, however, Degenaar's custom made South African wheelchair lost a caster assembly and Philly reverted to a 7.5 point lineup, which held the score to an 18-18 halftime tie. An attempt to bring Degenaar back in a low pointer's chair resulted in Degenaar being ineffective and allowed Casco to pull out to a seven point win.

As luck would have it, the best game of the tournament featured a defensive struggle at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning between Boston and Casco. After two overtimes, Casco prevailed 23-22. Casco held the top seed with fifteen points and relaxed until a Sunday morning semifinal. Boston's three quality points against Casco assured them of a second seed and a long wait until a 4:30 semifinal.

As the first quarterfinal pitted the two Philly teams against one another, the yellow team conceded and the sides were evened out to allow the new players to play alongside more experienced players. In a spirited battle, Assistant Coach Tom Hamill's Yellow side held on to beat Coach Amy Bohn's Red side, 34-33. Connecticut dominated its quarterfinal to beat the Jets by 11.

Minutes before the first semifinal, Philly learned that Degenaar's South African 2.5 classification had been elevated to a 3.0, forcing Philly to split the Drach, Thompson and Degenaar threesome as both Philly .5s were rostered on the yellow team. This game featured the hit of the tournament as Degenaar leveled a ball carrying Ken MacDonald, flipping the ball into Degenaar's lap and freeing MacDonald from his straps and leaving him halfway off of the seat of his chair. In the end, Philly was unable to match Boston's speed and succumbed 41-32.

Sunday morning's semifinal saw Connecticut's valiant effort to beat Casco for the second time off the season come up short, 33-29. In the fifth place game, the Jet's experienced vets worked with young rookie Nick Springer to prevail over a much improved Philly Yellow side. Philly Red took Third place over Connecticut as Philly used its first high pointer rotation in more than six years.

In the championship, Boston seemed destined as it held a five point lead late in the third period. Whiteside took the game on his shoulders, however, and pulled the game to a tie. Boston, unable to complete its inbounds, substituted the height of Gary Bogue for the speed of Adam Ellis and held on to force overtime. Boston seemed ready close the door, up by three in overtime, when Whiteside took over again, to pull within one. A Whiteside penalty in the last minute allowed Boston to run down the clock and win the game, 33-32, and their first Beast of the East Championship since 1996. Their was no doubt that Whiteside was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He was joined on the All Tournament Team by 3.0 Degenaar; 2.5s Carlos Avila of Boston and Thompson; 1.5 Eric Anderson of Philly and .5 Rob Sarofeen of Boston.

This tournament couldn't have taken place without the Sponsorship of Bayada Nurses and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. Much of the dirty work was done by the Temple University Rec Therapy students. Food sponsors included: Pagano's Market, Angelo Lutz's lunchtime home during the 2001 Philly mob trial; WaWa food markets; the Morris Rugby Corporation with their Sunday barbeque; the Philadelphia Fruit Cooperative; Vitality; and Entemann's.

We look forward to hosting a bigger and Better 12th annual Beast of the East in 2002.

Final Results
1st - Boston Pitbulls - 5-0
2nd - Casco Bay Navigators - 4-1
3rd - Magee Rebels Red - 3-2
4th - Connecticut Jammers - 2-3
5th - NY Jets - 2-3
6th - Magee Rebels Yellow - 0-5
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