Quad Rugby/Story - 2002 Atlantic South Regionals

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

February 12, 2002

Suncoast Shines in Atlantic South Regionals
By Mike Savicki

The 2002 USQRA post-season kicked off in dramatic fashion as both the Suncoast Lightning and the CIR Carolina Crash earned overtime victories in their respective placing games to advance to the 2002 Atlantic Sectional Tournament along with the Tampa Generals and the South Florida Rattlers.

Building a three goal, halftime lead in the Championship game, it looked as if the Tampa Generals were on their way to grabbing their first win of the season over rival Suncoast Lightning and claiming the number one seed from the Atlantic South Region once again. However, the Lightning scoring trio of All Tournament Class 3.0 Pat O'Connor, Mark Coller and All Tournament Class 2.0 Dave Jenkins put together a third quarter string of four consecutive goals and gave the Lightning their first lead of the game. Led by Tournament MVP, Mark Hickey, the Generals were quick to respond and, in the final minute of the third quarter, scored three consecutive goals of their own to reclaim the lead at 27-26. The possession arrow favored the Lightning as the fourth quarter began and the two teams traded goals through the entire quarter. With less than five seconds remaining, the Lightning knotted the game at 42 and fans braced for their second overtime game of the day. Suncoast controlled the jump ball as the extra session began, went ahead on a goal by Pat O'Connor and turned up the defensive pressure. A costly Tampa penalty allowed Suncoast to control the ball late in the overtime session and claim the number one seed from the Region for the first time ever.

The third and fourth place game was no less exciting as the CIR Carolina Crash looked to avenge an early season loss to the South Florida Rattlers and maintain their grasp of the third seed in the Region for the second year in a row. In the first half, things looked good for the Crash as they controlled the game and built a five-goal lead. However, the second half belonged to the Rattlers and their All-Tournament Class 3.5, Albert Lopez, as they forced turnovers, seized the lead and dictated pace of play. It was the Crash who needed a final minute goal to send the game to extra time. The overtime jump ball went to Carolina who scored quickly. Goals by the Crash's Greg Taylor and Matt Crisp, along with two overtime penalties by the Rattlers, helped the Crash run out the clock and claim the number three seed once again.

In a rematch of last season's fifth and sixth place game, the Roosevelt Rolling Thunder and the Jackson Jags squared off for bragging rights and the chance to finish their post season with a win. Roosevelt's Ron Hart, with support from Chris Haley, Scott Stokes and Wayne Lee, almost single handedly saw that the game would not be close as he amassed 38 of his team's 47 goals on the way to a nine-point victory. Jackson's class 2.5 duo of All-Tournament veteran Wiley Clark and David Richard paced the Jags with 17 and 12 goals apiece.

Appearing in the USQRA post-season for the first time, the Augusta SEPVA Riverhawks joined a strong region and showed that they will be a team for the future. Paced by starters Steve Taylor, Lonnie Burnett, Henry MacDaniel and Larry Dodson, the Riverhawks came together and improved as the weekend progressed.

The weekend was not without controversy, however, as the seeding system seemed to cast a dark shadow on the Roosevelt Rolling Thunder and their chances of advancing to Sectionals. With seven teams in the Region, the South Florida Rattlers, as the number three seed, needed only to beat the sixth-seeded Jackson Jags in order to advance to the Atlantic Sectional Tournament. As the number five seed, Roosevelt had a much tougher road and, it seemed, would not be given a chance to silence the Rattlers as they had on two previous occasions earlier in the season. Would South Florida advance instead of a team that had beaten them twice? The answer was to be found on the rugby court as South Florida agreed to forfeit a game against Tampa and, instead, play Roosevelt and decide it on the court. The Rattlers were ready from the opening tip and scored the first four goals of the game. While Roosevelt was able to knot the score on several occasions, they were never able to take the lead and, ultimately, fell to the Rattlers, 39-34. Justice, it seems, had been served on the rugby court.

Special thanks goes out to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Recreation, Parks and Community Affairs Department, Eagle Sportschairs for the repair station, as well as to all of the USQRA 2002 Post-Season National Sponsors.

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