UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

May 2003

Lakeshore makes it Five in a Row
By Andy Cohn

When the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls pursued their fifth championship, they said their quest was to “win one for the thumb.” While the four-time defending champion Lakeshore Demolition was seeking yet again to retain the the Mikkelsen Cup instead of earning rings-which is good considering most quad rugby players’ thumbs are pretty gnarled and some don’t even have any-the goal was the same. Lakeshore’s “strive for five” happened April 8-10, in Tempe, Arizona at the 2003 United States Quad Rugby Division I and Division II Nationals.

For the second straight season, Lakeshore went undefeated during the year against the other U.S. club teams. The contenders were offered some hope in January when Lakeshore was defeated twice in a row by international teams and finished fourth at a major tournament for the first time in recent memory. Lakeshore’s main competition figured to be the second-seeded Phoenix Heat, who was the only club team to really contend with the champs. Four single-digit defeats during the year proved Phoenix provided the possibility of an upset at home. Two teams from California, the fourth-seeded San Diego Bushwhackers and the fifth-seeded California Quake, had played consistently well all season and couldn’t be counted out of anything. The two darkhorses, the third-seeded Hoveround Lightning and sixth-seeded Texas Stampede, augmented the intrigue by coming to Nationals with international players who had been absent most of the year.

While the favorite in Division I was clear, the race to be at the top of Division II was wide open. The top-seeded San Antonio Ruff Ryders sought to use their size to overpower all comers. The second-seeded Portland Pounders, who actually were giving up some serious pounds to San Antonio, were DII’s fastest team and hoped to race right by everyone. The upstart, third-seeded Carolina Crash and a swarm of veteran-laden teams also hoped to pull a few surprises.

The first game of Division I was one of the most anticipated as the Hoveround Lightning met the perennial power Texas Stampede. The victor was difficult to predict as both teams had played the majority of their season without the international players who now started for each. Hoveround took an early two goal lead that it never relinquished en route to a 40-37 triumph. The next set of games was highlighted by a California confrontation between the San Diego Bushwhackers and the California Quake. Every match-up between these two had been closely contested and this game was no different. The lead rarely grew larger than two for either team with San Diego eventually outlasting the Quake 32-30. After a one game break, San Diego again found itself entrenched in a tight one, this time with the Phoenix Heat. The score was typically tied throughout until the Heat escaped with a 31-30 win.

As the day grew later, the stakes got larger with Texas facing Lakeshore in a game the Stampede had to win if it wanted to be in the mix for the trophies. Texas, who had finished third for four straight years, was guaranteed of a different finish, but sadly for them it would be no higher than fifth as they were beaten 47-34.

While it was supposed to be more balanced and competitive, day one in Division II was pretty predictable. All the higher seeded teams put away their opponents, although the sixth-seeded Denver Harlequins did do their best to drum up some drama. They first faced the Carolina Crash. Carolina was buoyed by two international players and proved just good enough to be best Denver 33-32. Denver next opposed the top-seeded San Antonio team. This game was a rematch of a close Sectionals game, and essentially a replay as the hard-hitting San Antonio boys caused enough turnovers to produce a 41-38 win.

The second day in Division I started with Lakeshore getting its first test from Hoveround. While it led throughout, Lakeshore didn’t demolish Hoveround by double-digits winning 27-20. Lakeshore’s first struggle figured to fire up Phoenix; but instead the Heat came out like it didn’t care against the Quake. A late turnover resulted in the Quake securing its first ever victory over Phoenix 28-26. The two-point win also knocked Phoenix out of contention to be in the final four because of point differential. With Phoenix and Texas, last year’s second and third place finishers out of the final four remaining teams, the crossover games later that day would determine if Lakeshore would once again be in the final and, if so, who would be the new challenger against them.

The whittling down process in DII continued to proceed as planned. The top four seeds showed that their was some separation between them and the rest of the field as they made it through their first few games undefeated and prepared to battle each other. The first game saw San Antonio confront Carolina. The game was close early, but as the Carolina mistakes mounted San Antonio was able to pull away and take a 49-41 victory. Portland next opposed a Tampa team that featured a mixture of young blood and mature veterans that proved a problem-some combination. Tampa concentrated on controlling the pace of the playing and successfully slowed the Portland team to its lowest offensive output of the tournament. Portland was forced to rely on its defense to grab a 32-26 win. The beginning battles over, the top four teams would later switch opponents to determine the title game teams in the crossover games.

Lakeshore knew it was only two more wins away from finishing first for a fifth straight time. The Quake was the champs next challenger and it knew that to beat Lakeshore it must protect the ball. Lakeshore’s pressure produced a frantic pace that shaked the Quake causing a ton of turnovers and a 42-26 Lakeshore win. The winner of the San Diego versus Hoveround game would be the last team with a shot at dethroning rugby’s king. The game was a good one as the evenly matched teams produced an evenly scored game. One late San Diego turnover gave Hoveround the one goal advantage it needed to advance to the title game 23-22.

The crossovers in Division II would demonstrate if the two top seeds could escape unscathed and meet each other in the final. Portland faced Carolina and the boys from the Northwest quickly showed their quickness by causing several turnovers. Carolina found itself behind early and it only got worse as the game went on. A 44-29 win put Portland in position to win it all. The contest to be Portland’s opponent was a fierce one. Despite its apparent physical superiority, San Antonio struggled to shake Tampa. Through an accurate aerial assault, Tampa was able to pass the ball out of danger and avoid San Antonio’s ball-jarring collisions. It took overtime for San Antonio to finally finish off Tampa 38-35 and set-up the top seeded showdown in DII.

The final day of the quad rugby season saw some fantastic finishes starting with the Colorado versus Sharp game. Colorado had been on the losing side of several close calls earlier in the tournament but was victorious this time 35-34 to finish fifth in DII. The fights for third in both divisions were also one-point nail-biters. In DII, Tampa continued to play with poise edging out Carolina 33-32. In Division I, familiar opponents, San Diego and California, evenly battled. California was able to reverses an early one-point Nationals loss to San Diego taking third place 34-33 in overtime.

The national title game in Division II was next as the two undefeated top seeds squared off. Fans watching wondered who would prevail in the contrasting styles of play. Portland’s speed was showcased early as it earned several easy break away goals. San Antonio kept pace though and eventually out-muscled Portland 39-36 becoming Division II national champions.

Hoveround next faced the daunting task of derailing Lakeshore’s drive for a fifth straight title. Hoveround had surprised some by making it this far, so fans wondered if it perhaps had one more surprise left in it. Lakeshore destroyed the drama quickly though by thoroughly dominating Hoveround in a game that stopped being close as soon as it started. Lakeshore’s defense put the “D” in dynasty by cruising to a 37-21 victory.

While all the teams should be applauded for their efforts, the people who deserve the loudest applause are all the volunteers who enable quad rugby’s existence. While the multitude of selfless volunteers is too lengthy to list, all the helpers, from the fantastic food ladies to the untiring bus drivers, earned all the players’ greatest gratitude. Special thanks also to all the sponsors who make it possible for so many cash-strapped quads to play this expensive sport. Specials thanks to local sponsors such as the APVA, Barrows Neurological Institute, Leeden Wheelchair and Sand Limo, who not only aided with Nationals but support the local Phoenix team throughout the year.

• USQRA Nationals History
• 2003 Nationals Scores

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