Quad Rugby/Story - Mountain Sectional

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

March 2004

The Mountain Sectional Battle for a trip to the USQRA National Tournament
by Wendy Gumbert

San Antonio, Texas saw some great battles for USQRA National Championship births on March 25-28, 2004. BlazeSports Clubs of San Antonio and the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department did an outstanding job hosting the 2004 USQRA Mountain Sectional Playoff. The event was also sponsored by the Texas Paralyzed Veterans Association – Greater Austin & San Antonio Sub-Chapters and the San Antonio Ruff Ryders Rugby Team.

The battle to qualify for the United States Quad Rugby Association’s National Championship started with the first game on Friday when the Denver Harlequins matched up against the Pasadena Texans (A BlazeSports Clubs of Pasadena supported team). Denver took control early in the first quarter, but Pasadena ended the quarter one goal up. The second quarter had the same outcome with Pasadena leading at the half 19-18. Pasadena continued their solid play by capitalizing on two more turnovers ending the third quarter ahead 28-25. Denver had the first possession and made the game interesting when they forced Pasadena into a turnover with less than three minutes to go, closing the margin to one. Pasadena was able to remain calm and control the ball and went on to upset the Harlequins, 36-35.

The next few games saw no upsets with the Arizona match up of Phoenix Heat over the University of Arizona Wildchairs, 46-26. The Texas Stampede controlled North Texas Gladiators, 39-21. Pasadena was not able to pull another upset and fell to the Phoenix Heat as they displayed their Division I play, defeating Pasadena, 51-25.

Towards the end of the day, another Division II birth battle was witnessed. The Denver Harlequins came ready to play the U of A Wildchairs. They took control at the tip off and never let up. The Wildchairs did not give in easily staying within two at the half. When the third quarter buzzer sounded Denver had gained a four goal cushion over the Wildchairs, 39-35. Denver kept the pressure on, continuing to build a wider margin to assist them in the event of a three-way tie. The final buzzer sounded and Denver won 52-44.

The last game of the day was a win the San Antonio Rough Ryder’s (a BlazeSports Club of San Antonio supported program) needed to secure a spot at Nationals. They showed why they were the 2003 Division II National Champions with a solid 44-17 win over the North Texas Gladiators.

Saturday’s games started with the final match-up needed to settle the 2004 USQRA National Championships qualification game. The top 4 teams of the tournament would advance to the National Championships in Lexington, Kentucky on April 23-25. The match-up placed the Pasadena Texans vs. the University of Arizona Wildchairs. The Texans were in a win or go home situation. The Wildchairs needed a win by 8 goals or more to secure a Nationals birth. Pasadena came out looking very confident and strong in the first quarter, getting a three goal lead with three minutes left. However, a few costly turnovers just before the buzzer ended the quarter even at 9 a piece. U of A took control at the beginning of the second quarter, going up by two. Pasadena quickly answered back, finishing out the half with a two point lead over the Wildchairs. The third quarter was not something the Texans want to reminisce about. They gave up seven goals in a row to U of A in the first three minutes, placing them three goals down. The Texans had the ball at the buzzer, narrowing the margin to two goals. At the three minute mark of the 4th a U of A turnover was forced, decreasing their lead to only one. Goals were traded with many opportunities given to each team. U of A was able to hold the hungry Texans off as the final buzzer sounded and the score was 36-35. The game results forced a three way tie between Denver, Pasadena and University of Arizona, but it was Denver’s seven point win over U of A that secured them the spot at Nationals.

The day continued with the Texas rivalry of the Texas Stampede vs. San Antonio Rough Ryders. The hits were hard and the crowd was loud. Texas took control early on, but San Antonio never let up on their aggressive play. At the final buzzer it was the Stampede on top 65-39, earning them the top team in their pool. The final pool B game was Phoenix Heat vs. the Denver Harlequins. Phoenix put on the Heat taking the game 51-36. This put them at the top of the B pool headed into the crossovers.

The crossovers and finals were all that was left. Pasadena narrowly topped North Texas, 35-34. Texas Stampede and Phoenix Heat both secured their Division I National Championship selection with solid semi final wins. The Stampede defeated Denver 53-30 and Phoenix defeated San Antonio 58-36. The stage was set for the finals on Sunday with Denver and San Antonio facing off for the bronze and the Texas Stampede and Phoenix Heat going head to head in the Mountain Sectional Title Game.

Sunday morning started with the University of Arizona matching up against the North Texas Gladiators. U of A finished the tournament with a solid 41-36 win over North Texas. The stands began to fill-up as the local San Antonio Rough Ryders were to face off against the Denver Harlequins. San Antonio took control in the first period finishing with a three goal lead, 10-7. The second quarter was much the same ending at 23-19. Late in the third, Denver forced 4 turnovers to even up the score at the buzzer, 29-29. The final eight-minutes of play kept everyone on the edge of their seats. It was a see-saw match with each team forcing turnovers, creating lead changes both ways. San Antonio was able to get the last goal to be up by one and Denver was unable to answer. San Antonio took home the bronze with a 39-38 win over Denver.

The final game was set and any athletes not playing found spots around the court to watch and learn from the best. It was clear that this would be a fast paced, high contact game with very few turnovers. Texas stole the jump and scored first, finishing the quarter up by one, 11-10. The second quarter was much of the same ending the half with Texas again up by one, 20-19. Phoenix came out hot in the third and forced Texas into two turnovers, taking a one point lead. A few minutes later Texas answered back forcing a turnover and giving them control again. The quarter ended with Texas at 27 and Phoenix with 26. Half way through the forth quarter both teams ran out of time-outs. Texas trapped Brad Dubberly at half-court and played excellent defense, denying the ball to be in bounded. This turnover gave Texas a two goal lead and allowed them to go on to win the Mountain Championship, 38-36.

Many thanks go to Tina Tholl and her outstanding San Antonio Parks and Recreation and BlazeSports Club staff and volunteers. They are great tournament hosts, with Christy running an excellent game table, serving home cooked food at Gloria’s Café, arranging doctor’s visits, mending both athletes and animals, and providing transportation for the tournament as well as to the San Antonio River Walk - thanks to Robert! We look forward to seeing our rugby friends again in November for the 10^th Alamo City Andy Beck Classic.

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