UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

Three Way Tie Highlights
Valdosta Cup Results by Terry Vinyard

With Wheelchair Rugby constantly changing there are few things that seem to stay the same in the sport. The one constant occurrence in the Southeast region is the annual Valdosta Cup held in Valdosta, Georgia the second weekend in November. The tournament is unique in that none of the teams are local. Atlanta and Tampa are the closest of the competing teams, driving four hours each. Charlotte, Sarasota, and South Florida have a little further to go. These 5 teams and a second Tampa squad completed the six team round robin tournament field.

Play opened Friday evening with Tampa 1 routinely defeating the Sarasota Riptide. The next game would be the game of the day featuring Atlanta and South Florida. Atlanta was ranked fifth in the nation by the USQRA ranking poll and sixth by Quad Rugby Today Magazine. They were expected to have an easy game against the new-look South Florida Rattlers. The Rattlers gave them a tremendous battle that went down to the wire. The Rattlers led by rookie sensation Emieson Calle (3.5) from Columbia, South America, drew first blood against the Rolling Thunder by finishing the 1st period with a 10-8 lead. The surprised Thunder team minus class 2.0 Bert Burns, came out and scored the first two goals of the 2nd period to tie the game at ten. They also scored the last two goals of the period to take a one goal lead into half time. South Florida battled back with their class 3.5's prolific scoring, as he scored eight of their nine third period goals. He had scored all of their second period goals and led all scorers in the game with a hefty 28 scores. Atlanta's attack was spear-headed by class 3.0 Mark Zupan (16 goals) and New Zealand Paralympian class 2.5 Curtis Palmer (19 goals). The duo scored all of Atlanta's goals. With the score tied at 26 starting the fourth period, the game was up for grabs. The Rattlers scored first but the Thunder came right back to tie. Emotions of the teams were running high and may have contributed to the 12 assessed fouls in the game. A crucial one came against South Florida's Rich Hearn who was called for clearing out as he was moving in to score that instead put Atlanta up by one. The teams continued to trade goals until Atlanta forced another turnover that gave them a two goal cushion with less than two minutes left. The Rattlers couldn't strike back soon enough as Atlanta ate up the rest of the clock eventually scoring the last goal to win 35-33.

The second day of the tournament featured play in two separate gyms. Atlanta continued its path to a Finals appearance by narrowly defeating Sarasota, 31-29. In their second game of the day, Thunder faced Tampa 2 coached by Joe Soares, who had left the Tampa 1--South Florida match at the other gym with Tampa 1 leading 24-14 at the half. His teammates coasted to 46-27 victory. Soares' strategy against Atlanta was to get back in the key versus chasing Curtis Palmer and Mark Zupan on the press. The strategy was working for Tampa as they took an 18 to 15 advantage going into halftime. Atlanta came out hoping to close the gap, but Tampa's stingy key defense netted turnovers and ran down the clock. A five-goal run for Tampa 2 allowed them to outscore Atlanta 6 to 2 in the third period. That all but buried Atlanta as the Generals continually beat the Thunder's press to earn a 34-28 win.

South Florida was rebounding from earlier losses to Atlanta and Tampa 1 with decisive victories over Charlotte 39-22 and cross -state rival Sarasota 31-19.

Sunday's final placing games began with Charlotte and Sarasota both looking for their first win of the season. The Charlotte Crash would try to achieve this without starting 1.5 Mike Savicki who had to leave the tournament due to work obligations. Sarasota's Riptide took full advantage by winning 40-26.

The next game on the slate had larger ramifications as Tampa 2 needed a win for 2nd place honors. A South Florida victory would forge a three-way tie between Atlanta, Tampa 2 and the Rattlers. This contest would end up being the game of the tournament. Valdosta Cup MVP, Emeison Calle led the South Florida charge with 28 goals to pace all scorers. Tampa 2 was led by class 3.0 Mark Hickey who was busy scoring 22 goals while at the same time trying to contain Calle on defense. Hickey often had to rely on 1.5 Bill Renje as a number two player. This game was about as even a match up as one could ask for. The score after each period was tied, first at 6-6 after the 1st period and then 14 all at half time. The see-saw battle picked up in the third period with no team leading by more than one goal. When the third period horn sounded, the score was tied at 21. Surely the final eight minutes would separate the two Florida-based teams. The Rattlers struck first by opening the game's first two-goal lead as they moved ahead of Tampa 2, 24-22, with six minutes to play. Half-way through the final period, Tampa went on a two-goal run to tie the game once again. There were 27 ties in the game, which may be a record. Tampa 2 tied it once again in the final minute and then caused a critical turnover that gave them the ball with a chance to score the last goal. However, the Rattler's pressure forced Hickey to score the go-ahead goal with 14 seconds to play. That was enough time for Calle to work up court. He was stopped short of the goal line by Hickey and Justin Stark, but managed to dish the rock to Charles Ray who was following the play. The Rattler's 0.5 took it across the line just before the horn sounded which fittingly sent the game into over time.

In the overtime, Tampa 2 substituted 3.5 Vi Vorasane for a fatigued Mark Hickey. Vorasane couldn't keep pace with Calle nor could Tampa 2, as a team, keep up with the amazing rookie. The Rattlers outscored Tampa 2, 5-2, in the three minute over-time. This marked the Rattlers most dramatic win in their team's history. The win forced the three-way tie for second place unless Atlanta could pull off a miracle upset against top seeded Tampa 1. An Atlanta win would catapult them from a 4th place finish to taking home the coveted Valdosta Cup. As expected, the Generals defeated the Rolling Thunder, 37-30, to keep the Valdosta Cup, at least for another year. The USQRA tie breaker formula put Tampa 2 in second and left South Florida with a respectable third place finish. More Valdosta Photos

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