Teams from throughout the US participating in order of their seeding were the TIRR Hurricanes, Denver Harlequins, Portland Pounders, California Quake, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, EPVA Strykers, and the Sarasota Riptide. While 4 of the 8 teams had made it to the big show before, this would be a new experience for half of the field. Their participation in this National Championship would prove to both old and new alike, that Division II is alive and very well.

Competition began on Thursday with what seemed on paper to be an easy match between the 1^st seed Hurricanes and the 8^th seed Riptide. The Canes minus 1.5 Paralympic hopeful Steve Kearley started the original 4 players that began the team some 10 years ago. The Sarasota squad started there soon to be star Pat O’Connor, with his low point counterpart, the orange helmet clad Ed Hooper. The game began with each side exchanging goals at an up-tempo pace. This would prove to hurt the Canes, as they had no bench. Veteran player Alan Bailey said, "we had hoped to slow the game and work on our key defense," but to the credit of the Riptide, they dictated the flow of the game. With 3:17 left in the third the Canes had two costly turnovers and Sarasota capitalized giving them a two goal lead going into the forth. It was certainly "gut check time", said Coach James T. Gumbert of the Canes. And the boys from Texas responded by causing two turnovers on the Riptide forcing the younger Florida team into an unfamiliar position where there was pressure to get the last goal. With 1:17 on the clock the Canes pulled up with a tie score and went for the last point. The combination of Bynum and Bailey attacked the key with 12 seconds on the clock and scored. As the time waned in the quarter Pat O’Connor tried to continue the magic that earned him best in class, however the magic ran out and the Canes escaped a huge upset 32-31.

Another game of interest featured the surging Portland Pounders who earlier in the day pulled the first upset of the tourney by beating the Chicago Bears, against the Denver Harlequins. Denver having a plentiful bench started 2.0 speedster and all tourney selection Dave Hosick. They planned to rotate players and wear down the inexperienced athletes from the Northwest. However that would not be the case. Denver did manage to gain a 1 and sometimes 2 goal lead on Portland, but the Pounders relied on the high low line of Nelson and Williams to stymie the Harlequins. In what would be a foreshadowing of the 3^rd place game, Portland hung tough throughout this first test match, but finally succumbed to the experience and bench of Denver. Said coach Ed Suhr, "we played well, just not well enough". Player Brad Mickelson further commented on the level of play of the Pounders saying, "they are going to be good".

With two one point games and a mild upset in the books, day two would begin in the gym nestled at a presidential retreat located in the Georgia pines

Day two had further upsets and 1-point games. The first upset started early as the upstart Sarasota Riptide took a game off the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee led by bumping sensation Bart Dotson (who was 14 of 31 on the day bumping), appeared on paper to outmatch the 8^th seated Riptide, however having gained confidence from day one the Florida men played under control and quickly caught on to the philosophy "that when you have a deep in bounder, you have to cover the long ball". Tennessee who had lived on the long ball found themselves putting the ball in the hands of low pointers Bart Dotson and Donnie Sweeton. While veteran national championship players, the class 1.0 and .5 respectfully had to attempt to overcome too much. The Riptide began to dictate the game in the 3^rd gaining the lead with 2:10 on the clock. Tennessee still working with the bump found the remaining time was not enough and could not close the gap. Sarasota emerged with their first victory in Championship play, 36 to 32.

Rugby fans did not have to wait long to see the first major upset of the tournament. The California Quake brought their A game and beat the Number 1 seeded TIRR Hurricanes. The Quake, led by Ed Olsen and Justin Patterson, used youth and intelligence to erase a perfect day 1 of the Texas ruggers. Houston having class 1.5 Steve Kearley in the line looked several times as if they might pull away, but each time the Quake would "shake" the foundation of the Canes and pull back even. Olsen and Patterson showed why the future of the USQRA is bright. They exemplified the youth and developing talent in D2. Coach Brian Hanson remarked later "they are good now, wait till they get some more experienced under there belts". The duo wore down the team from Texas, and would begin to show signs of running away with the game by halfway in the forth period. With just 2 minutes left in the 4^th, there was a 4-goal lead for the shakers from California. Houston got two quick turnovers and looked as if they might be able to make a game of it late. However, the Quake settled in and secured a stunning victory. Houston Coach Gumbert would later remark that his team looked "out of sinc", but felt the team could rise above the loss.

Another game of note featured the Titans against the Chicago Bears. Chicago making its first post season appearance in some time, had come into the D2 tourney feeling extremely confident about there chances to be in the winners circle. However, there were several roadblocks along the way. This would be one of the tougher ones for them to get by. Tennessee having learned a hard lesson against Sarasota, focused on a more conventional inbound and let their high pointers work the ball down the court. While Tennessee still managed to get a few "sleepers" on the Bears, it proved to be more of a backbreaker instead of an offense. Chicago however did have some shining moments; Denny Weseman and Paul LeVausser proved they still had some of the talent that propelled U of I to Nationals in the mid 90’s. There play alongside Bob Jackson and Larry Labiak at times looked virtually unstoppable. But they would later derail and have many unforced turnovers. The costly gaffs in key situations allowed Tennessee to gain a lead and build on it in the later quarters. Forced to try and make "something happen", the Bears employed a reaching game that had players visiting the penalty box. With a man up several times in the last minutes, the Titans played ball control and came away victorious 34 to 29.

With the evening featuring crossovers, California played a pesky Portland team to a 35 to 32 victory. Setting up what many had thought would be the championship game, Houston played Denver in the last game of the day.

The two teams, which had met at sectionals a month earlier played to a decisive 6-point victory by the Canes. This would not be the case in this controversial semi-final match. Houston jumped out to an early 2-goal lead in the first, but lost it at the end of the quarter when Denver had the jump and the last goal. "One of the hopes we had going into the game was to get the last goal and have the arrow at each quarter", said D2 MVP David Bynum. His wishes didn’t happen, as the Harlequins were able to control all quarters and gain the arrow at each ones end. As the game wore, fatigue set in on both sides, the Canes who had a limited bench elected to play with the "fab four" of Bynum, Bailey, Kearley, and Deason while Denver kept stand out Hosick on the floor without a sub. In the waning minutes of the forth, the game could have gone either way, when the Canes pulled the ball up and played for the last goal. "We were one goal up at the moment and the worst that could have happened was we could have tied", said Tim Deason playing in his last competitive game. Those words would prove to be prophetic as the Canes entered the key and scored with 32 seconds left on a Bynum and Bailey long pass for a point. The Canes fell back and were going to play a key defense, but pulled out on the Denver ruggers and challenged them. An equipment TO by a Denver player with 26 seconds allowed subs on the floor for the Harlequins. Controversy erupted when 3 of the players subbed for Denver and a forth whose card was not on the table was brought up by a staff member for the Harlequins on a sub. The bench of the Denver Team was sited for delay and a technical was handed to them. Shouts and confusion was rampant as the Houston team quickly in bounded the ball and ran the clock down scoring a goal clincher with 2 seconds left. On paper the Canes had won the game 44 to 43. However the Denver team protested the game and the ruling was up held. After a 1-hour break, the game resumed at 11pm in the evening. It would prove to benefit the Denver team as they had the ball and 26 seconds on the clock. Their refreshed ruggers scored with only 4 seconds left on the clock giving the Canes little to work with but getting the ball in and working towards a overtime win. They were successful and the Canes began their quest to redeem their earlier loss of the day and stage another last second win. With 1:10 the Canes again pulled the ball up and went for the last goal in OT. Stalling the ball, Houston kept the Denver squad uncertain whether to attack or utilize a key defense. The Texas boys pulled a stunning play on a pass from Bailey to Bynum scoring with 4 seconds on the clock, ensuring a Championship game birth to the Canes. The final TIRR 47 Denver 46 in overtime.

Championship Saturday had an early rematch of 1995 National teams Chicago and the EPVA Strykers. The Strykers, who are in a rebuilding year, had the talent of veterans Carlos Guzman and Angelo Mongiovi. However Mongiovi hurt earlier would not be able to contribute as the Strykers lost the rematch to the Bears 33-23. Further excitement occurred as the Sarasota Riptide beat the Titans again to improve their standing from 8^th to 5^th. The 3^rd and 4^th place game would prove to be anticlimactic as the eager 5^th seated Pounders easily beat the 2^nd seated Denver Harlequins 44 to 36.

The final pitted the number one-seed TIRR Hurricanes against the number three-seed California Quake. This was a rematch of the day two game in which the Quake beat the Canes by 2. Neither team needed any motivation for the game as the final notes of the National anthem played and a sense of electricity and anticipation filled the air. The Canes who announced this would be the last game the team would ever play competitively started their 7.0 line while the Quake featured the dynamic duo of Olsen and Patterson. From the tip the game was hard hitting. Coach Gumbert of the Canes plan was "to use the size and power of Bynum against the smaller Quake players". His plan seemed to work as the game went back and forth, no team having a 2 goal lead or more. The Texas ruggers also capitalized by getting the last goal and possession arrow of each quarter. It would later prove to be one of there best assets, as going into the final quarter the score was tied and the Canes got the ball. Fatigue was taking its toll as Patterson was put into the lap of Bynum on a bone-crushing hit. A turnover for Quake with a Cane 1-goal lead seemed to put the game away for the Texas team, but the California guys came back again to tie the game on an turnover caused by Ed Olsen with 2:19 in the game. The Canes a little rattled and worn pulled the ball up once again and went to work on the clock. They scored with 1:38 on the clock and the Quake raced down and scored on a Patterson play with 1:26 on the clock. The Canes going to what had worked for them the entire weekend went for the last goal. With 6 seconds on the clock Bynum crossed the goal sealing a National Championship for the retiring Houston team. The final 31 to 30.

In summary D2 was a mere thought a year ago, but along the way that thought became a quest for a number of athletes and teams in the USQRA. That quest ended in the serene hills of Georgia with as much fan fare and splendor of D1, and twice the parody of it as well. All the teams at the tourney proved the reasons for D2 were valid and how the sport can grow as a result. With new talent from these teams excelling to these new heights, the sport looks secure that all who play have a chance to win – at all levels. A fantastic job was done by the Warm Springs staff who made playing an honor and to the USQRA leadership who gave the sport a new Championship to chase.