UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION
January, 2006
2006 Knock & Roll Rocks
by Marco Dispaltro
The 6th Annual Knock and Roll tournament was held the weekend of January 13-15, 2006 in Jupiter, Florida at the West Jupiter Recreational Center. The 6 team field was the strongest yet, and the round robin tournament had the potential to be legendary.
The Great Lakes Storm and the South Florida Rattlers got
the tournament rolling with
South Florida winning. And although the Storm were
without 3 of their standout players on Friday (Odeh, Sheridan and Schmütz),
they never quit and this was a good sign of things to come as they
progressed all weekend. On Sunday Great Lakes
finished with a full squad and a thrilling game against Tampa, losing by 1
goal, but they established themselves as a serious contender for post
season play in the Heartland.
The Generals were inconsistent, playing good ball on Friday and fading the next 2 days. Battling hard to keep their 5th seed, Tampa edged out the Storm, 37-36 in their last game of the weekend. Tampa was led by the ever improving Aussie National and Knock and Roll MVP, Grant Boxall. Tampa is well organized and well coached, and their inconsistent play should be history when post season comes around.
The Denver Harlequins lost 3 games by a total of 6 points; losing by 2 to Lakeshore, by 1 to Tampa, and in the upset of the tournament by 3 to the Rattlers. Regier, Scaturro and the blazing fast Will Groulx (on loan from the Pounders) all got best in class. The US Quadfather (Brad Mikkelsen) will have his boys primed for post season play, and with class 2.5 Ross Morrison from GB settling in with his new team, the Harlequins should be a force at Nationals.
The South Florida/Canada Rattlers started off slowly, but built momentum all weekend long. Playing the USQRA favorite, Lakeshore Demolition tough until the 4th quarter when Lakeshore was finally able to distance themselves from the Rattlers. In the Rattlers final game against Denver, the Rattlers used their speed and passing to outlast the Harlequins. Early in the 4th they were able to get a 3 goal and play a little keep away, forcing Denver to commit fouls. These 2 teams will be seeing lots more of each other in the next month or so.
The Hoveround Gunners didn’t meet the expectations they had given themselves for this tournament, but still managed to finish second. They will undoubtedly have to step it up to finish in the top 5 at season’s end.
The Demolition were without a doubt the best team in the tournament, using depth and the strong play of Kirkland to win the tournament. And although they were pressed to win a few games, there seemed to be a sense of inevitably about them that they would prevail, and they did, finishing with an unblemished record for the weekend. The Demolition will only get better when their star import, Dan Buckingham, gets to know his teammates more. Watch out for rookie 3.5 Joel Wilmoth when he gets more experience and who just might be peaking around Nationals time.
The Knock & Roll as usual was first class! Put together by Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, the food was great, organization was first rate and everything ran like clockwork. Next year the tournament will be back to 8 teams and should be the best yet. Thanks to all who came, and special thanks to those people who work and volunteer to make this event the success that it is! See you in 2007.
| Photos courtesy of Bob Henderson - click for larger image. | ||
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