Quad Rugby/Story - Spokes Ableman visits Nationals

Spokes Ableman and the USQRA National Championships
by Ed Hooper - Photos courtesy of Chris Lawson

"Hey, Hoops, did you know that there were only 9 or 10 Texans at the Alamo when Santa Anna and his army overran the place?” Asked my smart-aleck para buddy Spokes Ableman.

“And this has what to do with the United States Quad Rugby Association’s (USQRA) Division I and Division II National Championships that were held in Austin, Texas on April 7-9, 2006?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Spokes replied. “I drove down there and it was just interesting. Heck, there were a lot of guys there from Tennessee, Carolina, England, even Ireland, everywhere, but not many from …”

“Stop, Spokes, I don’t care. Just once, after all these years, I’d like you to focus your full attention on quad rugby and the tournament you’re suppose to be covering.”

“Jeez, Grumpy, relax. I’m stretchin’, warmin’ up, ya know?

“Here goes: Sixteen teams converged on – attacked one might say – the University of Texas Recreational Sports Center for the impending mayhem.

“Quads are so predictable,” Spoke goes on. “You put them in these road-warrior chairs and they bang each other senseless for three days straight. You guys call it Murderball. I’m told there’s even a movie out with that name. Maybe after I see March of the Penguins I’ll rent the DVD.”

“Focus, Ableman, focus.”

“Hooper, you of little faith, I’m getting there. This is a huge event with eight Division I teams and eight Division II teams, so one needs to take one’s time before rushing into details. But, since you insist…

“To start with, to end with, there was Phoenix. There was Shinichi Shimakawa their class 3.0 – which in his case should stand for Warp 3. Man, can this guy fly! He won MVP of Division I, and he was chosen USQRA Athlete of the Year. I’ve never seen anyone faster, and when Shimakawa spills it’s like a NASCAR crash. You don’t want to look, but you have to.

“Anyway, Shimakawa dominated the league this year, winning MVP at every tournament he competed in, and he and the Phoenix Heat wheeled off with 1st place D-I honors to boot. I’m told the only thing he left behind was a tooth that got knocked out during the title game.”

“But it wasn’t just Shimakawa, was it Spokes?”

“Oh, heck no,” Spoke replied. “Scott Hogsett, Brent Poppen and Andy Cohn round out this team, and they played brilliantly together. Cohn and Poppen are as solid as rocks with the ball and as defenders, and Hogsett is forever working like a dog – or is that a Hog – at the low-point position.”

“What’s not fully appreciated here, Spokes, is that Hogsett is also the coach of the Heat. It’s rare that a team wins championships with a player/coach.”

“Come-on, Hoops, how hard can coaching be? You do it.”

“What!”

“You coach the Hoveround Gunners, right? All I ever hear are things like red three, man one, and blue. Coaching code, I gather. Hey, just between you and me, I think the opposition knows what blue means by now.”

“Oh, shut up, Ableman. Phoenix’s accomplishment is huge. They’ve been pounding at the door for years and they finally broke through.

“Also, Spokes, the other thing that was impressive about Division I this year is that it was the strongest field of teams in the history of the championship. Great, great rugby!”

“Tell me!” Spokes shot back. “Right out of the gate, the Lakeshore Demolition got a 39-36 kick in the pants by losing to the 7th seeded California Quake. The Quake, led by Dave Willsie and Justin Patterson, took a big bite out of Bryan Kirkland and company, but it only served to piss Lakeshore off the rest of the way.”

“Yeah, Spokes, it was probably the biggest upset in USQRA history and set the stage for some fantastic rugby action.”

“Isn’t that what I just said, Old Timer?

“Jeez, where was I? Oh, yeah, the Quake. They followed that up with a 39-37 victory over the #4 seed Denver Harlequins and turned Pool B of the tournament into tiebreak central.

“Long story short, you Hoverounders got through to the semi-finals by beating the Quake by 7 on Saturday. And Denver could have dropped the Demolition into the lower half of D-I by beating them, but an angry and focused Lakeshore team pounded the Harlequins by double digits.

“So, Hoops, I didn’t see many D-II games. What was going on there?”

“Well, Spokes, there was almost a bigger upset in D-II than there was in D-I. The OG’s…”

“Whoa,” Spokes interrupted. “What are OG’s?”

“Old Guys.”

“You’re kiddin’, right?”

“No, I’m not. They might be joking, but I’m not. The #1 seeded OG’s from San Diego got the scare of their lives from Dave Bynum / Steve Kearley and the 8th seeded Pasadena Texans before the OG’s prevailed in overtime 48-47. But the boys from Pasadena didn’t let that disappointment faze them as they followed that tough loss up with a 36-35 win over the #3 seeded Tampa Generals who just couldn’t get it going in Austin.”

“What about Philly, Hoops?”

“The Magee Eagles, powered by MVP of D-II Adam Bencsik, seemed to get stronger as the tournament progressed. But it was no cakewalk. They got a tough, tough 36-37 match from the University of Arizona Wildcats who finished third and played great all weekend. The Wildcats are a team to watch.

“The Semis came down to Pasadena vs Philly and U of A vs the OG’s. Bencsik and Philly hammered Pasadena (who was without Kearley) and the Old Guys from Southern California beat the young guns from Arizona. So, it was Philly versus the OG’s in the D-II Championship.”

“That’s interesting, Hoops, both Divisions were competitive.”

“Well, Spokes, Division II wasn’t quite as competitive from top to bottom as D-I, but, arguably, this was the best D-II field in the history of the tournament.”

“Good stuff, Hoops. Now back to D-I. Where was I?

“Oh, yeah, a showdown was brewing in Pool A: Horns vs Heat. The two-time defending National Champion Texas Stampede, led by Murderball’s Mark Zupan and the fiery Bob Boothby, and the Shinny Heat squared off. In a tremendous game, with hundreds of fans cheering like, well… like Texas fans, the game came down to a last second goal. With the score tied, the Stampede had the ball and was killing clock and going for the last goal, but they got in trouble and turned the ball and game over to the Heat with about 40 seconds to play, who then sealed the deal themselves by scoring and winning 41-40.

“So,” Spokes continued, “the semis were set: Phoenix vs Hoveround and Texas vs Lakeshore who, like Hoveround, made it through to the semis in a tie-breaker with the Quake.

“In two hard fought games, Lakeshore ended the Stampede’s chance to three-peat (36-32) and Phoenix stopped the hopes of Hoveround (34-29) in the two semi-final games.

“This set up the 3/4 game between Texas and Hoveround, and, of course, the D-I Championship between Lakeshore and the Heat.

“The disappointed Texas faithful was looking to see the Gunners get the horns, so-to-speak. With the fans screaming, the game – that had just about everything – came down to two plays. The Stampede scored with 8 seconds left and the Gunners, on a last-second inbound play, were a half a tick late in tying the score. Final 27-26. The fans applauded for a good minute or two afterward.”

“You know, Spokes, it really helped having that home-cookin’ support. It goes to show how incredibly exciting these games can be. I wish we had more time and more ways to showcase our sport”

“For sure, Hoops. You guys have the most exciting game, but so few people watch. It’s a damn shame. The quality of play deserves spectators, lots of ‘em.

“So, Hoops, how did D-II turn out?”

“Well, Spokes, U of A won third over those overachieving Pasadena guys.

“But the story of D-II may have been the showcasing of a new star in the league, Adam Bencsik. He gets better each year. Bencsik dominated the competition and deserved the MVP award. He has an unsung supporting cast that really makes that team go.

“But the Old Dudes were too experienced to be intimidated.

“The first half of the D-II title game was close throughout. The third period ended 28-26 Eagles, but Bencsik and company went on a 4-0 run to start the 4th quarter and the OGs couldn’t recover. Final score was 38-33. The Eagles, after finishing second last year, won the D-II title this year. It will be interesting to see if Philly can follow Portland’s and the Quake’s lead from the previous two years and bust into D-I next season. They have the horse in Bencsik. It will be interesting.

“Well, Spokes, how about the D-I finals?”

“The Championship game,” Spokes replied, “was speed, hard hits, greater speed, and harder hits, and then a frenzy of all of the above. Lakeshore, led by Kirkland and Bobby Lujano, was competing in their 9th straight Division I final. Nine! With their new import, Dan Buckingham from the Gold Medal New Zealand team, the Demolition had their loss to the Quake in their rear view mirror and the championship in sight ahead. But again, as they had done all year, Shimakawa and the Heat had other ideas. In what everyone had come to expect, Shimakawa and the Heat came out fast and strong, slugging it out with the powerful Demolition. At the half the score was 20-19 Heat. The Heat then built up a seemingly insurmountable 5-goal lead in the third quarter.

“Then the action really began to cook, starting with a controversial call and perhaps ending with a controversial call. First, Shimakawa and Lujano were going for a ball with Lujano reaching for it when they hit head on. Lujano popped out face-first onto Shimakawa knees and then onto the floor. The ball ended up in Shimakawa’s possession, but he was called for charging and the ball went back to Lakeshore. The fans actually booed the call.

“Big Mo started to change and the Demolition fought back furiously. Later, the second call: a vertical spin was called on Kirkland for leveling Shimakawa. The fans didn’t like that call either. And although Lakeshore got to within one late in a fierce run, time ran out. Final score was 42-40.

“A disappointed Demolition had to settle for second for the third straight year. But the Heat completed a dream season. Except for a forfeit at Sectionals, the Heat went undefeated and certainly earned the title of National Champions.

“That’s true, Spokes. They earned it. And lest we forget, Austin and the University of Texas were awesome hosts. The USQRA shined and its sponsors, volunteers, referees, and classifiers were dedicated and hard-working all season – a professional job all the way around.”

“Hoops, you know you sound different now that you’re El Presidente. You edited out some of my better lines, and you won’t even let me call you Helmet Head anymore. Stuffy, very stuffy.”

“Goodbye Spokes.”

“Bye. See you next year,” Spokes grinned. “And let’s get those fans in the stands!”

	Photos courtesy of Chris Lawson	Texas Stampede's Robert Boothby helps rid the floor of scuff marks near the end of the 2006 USQRA Division I and Division II National Championship held April 7-9 at The University of Texas Recreational Sport Center in Austin, Texas.
Lakeshore Demolition's Bryan Kirkland, center, tries to maneuver away from the defense of Phoenix's Brent Poppen, top, and around the defense of Phoenix's Shinichi Shimakawa.

*Spokes Ableman would like to thank those people who provided details and information on some of action reported in this article.