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50p

Brentwood Super Bowl Smackdown

1 May 2021
Tommy M, Privett ‘23; Photo by Simon G, Privett ‘23
In our current pandemic, there have been very few sports which have been unaltered due to the strategies used to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. However, in the midst of the chaos of the race between variants and vaccines, one sport remains unscaved. A sport of glory. A sport of champions. A sport made of literal dreams. That sport is Flag Football, and this past Sunday on the Brentwood turf, the spring of Interhouse ‘21 came to life  with the First Annual Flag Football event.

Yes, the rumours were true. Interhouse Flag Football was not an event of legend, but of legendary potential. Last Sunday, April 25, the SAC marked the end of the spectacular Spring Fair with the first ever Interhouse Flag Football tournament. All eight houses cruised to the turf and buckled up for an astronomical experience. The schedule had been set by the head official, Mr Toby Collis Handford (TCH) and each house put forward five to ten gladiators to fight for fame, glory and Interhouse points on the Brentwood Gridiron.

Flag Football is a sport that can be played within the boundaries of COVID mitigation strategies, as the rules for this event were fairly straightforward. Each player dons a belt with velcro flags attached, and every time a flag is pulled, a down is called. Each team had four downs to score or else the ball would be turned over to the opposing team. Games lasted 15 minutes and if two teams were tied at the end of the aforementioned time, a sudden-death overtime was entered. In overtime situations, each team would have one offensive possession, in a one vs one battle.

First, the girls’ bracket. In the two semi-final rounds, the ever-elusive dragonflies of Hope House faced the fearsome dinos of Alex. On the other side of the bracket, powerhouse Mackenzie faced the brave mermaids of Allard. Hope House was able to defeat Alex due to an amazing wombo-combo effort between quarterback Adrienne R, Hope ‘21 and Florence T, ‘24: “The rainy weather with a sideline full of people cheering me on made me miss the sporting events before this time” added Florence. “It brought me so much joy as I ran into the end zone.”
 
On the other side, Cheungs Champions of Mackenzie House were able to top Allard and earn a spot in the final. As Hope and Mackenzie faced each other in the final, tensions flared on and off the field. Spectators heckled and watched a game closer than Super Bowl XXV. After touchdowns galore from Alana H, Hope ‘23 and a commanding performance from field general Lilli SE, Mack ‘23, the match ended in a tie and sudden death was activated. The first round ended in a catch from both sides, but in the second round, Jensa NG, Mack ‘23 was able to make a game-winning grab to earn the Mack girls the honour of the first ever Flag Football Championship.

On the boys’ side, Rogers battled Whittall and, through a dramatic three-to-two victory due to a huge interception from Anton S, Rogers ‘23, the Pirates were able to book themselves a spot in the final. On the second field, a close game between Privett and Ellis was underway. Wismer’s Warriors took an early two touchdown lead and the future looked bleak for the Privett rams. The tides changed, though, after a quick turnaround touchdown and a last second drive led by House Captain and quarterback Ben Z, Privett ‘21. With this the game was sent to sudden death, and the second most prolific family in football behind the Gronkowskis, the Bakshi brothers, emerged. Avik stepped up on defense to shut down a much taller opponent while Ankit B made a huge offensive catch to send Privett to the finals. “It was super intense,” stated Avik. “We were very lucky to come away with a win in the first game, but we knew we had to make it count in the finals.”

In the final game of the tournament, a swashbuckling Rogers effort, headmanned by quarterback Buchannon F, Rogers ‘22 came up against a stacked Privett lineup. After the full fifteen, the score stayed even, two touchdowns to two touchdowns. Another sudden death situation and once again the Bakshis came to play. After a first round of completions from both sides, Ankit took matters into his hands and made a spectacular grab to seal the win for the Privett boys.

As we await the final scoring at this week’s assembly, we would like to thank Mr Collis Handford, Ms Staples and the SAC for an amazing event. This was an afternoon filled with tears, troubles and most importantly, touchdowns. This is just the beginning of Interhouse Flag Football.

Tommy M, Privett ‘23

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