News

LRS passing, running game stalls 9AS, 27-7

  • Published
  • By Roland Balik
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The battle for the top spot in the Dover Air Force Base intramural flag football American Football Conference stacked two powerhouses against each other, both coming into the game with long winning streaks.

Wednesday night's AFC game between first place 9th Airlift Squadron, 10-1, and second place 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 10-2, came down to the team that established the running and passing game right from the kick off.

Both teams known for their quick tempo offense and a strong defense were equally matched with the only advantage going in favor of LRS due to 9th AS quarterback Matt Husemann not being in the lineup as a result of mission requirements.

"We were expecting all of their starters to come out and play but they did not have everybody just like the game we played against the 436th Security Forces Squadron," said Deok Kim, 436th LRS coach.

The 9th AS kicked off to LRS for a touchback to start off the game and six downs later, Joshua Orick, LRS quarterback, ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown on fourth down and inches for a 7-0 lead.

The first possession by the 9th AS produced nothing after five plays, forcing them to kick the ball away to LRS. On the next possession, LRS could do no better and had to kick the ball back to the 9th AS after four downs.

The second possession proved more productive for the 9th AS on a passing play from quarterback Andrew Muench to Frederick Raffaelli fourth down for a touchdown, tying the game up at 7 each.

LRS could not move the ball downfield on their next possession and had to kick it away to the flyers only to get it back after an interception by Joshua Hernandez before the half ended.

The second half was a mixed bag for the 9th AS as Orick chalked up two interceptions, but he also ran and passed for two TDs and Hernandez snagged his second interception of the night.

"We wanted to keep it short and sweet; short passes to run out the clock," said Muench. "We were not able to get into an offensive rhythm, so we stalled out a couple of times."

The arm and speed of Orick and the solid rushing efforts from running back Travis Cabb, were more than the 9th AS defenders could handle and their offense was struggling as well. The game was called at the two-minute mark, known as the mercy rule, after LRS backup quarterback Brandon Frank threw a touchdown pass to Oniezis Johnson, increasing their lead to 27-7 for the win.

"The game plan coming out was to do whatever it takes, play our game, make our plays the way we know we can play," said Orick. "We made  some mistakes a couple of times but the defense came out and played great, got some turnovers."

Speaking about his team after watching their performance, Lt. Col. Todd Walker, 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander said "We have a lot of improvement to do, there's no doubt about it. They got to stay humble and on the ground and see what the next game is, it's one game at a time."