After dominating the Dartmouth intramural league for a third consecutive year, the Gamma Delta Chi flag football team traveled to the snowy tundra of Ithaca, N.Y., last weekend for the Northeast Regional Flag Football Tournament.
The team's first opponent was a rag-tag bunch from William Patterson College. On the first play of the game, quarterback Wes Sharples '03 connected with Michael James '02 on a 40-yard bomb down the left sideline. He then hit James on a 15-yard fade to the corner of the end zone for the game's first touchdown. The floodgates were opened, and GDX United cruised to a 26-12 victory. Head coach Chris Sommers '02 credited the win to "the tight ship" that he was running.
Round Two saw GDX United go up against the home team from Cornell. This time around, the offense took it easy and let the defense do the work. Marcus Rowe '02 had two interceptions, and Seth Richardson '03 returned a pick for a touchdown.
GDX returned to the field at night to quickly dispose of another Cornell squad. Speedster Taylor Smith set the tone for the game with an 80-yard touchdown run off a pitch from James, and that was all the team would need en route to a 22-6 victory. With the win, GDX earned a birth in the quarterfinals.
The following morning, after a long night of celebrating, the team hobbled onto the field to face Maryland. GDX scored early on a touchdown by Evan Fitzpatrick '03, but Maryland took advantage of two costly turnovers to take a 12-6 halftime lead. The GDX offense struggled and soon frustration set in. Tempers flared, and Ben Young '03 was ejected from the game after nearly decapitating a Maryland player on a kickoff. Maryland tacked on two more scores en route to a 26-6 win.
GDX United finished fifth out of 28 teams.
Brendan Endicott '02 is a member of the Gamma Delta Chi flag football team.
