Two flag-football teams, a men and women’s, represented Ouachita went upstate to compete in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Regional Tournament (NIRSA for short) at Fayetteville last weekend.
They each competed against other teams from six states and different schools such as Texas State, Kansas State, and UCA and managed to hold their own.
The men’s team was comprised of the Betas, the team that won the Ouachita upper league championship as well as a few others strategically picked up players.
Beta Black kicked off the tournament Friday night against state rivals Arkansas Tech and struggled to find a rhythm, as they were unable to compensate for their five turnovers and lost a nail-biter, 13-7.
However, it didn’t take long for quarterback Jake Edwards to get back into his groove against their next opponent, Arkansas State University at Beebe.
During this game, Ryan Tibbets pulled in a long touchdown reception the very first play from scrimmage.
Beta Black smashed ASU 49-0 but it wasn’t just the offense that shined, defensive ends Mason Wadley and Brandon Briscoe accounted for 10 sacks in that game alone, giving the offense great field position to start at.
Next, Black faced a team from Kansas State; a school with an enrollment of 24,200 students compared to Ouachita’s 1,600.
They obviously didn’t pay any attention to that statistic, since they walked into halftime with 28-0 lead and ended up with the W, beating the Division 1 Big 12 team 40-20.
Their last and final game of the tournament was played against number 1 seed Texas State. The first half of play didn’t go their way and went into half time down 26-0.
Black managed to maintain some dignity as Edwards hooked up with Justin “Rumblin Bumblin Stumblin” Young for an over-exaggerated diving touchdown and extra point to add seven points to the board.
This Division 1 team proved too much for Black, as they fell short 33-7 but their tournament appearance was not in vain.
But of the 32 teams that competed, Ouachita’s Black took 6th place, led by defensive players, Hollis Landreth and Kyle Hartman, which led the team with three interceptions.
The women of EEE, the winners of the intramural league, traveled alongside the Betas to Fayetteville to compete in the women’s flag-football regional tournament.
EEE Hardcore started off their tournament play similar to Black, falling short by a score of 14-12 to UCA after losing Leah Whitlow to a neck injury as she collided with an opposing player.
They came out the next morning led by quarterback Joanna Curtis and beat Arkansas Tech 21-14, losing yet another player, Lauren Jackson, to a busted forehead.
The battered but persistent EEE’s played a few hours later against the ZTA’s from the University of Arkansas and came out on top 13-6 thanks to Brittaney Reynolds’ stellar defensive play.
This win clinched the EEE Hardcore team a semifinals appearance against Texas Tech University early on Sunday morning.
The injuries were too much to overcome as the Ouachita sponsored EEE Hardcore weren’t able to match up with Texas Tech, and lost 40-0.
Although they didn’t come away number 1 in the region, Hardcore placed 4th overall out of 12 total teams, which is incredible considering Ouachita’s enrollment.
