Joint base champions: 3rd EMS grabs flag football title

  • Published
  • By John Pennell
  • JBER PAO
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  It took back-to-back defensive stands, but the 3rd Equipment Maintenance Squadron held on to beat the 56th Engineer Company 13-8 in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's intramural flag football tournament Saturday at the Buckner Physical Fitness Center field.
The championship match highlighted a day of flag football action which pitted the top three JBER Air Force teams against the top three Army teams from this year's intramural seasons. The 3rd EMS won the title in the fifth game of the tournament, their second of the day.

The games leading up to the championship were exciting matches, with two decided in closing-minute, come-from-behind wins.

95th Chem. Co. - 18
673d FSS - 13
Quarterback Jason Moore started the scoring for 95th Chemical Company with a touchdown pass to Chris Walters on their first possession, but Chem could not complete the extra point attempt from 2 yards out and had to settle for a quick 6-0 edge.
The 673d Force Support Squadron responded with their own first-possession score, but also failed to convert the extra point, leaving the score tied at 6-6.

John Gourdine ran in another touchdown for 95th Chem, but a second failed extra point attempt kept their edge at 12-6, giving FSS an opening to take the lead before halftime.
FSS quarterback Dennis Wilson took advantage of the opportunity, moving his team downfield after the two-minute warning and scoring both a touchdown and the ensuing extra point with his speed as he dashed into the end zone on back-to-back plays just before the half ended.

FSS turned the ball over on downs in their first second-half possession and the 95th responded by moving the ball steadily downfield to the FSS 3-yard line before Marcus Slade came up with a big interception to halt the drive.

FSS moved the ball back to the 95th's side of the field and were running out the clock, but couldn't convert a fourth down near the Chemical Company 20-yard line and again gave the Soldiers the football, this time with less than a minute to play.

Two plays later, Moore hit Chris Walters with a pass in the end zone giving the 95th an 18-13 edge after the extra point conversion failed.

FSS had 36 seconds to attempt a comeback of their own, but could not manage another score before time expired.

C/307th ESB - 12
673d MDSS - 7
Quarterback Ian Stuart opened the first drive of the second game moving his 673d Medical Support Squadron team downfield with surgical precision, capped by a touchdown pass to Justin Ault and an extra point conversion to Tony Diaz for a quick 7-0 lead.

The lead held through the first half, but C Company, 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion opened the second half with a pair of 20-yard runs, leaving them with a first and goal from the MDSS 20-yard line. C/307th quarterback Gerald Brayboy ran for a touchdown but the extra point attempt was no good, leaving MDSS with a 7-6 edge.

MDSS couldn't score on their next possession, but C/307th had no problem taking advantage on their turn, as Brayboy hit William Ford with a touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was denied, but C/307th held a 12-7 edge.

MDSS had one more chance to try to retake the lead, but failed to score and turned the ball over on downs. C/307th ran out the clock and moved on to the next round of the tournament.

56th Eng. Co. - 23
95th Chem. Co. - 14
The 56th Engineer Company started out quickly with a 40-yard pass from receiver Okeefee Robinson to fellow receiver Xavier Chance on a flea-flicker from quarterback Louie Jaramillo. Jaramillo followed up with a touchdown run and an extra point to Chance for a quick 7-0 edge.

The 95th response was just as quick, as quarterback Moore hit receiver Chuck Berry in stride as he raced down the sideline for a 50-yard scoring strike. Marcos Juarez grabbed the pass for the extra point conversion to tie the score at 7-7.

The engineers answered with a 39-yard run by Chance to set up a touchdown pass from Jaramillo to Victor Robinson in the corner of the end zone. A two-point conversion attempt followed with the same play to the same spot and once again Robinson out-jumped his coverage to grab the completion and give his team a 15-7 lead.

The score held through the end of the first half, but Jaramillo added another scoring run on the 56th's first possession in the second half. Another two-point conversion pass - from Robinson to Jaramillo - padded the engineers' lead at 23-7.

Moore hit Berry with a second touchdown pass and Juarez for the extra point, to cut the deficit to 23-14, but the Chemical Company Soldiers could get no closer and the 56th moved on to the championship game to await their opponent.

3rd EMS - 26
C/307th ESB - 7
Quarterback Rich Pantoja started the scoring for the 3rd Equipment Maintenance Squadron with a 2-yard dash and an extra point conversion for a quick 7-0 lead. A touchdown pass to Klent Wallace rounded out the scoring for the first half, giving EMS a 13-0 edge over the team which finished second in the Army's tournament Oct. 4.
C/307th opened the second half with a scoring drive, but could get no closer and watched EMS sprint away with a commanding 26-7 victory and a trip to the championship game.

3rd EMS - 13
56th Eng. Co. - 8
EMS made no headway with their first possession in the championship game and punted away to the engineers, who drove to the EMS 15-yard line only to have a pass picked off in the end zone.

EMS took the ball again from their 20, but a Pantoja pass was intercepted by the 56th's Anthony Porter, giving the engineers the ball on their own 30-yard line.
Jaramillo followed up with a touchdown pass to Quasey Vincent and a two-point conversion to Chance for an 8-0 lead.

EMS came back with a touchdown pass and extra point conversion from Pantoja to Matt Correa to cut the deficit to 8-7 going into halftime.

The engineers turned the ball over on downs at the EMS 30-yard line to open the second half.

Pantoja hit Wallace with a scoring pass on EMS's next possession to take a 13-8 edge after the extra point conversion failed.

The engineers pushed the ball downfield on their next possession and had a fourth-and-goal from the EMS 7-yard line. A penalty on the ensuing play moved them back five yards, and the second attempt on fourth down was stopped 6 inches from the goal line as EMS took over on downs and held on for the 13-8 victory over the Army's top team.