Flag recap Nov. 24, 2007

WEATHER: Perfect for football – 72 and sunny and calm.

PHOTOS: Me scoring a TD. More also at the bottom. Thanks to Brent.

SCHEDULE: We are back at Playa Vista, Dec. 1. I will send a reminder.

WELCOME: A big welcome to Brent, who had been living in San Diego. A big welcome back to Dan, who works most Saturdays. And a big welcome as a player to Chris Sauers, our favorite ref who played for the first time.

GAME: One of the most bizarre we had in a long while. In the SEC this week, Arkansas beat LSU 50-48 in 3 OT and Tennessee beat Kentucky 52-50 in 4 OT. At Penmar Park, White came back from deficits of 26-6 and 38-20 to win 58-56 in 2 OT, our first OT game in years.

White, on its last possession, scored to make it 44-42, then converted the 2-pointer to send it into OT. In the first OT, each team scored and did not convert. In the second, White scored and converted to go up 58-50. Dark scored a TD, then missed the 2-pointer and we all finally went home. Whew!

CREATIVE: Dark certainly ran more inventive plays. Shaun was usually QB, but he often did faked it to Brent (new Brent) and tossed it back to Dan, who became QB. They made a ton of big plays off that formation.

BEST CATCHES: A tie – Patrick sent the game into OT with a beautiful catch for the 2-pointer that tied it. Toby threw it a bit high in the back of the end zone but Patrick stretched as far as his 5-9 frame would allow, secured the ball and tapped his toes in before falling down.

I, yes that is not a misprint, scored White’s last TD when I went up in the back of the end zone for a pass from Patrick and held on despite being jostled and semi-somersaulting to the ground. My hamstring is still pissed.

SACK MASTER: Bubba played like a rusher reborn, sacking me three times for losses. He called himself Gilbert Brown, but played more like Dwight Freeney.

TD MAKER: For a while, Toby was White’s entire offense and he did it on defense. He made two great picks that he ran back really long for TDs. In addition, he had several big catches and some nice passes.

DAN THE MAN: Dan was maybe the best player in the game. He made a ton of catches and had several TDs and also had two interceptions.

BLAME GAME: Patrick got, shall we say, “toasted” a few times and each time we would hear White team Brent scream “Chainsaw!” (Patrick’s nickname). So on one play Brent was awfully quiet when a pass hit him in the hands and was intercepted. We were all hoping Patrick would scream, “Brent!” Brent made up for it by catching the game-winning 2-pointer on his knees (a preferred position).

HUSTLE AND FLOW: Two plays illustrate why it is important to keep playing. On one, Brent (new) was racing for a score when Brent (photog) kept chasing him, finally tackling him at the 2. On the next play, Toby picked off the ball and ran it back for a score.

Later, Dan picked off a fourth-down pass in the end zone and White all just stood there. Dan just started to run and kept running for a TD.

BALL HAWKS: In addition to two picks by Toby and Dan, Shaun also got two and Patrick one.

FACE: Patrick lined up to throw a 2-pointer and Bubba laughed and said “pick.” Patrick then threw it over his head to Toby for the score.

NOTABLE: Hinders made a nice pylon run for a successful 2-pointer, then got wide open for a long gainer later. … I made a catch over my shoulder and amazingly outran the pursuit for a 50-yard gain. My Achilles is not happy. … Chris scored twice late on nice routes in the end zone, and also threw for a 2-pointer. … Dark team Brent consistently got open and turned short passes into big gainers. … Chris had his first penalty called on him when Bubba flagged him for offensive PI. … A nice sideline grab by Jeff on a key late drive. … And how did Patrick get so open on that one pass from Toby? Was Patrick covering himself? ... Best flag grab was Hinders twisting grab of Patrick's flag that saved a huge gainer. ... Ouch -- Dan bet $400 and laid 38 with the Patriots at 8-1 odds.

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