Flag Recap Jan. 24, 2009

WEATHER: It was perfect for football – partly cloudy, then sunny, cool, no rain. Some mud puddles on the field, but otherwise good conditions.

WELCOME: A big hello to Alejandro and VJ, both playing their first game with us. For Alejandro, it really was his first game.

NEXT: We are playing Saturday, Jan. 31, Penmar Park at noon. If you are ever unsure about whether we are playing (and have not received an e-mail), check the blog on Friday -- if there is no update, assume we are still on.

GAME: White led early, then Dark battled back and won by (I am guessing) about 12 points or so. The “over” covered.

PLAY OF THE DAY: Had to be Austin terrific interception return for a TD. He skied high to snag the pass falling backwards, kept his balance and then weaved his way 60 yards for a score, getting some good blocks.

LOSING HIS FLAG VIRGINITY: Alejandro had not played American flag football before and the night before looked up the rules on Wikipedia (he probably knows the rules better than most of us). But halfway through his first game, he was no longer a newbie, making a nice sideline catch. He then added two more in the game.

IT’S OPTIONAL: Great option play by Shaun, who tossed it back with great precision to (I forget who, but he was wearing a dark shirt) for a conversion.

GREAT CONVERSION: White faced a fourth-and-25 after a couple of sacks. Marino threw a nice go pass to Dave who caught it about 2 yards short and, for some reason, stopped. He then lurched forward for just enough for a first.

GOING DEEP: Best long pass of the day was by Christophe, who hit Shaun in stride on a terrific TD play.

BOXERS OR BRIEFS?: One funny play was Brent grabbing Ray’s flag, and pulling Ray’s shorts down in the process. A few plays later, Brent did it again to another player, prompting someone to say, “I didn’t need to see that!”

SLIP-SLIDIN’ AWAY: The field had just enough mud and slick spots to make it hard for the defense to set itself in coverage or rushing. Alas, I don’t think anyone took a tumble in the gunk.

BALL HAWKS: Austin and Christophe each had two picks, Toby had one, while VJ had a couple of nice sacks (the latter not easy on that field).

HE COULD GO ALL THE WAY: I hit Marino in the middle for what looked to be about an 8-yard gain, but he kept running and Dark kept missing his flag, and he kept going, all the way to the end zone. Of course, we needed a sun dial to time him.

NOTABLE: Austin scoring his final TD running backwards into the end zone. … Cyd’s nice ball handling where he yelled my name like he was going to lateral it to me, the defense stopped and he got a nice gain inside the 10. … Nice having Toby back after taking last season off, and he had one really nice catch where he had to stretch to get the ball, then kept his balance coming down. … Nice receiving day by Uhrlacher, catching most of his over the middle. Weird play was Dave trying to make a catch as he slid near the sideline. The ball in his hands hit the sideline pylon before he had full possession, so we ruled incomplete.