Game 5

Meco Piledrivers 9 - Stupid Question 0

On a hot Memorial Day, the dodgeball league was thrown into turmoil. There were two teams in the parking lot, but no one opening the door. Forty-five minutes after the game should have began, the doors were finally opened and the game was set to start. Stupid Question might wish that this had never happened as Meco was on top of their game.

Due to the late start, the game was pushed to the smaller field. The holiday left Stupid Question short handed. Captain Sanford was not available to play while suffering from a sore throat (I agree... not very manly). In spite of myriad distractions, Meco came with one mission... to win.

The Questions came out firing and had meco at two men a piece in the first game. However, Meco got their act together and put eliminated their final two players to take a 1-0 lead. As the contest wore on, each game seemed to go a little quicker than the one before it and the wins kept tallying on the Meco side of the scoreboard.

Wolf tried a beautiful spin move but the ball did not hit its target. Wolf also tried to inspire the boys to perform the unprecedented simultaneous cartwheel maneuver. The whole game was characterized by a methodic elimination of Stupid Questions. Eventually, Question just asked if we could call it a game. Meco agreed and got abother win in the books.

The game held certain sgnificance. It marks four straight wins, the longest streak in Piledriver history. It was also the very first shut out of their history.

In spite of all of this, i think everyone involved wishes that circumstances were different. If we had to leave our Memorial Day gatherings, a real game would have been nice.

This win sets up a showdown. Meco Piledrivers vs The Lowhangers. As far as we can tell, this game may be for first place. The Low Hangers feature two former students of the Mayfield High School. Meco is hoping that the student does not become the teacher.

4 wins - 1 loss, 39 points

Game 4

Meco Piledrivers 8 - Adirondack Cowtippers 6

Facing a familiar foe can be a difficult task. Teams learn eachothers strengths and weaknesses and become more difficult to beat in each successive contest. However, Meco threw these cautionary tales out the window and coasted to an 8-6 victory in their latest match.

The game never felt quite as close as the final score indicates. Rather, the Piledrivers charged out of the starting gates and led at the half 5-1. In the second half, Meco simply played the game out and had some fun. In fact, the Piledrivers were even able to defend against "Bluetooth-7-arc", a play which has proven otherwise very successful for the Cowtippers.

The Piledrivers were without one of their most reliable players as Evel was home sick. Likewise, first session player Hammer could not beat his illness and compete.

However, Big Bri (brother of Geoff and the first member of our team who has known children... there are rumors of several young Wojeski's living coast-to-coast) made his Piledriver debut as a fill in for our absent athletes. The pair of Kelley borthers had an interesting match. Geoff was apparently trying to win over the heart of his nephew by unleashing more direct hits than he has had all season long. His arm was in top form. Brian was not helping his cause as his first four games totalled about 40 seconds of action and three facials (he went to the Backhaus school of dodgeball, see season 1, game 9 highlights).

In addition to the play of the brothers, Tim Jones showed up to play. His arm was well on form and his aggressive style of play mixes well with the squad. Andrew also continues to improve and has introduced some new strategy. He likes to make his way into the attacking zone and fire a secondary ball directly behind a teammates. In spite of people's opinions, Andrew and NY (Jon) are not brothers. Backhaus also had his share of memorable moments and guaranteed some camera time (if our video team decides to do anymore). With six Piledrivers squaring off against one Cow Tipper, the veteran Stickle, Road Rage began the chant... "Stickle, Stickle, Stickle". Luckily Sticle was eliminated saving Rage the embarrassment of a misguided taunt.

Game 4 will be remembered most for the play of The Wolf. After battling a sore arm all week and considering taking a week off, Mrs. The Wolf told him to "grow some balls", hence, the Wolf showed up to play. In a moment that even Alanis could recognize as ironic, the Wolf was struck in the very same balls that Mrs. The Wolf instructed him to grow. The Wolf was again the crowd favorite. He had an outstanding "phantom ball" play that involved attacking the Cow Tippers without a ball. He drilled the Cow Tippers play-caller several times. And avoided a point blank hit from their top arm as he dove to the ground. Wolf also continued to survive his kamikaze style offense. The Wolf was again a leader.

Next week, the Piledrivers square off against Stupid Question. With a win, they will surpass their all time longest winning streak.

3 wins - 1 loss, 30 points

VIDEO - Session 2 - Game 4 Highlights / Lowlights

Game 3

Meco Piledrivers 11 - Old Skool 3

In game three, Meco looked to continue where they had left off in game two against a familiar foe. After splitting the first two games against Old Skool (Session 1), this encounter served as the rubber match. Piledriver fans would not be disappointed. Meco came out hot, winning the first three games and never looked back.

The game saw the return of Captain Sanford. Game two's week off served his aching labia's well. This contest also saw the introduction of the final two pieces of the Piledrivers puzzle. Tim Jones and Andrew made their debuts in the navy shirt. Both made fine contributions. Perhaps their finest moment was early in game three. Old Skool had Meco's backs against the walls, five men to three. Two of their top arms attempted to eliminate our newbs with a simultaneous throw... two throws, two catches; Meco five men, Old Skool three.

Geoff Kelley was an offensive force in game three. He seemed to be eliminating two or three opponents a game and was always in late. He also made the astute observation "That ball tailed" after getting drilled in the chest. Evel showed Old Skool what the Meco fighting spirit is all about with an intense wrestling match over the ball. Old Skool's former football player and Evel grabbed the same ball at the same time. What we witnessed after that was Evel being tossed around like a ragdoll as Old Skool attempted to wrest the ball away from Evel. Eventually Old Skool won the ball, but Evel's efforts tired him out.

Rage and the Squirrel continue to be crowd favorites. Rage piles on facial after facial to be certain that he stays well ahead of the field for most facials accepted. He also tends to lose his glasses four to five times a game. Squirrel continues to play to the crowd with speed and clever plays (the double-pump-fake to underhand gentle toss), as well as a surprisingly powerful arm for a man his size.

As usual, Sanford and Wolf offered fine play. Sanford made several improbable catches while the Wolfs cannon again eliminated several players, no matter what the age. In his eyes, an foe is a foe.

Old Skool said it best after the Piledrivers had built up a 7-1 lead. One player looked to another and said "these aren't the same Meco Piledrivers".

2 wins - 1 loss, 21 points

VIDEO - Session 2 - Game 3 Highlights / Lowlights

Game 2

Meco Piledrivers 12 - Warriors 4

The Piledrivers cruised to victory in game 2 with 12- 4 performance. After a slow start, Meco ran off an impressive run of games inspite of some of the worst play they have shown.

As the game began, the Piledrivers were looking for leadership as Captain Sanford was home icing his uterus. Meco and the Warriors split the first two games with the Wolf playing the role of catalyst. His cannon was fully charged for the match as he simply overpowered the Warriors.

With the score tied 2-2, the Piledrivers decided that the game had to change. Game five went into overtime behind the skills of MC (Mike Canton) Hammer and Squirrel. They were facing four men and eventually Hammer forced the game to OT. In the OT period, the Piledrivers won and never looked back.

Meco ran off 9 straight and then cruised into the victory. It wasn't all glory during the run. Their were some stellar performances. In a clutch situation, Hammer inched ever so slightly over the line in an effort to hit the last Warrior. Wolf got double outed while trying to dive through and "split" the defense. Road Rage launched a point blank cannon at a player laying on his stomach in the prone position... the ball was caught. Squirrel and NY faced off against 4 Warriors. In no time it was just NY as Squirrel pulled a Woj (watch game 6). Our dodgeball game nearly turned into a dodgebrawl at one point when Evel was nearly tackled for no apparent reason. Evel also had the best elimination. Squirrel ducked (one of the five D's) and the unsuspecting Evel was blind sided.

In a show of the skills of the Warriors (to keep us humble) lets recount one telling incident of the game. Being outmanned four to one, NY made one final charge at the Warriors. Unfortunately his throw made us all miss Guzzisti (Cheney). At this point, NY threw in the towel and turned his back to accept the hit... and from 3 feet away, the Warrior missed by 4 feet.

As we head to game three there are some very encouraging signs for the Piledrivers. The rookies are improving quickly as Squirrel and Hammer were consistently amongst the last players on the court. The veterans are throwing hard and catching well. Road Rage and The Wolf consistently play with a wreckless abandon and make the highlights. Kelley and Evel continue to play consistently and quietly. When the Pilesrivers are on, they will be tough to beat.

The Return!!! - Session 2 Game 1

Meco Piledrivers 9 - Public Enemy 10

May 1 marked the return of the Meco Piledrivers. Yet there were many new faces. It is with sadness that we say good bye to Collins, Horn, Wojeski, Cheney and Worm... With optimism, we welcome Dave, Canton and two other guys that skipped this game.

This new crew of Piledrivers opened the season with a tough loss. It was a very back and forth match, in fact only one time did a team have a 2 game lead.

Early in the match it was evident that Meco were not as steroid driven as the opponent. Each contest featured much unneccessary screaming and wreckless attacks from the Enemies. As the game wore on, strategies became obvious. If Meco played slow and patient, they won. If Meco was drawn into a fast paced and aggressive attack, Public Enemy won.

The 'roid effect caused trouble throughout. Public Enemy attempted to influence the officials through their yelling and also spent a fair amount of time trying to intimidate the Piledrivers.

The match stretched on to 19 games. In one game it was four against the Wolf... Advantage Wolf. This is what we come to expect from the fiery leader of the Piledrivers. The Wolf's comments and yelling kept Public Enemy on the brink of chaos. However his back injury just before halftime would limit his effectiveness in the second half.

There were individual performance all over the court to be proud of. Backhaus has patented a new manuever... it is the double-bird jerk-off taunt. Now, he must learn to use it in moderation. Rob Evel split his time between two events... being the first out of the game and cursing angrily while trying to contain his fury after another dubious "out" call. Geoff Kelley was nice enough to complement a 'roiders hair. Also, in a show of the kind of sportsmanship that we could all learn from, after an accidental trip, Geoff looked at the fallen Rager and said "Sorry... sort of". He also attempted to provide tutoring and career counseling for many of them. Canton became so focussed on one ball that he often forgot about the other five in play. Dave and Bornt (but not Dave Bornt) both had some shining moments to build on in this debut match.

The game provided promise for the Piledrivers. When they kept their emotions in check, their attack was very effective. Avoiding some silly mistakes and ill fated attempts at catches could have swong the match in our favor.

VIDEO - Session 2 - Game 1 Highlights / Lowlights
*This one is big, might take a little longer