Game Three

Meco Piledrivers 6 - Stone Hands 6 (Meco wins in overtime)

Another game went down to a dramatic finish as the Piledrivers faced an old foe (with a new name). While their shirts did say "Stone Hands", there was no doubt that it was our familiar foe, the Adirondack Cow Tippers.

As the game began, Meco was still riding high after last weeks dominating victory. The Piledrivers came out firing and secured a very quick 1-0 win. Game two began with the latest Piledriver, Token, making the rookie mistake. Token ran over the center line in the rush to start the game. This was followed by many ill advised throws and the game was tied.

Before long, Meco had lost three in a row. They were in their old funk of finding cloveer ways to win. Throwing the big balls high and soft did not work, although not due to a lack of effort. Charging carelessly without any cover also was a consistently poor plan. Rage missing Notorious BIG from three feet did not help. The most clever loss in the first half featured another show down between the now mulletless NY and three adversaries. With only 20 seconds to play, NY made a charge, avoided a ball and eliminated two of the Stone Hands. With three seconds left, NY only needed to avoid getting hit by one player who had one throw... unfortunately, NY was drilled by Ronnie Lott and the Piledrivers found themselves down 3-1.

With their backs against the wall, the Piledrivers responded. Free Agent began hitting some players. his speed was greatly enhanced by his moon boots and he got two balls at the start of almost every game. Token began getting a little bit of a swagger as he started to make some fine catches. Big Bri made acrobatic saves on the sideline to get the ball back into play quickly. Without anyone playing exceptionally well, the Piledrivers managed to win the last three games of the first half and get to halftime with the narrowest of margins, 4-3.

The second half began with a quick win for Stone Hands. The controversy was beginning to get into the heads of the Piledrivers as the Stone Hands Notorious BIG refused to leave several times he was hit. It was often the difference maker. As the game wound down, it was Meco 4, Stone Hands 5. With time winding down, Meco had three players, Stone hands two. In the neutral zone Free Agent squared off against a Stone Hands veteran, as the seconds ticked away, Free Agent got hit as he sent a gentle ball which was caught by the same player. This could have been the Piledrivers undoing. The official inadvertently called for overtime. Stone hands argued the point and convinced the official to change the call. This wasted about two minutes. Meco faced a 2 game deficit at 9:54.

As game 11 started, many of the Piledrivers were saying "this game doesn't matter, it is the last one anyhow". It appeared the best the Pieldrivers could do was a 6-5 loss. However, Sanford and Rage came to the rescue. Sanford came up with several excellent catches. Rage reintroduced his hands team, saving his best games for the end. Token also used some of his old keeper skills to make an exciting catch. In the meantime, Big Bri and Giant were hitting Stone Hands as if they were fish in a barrell. The Piledrivers won quickly enough that they were allowed to play one more game.

Game 12 was dramatic and tense. The first two minutes of the game did not eliminate anyone. Then Free Agent redeemed himself from some early mistakes and eliminated one. Big Bri was hit on a retreat after a charge. Token missed a catch as did Sanford. Then Rage made a catch and Giant eliminated one. NY joined the fray following a catch and made an ill advised throw. Somehow it bounced off the hands and we were off to overtime.

After one minute of overtime that saw no one eliminated, it was on to sudden death dodgeball for the victory. A successful charge found Meco with both stingers. However, their throws were off the mark. The Stone Hands were devising strategy when one came charging and threw at TJ. TJ, in the midst of one of a subpar performance without a catch, focussed in on the stinger and made a clean catch. Meco wins!

This game showed some resolve. Meco was able to do what they needed to do and win a game that certainly was not going their way. Things may have been a little easier if the inspirational leader, The WOLF made the match. His absence was very conspicuous. Perhaps Mrs. The Wolf, our old camera person, required the services of the Wolf. I would think that he was writing lesson plans, but we know that could not be the case. Maybe he was off helping the Rookie come up with a clever name for Free Agent. Hopefully everyone can plan their sleep schedules, as next weeks match starts at 10:00.

2 wins, 1 loss 21 points