Pub Power Stopped
by All Tool Assault
by Jason Kirkpatrick
After a closely contested first match of the day, the Irish Pub Ninjas took on the All Tool Legion in a rematch of last year’s championship. The Pub squad was shorthanded with injuries, but attempted to even up their chances by trying out a new half-line setup that they hoped would confound the Legion. All Tool wasted no time creeping inside the Ninja defenders to test their resolve early in the match and came away with a point for their efforts, be it off a 65. The Pub defense was quick to react though with great hand passes between Chris Servais and Anna Downs-Dombroski to get the sliotar moving for the Ninjas. Both sides saw scrums developing dangerously close to the keepers though, as The Legion looked to their midfield where captain Paul “Tebow” Steinbrecher turned to fire but came up short. Capitalizing on good positioning though was All Tool forward Jerry Miller who was able to collect the loose sliotar and dish it in for a wave of the green flag. Celebrations were short-lived however as opposing captain Tim Dombroski took advantage of the Legion celebrations and found their defense out of position, and unable to stop his shot to the net for three retaliatory points. Pub would point again thanks to Ryan Schubert, and bolstered by the defensive efforts of Anna Krajcik on the fullback line who was crashing down on any Legion play near the box. The trading of points continued until the end of the first quarter where the teams found themselves right back where they started…dead even at 1-3 (6).
Back on the pitch, the two teams found themselves deadlocked in a struggle for control. Michael Fehrenbach ushered the ball out of Legion territory and across the midfield to safety, only to be pushed back on their heels by Pub defenders Pat Minster and Todd “Scrappy” Witt. While Chris Kadrich and Mark Prudom