19 April 2008 | 2008 BWE Ausball Week Five | Kenmore Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

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BLUES VS. REDS- Reds Withstand a Furious Blues Comeback to Retain Top Spot on Ladder

The fifth week of the Spring Ausball season saw the most entertaining and exciting contest yet. Wally Waldron led his Reds against a Blues outfit that thrashed them just last week and brought them the sweet taste of victory in an epic showdown.

Early it looked like a runaway win for the Reds, with Helen and Nora kicking early goals. Good work in the middle from Troy and Brandon allowed for plenty of scoring opportunities for the Reds, while the Blues missed out on their rare chances at goal. The quarter saw a commanding thirty point lead for the Reds.

The second quarter was the Tony Goodman show, as T-Rex was all over the field kicking goals. Bridget worked hard in the forward line for the Reds to assist on several of T-Rex’s three goals in the quarter. Stan and Kyle kept the Blue team in the game with some great marks and general play.

After halftime, the game tightened up and the Blues looked to work their way back into the contest. Judith and Amy turned up their games and set up multiple scoring chances for the Blue team. However, inaccurate kicking cost them a chance to cut into the Reds’ lead, and they looked to be done with a 45 point deficit.

The departure of Captain Wally for the Red team to warm up for the metro game was a huge turning point. The Reds looked lost without their spiritual leader, and the Blues poured on the pressure. The family Stablein put on a fourth quarter show with Phil kicking one goal and sister Karen four great goals. The Reds were reeling, but a key late goal from Lauren was priceless and proved to be the decider. The Blues kicked nine goals to two in the last quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Reds prevailed by two points.

The rivalry is heating up, and the rest of the year should be an exciting affair. Thanks to Matt, Garth, Jonny Mott, and Steve for helping with umpiring and scoring.!
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PERIOD SCORES:
01Q: BLUE (3) to RED (36); 02Q: BLUE (17) to RED (58); 03Q: BLUE (27) to RED (72); 04Q: BLUE (85) to RED (87)

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GOALS:
BLUE: Karen (4); Phil (2); Kyle, Stan (1 each)
RED: Tony (5); Helen, Brandon, Norah, Lauren (1 each)

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PLAYERS:
BLUE: Karen, Judith, Stan, Tom, Phil, Marni, Amy Kyle

RED: Helen, Bridget, Norah, Lauren, Brandon, Wally, Tony, Troy
UMPIRES: Matt, Garth & Steve; SCORES: Mott

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12 April 2008 | 2008 BWE Ausball Week Four | GW Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

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BLUES VS. REDS- Another Blue Team Thrashing Has Reds Looking For More

Story by Dave "Wally" Waldron. Thx Wally!!!

With the violent sky threatening to crash down on Kenmore High’s Australian Football grounds and close the field for the day, a higher power decided to clear up the weather allowing the Red team face off against the Blues in a football match that will come to be known as “the one sided game between the Red Tee-shirts and the Blue Tee-shirts”.

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Right out of the gate the Blues jumped up front led by veteran Judith scoring four goals and four behinds in the first quarter.

At the conclusion of the first quarter two of the Red Teams players Norah and Lauren would remember that they had a pizza in the oven at Norah’s house and needed to get home before the place burned down. As this drop of two players from the Red team could not have come at a worse time being down 52-14 after the first quarter, Benjamin (English Rose) Shea would decide to switch teams and reunite with his old time Red teammates and attempt a comeback against the blues. Ben would later say that this was a poor decision based on his watching the 2005 Sam Jackson film “Coach Carter” just hours before tip-off.

The second quarter a replica of the first proved to be a group effort on the blues team with Karen running hard after taking multiple marks and scoring two goals to place the blues up 87-16 at the half. After each goal Karen would remark to her teammates that her impeccable speed came from a Jerry Rice Steps class she had taken while vacationing in San Francisco with her family in the early 90’s.

At the half the Red team knew they had to make some changes if they were to turn this game around. At this time Phil went to the drawing board to develop a play the team later dubbed the Annexation of Kenmore. While their new play did have an effect in the third quarter and the Reds put three goals on the board, it did not include a defensive strategy and the Blues kicked another 49 points.

The fourth quarter the closest of all saw goals from Laurie on the Red team, as well as Stan, Karen, and Judith on the Blue team. In the closing minutes of the game with the blues up by triple digits Karen was not happy enough with just having victory in hand and instead decided to inflict an eye gouge on Gina so that this day would be burned in her memory for the rest of time. Gina refusing to be carried off the field walked off with true character, muttering the words “I can’t wait to play the Blue team next week.”

Thanks to all for coming out for the day. Thanks Wally for Refing, keeping score, and the time as well as making the field too big!
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PERIOD SCORES:
01Q: BLUE (52) to RED (14); 02Q: BLUE (87) to RED (16); 03Q: BLUE (136) to RED (37); 04Q: BLUE (169) to RED (44)

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GOALS:
BLUE: Judith (6); Karen (4); Stan (1)
RED: Ben (2); Gina, Laurie, Phil (1 each)

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PLAYERS:
BLUE: Judith, Matt, Karen, Matt, Megan, Stan

RED: Norah, Lauren, Seth, Ben, Troy, Gina, Laurie, Phil
UMPIRE & SCORES: Wally

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05 April 2008 | 2008 BWE Ausball Week Three | GW Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

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BLUES VS. REDS- Reds Get Back And Pummel Blues On The Scoreboard

Write-up to come shortly. Please check back for updates.
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PERIOD SCORES:
01Q: RED 5.2 (32) to BLUE 0.4 (4); 02Q: RED 9.6 (60) to BLUE 2.4 (16); 03Q: RED 13.3 (87) to BLUE 4.6 (30); 04Q: RED 15.12 (102) to BLUE 6.11 (47)

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GOALS:
RED: Lauren (4); Dave W. (3); Gina, Marni, Norah (2); RJ, Tony (1 ea.)
BLUE: Karen, Judith, Sophie (2)

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PLAYERS:
RED: RJ, Dika, Gina, Lauren, Marni, Dave W., Paul, Norah, Joe, Tony
RED: Jay, Karen, Amy, Jon, Meg, Sophie, Judith, American Rich, Aussie Matt, Aaron
UMPIRES: Matt B., Greg; SCORES: Philip

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29 March 2008 | 2008 BWE Ausball Week Two | GW Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

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BLUES VS. REDS- Blues Pay Back Reds In Week Two Showdown

Back after a week off for Easter, the Ausballers were fresh and ready to get back to business. This week Matty Bishop led the Red team against Rich 'PM' Strayer's Blue outfit that was looking for revenge after a tough defeat in Week 1. Ausball creator, Denis Ryan surprised everyone before the game by announcing a new experimental rule in which women's goals and behinds counted double (* hence the oddity in goals kicked not matching the game's final score).

After the opening jump, the Reds took an early lead after a goal by first timer Ben. The Blues came back with a great "double goal" from Judith, but the Reds scored a couple quick goals late through Brandon to take the lead at the first break.

The Blues dominated the play in the second quarter with some great play from Matt M., Stan, Karen, and Matt F. The Reds couldn't get anything going and squandered several chances at goal with too many handballs. Helen and Tom played strong in the Reds' midfield, but it was not enough as the difference was 4 goals for the Blues at the break.

The third quarter was an offensive show with the Blues kicking four goals only to be outdone by the Reds 5. First gamers Tom for the Blue and Craig for the Red both played solid quarters for their teams. Wes kicked a goal for the Blues, and Gail and Bridget worked well in the Red forward line all quarter.

With the game still in doubt, both defenses stood up in the fourth quarter. Larry, Joe, Jon Mott, and Wendy stood tall for the Blues, while Rich, Troy, and Seth finished strong for the Reds. The Blues were too good on the day and came out deserving winners.

A big thanks to Denis, Wally, and Shane for umpiring, and Amy for keeping scores. There are some excellent photos of the action on the photos page. Make sure to check them out.
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PERIOD SCORES:
01Q: BLUE 2.1 (13) to RED 3.3 (21); 02Q: BLUE 7.4 (46) to RED 3.4 (22); 03Q: BLUE 11.4 (70) to RED 8.6 (52); 04Q: BLUE 12.2 (84) to RED 8.7 (53)

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GOALS:
BLUE: Judith, Stan, Matt F. (2); Karen, Matt M., Wes (1 each)
RED: Brandon (3); Ben, Gail, Seth (1 each)

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PLAYERS:
BLUE: Judith, Matt F., Joe, Matt M., Stan, Karen, Wes, Tom, Rich S., Larry, Phil, Mott, Wendy
RED: Matt B., Greg, Gail, Seth, Tom B., Troy, Ben (new), Rich, Craig, Bridget, Brandon, Helen
UMPIRES: Ryan, S.Frearson; SCORES: A.Bishop

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15 March 2008 | 2008 BWE Ausball Week One | GW Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

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BLUES VS. REDS- Terrific Footy in First Week of BWE Ausball Season '08

The Baltimore Washington Eagles Ausball season kicked off with a fast paced and free flowing game that was a testament to the increased level of skill and knowledge that the Ausballers have developed over the first year of competition. Twenty four players, two umpires, and a several spectators showed up on a beautiful spring afternoon and witnessed the Reds run over the top of the Blues in the second half.

Denis “Crazy Legs” Ryan took charge of the Red team, while Rich “Party Manager” Strayer directed the Blue team. Matty Bishop threw up the ruck contest and the action picked up immediately with the Reds taking the initiative with Troy working hard in the midfield. With the wind at their backs, the Red team opened the scoring through the goal scoring machine himself Tony Goodman. Blues fought back with some strong work from Judith in the middle and a bouncing goal by Matt. An entertaining first quarter ended with Blue leading 2.1 to Red’s 2.0.

The Blues team took control from the beginning in the second quarter and only solid work in the Reds' backline by Seth, Shane, and Lauren kept the Blues from taking complete control. Good work in the forward line from Karen and Pam and goals from Dave Schall and a late soccer goal by Stan put the Blues up by 13 points at the main break.

The third quarter was a different story with the Reds dominating the play from the start. Rich was a man possessed in the quarter, scoring three goals with great support in the forward line from Bridget and Norah. Joe and Matt M. for the Blues worked really hard in the backline to slow down the Reds onslaught, but the Reds' hustle and teamwork won out. Denis added a late goal to really put pressure on the Blues in the final quarter with the Reds lead increasing to 14 points.

Working hard in the final quarter, both teams moved the ball well through the middle before hitting the brick wall of each side’s backline. Brandon for the Reds and Rich for the Blues really took control in the air for their teams. In the end the Reds strong third quarter was too much for the Blues to come back from. Great effort by all of the players provided an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable footy match for all.
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PERIOD SCORES:
01Q: BLUE 2.1 (13) to RED 2.0 (12); 02Q: BLUE 4.1 (25) to RED 2.1 (13); 03Q: BLUE 4.2 (26) to RED 6.5 (35); 04Q: BLUE 4.5 (29) to RED 6.8 (44)

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GOALS:
BLUE: Dave, Matt F., Rich S. (1 each)
RED: Rich (the new American) (2); Denis, Gail, Helen, Tony (1 each)

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PLAYERS:
BLUE: Judith, Karen, Troy, Phil, Pam, Jon, Rich S, Wes, Dave, Matt F, Matt M, Stan, Joe
RED: Brandon, Gail, Shane, Denis, Troy, Rich, Tony, Nora, Seth, Lauren, Helen, Bridget, Wally
UMPIRES: M.Bishop; SCORES: G.Borchardt

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