Flamingos placed 2nd in a thrilling final at Breckenridge’s Valentine’s Day Massacre, finally falling to a 0-2 second overtime half defeat to the reigning champions, Breckenridge’s own Blue Goose.
The Flamingos started the day, kicking off at 9:20am to Western State. This game would open up a successful day of hard, fast moving, and wide played ball in the frigid, high altitude air. Moving the ball hard, and keeping the opponent’s offense from scoring was the name of the game, and we secured 2 tries for a 2-0 victory in our opening game.
Our next game would see us playing the hosts. We quickly secured a lead in this game, punching in a try and keeping the lead for most of the game. Breckenridge held strong in offense, and kept defense tight, keeping our score line low, and finally securing tries of their own. With both teams pushing hard, and making few breaks, the game came down to a final 3-3 tie, with both teams vying for the top of the tournament.
Our third pool game was against Chicago, and the Blue Goose had set a high bar for the top of pool placement by trouncing the Denver Harlequins 7-0 in their final game. We came to the field know that as long as we won this game, we would secure a spot into the semi-finals, and played a solid defensive game, scoring 3 tries, and successfully keeping Chicago from securing any scores of their own, finishing for a 3-0 win.
This win put us in for the Semi-Finals against the yet undefeated Durango Rhinos. We started the match securing our own kick quickly recycling the ball for a quick try to start the match with a lead. The Rhinos fought hard, and through the game they were able to secure 2 tries, although they allowed 3 more tries to be pushed in on them. We took that match with a 4-2 win, putting us in the finals against Breckenridge.
The final match, Fort Collins started a hard fight toward the Breckenridge line. We spent most of the first half in the Blue Goose 22, getting close to the line on many occasions, but due to infringements or turnovers, the Blue Goose were allowed to clear their line, and keep us out of their goal. By the second half, the game became more evenly balanced, although Fort Collins was still able to pressure the Breckenridge goal line a number of times, ending up fruitless in the end, and keeping regular time to a 0-0 tie.
Two more halves were lined out as a tie breaker, and Fort Collins was starting to show it’s fatigue, while the host side was able to consistantly move their much higher manned side in and out of the field, to keep it’s players better rested. Fort Collins was able to keep the Blue Goose from scoring anyways, through the third half, keeping the tie game going until the fourth and final half of the day. The final half Fort Collins found a kick put under heavy pressure from Breckenridge, who were able to capitalize on a penalty advantage and score a try. Fort Collins continued to fight back into the game, but Breckenridge broke our line once more, and put in one more try at the whistle to secure the win. Leaving Fort Collins with a 0-2 2nd overtime half loss.
Finally, at the bar, we had one more contest, and took Durango, and Glenwood Springs to task, winning our first two boat races, and meeting with Chicago in the finals. Our race against Chicago came out as a draw, and once again we found ourselves in a finals overtime knockout, as Chicago was able to beat us in the end.
As a final note, we had a great time over the weekend, and are proudly looking forward to a strong spring season.