DAY 1 Recap - Stitches, Broken Bones, Broken Opponents, The Noob Stamp, and Some Serious Whoopings

Day 1 of the Ohio Wesleyan Evan Matthew Reas Memorial Tournament is done. And with that, the completion of Ghetto Force's step 1 of the season is complete. With strong A and B squads attending the tournament (in different pools) the team set its sights on arriving, and taking care of business.

Ghetto Force gave people the business.

The B squad, though ending the day with an 0-4 record, made many huge strides. Alex Frasz had a stand out day, showcasing his talent both on offense and defense. Frazzle Dazzle not only put on clinics in the area of handling and cutting, but helped contribute to the demoralization of many weak offensive players with his continually potent defense. The Dazz is an athlete and a half, and definitely made his presence felt.

The B team also had strong efforts from JoePa, Lattatastic, and KaiserRoll, all demonstrating their ability to handle and move the disc. JoePa gave some noobs some free lessons, busting a move all around his markers, both with his classy throws and swift cuts. Latta had a big time game cutting, swinging, and increasing the flow of the disc in a tough game against Oberlin-B. Kaiser, as a first year player, stepped up his handling game (who knew this kid was equipped with a cannon?!?) and ripped the biggest 60 yrd. flick of the day, to a laying out Pat "The Love" Bello, for a score. With the wind, snow-capped puddles, and slush consistently casing the disc, it was truly a site to be seen. Pa, Kaiser, and Latta proved they've got the skills to pay the bills, and they're ready to payup.

Though the day may have been a bit frustrating for Ghetto B, the squad showed a lot of heart and desire....not to mention some serious improvement. Z-Nizzle, Pegatronic, and all the other first year players definitely confirmed that the future of Ghetto Force is bright. Z, for one, busted his arse the whole day, laying out and gettin' sick with it, all the way up to the slush-soaked end.

The learning experience that comes with this tournament, proves the value of getting lots of playing time. I think all the members of Ghetto Force B walked away with a knowledge of what their strengths are, and what they need to focus on for improvements. All the pieces of the puzzle are there, and the signs of flow, speed, and consistency demonstrate the work Ghetto Force B has put in. With some focus on fundamentals and knowledge of the field/throws, Ghetto B is going to make some serious waves.

A couple fields away, Ghetto Force A showed up with a tenacity unparalleled at the tournament. Though there are no rabies-infected players on Ghetto A (you might be surprised), it was obvious the slew of talent was foaming at the mouth to ravish the unprepared opponents. And ravish would turn out to be an understatement.

With tough conditions, Ghetto made it a point to rip into opponents early, and continue to beat on them all game long. Playing OSU-B to start, the first point of the day set the tone. Though the two teams met a year ago at Sectionals (ending 13-0 on a Mark Latta Callahan), OSU-B was sporting new additions (including strong Miami grads) and was looking to step up their level of play. As OSU-A made the National Championships last year, the B-squad is full of players ready to step up to the next level. Unfortunately for them, Dayton wasn't having any of it. From the get go, Hoover and Simon made the sexy time connection, and they were off to the races. Becoming addicted to the sexy time, The Hitman and Danisourus Rex laid a beat down off the bat, as they connected for the assist and score, respectively, on the first 4 points of the game.

OSU-B utilized some strong handling and quick working of the disc to break the cup and take advantages of Dayton mistakes, breaking UD and tallying a few points in the first half. Unfortunately, JoeBa, who was desperately seeking the eye black and a D, decided to aim his brain for a backhand huck, and took one like a champ above the eye. Though he was pumped with the sick D, he was less pumped when he realized he'd need 8 stitches. You know our Ghetto Love for BayBay runs deep, and the Force was not about to let that fly.

Ghetto Force, stressing the need to avoid complacency, went on a 3-0 run to take half, 7-3. The halftime rally was focused on us coming out of the gate hard, and laying down a hurt. Sporting the "Do it for Bayer" rally cry, Ghetto took into the second half like raging bulls, and completed what would be the first of many OATBAGs of the day...ripping 6 straight to take the game 13-3. It'd be the start of many sick runs.

Coming second would be a vicious, and strong, Pittsburgh-B squad. At the urging of Papa Corc (err, Pop-A-Corc?), Ghetto had to stay focused, as this game would not come as easy as the first. Captain C-Money, is obviously a moron.

Charging hard, Ghetto continued the sickest run of the season by establishing the second OATBAG of the day, rocking a 7-0 first half. Unfortunately, the half came at a costly price. Danager the Manager made a stellar play to catch a score from JFoor, and was ramroded in the cheek from a bozo, Pitt player. Who obviously disregards the safety of everyone. Though Dan held onto the disc and the score, the immediate pain was unquestionable. Stampede Simon would walk off the field under his own power, but his obviously shaken demeanor showed everyone his injury wouldn't readily be shaken. As our second player in just over an hour to make a run to the ER, Dan has unfortunately been diagnosed with a broken cheek bone, and is pretty badly beaten up. All of the team's thoughts and prayers are with Dan, as we are all thinking of him, and hope he is doing well.

Identifying a quick trend, Ghetto proposed the new slogan, "Do it for Dan" when entering the second half. The Kozby Show, reveling in the slogan, got in the act, and scored the last 4 points of the game for UD. Basically, minus a stupid call-filled point where Pitt amazingly scored, the game was same old, same old. Dayton whooping tail, taking the game quickly, 13-1. Foor, upset he threw the disc to Danimal on the play he got injured, made a point to steamroll a full layout D against a weak Pitt player. Foor would like to make it clear, his issuing of this Mega Noob Stamp was dedicated to Dano.

Of both the opening games, perhaps the most amazing part was the fact that Dayton went on a streak where they played 16 points in a row, and broke the opponents and scored on all 16 points. It was a stat to be feared, and the opponents to come knew Ghetto deserved respect.

The third game of the day was a fun one, against Walsh University's brand new Ultimate team. It was filled with nice, and often really athletic, guys who were excited to be there and ok with the beating that was to come (The Kozby Show had aptly prepped them on the mantastic-sized blasting they would take). Luckily, the guys were really fun to play with, and seemed to enjoy learning the game and playing with a team of such skill. Dayton would take the game with ease, 13-3. (As one will see, this was the only team able to avoid the dreaded OATBAGing).

Coming into the last game against Earlham, Dayton went down good ol' Memory Lane to prep. Earlham was in the minds of all the returners as they surprised UD at a tournament a year ago, ruining what was to be an awesome tournament. Ghetto made a vow, that history, would definitely NOT repeat itself.

Coming into the game, Ghetto was pumped to exact some bush league revenge. Throwing it back to the California Penal League, Ghetto came out and in a ruckus, began what would be a beat down for the ages. Reveling the feeling of a good ol' OATBAG, UD decided to take half with nice 7-0 smoking. During the halftime speech, Ghetto talked about not letting up and keeping the pressure on. Basically, this all translated into in Ghetto going out and getting the 4th OATBAG of the day. And, to the dismay of Earlham, we would not be denied. Rocking what was an outstanding zone D, Ghetto lambasted the Moment of Violence team, and tore into them with a OATBAGle, finishing the game 13-0.

For Ghetto A, almost everything went as planned. If we could have avoided the 8 stitches and the necessary plastic surgery, and the losses of Darth Bayder and Dan The Man, the day would have been perfect. But our thoughts are with them both (BayBay seems to be doing pretty well) and we are excited have them back on the field when they're both ready.

Ghetto, with the Pool-winning, 4-0 running riot, earned the beloved first round bye for Sunday. Now, with the prize firmly in sight, Ghetto starts the day in the Quarterfinals at 11:00 am, with only three games seperating Ghetto and a championship.

Ghetto Force has its target in sight, and like Saturday's rompfest, Sunday's victory will not be denied.