MEDDAC weathered the storm in the Commanders Cup Flag Football Championship Nov. 3, coming back through the losers bracket to defeat the 11th Engineer Battalion 19-13 and 14-8 to win the championship.
The effect of the rain on the players was evident during the 11th Engineers first series when MEDDAC’s Joshua Brown picked off a pass setting up MEDDAC’s first score.
Casey Osbey led MEDDAC on a six-play drive culminating in a 5-yard touchdown pass to Christopher Thomas to give MEDDAC an early 6-0 lead.
Both teams moved the ball in the first half, but neither team scored until late in the second half when the 11th Engineers evened the score at 6-6 on a Carl Meggett 2-yard run.
On MEDDAC’s ensuing possession, Osbey connected with Thomas on a 40-yard touchdown pass to put MEDDAC ahead 12-6 with less than three and one-half minutes remaining in the game. But, the Engineers came back, putting together a 12-play drive to take a 13-12 lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Beginning on their own 20-yard line, MEDDAC retook the lead with four seconds left, scoring on an Osbey pass to Anthony Neloms to seal the win, 19-13.
In Game 2, MEDDAC jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead scoring off of two turnovers with two 1-yard runs by Osbey. The 11th Engineers cut the lead to 14-8 on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Meggett to Dustin Willett. The 11th Engineers had one last scoring opportunity with less than two minutes remaining, but a comeback fell short on an incomplete pass in the end zone to end the game with MEDDAC on top, 14-8.
“I thought if we just played hard, and played with heart we could come through with a victory,” MEDDAC coach Phillip Moore said. “(In the first game), they were playing up on our wide receivers to stop the run … so when they started playing back (in the second game) we ran it in for the touchdowns.”
Moore said he told his players after going up 14-0 in the second game to stay focused because the game wasn’t over and the team still had a long way to go. He credited his team for being able to come back through the losers bracket to win the championship and said his team never gave up hope.
“Our team has a lot of heart,” he said. “They had a lot of perseverance and stayed together.”
As MEDDAC’s quarterback and offensive leader, Osbey scored two touchdowns in the decisive game, but shed personal accolades to give credit to his coach and his team.
“I just sat back there and executed,” he said. “The defense set the tone of the game, the coach was the eyes on the sideline and the offensive line did a heck of a job that allowed me to sit back there and do things as far as passing. In the second game we just wanted to jump out early … the offensive line, again, just gave it a push and the holes were wide open for me.”
Osbey said it is his first time being on a post championship team.
“It feels pretty good, it feels pretty good,” he said.
