MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI -- Marines, sailors and station residents concluded the 9th annual Turkey Bowl flag football tournament at the Penny Lake football field here Saturday.
The tournament featured six teams in a double elimination tournament hosted by Marine Corps Community Services intramural sports, which began on Nov. 5 and concluded Saturday with the IYAOYAS dominating the Vikings for the title.
After losing to Five-O last year in the championship 32-13, the IYAOYAS seemed to be playing as if they needed to make a statement.
The statement being last year was a fluke and is not going to happen again. The IYAOYAS almost effortlessly walked over opponent after opponent until they received their trophies.
“We did outstanding,” said Robert Figueroa, player for the IYAOYAS. “Our defense is pretty amazing.”
Any sport enthusiast knows defense wins games and with the IYAOYAS that is exactly what won them the championship as well as bragging rights for the upcoming year.
Needless to say they were ready and hungry for victory.
“The most difficult team we played was the Vikings,” said Keon Beccles, running back and rusher for IYAOYAS who was named Most Valuable Player. “The first game they didn’t score at all, but the second they actually put 13 points on the board.”
The IYAOYAS started the championship game just where they left off during their first encounter with the Vikings putting points on the board early thanks to an interception provided by Timothy “Darkness” Ferguson, safety/ wide receiver for the IYAOYAS.
Ferguson’s interception was just the beginning for the Vikings quarterback George Adams. The Vikings committed four turnovers by interception in which the IYAOYAS capitalized on three of them.
Christopher “Swift” Williams, corner for the IYAOYAS, made the second interception for the IYAOYAS with two minutes left in the first half to set up their third touchdown to end the half with a 19-6 lead.
On the Vikings first possession coming off the bench from halftime Ben “Army Joe” Armijo, safety and wide receiver for the IYAOYAS, picked off Adams with 11:05 left in the game, however Adams redeemed himself with a pick of his own to retake possession with 7:09 on the clock.
With the interception and some time on the clock, it seemed the Vikings were going to make a comeback, but a few dropped passes forced Adams with third and long to make a risky throw that didn’t pay off.
Williams earned himself his second pick of the game and this time was able to take it to the house for six and extend the IYAOYAS lead 25-6 with less than five minutes left.
If a team is ahead by 18 points at the second half two-minute warning, the game ends.
Just before the two-minute warning the Vikings were able to get off one last play in which they were able to find the end zone with 1:59 left avoiding the mercy rule of an 18-point deficit.
After converting the extra point, they left the IYAOYAS with the ball and just under two minutes trailing 25-13.
The IYAOYAS marched down the field and poured salt on the Vikings open wound to end the game with a 20-yard completion for another touchdown to Ferguson to take the Turkey bowl.