Intramural flag football season kicks off

The intramural flag football season began with two wild card teams joining the men’s division: a team composed of Oklahoma Christian baseball players and a faculty and +upperclassmen team called the Old Guys. While they will not be eligible for playoff contention or points, . the Old Guys will be led by men’s head basketball coach Kendre Talley, and both teams will be a force to be reckoned with.

While the extra teams have found a fun way to boost their cardio, the three scoring divisions are already set to be dogfights for first. In the Men’s A league, not too much has happened yet, with teams getting early reps against the Old Guys team in a game that is not for points. Freshmen played Delta Gamma Sigma in a showdown, but Delta pulled away at the end and took the win. Delta football coach Blade House spoke about the team.

“I think we are a dangerous football team, on both sides of the ball, on A and B,” House said. “I think we’re loaded, and we’re gonna kill it this year.”

Delta’s success is in part from their roster. House talked about the team’s stars.

“Carson is returning at quarterback, and he always kills it,” House said. “Dysen killed it on the B team last year, and now he’s on the A team. Britton is still around, and our B team is gonna be a force with Garrett Webster.”

Meanwhile, Chi Lambda Phi is off to a good start. Their A team has yet to play a game for points, but the B team  is  working, to handle Alpha Gamma Omega and Kappa Sigma Tau. The team is backed by former A team quarterback Cannon Poore and Luke Patterson, alongside defensive stallworth’s Cole Klaassen and Logan Hammersmith. Athletic Director Parker Landes showed hope for Chi’s football teams.

“In softball we couldn’t get our groove,” Landes said. “We’re really gonna have to lock in for our A and B team and get our points back up. We’re super optimistic and grateful for the rush class we got like Jacob McWatters and Landon Parker, and hopefully we can mesh them with the older members like Carter Neal and Quinn Martin.”

Kappa Sigma Tau may have done well against the intramural team of baseball players, but the B team is still trying to find their footing. It is unknown how significant Davey Clont’s injury will be for Chi, though Nathan Dillinger was more than a suitable backup. Brayden Olson was excited to see the returning A team stars step up in light of graduation taking away several stars.

“Buddy Lambert is gonna be a big, big player for us this year,” Olson said. “We’ll have guys like him, Sam, myself and Caleb, who all know a lot about football. So we still have some good guys despite losing so many players.” 

On the women’s side of football there is no true B league. Gamma Rho is the only women’s club to field a B team this year, and this team cannot compete for points. It is simply do or die in the A league, and the field is as stacked as ever. While Theta Theta Theta did not gain too much intramural potential from their rush class this year, athletic director Allie Neilson showed confidence that returners would be able to step up.

“Raquel is gonna be there, we got Kendra Speedy Gonzales and of course me,” Neilson said. “We got a bunch of new athletes who play for the school, so it’s hard to say if they’re allowed to play. Holland Reese plays soccer, along with Morgan Berres and Maddie Castro. I’m hoping they can just come out and get us some good defense.”

It seems Gamma took their low softball placing as fuel for this season, with the team already securing a blowout victory of 26-0 over Lambda Chi Zeta. Athletic Director Sophie Mae Smith spoke on the mixture of both new and old talent for Gamma football.

“The Katies are like a dynamic duo,” Smith said. “McCullock and Bosley are both so fast; they’re fun to watch. Addie Neal is also a great athlete andNatalie Smith. We have several girls who can step up.”

And step up they did. The team played so well, it was hardly noticeable when starting quarterback Natalie Smith showed up to the game after halftime to replace backup Addie Neal. With a suffocating defense backed up by an all star offense, Gamma has returned to the light of being the team to beat. 

Lambda, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back, though they still pack an all star squad featuring Mattie Baird, Anna Strother and Kayedence Bruner. Athletic director Olivia Hampton leads Lambda on the field as their quarterback as well as her directing responsibilities, and spoke on the team as a whole.

“I’m excited to see what Sydney Hampton can do, what she does and how she fits in with our club,” Hampton said. “I think she’ll do great, and the rest of the team can add a lot of different attributes. I know they’re good and what they’re capable of, so I’m excited to see that as a whole.”

It is worth noting Sydney Hampton was absent in their game against Gamma Rho, so it is possible Lambda entered the game not at full strength. The team did pick up a solid win over the freshmen class, but they still need to recover from the tough loss on Tuesday. 

Not a lot of buzz has occurred from the freshmen class on the mens or womens side. The teams spent most of their debut games learning the basic rules like no diving, 20 second play clocks and how to block. While they have plenty of athletic talent, they needed to learn how to play flag football the Oklahoma Christian way. 

If you are looking forward to the next night of games, Thursday, October 3, is an evening you do not want to miss. The two headline games will be Gamma Rho vs Theta Theta Theta at 7 p.m., followed by A league showdown Chi Lambda Phi vs Kappa Sigma Tau at 8 p.m.