Sports -- Support Squadron showdown in flag football showdown

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Seth Butler
  • 47th FTW Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AFB, TEXAS --  The sun sets on a hot fall Del Rio day and turns into a crisp, cool night. People fill the stands to watch the gladiators clash on the field where the lines are clearly drawn and each person vies to prove themselves as champions.

What could this possibly be? Flag football, of course!

While the games might not be quite that dramatic, they are still played with just as much heart.

Tuesday night's game between the 47th Operations Support Squadron and the 47th Mission Support Squadron was no different. Before the game the captain of the OSS team, Airman 1st Class Frank Gilman, was asked what advantages he thought they had over MSS.

"Our offense and defense both have speed and size. We can cover on defense and we can break the coverage on offense" he said.

"Our quarterback is Airman 1st Class Brad Cline, who is a former college football quarterback. Airman Cline has an extremely good arm, he can throw a pass 60 plus yards."

Quarterback for MSS, Staff Sgt. Alfonso Gonzalez, said their biggest advantage over OSS is "our defense and how well everyone is on cue, everybody knows their responsibility and it shows in the games we have played." said Sergeant Gonzalez. "As for our key player Chris Chiavuzzi, he's a leader, big play maker and is vital to the overall team success!"

Every team is sure they will win the game, but there can only be one winner when the game is over. Tuesday night's game went back and forth, both defenses shutting down the other team's offense.

The game went into overtime with the score still zero to zero. MSS intercepted the ball just as it looked as though OSS would score. MSS gained control of the ball and pushed forward from the 20 yard line while the OSS defense pushed back.

However, despite their defensive efforts, 2nd Lt. Josh Wolfram from the MSS kicked a field goal to win the game 3-0.

If the rest of the games this season are like this game was, it should make for an exciting season!