Downtown flag football teams advance to Pan-Campus Championship
The Good Fellas took a 24–14 win in the 2009 Downtown Flag Football Championships Tuesday night, advancing on to the Pan-Campus Tournament where they will compete against the champions and runners-up from all of ASU’s campuses.
The Good Fellas were among the leaders of the Men’s Flag Football League, placing third out of seven teams in the overall standings for the season.
Exploratory major and Good Fellas team captain Tony Aguilera said he was fully confident in his team’s success in the playoffs.
“I was pretty positive we were gonna be in the championships,” Aguilera said. “We are a powerful team and we have more skill than any other team out here.”
Aguilera said his team is prepared for the Pan-Campus Tournament.
“We are ready to play,” Aguilera said. “We are going to go into this tournament with our expectations high. We’re nervous, but our goal is still to win the whole thing.”
Although the Good Fellas are a confident team, their underdog opponents nearly stole the show.
The ASU Hell Raisers placed sixth out of the seven teams in the men’s league and made huge comebacks to win their playoff games. Relying on the crowd’s unwavering support, the ASU Hell Raisers kept the championship game close until the very end, where a tough call made by journalism student Matt Wittenberg may have cost them the game.
Fellow official and freshman journalism student Anthony Reda said it was a very difficult call to make, especially so late in the game.
“It definitely played a role in the turnout of the game,” said Reda. “It would have been hard for [the ASU Hell Raisers] to drive down the field with so little time, but the call did put the game out of reach for the ASU Hell Raisers. It was a controversial call, but in the end it was his call to make and I stand by it.”
Freshman criminal justice major and ASU Hell Raiser captain Anthony Bagnoli said he never doubted his team would advance so deep in the playoffs.
“I knew my team would be destined to make it to the championships,” said Bagnoli. “I was cheering for them the whole way. I never once gave up, even when things looked really bad for us.”
Bagnoli and his team have also been invited to the Pan-Campus Tournament. As a runner-up, they hold an official spot in the Flag Football Pan-Campus championship Bracket.
Bagnoli said he was excited for his team and for the experience as a whole.
“I can’t wait,” Bagnoli said. “We are here to represent the Downtown campus, no doubt about it.”
The Good Fellas and the ASU Hell Raisers were not the only parties satisfied with the way the Downtown campus flag football playoffs turned out. Campus recreation Assistant Director Chad Ellsworth said he is thrilled to see the success of the downtown recreation program.
“There are two things that I enjoy specifically: Level of sportsmanship and community,” Ellsworth said. “I was happy to see these elements so close-knit. This is what the intramural program down here is designed to do, bring people together.”
Ellsworth said the level of student-commitment to the recreation program downtown also impressed him.
“The staff is made up entirely of students,” Ellsworth said. “These individuals’ commitment to the quality of experience is something I am grateful to be associated with. The recreation program is beginning to thrive downtown and it’s the students, whether players, spectators or staff, who are making things happen.”
Contact the reporter at jmabercr@asu.edu
