Madcow Ultimate

On a wet, frigid, October morning, Madcow took to the Regional fields to put proof into the season's pudding, and cash in on their #1 seed. Determined to not let nerves get the better of them, Madcow came out loose and lazy, giving up 5 points to Breaker's Mark, a team that at sectionals had only put up 3. By the end of the game, the "we're here all day" field had become the only mud pit in the entire tournament. Haymaker entered the pit next. Both the O and D lines cleaned up their play enough to prevent their bi-monthly opponent from doing any real damage, and Cow closed the game 12-7. Machine didn't want to tango with the Cow in the pit, so they went to firmer ground for the semifinals.

Machine came fast out of the gate. Their quick handlers gave the Cow D fits, and the Offense couldn't make up for their turnovers. Madcow found themselves down a handful of breaks at half. However, the tide quickly turned as the Defense went on a tear, eventually tying the game as the cap came on. But the final break  eluded them and Machine took the game 13-12, sending Madcow to the backdoor bracket.

On Sunday morning the wind calmed down and the clouds thinned. Madcow started slow against LouEVIL, but gradually warmed up and built a comfortable lead, finishing the game 15-10. In the backdoor semis, Cow faced an excited, but tired Prairie Fire, who had just beaten Sub Zero in a tight game.

Madcow knew the time had come to earn their bid. The offense was completely locked in, and seldom gave up as much as a turnover. The defense generated many scoring opportunities, and converted enough of them to build a healthy lead. At 15-10, Madcow won the game and a rematch with Machine in the 'game to go'.

This time, Madcow ran hard from the beginning and kept up with Machine's speed, but the O-line lost the chemistry it had earlier in the day, and the D-line couldn't come up with game-changing plays like it did on Saturday. Machine pulled away after half, and closed the game uneventfully, 15-8.

Only two teams were left. Sub Zero beat Prairie Fire to get their own shot at the third and final bid. Madcow was loose and fired up, having nothing to lose. Both offenses started strong, conceding points about as often as the players conceded their foul calls. Toward the end of the half, the D-line finally built some momentum and rattled off 3 breaks to take half 8-6. They got one more out of the half, and by then the slow pace of the game clearly benefitted Ohio. As clouds covered the dark sky, the Cow offense took care of business and the game was capped at 11-8. For the first time, Madcow earned a trip to the UPA Club Championships, and there was much rejoicing.

For his shutdown defense, BMW received the MAD jersey. For coming though on big plays, JB earned the coveted COW jersey.

A wet and cloudy morning met Madcow as the team rolled into the Detroit Polo club on Saturday to defend last year's tournament championship.  The herd was a bit thinned for this weekend's quest due to a number of weddings and a few lingering injuries, but with a couple of subs for each line and the highly anticipated return of Sitler from his Appalachian excursion, Cow was confident they could have another successful outing in the state up north.

With the threat of showers and thunderstorms waning early in the morning, the weather was looking better than expected and Madcow took the field to take down the first challengers, Midnight Meat Train.  There were a few minor hiccups and we weren't quite up to speed yet, but Cow rolled through the first game without much ado, winning 13-4.  The second game of the day featured the biggest opponent of the tournament in Chicago's Haymaker, a team that Madcow had already played and defeated three times this season.  Confidence was high from the previous wins, but the players knew they would have to take a big step up from the performance of the previous round.  Despite a great looking start from the D-line making some big plays in the first point (two of which were brought on contested foul calls), Cow couldn't seem to muster the fire, the focus, or the legs needed to keep the Chicago team at bay.  Some miscues on offense and a sloppy D-line offense weren't enough to get the job done, and Haymaker took advantage of the lackluster performance, winning 10-12 in the cap.

Clearly disappointed with this loss but knowing the day was far from over, Cow regrouped and rolled through the next game against Ann Arbor's Spoiler to win 13-5.  Next was another Chicago team, Beachfront Property, and Madcow came out firing and took half 7-1.  The players got a bit complacent and the D line offense again sputtered, resorting in a second half of trading points.  Clearly not how the players had hoped for the second half to go, but a win was still secured at 13-8.  The last game of the day was against the tricky old-timers of Real Huck, but the young legs of Madcow proved a bit too much for their big bag of crazy throws and the herd rolled through for a win at 13-3.

With the first day of play under their belts and a first round bye secured, Cow was able to relax for a bit and enjoy the burritos (pretty tasty, not bad at $5) and beer (which we pretended wasn't from the Ann Arbor Brewing Co).  The herd filled their thirst and stomachs as they tried to forget the sub-par play of the day and think instead on the improvements necessary for tomorrows run at the championship.  Some camped, and some stayed at Hump's house in Lansing to relax and rest up.  A notable victory of the night was made (loudly) by Willis in Ticket to Ride, as he was able to... have the most trains. Or something.

After a good night of rest, Madcow returned to the fields.  Some issues with a number of players arriving late for the warm-ups didn't seem to be the start Madcow was hoping for, and unfortunately this carried into the first game of the day.  Playing against Michigan State's team, Tuxedo, the herd came out slow and sloppy.  No one seemed to be running at full speed or fully focused for this quarterfinal game and it certainly showed.  Bad decisions, poor hucks, silly drops, and uninspired defensive play plagued the entire game for Madcow (with an exception for a sick layout bid to save a score in the endzone by Sitler - whose hand was then cleated, forcing him to play lefty for the last two games).  Brent Reeb has since expressed fear that our drinking water was contaminated with SlowCow, an anti-energy drink, which the play on the field seemed to support.  The young MSU players were running hard and not giving up, and the herd were having trouble elevating their game.  Despite being down at half, Madcow was able to summon the will to win and pull out an ugly win at 14-13.  Cow was able to regroup and bring up the tempo and intensity a bit to play the young Michigan team Spoiler for the second time this weekend, and put away the game with little danger at 15-6.

Reaching yet another tournament final, Cow faced off against the now very familiar opponent in Haymaker.  Nostrils flaring from the loss suffered yesterday, the Cow came out running much better than it had previously.  The first half was a bit messy with both Madcow and Haymaker coming up with a number of breaks and trading the lead.  Cow was able to take it to half at 8-7.  The second half featured less breaks, but still proved to be exciting with a number of spectacular plays including a layout grab by Axis past his defender to secure the disc inches from the ground.  Both teams were flying around the field, trying to will their team to the win, and the Madcow D was able to dig in and put the game away with a break at 14-13, successfully defending last years win.  Congrats go out to BMW for winning the MAD jersey, earning it by being a nightmare to any cutter he faced this weekend and coming up with some crucial D's.  The COW jersey was not awarded this weekend, with Biggs instead issuing a challenge to the players of the O-line to work harder and really step it up at the next tournament for a chance to wear it.

Probably not the prettiest weekend for the team, but Madcow was able to muster the fight to stay in and finally emerge on top.  The victory was a good cap to the first half of our season which was certainly successful.  Motown also showed that the herd has a lot of work to do in order to be playing at the level we expect of ourselves come regionals.  It's time to pound the track, up the plyos, and bring the desire to each and every practice.  Moo, bitches.  See you at Chesapeake.

Madcow took to the fields early Saturday morning in different states of disarray.  Many of the crew had already been up since 4am in order to make the early drive and report time of 7:45am.  The skies opened up in a chafe-inducing rain, but it did not subdue the Cow.  Pool play Saturday was a success the first three rounds.  The players kept a focus and intensity as they met their teammates...some of which for the first time.  The old guard shook off the rust as the team stormed through Grand Trunk 13-6.  The next round brought the split squad from Forge to the field.  Madcow won a closer game 13-8.  The third round against Too Bad showed some quick deep strikes by our opponents, but after some minor adjustments, the Cow stampeded to a 13-4 victory.  The offense and defense were looking good, and the new faces were contributing across the board.  The fourth round against Chicago's Haymaker started shaky.  But, following a 2-0 deficit, Madcow ran ahead to a 7-2 halftime lead.  Feeling confidant in the game, the sideline overheard Axis commenting on his excitement to try the Venison Burgers at Timmy's.  Whatever the reason, the Cow lost some focus and Haymaker proved a worthy opponent never quitting.  The end result was a 13-11 victory for Madcow, and a lesson learned.

The tardiness of Saturday morning provided for an even earlier call Sunday morning.  Too early for the young Pitt team to show up.  After a few jokes of assessing points, Madcow came out hard and fast.  It was 6-0 before the young uns scored their first point on a nice low inverted forehand break.  Final score 15-4.  Madcow faced the Columbus Joyce team in the second round.  These guys are getting better every year.  They just need a little more depth...they had 8 on Sunday...but lots of potential.  After trading a few points, Cow was able to get a slight lead and edge out a 15-8 win.  Prior to the semi-finals of the event, the Forge captains asked to forge their split squad back together.  It was a good idea for an early season tourney.  And, it seemed to light a fire under the utters.  Cow jumped ahead early...causing an early timeout at 4 or 5 to zero.  Cow coasted through halftime, and traded points until they pulled out the victory 15-9.

The finals were another rematch against Haymaker.  This time, with the sweet taste of tournament victory so close...like the sweet taste of breastmilk...the Cow was able to fight through some early miscues and play a pretty boring game to get the victory 15-9.  Overall, the tournament was a great start to the season.  The Cow kept their heads through most arguments, and supported each other on the sideline.  Some good groundwork in strategy and style of play was laid.  With a long season ahead, the Cow was happy to start the season on a high point.  But, there is still a ton of work to go.  The offensive jersey went to Axis Sivitz for his non-stop motor over the weekend.  Timmy Meyers retained the defensive pride.  The best part of the weekend, and also the worst part, is that many players proved very good and yet will still need to be cut. Cuts keep getting tougher as everyone seems to bring some great qualities to the team.  See you in Cincinnati.

Madcow's 2008 regionals campaign began in pool play with a game against XMN. Ben "Biz" Sage got the team started right, scoring two early goals as Cow grabbed a few quick breaks for an early lead. Whenever the offense took the field it was able to score quickly, and the defense continued to make life difficult for XMN, leading to a 7-3 advantage at half. The second half was largely more of the same, with the O converting efficiently and the D pressuring every throw. Neil "the best player in Japan" Pallaver and Paul "I almost cut two of my fingers off the other day" Zaleski both made their presence felt on the D line, with Pallaver getting a couple D’s (not to mention a lay-out D that was called back on a fairly weak foul) and both players cutting effectively once XMN turned it over. Though the O got a bit sloppy down the stretch and gave a break back, the D continued to accumulate breaks. When XMN staved off game point by holding on O, the Madcow offense came out and worked the disc down the field, with Jimmy “Jimma” Hughes finding Phil "Robocop" Roebuck in the endzone with a hammer to end the game. Final score: Madcow 13, XMN 7.
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