AUDL Throwaround: Raleigh Leapfrogs Atlanta, San Diego Clinches Home Playoff Game, Toronto Earns First Win

The playoff teams are decided, but home field advantage is up for grabs.

August 18, 2021 by Chris McGlynn, Alex Rubin and Theo Wan in Rankings, Recap with 0 comments

Our coverage of the 2021 AUDL season is presented by VII Apparel Co., who provides premium performance apparel for the active world, featuring their proprietary GreenLine fabric made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.

All eyes were in Raleigh this weekend as the Flyers completed a remarkable comeback to overtake the Hustle in the crowded Atlantic division standings. Elsewhere, San Diego clinched a home playoff game, Toronto finally earned its first win of the season, and New York clinched its own playoff spot by sweeping both Pennsylvania teams.

Current League Standings

Raleigh Topples Atlanta in the Fourth

In a highly anticipated rematch of Atlanta’s Week 1 then-upset, the Raleigh Flyers exacted revenge, closing the game on a five goal run to win 20-18.

The game started well for Atlanta, who easily held their first possession then broke Raleigh right away after a Matt Gouchoe-Hanas huck sailed past Anders Juengst. Going the other way, Jakeem Polk lofted a beautiful away shot to JP Burns and Atlanta had an early 2-0 lead. A few points later, Atlanta’s Michael Fairley, setting the mark in Atlanta’s zone, point blocked Sol Yanuck. After a few resets, he tossed a blading huck to the end zone that found its way into the hands of Brett Hulsmeyer to stretch the lead to 5-2.

At this point, both teams retreated to the locker rooms for a weather delay. Over 30 minutes later, the teams came back. Raleigh worked the disc quickly through the Atlanta zone to hold. Pulling with just 29 seconds left in the first quarter, the Flyers set out a containment zone. Tanner Robinson lofted a floaty throw to what looked like a soft spot in the defense, but three Flyers and two Hustle players converged on it and the disc hit the turf. Raleigh called time out with 15 seconds left. Yanuck hammered out of the double team, got the disc back on a swing, and found Allan Laviolette on a loopy flick to the front cone with just a few seconds left to bring the game within one. The first quarter ended with Atlanta up 6-5.

The Flyers had a chance to tie the game, receiving the first possession of the second quarter, but Hulsmeyer jumped the lane to turn a routine open side under into a block. With the disc already in the red zone, Atlanta called a time out, subbed on its offense, and ran an end zone set that found John Stubbs just open enough on the front cone to extend the lead to 7-5. Terrance Mitchell dropped a pass on Raleigh’s next possession and once again Atlanta called time out and scored. Raleigh’s offense was still in a pretty good rhythm, but Christian Olsen layed out to block a pass to Mitchell and the Atlanta D-line offense, needing to play without any time outs left, converted the break on a sneaky inside throw from Kennith Taylor. Atlanta had a four-goal lead at 9-5.

Atlanta actually got a turnover on its next point too, but Henry Fischer laid out to block what would have been the Hustle’s fifth consecutive score. The Flyers worked through the middle of the Atlanta zone and a scoober to Elijah Long stopped the Hustle’s point run. Raleigh became more comfortable playing against the Atlanta zone, using blades and hammers when necessary to get the disc to open spaces. With time running out in the first half, Noah Saul picked up a dropped disc, ran a give-and-go move, bobbled the “go” part of that, but somehow caught it between two Hustle defenders, and threw a goal with just seven seconds left to bring the game to 11-9.

Saul Bobble Tweet

Receiving with just a few seconds on the clock, the Hustle launched a prayer to the end zone that Hulsmeyer read perfectly and tipped the disc to a waiting Eli Jaime. Atlanta led 12-9 at halftime.

Atlanta held out of halftime on a hammer to Karl Ekwurtzel to keep the lead at four. Raleigh got a bit impatient against the zone, forcing an early-stall blade to the end zone that Hulsmeyer blocked. The Hustle used another time out to bring on the offense. Antoine Davis launched a huck to Ekwurtzel who nearly caught the disc laying out at full speed, but earned the disc on the goal line after a defensive foul was called. A few resets later, Stubbs found Jaime to extend the lead to 15-10. The teams traded holds until David Richardson got up between two Hustle cutters to block a swing pass on the endzone line. Raleigh worked it down the field to break and bring the lead back down to three at 16-13 and the third quarter ended 17-14.

Raleigh held to start the fourth quarter. Atlanta needed four possessions to do the same on its next point, but three minutes into the fourth quarter the Hustle had an 18-15 lead. They would not score again. For a team that has had its late game mental toughness questioned over and over this season (and for the past several years), the Flyers put together a complete performance to close out one of their most important games of the year.

Matthew McKnight launched a picture perfect flick huck to Mitchell. A roller pull trapped Atlanta on the flick sideline and Connor Russell got a layout block on Davis. Raleigh called timeout and scored. Then Austin Taylor shot an upline flick too far and the Raleigh D-line methodically used inside breaks to work the disc up the field. The game was tied at 18-18. With just over four minutes left, Long jumped the upline lane from the cutter space and led a fast break that resulted in him catching the goal that gave Raleigh its first lead of the game at 19-18. Atlanta looked to have scored the next point when Robinson toe-tapped a catch to the far sideline in the end zone, but the disc fell out of his hands as he made contact with the ground and the referees ruled the pass incomplete. Raleigh called a timeout to put its offense on and Atlanta countered with a zone. The Flyers bled out the clock, scoring the insurance goal to put them up by two with 23 seconds left. Jacob Fairfax caught Atlanta’s last ditch hopeful huck and the Flyers made two more reset throws to run out the clock on an improbable win.

Yanuck led the game with five assists on 71/74 throwing for 528 yards. Laviolette carved out tons of space in the midfield, finishing with three assists and four goals. Long, playing both ways, was a perfect 30/30 throwing with an assist, two goals, and a block. With the win, Raleigh moves ahead of Atlanta into the three seed in the Atlantic standings. They play DC next week to close out the regular season.

Atlanta cannot be thrilled with the finish to the game, but can take away some positives from its star players. Taylor dropped four assists, Hulsmeyer tallied three blocks and is tied for the league lead, and Ekwurtzel caught four goals. The Hustle converted six of their nine break chances, but gave Raleigh sixteen chances! Atlanta closes its season with a road game in Pittsburgh. If it wins and New York and Raleigh lose their games, the Hustle could still earn a home playoff game.

San Diego Clinches Home Field Playoff Game

The San Diego Growlers clinched home field advantage in their playoff game by beating the Los Angeles Aviators 21-17. An opening first quarter saw San Diego looking crisp as the Growlers notched two breaks to take a 6-4 lead. San Diego let LA creep back in the second quarter with a string of execution errors-for example, two handlers flubbed an unpressured hand off-that gave the Aviators multiple chances to break. LA went on a 4-0 run to flip the game as they led 9-7.
San Diego got the fake break with halftime though, scoring last in the second quarter and receiving the third quarter pull to tie the game at 9 all. As the teams adjusted, they traded points until San Diego closed the third quarter on a 3-0 run to take the lead for good. For good measure, the Growlers broke LA on the first point of the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles defense never mounted another serious comeback.

The Aviators had a handful of players who had played club ultimate earlier in the day at the Select Flight Invite and the team did not score a single break outside of their stretch in the second quarter. As a team LA had just four blocks (San Diego’s Steven Milardovich had four by himself). On offense, Brandon Van Deusen paced the team with three goals and three assists and led the game with 493 total yards.

Paul Lally was an all around offensive force for San Diego, totaling three assists and four goals. Travis Dunn (four assists, two goals) and Lior Givol (three assists, three goals) were major contributors as well. Each team finishes its regular season by hosting San Jose in Week 12.

Canada Cup: Montreal Goes 2-0 and Toronto Gets Their First Win

In a rare Thursday night game, the Ottawa Outlaws headed to Montreal looking to bounce back from their last loss to the Montreal Royal. The Royal came into this matchup riding high going 2-0 the prior weekend.

Ottawa got some reinforcements back for this matchup with Nick Boucher and Paul Renaud suited up for the Outlaws offensive line. Despite the additional firepower, Ottawa did not have the same offensive efficiency that they displayed in the first game. Montreal’s offensive line also had some struggles in this game, mainly in the third quarter, but their defense picked them up which allowed them to propel in the fourth.

In the first quarter, both teams had turnovers which led to some longer points. Montreal, sensing the opportunity to pounce early, called a timeout and punched in a break. Vincent Lemieux threw an absolute dime to Kevin Quinlan, who was celebrating his 100th AUDL regular season game. Ottawa had an opportunity to punch in a break at the end of the frame but Montreal displayed fortitude and were able to hold on with their offensive line. Montreal took a 5-4 lead into the second quarter with their offense having struggled, but still able to punch in holds when it counted.

Brandon Adibe, a breakout player for Ottawa’s defensive line, got up large on a huck before flipping to Kyle Cantal for a break and a 5-5 tie. In their August 8 matchup, Montreal avoided giving up multiple breaks in a row. This was not the case this time around: Ottawa secured a second straight break, using a strategic timeout again to get their offensive line on. Alec Arsenault scored his third goal of the contest and Ottawa took the lead. The momentum was back and forth throughout this game and Montreal exacted revenge on Ottawa by getting two straight breaks of their own. The last point of the second quarter was exciting, with multiple turnovers from each team. Montreal had no timeouts left, but were able to manage to get the buzzer beater hold and a 9-7 lead.

Rain came down in the third quarter and the Outlaws may have been affected by the adverse conditions as they leaked two straight breaks to start the third quarter putting themselves in a 11-7 hole. Montreal’s offensive line wasn’t as precise this game either and gave up two breaks of their own. Carson Turner fired up the squad after a massive layout leading to a second straight Ottawa break reducing Montreal’s lead to one goal. Andy Ouchterlony came in for a block at the end of the third quarter which led to Montreal pleading for a foul call, but nonetheless the quarter ended with no one able to score and Montreal up 14-13.

Ottawa’s offense continued to struggle in the fourth quarter. Using another well thought-out timeout, Coach Jon Hayduk put his offensive line out there to help Montreal get a key break at 17-13. Malik Auger-Semmar scored his fourth goal and punctuated this change of events with a massive spike. Ottawa scored a break late, but it was too little, too late as Montreal walked away with the 18-16 victory. This game was full of momentum changes and both defenses were able to generate pressure. The Royal were able to be the last team to get multiple breaks and the victory on a rainy Thursday night.

Both teams had balanced scoring and contributions from different players. Ottawa, despite having their reinforcements, fell to 2-2 with the loss and are reeling after their great start. Montreal with their win came into Toronto with all the momentum as Toronto was set to play Montreal for their first homestand of the 2021 season.

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0-2. No one could have predicted this start for the six-time East division champion Toronto Rush. Having dominated the East for years, Toronto faced the daunting position of playing from behind heading into this critical third game of their Canada Cup season. The Royal were riding high after coming off an emotional 18-16 rainy victory against the Outlaws on Thursday night.

One of the keys to Montreal’s success has been their continuity. Their offensive line has remained unchanged during the Canada Cup season, whereas Toronto has had to insert new pieces and try different lineups. Toronto welcomed the return of a Rush original, Thomson McKnight, who was tasked with jolting the offensive line with a veteran presence and throwing prowess. Coach Yearwood pulled another trick out of the bag by starting McKnight in the cutting lanes, leaving their handling core of Luc Comiré, Jason Huynh, and Nathan Hirst together in the backfield.

Toronto came out in zone early on this contest to try to stifle Montreal’s seasoned offensive line to mixed results. Kevin Jay got the first block of the game for the Rush, but it was ultimately all for naught as Motreal’s Nabil Chaouch skied a pile of players for the Montreal hold. A Ywan Cohonner callahan put momentum fully on the Montreal side heading into the second quarter as they took the lead. Something Toronto struggled with was catching Montreal’s pulls, which were coming in fast and at times bladey. By not catching the pull, Toronto was pinned at their end zone, which ultimately led to the callahan and a disappointing end to the frame for the Rush.

After some smooth offense from both teams, Montreal struck first in the break column. Jakob Brissette garnered his fourth assist after Gabriel Monfette came from the backside behind a pile of players to collect the score for the Montreal lead at 10-8. The second quarter ended with a huge momentum killer for the Rush. Toronto had a chance to get a break on the Montreal side of the field, but a throw floated up to Kevin Jay. Montreal then proceeded to get a hammer to Jakob Brissette who threw a hammer to Christophe Tremblay-Joncas for the buzzer beater and an emphatic end to the half.

The third quarter was nothing short of thrilling. Phil Turner put on an absolute blocking clinic. On one point in particular, Phil Turner got two blocks and a pressure block on Malik Auger-Semmar to secure the Rush break. He went on to get a foot block on the same matchup and lead Toronto to a tie game at 12-12. While he secured a fourth block in the quarter, the Rush weren’t able to secure the break and Montreal ended the third quarter all tied up at 14-14.

Toronto secured its first lead since the first quarter after starting the scoring in the fourth quarter. Montreal went on a run, scoring two breaks in a row to make it 18-15. Toronto’s Mike MacKenzie had a great start to this game, but had a difficult second half with one drop and two throwaways on critical offensive possessions. Despite the deficit, they continued to push back, courtesy of Cam Harris. Harris delivered two straight assists for the Toronto side and they was able to tie up the game at 18-18 with 3:24 left. The teams continued to trade offensive holds till the final point. Toronto had the disc with less than seven seconds left in the game and about 10 yards away from the Montreal end zone when Jason Huynh miscommunicated with Iain MacKenzie and threw away the final pass of the game.

Montreal walked away with a road victory and were able to ride some momentum from Thursday into this matchup. Jakob Brissette and Vincent Lemieux both had five assists and combined for 1,021 total yards in the victory. JJ Edwards was a bright spot for Toronto in this game finishing with four goals while the returning Thomson McKnight generated three assists and one goal. Toronto left Saturday night 0-3 and in a major hole for the Canada Cup season. In contrast, Montreal finished the weekend 2-0 pushing their overall record to 4-1, with a Canada Cup final appearance all but sealed for them.

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The Sunday Ottawa vs. Toronto matchup carried extra weight as the first AUDL game in Ontario with fans in nearly two years. Toronto came in with a huge chip on their shoulder with an 0-3 record and reeling from their last second defeat at the hands of Montreal the night prior. Ottawa was also dropping rapidly, having lost two straight games to Montreal and missing three of their offensive line players. With no Nick Boucher, Paul Renaud, and Alec Aresenault, the Outlaws had to battle the Rush shorthanded as well as the fans.

The atmosphere from the crowd was hot from the start as those in attendance were happy to cheer for the Rush and any big plays. Ottawa did their job early of nullifying the crowd and its impact by cashing in on a first point break opportunity. Jonah Munoz swooped in to collect the garbage on a Carson Turner huck to generate the first lead for Ottawa. The Outlaws had more luck on their side as Brandon Adibe caught a batted disc from an Andrew Carroll deflection. Even though Ottawa had some timely grabs, the Rush were able to take the first quarter 7-6.

The Rush did have to start the second quarter at the back of their end zone because they had rushed onto the field early at the end of the first quarter. Ottawa was not able to take advantage of this amazing starting position and Toronto was still able to score the hold pushing the lead to 8-6. The visitors got a key hold late in the second quarter to make it 12-11 Toronto at the break. Geoff Bevan performed admirably in the absence of Nick Boucher, securing his fourth assist of the game.

Ottawa had to work from behind in the second half and had to do so with the crowd firmly in the Rush’s corner. The Outlaws gained some much needed confidence by securing a break after multiple turnovers. The Rush missed some solid opportunities to stretch their lead in this quarter, which would come back to bite them at the end of the frame. Brandon Adibe grabbed the disc amidst a crowd of players to secure the buzzer beater reducing the Toronto lead to 19-17 at the end of the third.

Phil Turner of the Toronto Rush continued his spectacular defensive play from the night prior by flying in for a key poach block and then subsequent score for the bookends and the break. The Rush continued piling on breaks in the fourth quarter and a Cam Harris inside break to Paul Mensah at 23-19 all but sealed the fate for the Ottawa group. Ottawa got one break to make it close at the end, but Toronto walked away with the 23-19 victory and a much needed first win on the board.

In the losing cause, Geoff Bevan had a great game in the absence of Nick Boucher and Alec Arsenault, finishing with six assists and two goals and a total of 529 yards. For Ottawa, their 21 turnovers to Toronto’s 19 proved to be the difference in this hotly contested Sunday matchup. The importance of the crowd cannot be understated, because the energy in the stadium and from the players was a complete contrast to the night before. Having people get excited for Toronto’s plays allowed them to build on the momentum and secure the victory. Cam Harris led the Rush with four assists, 3 goals, and one block in what Toronto hopes are many victories to come.

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Up next: it’s a doubleheader weekend for Montreal as they host Toronto at home on Saturday night before travelling to Ottawa to play the Outlaws at MNP Park.

New York Clinches Playoff Berth in Unconvincing PA Doubleheader

An explosive second quarter for the Empire proved to be the difference as New York slogged to a 20-19 victory over Philadelphia.

Missing Ryan Osgar and Marques Brownlee, New York seemed to be a bit off all evening. The Empire were broken on their first offensive point and finished the first quarter trailing 4-3. Philadelphia got another big performance from James Pollard, who tallied three assists, a goal, and a block.

As the second quarter began, it seemed like the Empire had shaken off their malaise and were ready to get rolling. New York scored six of the first seven points of the quarter and took a commanding 9-5 lead. Or at least, that’s what you would have expected of the defending champs. New York traded to a 13-9 lead at halftime.

Jack Williams once again put together an otherworldly performance. He finished with five assists and a block on 59-of-61 throwing and accounted for a game-high 658 yards of offense. He took on an even larger role than we are used to seeing him play with Osgar out.

Philadelphia refused to go away though. Greg Martin kept reeling in downfield grabs and the Phoenix defense chipped away the lead. They broke in the early stages of the third quarter and added another one on the final point scored before the fourth. With 12 minutes to play, the Phoenix trailed by just two goals.

Ben Jagt had a very uneven game, which likely led to some of New York’s sloppy play. He racked up five goals and four assists, but also committed five turnovers, which matched his season high that he set against Raleigh the week before. He was still a dominant force offensively, just not nearly as efficient as we’ve seen him previously.

While New York never pulled away, it did do enough to hold on down the stretch. A hold to start the fourth reestablished a three-goal lead. Philly did punch in a break to cut it to one with just over five minutes left, but the Empire were unfazed and traded out the rest of the way for a victory.

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The unconvincing win did not carry over to New York’s second game of the weekend. Osgar returned and played an integral part in the Empire’s 20-16 victory over Pittsburgh.

New York relied on a massive early run to take control again, this time in the first quarter. Pittsburgh’s offense got off to a rocky start, grabbing a hold before giving up four straight breaks. That proved to be the difference in the game as the Thunderbirds did not have enough firepower to come back from that 6-1 deficit.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying though. Max Sheppard looked sharp with four goals and an assist with no turnovers. He got plenty of help from Kenny Furdella, who posted a similar statline. CJ Colicchio continued his breakout season with four assists, two goals, and two blocks, despite coming into the game listed questionable with a lingering injury. Turnovers continued to be a problem though, as he threw four against the Empire.

Give the Thunderbirds some credit for not immediately folding. Pittsburgh punched in a pair of breaks in the second quarter to pull with just one at 8-7. Sam VanDusen was the only player to feature on both lines. He continued to be a bright spot among the Thunderbirds defensive woes this season.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, New York had a couple more runs in them this time. The Empire ran off three straight to start the second half to make it 13-8. Jagt was much more conservative than against Philly while still managing his usual scoring brilliance. He scored four goals, added three assists, and only recorded one turnover.

Pittsburgh pulled one break back right away to make it 13-10, but never cut New York’s lead to fewer than three points the rest of the way. Both sides mostly traded holds the rest of the way, save one more Empire break in the closing minutes.

The two wins means that New York officially locks up a playoff spot. There is still plenty for the defending champs to play for though. They face Boston for the first time in AUDL play, which should bring some fireworks and there are major seeding implications on the line. Two wins against the Glory and the Flyers or Cannons knocking off the Breeze would give the Empire the division title as well.

Wind Chill Clinch Playoff Berth With 2-0 Road Trip

Minnesota had to win one of their two games this past weekend in order to officially secure their playoff position. By winning both, they left open the chance that they could steal home field advantage and the division crown away from the idle Chicago Union. They comfortably topped Detroit (24-15) and Indianapolis (23-19) to leave open that option.

As has been the trend recently, Detroit did not roll over early, pushing their opponents in surprising ways. A Nick Vogt throwaway set up the Mechanix D-line to score the game’s first break for a 2-1 Detroit lead. They maintained that lead through the opening moments of the second quarter. But Minnesota blew the game open with a five-goal run, including two assists from Brett Matzuka, including some very swift scores. Suddenly the Wind Chill had a commanding 10-5 lead. Detroit would never bring the game back within five, as the Wind Chill offense sharpened. Minnesota only gave Detroit five break chances in the contest, with a cutter-driven performance from their O-line. While Andrew Roy dutifully controlled play from the backfield, Vogt, Bryan Vohnoutka, and Cole Jurek all piled up balanced yardage in the win.

The team didn’t rest on their laurels in the subsequent trip to Indy for the AlleyCats final home game of the season, which moved outdoors from their usual indoor setting. But they did repeat their early errors, getting outpaced by an eager AlleyCats team in the early goings. A Nick Hutton-powered break in which he got the block and the assist was the first of a pair Indianapolis notched in the first quarter on their way to a 7-4 lead. But with under 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter, an aggressive double team got Jimmy Kittelson a block, and he streaked the other way for the snappy break before the buzzer, ending the quarter with the hosts up 7-6.

The rest of the half was even, with a break for each side. But it wasn’t without some fireworks, with three goals coming within about 20 seconds of one another to end the quarter. The AlleyCats launched a forehand huck from Hutton to Josh Venegas that landed with about 16 seconds remaining for a break. The Wind Chill responded with a patient march up the field against the prevent defense of Indy that got in with 1.4 remaining. Despite the small window, Travis Carpenter picked up for the AlleyCats and cannoned a hammer over the double team to the end zone that was pulled out of the pack by Levi Jacobs. The margin remained the same: Indy up one goal at half, 14-13.

But in the second half, Minnesota turned it on. They generated five blocks in a slow third quarter and parlayed those into two breaks to capture the lead 17-16 by end of quarter. And while the ‘Cats clawed in the fourth in an attempt to stay in the game, they were unable to generate any fourth quarter break chances. They O-line succumbed in the games final points, conceding a couple of breaks to give the Wind Chill breathing room on the scoreboard and the eventual win.

Boston Eliminated Despite Easy Win

Boston had no control of what would happen for New York this weekend and took care of business to temporarily keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Glory got hot early and never looked back. After Pittsburgh held to start the game, Boston rattled off five straight points. Orion Cable showed why he is one of the best young players in the league with a monster five-assist, two-goal performance to lead the game in +/-. It was also a big game for recent signing Ray Tetreault, who joined Boston before its last game against Raleigh. He finished with two goals, two assists, and two blocks.

Things got even more out of hand in the second quarter. The Glory ripped off four more goals in a row to build an 11-4 lead. Max Sheppard, Jimmy Towle, and Thomas Edmonds all put together solid performances, but once again, it was Pittsburgh’s defense who could not get them back into it. The Thunderbirds finished 4-for-12 on break chances.

Boston cruised the rest of the way. It was a quiet game for Ben Sadok, who had just two goals in the game and was held without an assist for the first time all season. His previous season low was two in a blowout loss to DC back in Week 3.

Despite the result, the Glory’s hopes of reaching the playoffs ended with New York’s two wins this weekend. However, they still have every chance to play spoiler with two games against the Empire left on the schedule and New York needing to win out to ensure a home playoff game. Boston has the pieces in place to be a factor in the playoff conversation next year, especially after having a year of AUDL experience under its belt.

For Pittsburgh, it was another lackluster performance that highlighted its lack of depth. The Thunderbird turned over a significant portion of its roster and seemingly lost many of the players that helped them go 8-4 in the Central division in the process. They have one more game this season, but I wouldn’t expect much from them against the Hustle.

Breeze and Cannons Postponement Sparks Controversy

The Breeze were supposed to head to Florida for a matchup with the Cannons in Week 11. There were some concerns about the weather heading into the game with Tropical Storm Fred headed for the area. This prompted an adjustment to the start time, pushing first pull up to 5 PM to avoid the worst of the storm.

Saturday morning, DC released a statement saying the game had been postponed due to inclement weather. Interestingly, Tampa Bay released its own statement that did not point to a clear reason for the late cancelation.

As it turns out, the weather might not have been the real reason DC did not travel. Cannons coach Andrew Roca, who retired in the midst of all of this as well, posted a lengthy thread on Twitter stating that the Breeze backed out due to COVID concerns, not weather.

Roca COVID Tweets

Expect a longer article with additional reporting to come out later this week. To this point, there has been no comment from the Breeze or the league regarding Roca’s comments.

San Jose Sends Seattle Packing

With just pride to play for, Seattle and San Jose met for the fourth and final time this season. Seattle sent a young team missing many star players and hung close with the Spiders before ultimately losing 20-16.

An overthrow on the third throw of the game gave San Jose a chance to punch in a first point break. They worked the disc the length of the field and ran a picture perfect end zone set to take an early lead. In a sloppy first quarter, each team scored another break and San Jose ended up on top 4-3.

The Spiders expanded their lead, holding to start the second quarter. Seattle punched in a break to tie the game at 6-6 in a back and fourth period. The teams traded holds and Seattle scored with just a few seconds left on the clock to bring the score to 9-8 at halftime in favor of San Jose. The third quarter featured just a single break per side as offenses found their rhythm. The Cascades worked around the San Jose zone and Jack Brown caught a buzzer beating hammer to tie the score at 14-14 entering the final frame.

In the fourth, San Jose ran away with the game, scoring four of the first five points and winning the quarter 6-2. The Spiders owned the skies as the game closed out, winning nearly every 50/50 disc. Keenan Laurence had himself a game, compiling five assists, four goals, and a block. He also had 512 total yards on just fifteen throws. San Jose finishes its season in Week 12 with a SoCal trip in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Spencer Lofink had his breakout game for Seattle just as the Cascades season is ending. He managed four assists and two goals as one of the primary cutters. Dom Jacobs and Aidan Lopez-Escarez each had three blocks. After a promising start, the Cascades fluttered down the stretch and will finish 2021 in last place in the AUDL West Standings.

Power Rankings

Survivor Pool Update

We are down to the final six! One entry went out this week on an ill-advised backing of the Thunderbirds. Three of our contestants move on to the final* week of the regular season having picked the Breeze. After the game was postponed, we decided to keep them in the contest. However, if the Breeze are upset in Week 13 (or whatever you want to call the makeup weekend of games), then those entries will be eliminated from the contest retroactively. Best of luck to our final six players!

Stall Seven/Deep Look Picks Contest

Each podcast correctly predicted Los Angeles’s cover, as well as Raleigh and Minnesota’s wins in Week 11. The season long bet comes down to Week 12 in which Stall Seven needs a perfect weekend and for Deep Look to drop all three predictions just to tie. It’s almost as exciting as the games themselves!

• Stall Seven: 3/3 on the week, 16/33 for the season
• Deep Look: 3/3 on the week, 19/33 for the season

This week’s lines:

• Raleigh at DC (PK)
• Madison at Minnesota (-2.5)
• San Jose at San Diego (-3.5)