Finish: Champs, finals over Ring of Fire 15-9; record: 7-0

After a run of about 1 Terminus win since the elder Bush’s administration, Chain Lightning has now won 2 in a row at our hometown tournament. Chain beat traditional Terminus foil Ring of Fire in the finals, in a game that, like most on the weekend, was rarely in doubt. The usual caveats about all the teams being only just out of the mothballs applied, but there was no snow this year (we got ours last weekend), just sunshine and a warm breeze.

Several tryouts were on board and making significant plays all weekend, including Andrew Carter (Tennessee), Billy Cook (Alabama), Brandon Perales (FL), Brian Edgerton (Rival), Cameron Amey (FL), Chris Sears (Rival), and Nick Fiske (Santa Barbara). Having so much talent on hand trying to make a good impression was definitely a boost this early in the season. Vintage-era Chain star Greg “Bug” Allpow was also along for the ride, seeking that Terminus title that had eluded him since before he was ever hurt that first time.

Saturday’s two stiffest challenges came at day’s beginning and end. We played Pittsburgh’s Forge in the first round, and the northeners were warm and ready to play, keeping things tight till 8-8 or so before the locals could pull away. Later games included NC’s Los and Alabama’s Iron Men, but fresher legs carried the day for Chain. Before dispersing for the evening, we took on Ring in a flip-cup challenge to break the tie for best record and to see who would get the 1st round bye next morning (big on a daylight savings weekend). We retained our undefeated staus.

On Sunday Chain first played a surprisingly tough Kennesaw State; they were outmanned, but you could see they have really come along, regardless of Chain’s Colin Bellair’s coaching. A local match-up awaited in the semifinals, as we took on Overthrow from ATL. They scored a first-point Callahan, but Chain righted the ship and rolled through as younger defenders, plus John Hammond, made big plays. Mark Poole, in particular, had one layout block that had the “Hot Tub” calls from fans ringing across the field.

In the finals, the teams held even for the first couple of points, but a 3 breaks in a row run by the Atlanta defense helped open up a margin that would get no smaller, and Chain Lightning took half 8-4. The second half stayed pretty relaxed, and the team cruised past a talented opponent. Chain was buoyed by multiple blocks, including big plays by Perales and Carter, and the vets who’ve been playing some of late (e.g., Dylan Tunnell, Greg Swanson, Josh Markette, Kid) were very effective on offense, with the wind having little effect.

Especially considering stalwarts such as (among others) Tiarsmith, Ziperstein, Simpson, and Joel Wooten were sitting this one out, and Asa Wilson and Sam Gainer were present but playing coed, the sound win gives us a little forward momentum into the preseason as the team begins the work of bettering our semifinals finish of last fall.