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Bruisers beat Bandits in Turkey Bowl X
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Posted on Nov 23 2006
Two teams of veteran pigskin pugilists met on the Garapan gridiron yesterday for Saipan’s traditional game of holiday football as Berline’s Bruisers edged Brostrom’s Bandits, 14-9, in Turkey Bowl X.
The weather was perfect as Bruce Berline, Chris Nelson, Colin Thompson, Miguel Brostrom, Gil Birnbrich, and youngster Micah Griffin took the field in their back uniforms, and the intimidation factor of the Raiders-like look paid off early as Nelson scored on a deep ball from Berline in the first half.
The Bruisers struck again as the duo hooked up for another longball that Nelson caught while sliding into the end zone to take a 14-0 lead. Brostrom rallied his troops and Robert J. O’Connor, Sean Frink, and father-and-son combo of Michael and Andrew Johnson clamped down on defense.
A goal line blitz caught Berline off guard and resulted in a safety that brought the Bandits to within a dozen points of the Bruisers. They cut the deficit to five moments later when O’Connor caught a short pass on the 45 and bulled over opponents with a ferocious stiff arm and broke the plane for the Bandits’ first score.
While the scoring threat loomed when Berline and Frink chucked the ball downfield, neither team was able to post any points on the board before the final whistle sounded.
Several regular players were unable to attend yesterday’s game because they are currently in the Philippines preparing to represent the CNMI in an ultimate Frisbee tournament, but organizers were still pleased with the turnout and hope to see more faces on the field next year.
During the halftime break, Jim Griffin organized a Punt, Pass, and Kick competition for the handful of youngsters who were present for the game. Players lent their assistance to the event by offering words of encouragement and the participants received ribbons for their accomplishments.
