Firedog Blog

Wright State?

2009-02-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well Wooster had invited us to a tournament that never happened. Realizing this early last week, OWU sent out a call to several teams around the section to see if anyone would host a 3 or 4 team round robin the weekend of the 28th. At least for us Dogs, the Wooster tournament was the only thing the team had planned between ONU and our trip to Chicago on March 21st, and it would be a shame if the team went over a month without playing together.

The call from OWU was well received as apparently many other teams in the area had the same need for ultimate. Within a week, the three team round robin turned into a 10 team scrimmage to be hosted by Wright State Air Strike.

Attending will be:

OWU

Wright State

Denison

Toledo

Cincinnati

Ball State

Butler

Joyce/OSUB

Earlham

Dogs are going to D.C

2009-02-15T11:28:00.001-08:00

The Firedogs have officially been accepted today to attend their second Cultimate tournament of the year, Roll Call D.C. Per usual, this Cultimate tournament will host some of the best teams in the nation and will give the Firedogs a chance to see talent/play styles from other regions.

Roll Call will be held on the great fields of the Capitol Polo Club in Poolesville, Maryland. This site also holds host to one of the top club tournaments of the sumer, the Chesapeake Open.

The tournament also serves as a homecoming of sorts for seniors Yoder and DPD who both come from the D.C area.

ONU Indoor 2009

2009-02-09T06:21:00.001-08:00

ONU Indoor 2009 from Will Yoder on Vimeo.

Jersey's, New School

2009-02-02T15:45:00.001-08:00

Check Yo Throws

2009-01-31T19:36:00.001-08:00

Check your throws from Will Yoder on Vimeo.

Firedogs to attend Chicago invite

2009-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Firedogs have been officially accepted today to play in the Chicago Invite on March 21/22. The tournament is hosted by the North Park Lost Boys, one of the most talented division three teams in the country. The tournament is packed full of talent and the Dogs are very excited to be attending.

With this final piece to the puzzle, the team has their spring schedule finalized and ready to go. This season will se the Dogs travel far more than they ever

have, but the club is excited to get out and see the rest of the country while reppin' the FD:

2/7-ONU Indoor

2/28 Wooster/OSU-B tournament

3/21 Chicago Invite

3/28 Roll Call D.C

4/5 East Plains Sectionals

4/25 Great Lakes Regaionals

The team is pumped for the spring season to start. For the first time in months the whole squad is healthy. No one more represents the annual rebirth of spring however than Will 'Pirate' Condit, who at NoWisconsiquences broke his wrist making a sick D (while actually getting skied). To gauge the impact this crushing blow had on the teams fall would be close to impossible, but we can say for sure that his skill and spirit were sorely missed. Pirate is back however and ready to give back to the team, with two wrists now.

Winter Conditioning begins

2009-01-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

With a foot of snow on the ground, the Firedogs are hard at work getting in shape for the 2009 spring season. After a two month break following BG and winter(not christmas, for you Bernie, for you) vacation the veterans are ancy to get back into the swing of things, and the freshman hungry to learn more about the game.

So far the team has had a great turn out for the indoor practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. 10-15 Dogs are showing up each night to condition where we can find space in Branch Rickey, and if we are lucky enough, practice in the brand new field house. All the seniors on the team agree that in their four years at OWU they have never seen a group so collectively committed to conditioning and getting better. Everyone seems to be pushing one another, and no one is quitting...the team is building toughness and strength together...and its a great sight to see.

Conditioning so far has consisted of:

-Laps of stairs

-Stairs with medicine balls

-Relay races with medicine balls

-200's

-plyos

-triple doubles

-navy seals

-explosion exercises in the weight room

Practices have mostly consisted of throwing and defense drills. However when we do get the chance to scrimmage, we have been running 3 vs. 3 in order to make sure that everyone throws and cuts effectively. So far the results have been great, and the talent level on the team is really starting to even out.

Most importantly the team has decided to commit to focusing this spring. The team knows that if we focus on the game within the lines, if we focus on the disc, our cutter or our handler, we will be successful. Our goal as a team this year is to cut down on all personal mistakes, and make other teams beat us, not beat ourselves.

Pump up video of the week

2009-01-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

Bow to your Sense

Two tournaments left

2008-10-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs last two tournaments of the fall are set. We will be traveling to Denison this weekend for the originally named, “Denison Fall 2008 Tournament,” and to Bowling Green next weekend for their, “2 Discs, One Huck,” tournament. Both tournaments will be jam packed with East Plains talent and will be a great indicator of the talent all the teams in the sections have going into the spring.

The Dogs have been practicing extra hard to finish out this fall season. Monday’s practice saw a great turnout in 35 degree weather. The team ran drills and had two scrimmages despite the cold, all with great intensity. Maintaining this intensity in practice is vital for the Firedogs for the rest of the season, as the qualities they show in practice will carry over into the field. We all need to push one another to get better.

The section is looking very strong this year. Ohio State is on top as usual, and Dayton, Miami, and Ohio look to be just as good as last year. It seems like every team that made regionals has the ability to repeat again this year, while other teams are coming out of the wood work as stronger than ever. It’s going to be an exciting spring.

Denison Fall 2008 Tournament

This tournament will be the first all fall that the Dogs have close to a full roster. Senior cutter William Tappan Kenny will be returning to the team after an ankle injury, and the close proximity of the tournament to OWU means no on can claim to have too much school work to attend. The team will only be missing three players for this tournament, Junior Cutters Jake Barnett and Zak Gomes, as well as sophomore Will Conditt.

The Dogs are seeded right in the middle of the pack for this one. It will be interesting to see what match ups will come from it when the pools are released. If it is five pools of four then the Dogs will likely be the third seed in a pool with Kenyon, Case Western and Denison B. If its four pools of five, the dogs will be the third seed in a pool with Ohio X, Denison, Bluffton and Xavier B. Either way the team will have some good sectional match ups this weekend.

2 Disks 1 Huck

OWU has always done well at BG’s fall tournaments, and we hope to continue the tradition this year. The Dogs will however be short on players this weekend due to grad school tours, GRE exams, and other ‘responsible stuff.’

The Dogs have a very tough pool, headed by the very talented Dayton Ghettoforce. Dayton has grown stronger every year and looks to make a run at sectionals and regionals this year. Also in the pool are the vastly improved Denison DFUC, and Wright State Air Strike. It should be a good test for the Dogs while playing undermanned, and a good way to finish a solid fall season.

No Wisconsiquences

2008-10-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

It was the trip the team had been waiting for all semester. The Firedogs all crammed into the university van and headed northwest for 9 hours, they were Wisconsin bound. Having only played in small in-state tournaments for the past several years, the veterans on the team were hungry to go to this huge Cultimate tournament. Well organized and packed with talent, No Wisconsiquences was exactly what the Firedogs needed.
The team preformed well overall on the weekend, breaking seed to finish at 31st in the talented 45 team field. Highlights included an upset win over division I school Missouri and the slaughter of Wisconsin B. In the team’s losses they learned a lot about high level competitive ultimate and everybody on the team grew from them.

Here are some clips.

Firedogs at NoWisconsiquences from Yard Yoder on Vimeo.

Layola from Will Yoder on Vimeo.

OWU vs Northwestern from Will Yoder on Vimeo.

Untitled from Will Yoder on Vimeo.

Fall so far

2008-10-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

The fall season so far for the Firedogs has been successful but slow. The team has seen quite a few very close games against very good opponents, and has worked hard in practice and games to implement new offensive and defensive strategies. The team as a whole is growing with both its abilities on the field and its knowledge of the game. It’s been a new approach for the Firedogs, but the ultimate goal is still the same, a Regional birth.
The Dogs have really taken a step back early on this year and have decided to use the fall as a learning experience for their younger players. Seeing how far the freshmen and sophomores have grown already in the first two months of the year, it’s looking like it is paying off. The freshmen’s forehands are far more advanced than classes in the past, and the sophomores are learning how to contribute at a high level.
Opportunities for the youngsters to step up into new roles have been plentiful as injuries have marred the firedog veterans all fall. Junior cutter Jake Barnett was lost for the fall after a terrible ankle injury at Wright State, Senior Will Kenney hurt his ankle early on at the Miami tournament, and sophomore Will King Condit broke his wrist. While it is frustrating to not have been able to put the entire Firedogs team on the field together yet this fall, the team hopes to be fully healthy and ready to go by the spring.

Miami Boogie Summer Cooldown

The Dogs first game was against a Miami split squad, the “Miami Dolphins.” OWU came out hard and took the early lead with good handler play from their seniors and conservative cutting from the younger players in the stack. With solid play through the first points, the Dogs looked to run different offenses then their traditional ho-stack. For the first time all year OWU showed a side stack with two Iso’s, along with two handlers. The Dogs were able to use this look to work the disc up the field, isolating their best players, and score with ease.

Things were going the Firedogs way until Senior cutter Will Kenny went down with a sprained ankle attempting to make a D on a deep throw to someone else’s man. With this score, and the crushing blow of the Dogs losing one of their senior leaders Miami went on a 8-5 run and took the game 15-12.

The Dogs played sectional powerhouse Ohio University in two games over the weekend. Both were incredibly close, highly contested games that eventually went down to universe point. While the Dogs inevitably lost both these games, it was the best offense and the most heart the team had shown since their D-III nationals run in 2007. Everyone from the seniors to the freshmen played huge and while they ultimately came up short, they all had a lot to be proud of. Senior Will Yoder and freshman Eric Charett came up huge on D all game, while Junior Jake Barnett scored 8 of the teams 15 points.

The team finished the weekend 2-4 with wins over Denison and Earlham, and close losses to OU twice and Miami X and Miami Y.

Case Western North Coast Open

Due to injuries and illnesses, the Dogs were only able to muster up enough to have a savage roster the morning of North Coast. The Dogs sported 2 seniors and 5 freshman in what became a learning experience to say the least. While the freshman improved tons, it was not a pretty weekend in the win loss category.

No Wisconsequences

2008-08-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs are pleased to announce that we have been accepted, and plan on attending our first ever Cultimate tournament, No Wisconsequences. For our mid-semester break we will be making the 8 hour hike to Milwaukee to compete in what is likely to be the biggest tournament in college ultimate for the fall.

Other teams planning to attend include:
-Wisconsin
-Carleton
-Michigan State
-Illinois
-Michigan
-Wooster
-Bowling Green
-Dayton

The start of 2008-2009

2008-08-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs are back on campus and already are practicing hard to make the 2008-2009 season a successful one. With a very solid core of returning players the Dogs hope to bounce back from what was a disappointing finish in 2007-2008, and make the Great Lakes Regional Tournament for what would be the fourth time in six years.

The Fall season this year will be a unique one for the Dogs. For the first time ever the majority of the team's returning players will be participating in the club series as well as playing for OWU. There are Dog's on the roster for Columbus's Joyce and All-Ohio's OWNDU, as well as Washington D.C's Eastern Motors FB. Hopefully this extra experience and effort in the fall will help the team reach their goal .

The Dogs are returning:

4 Seniors
-William Kenney
-DPD
-Pepsi Paya
-Yoder
5 Juniors
-Jake “Shit Phace’” Barnett
-Zak Gomes
-Zach Taft
-Rob Pence
-Andrew White
3 Sophomores
-Pirate
-Jeff GB Brauning
-Aaron Riley

This is the Firedogs fall schedule, as of today:

September 20th, 21st- Indiana Hoosiermamma
October 4th-5th- ONU Warm up
October 11th-12th- North Coast Open
October 18th-19th- No Wisconsiquences!
November 1st, 2nd- Denison Open

Firedogs Recruitment Video:

Firedogs to attend Bucknell Shroomfest this weekend

2008-03-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs are set to make the long trip to Bucknell to try and gain some extra experience before sectionals. The Bucknell tournament boasts a small but talented collection of teams, none of which OWU has ever played against. We’re hoping that getting out of Ohio will help spread the Firedog name and help us learn to play against different and better teams.
It will not be an easy go around for the Dogs either as Captain Conor Browne and senior Jay Farro will not be able to make the trip due to Easter commitments. Combine the loss of the teams best thrower and a veteran cutter with being put in a power pool, it will prove a tough challenge for the Firedogs. It’s a challenge we’re up for though, as we hope it will be a learning experience on our way to sectionals.
Our pool will have us face Harvard-B, Syracuse and then Bucknell the number one seed. Based on our seeding we will then be placed in a crossover game for our 4th game Saturday. It looks to be a competitive tourney all weekend with no Gimmies, and the Dogs are ready to go.

Arizona Sunburn is Nasty

2008-03-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Arizona University is making some noise

A scubber better then even dpd's

Hard Cap came on, and Arizona lost on their final score 12-13, much like the Firedogs against Cast at EMR

Firedogs 100th Career Victory

2008-03-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

With a 13-5 win over Hope College at OWU's Home Evan Matthew Reas Memorial, the Firedogs notched their 100th career recorded spring victory.

Firedogs Career Record
1999: 6-6
2000: 6-5
2001: 2-5
2002: 4-5
2003: 9-14
2004: 19-15
2005: 10-12
2006: 16-13
2007: 20-9
2008 : 9-2

Total: 101-86 .540%

Evan Matthew Reas Memorial Tournament-3rd Place

2008-03-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Firedogs held host to the first tournament at Ohio Wesleyan in years this weekend as 14 teams competed in the Evan Matthew Reas memorial tournament. All team’s endured extremely cold and windy weather playing on either snow or slush the entire weekend. The production of the tournament was a great success despite the weather and the Dogs were able to make a lot of money for themselves.

The first game of the tournament for OWU put them up against Oberlin’s B team. The two teams were playing on a field covered in snow, with the temperature slightly below freezing, and a steady wind. The Dogs were able to use their experience and athleticism to control the short game and work the disc down the field. A couple early layout D’s by Will Kenny and Jake Barnett got the team pumped up as the Dogs wanted to represent on their home fields. The Dogs finished their first game with a 13-1 win.

The second game of the day for the Dogs would pin them against the second seed in their pool, Denison and promised to be their biggest challenge Saturday. Denison DFUC came out strong in windy, snowing weather with their zone defense. It was the first time the Dogs had seen zone all spring and DFUC used it to roll to a 2-0 lead. The Dogs however refused to go out quietly in the tournament dedicated to their former captain, and after regrouping and talking over some strategy took a 7-0 run to take half 7-2. The Dogs rode their run all they way to the end of the game destroying Denison’s cup and denying all of their huck attempts, going on to win 13-4 over the NCAC rivals. Seniors Conor Browne and DPD were crucial in breaking the cup and making the throws necessary to take the wind out of Denison’s sails.

The next two games in pool play were against Dayton B and Hope College. The Dogs continued with their momentum as Captain Willy Yoder’s cuts helped spark the Firedog offense. With the sun a little warmer, and puddles on the ground now instead o snow, the dogs worked it up the fields with continuation cuts and utilizing their great speed. It was evident the off season conditioning had paid while at the end of the day the Dogs legs were fresh and other teams weren’t. The Firedogs won 11-2 over Dayton B and 13-4 over Hope.

The Dogs finished 4-0 the first day of the Evan Matthew Reas Memorial and won the A pool putting them in good position Sunday with a first round bye in bracket play. Cold and wet the team was happy to only have a 5 minute drive back to their rooms. The Dogs dried off, changed, and all met up at DPD, Conor, and Jay’s house for a team pasta dinner.
Day 2 to come later….

ONU Indoor Tournament-2nd Place

2008-02-23T11:40:00.001-08:00

The Firedogs rolled into their first spring tournament short handed as they traveled to Ada, to compete in Ohio Northern’s indoor tournament. The Dogs were ranked second in a field of 8 and held the top seed in the B bracket. The format was simple enough for indoor; 5X5, 7 stall count, timed hour long games, and annoyingly low ceilings.
The first game pinned the Dogs against ONU B. We put out our first line of the season, a collection of vets: Yoder, Conor, Jay, Jake, DPD. Receiving the first pull of the year the dogs decided to make a statement, working the disc up the field effortlessly ending in a C-Brown to Jake huck to let people know that last season wasn’t the only year of the Firedog.
The Dogs took a 7-1 lead within 10 minutes and never looked back. This game was a great opportunity to let freshman in the game and see what they could do, and they all excelled. Pirate Will, Dan O, Jeff, and Ted all took it upon themselves to polish and define their roles in this game. The success of the team this year depends on the development of our freshman. The Dogs went on to win 17-3.

After a hour long bye, the Dogs played Chicago B. The year before at Regionals the Dogs played a heated game against a talented Chicago A team resulting in the Firedogs first ever Regional win. This game however was close itself as it was 7-7 half an hour into the game. The Dogs could not get any offense going and were plagued by turnovers everywhere. The lack of flow in the offense was directly a result of lazy practices in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
The Dogs needed to gut check. They put on the clutch line from the first pull of the ONUB game and switch Conor to hands and Yoder to cut. This seemed to work as the team looked like the Dogs of old rallying past Chicago B to win 15-9.

The Firedogs next game was one they had circled on their calendar since they submitted their bid for the tournament. Kenyon had thrashed them, 15-5, in the championship of the 75th F.R.E.D in the fall. Kenyon in the past had been considered a pushover to much of the section, but this year that has completely changed as they are tooled by an incredibly talented team.
The Dogs came out and scored first on a Conor to Yoder huck immediately off the first pull. This wasn’t enough to spark the Dogs however as the Kenyon Serf went on a 3-0 run by capitalizing on defense and playing smart offense. Every disc that was in the air the Serf was claiming, and the Dogs were starting to see flashbacks of the 10-0 run that gave the Serf the huge win against them earlier that year.
Again the Dogs had to gut check. Yoder and Conor switched places again as a threesome of Conor, Yoder, and DPD used their experience to protect the disc and work it up the field. Great defense from the whole team especially freshman Dan Ott and sophomore Zak Gomes kept the dogs in the game. A 3-0 run led the dogs to take the lead 10-9 with 2 minutes left. The Serf would tie it up as time expired on a breakmark throw in the endzone. This would cause a 1 point, winner takes all situation.
The Dogs received the pull and worked it to half field before a C-Brown to Dan O huck to seal the victory. The win was a huge motivator for the Dogs after the trashing they received earlier in the year. It proved to them that they were going to be a team to be reckoned with at sectionals and that they had the heart they needed to win. The Serf were a great opponent and had great spirit for such a close heated game. The Dogs look forward to playing them again.
With the win, the Dogs took the pool with a 3-0 record and would be matched up against Eastern Michigan in the Semi’s. The Kenyon game took a lot of energy out of the short handed Dogs team however and in order to beat the EMU Hellfish, the Dogs would need help from their freshman.
They delivered. All of the freshman on the team stepped up and played as well as the vets of the Hellfish. Pirate Will made some good soaring D’s and Dan Ott had about 7 scores in the Dogs victory 16-11 over the Hellfish. Despite the high score this was some of the best defense the Dogs had played all year, they were hardly ever beaten to the force side, and most of the passes that were completed were ridiculous break side blades.
With the win in the Semi’s the tired, undermanned Firedogs were pinned against the hosting ONU Darkside. The Darkside had more then 20 men on their sideline and while the game was close for the first five points, the Darkside pulled away winning 11-16 of the Firedogs.
The loss to ONU showed a lot to the Firedogs about how important practice, conditioning, and flow can be especially in championship games. While the team did not get the first place finish they were looking for, they learned a lot about how good they are with the big win over Kenyon, and how much more they have to do with the disorganized loss to ONU.

Next weekend the Dogs will host 16 teams in its first Evan Matthew Reas Memorial Tournament.

Evan Matthew Reas Memorial Tournament

2007-12-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

No...he's not dead.

However his spirit, or lack there of, will be memorialized in Ohio Wesleyans first tournament in years.

Who: 16 top Ultimate teams. Great competition in the heart of the spring season.

When: March 1st and 2nd

Where: Smith Park, Delaware Ohio(Near Columbus)

Price $185

Send bid requests by February 10th, you will be contacted about payment shortly after you are given a bid.

If you would like a bid contact FiredogUltimate@gmail.com

Interested Teams:

Walsh
OWU
Earlham
Perdue
Pitt B
OSU B
Pittsburgh Johnstown
Dayton
Denison
Rochester
Hope
Eastern Michigan
Case Western
Wright State
Wooster
Bowling-Green

Local Hotels:

Comfort Inn
http://www.comfortinn.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=OH365

Best Western Delaware Inn http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?iata=&promoCode=&corpID=&propertyCode=36147

North Coast

2007-10-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs pulled into Case Westerns North Coast Open with only seven players Saturday morning. It was mid-semester break, and a large portion of the Firedogs elected to go home for the long weekend, but Captain Conor Browne, Chan, Drover, Paya, Tappan, Rob, and Not Shott, elected to stay and represent the Firedogs without any subs.
The structure of the tournament was designed to kill a team that played savage. All games were to 15, no halves, and only 5 minutes between each game. The performance the seven man Firedog team put forth that day was absolutely heroic, winning all four of its games. The dogs rolled over Kent State, Case Western-B, and Bowling Green beating them all by more then 10 scores. Without any subs, the Dogs were able to develop a good chemistry and good flow. The last game of the day was against Grove City College, a solid team also armed with good spirit. The Dogs were extremely tired from playing savage the entire day, but pulled out a heart-filled 15-13 win to finish the day.
The dogs picked up two more of their players Sunday, and were reseeded second in the championship bracket. With a long nights sleep, and tons of confidence the dogs were set to make a third run at a tournament championship this fall. Their first game would pin them against the 7th ranked Case Western Fighting Gobies.
The Dogs scored fast on a Paya to Yoder connection in the end zone after the team worked the disc up the field very well. The gobies however quickly answered back with a backhand huck off of a sweet fake for the score. Points continued to be traded back and forth with a combination of chilly Case offense, and great passing by the Ohio Wesleyan cutters.
Unfortunately it seemed fatigue set in as the Dogs started feeling all the strain they had put on their legs from the day before. A combination of poor defense and poor offensive decisions aided the Gobies to go on a 5-0 run to take half at 8-3. The Firedogs however are not a team to ever give up and battled back valiantly in the second half. Good defense and several hucks from Conor to Yoder and Tappan helped mount a comeback for the Dogs. However it was too little too late for OWU as the cap came on and the dogs lost 12-9. With how the Dogs played Saturday, and their hunger for a tournament championship, this was by far their most disappointing loss of the season.
The dogs last game Sunday was a consolation game against a talented team who was also upset in the first round, the Oberlin Horse Cows. The Horse Cows had recently won the tournament they had hosted the previous week, which the Dogs finished third in. The game was very competitive throughout; there were many good bids and hucks by both sides. The game came down to the wire with the dogs losing on universe point 14-13. This match-up of the Firedogs and Horsecows looks to be a promising one throughout the rest of the year.

2007, 2008 Get Ready

2007-07-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

D-III Nationals

2007-06-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

The Firedogs came into Nationals after a several week hiatus due to senior graduation and the end of the semester. Many Dogs traveled home for the break as the seniors graduated, however most returned in the days before the competition to prepare for the highest stage the Firedogs have ever competed at. The team unfortunately was far from full strength however. Senior handler Danny Peters had left for work in Mexico, and freshmen cutters Zach Gomes and Andrew White could not make it to the tournament because of family commitments. The most daunting loss of all however, was the injury to senior cutter and team leader Dale Stewart in an end of the year pick up basketball game. The Dogs knew the loss of Dales lockdown D and vocal leadership would be hard to overcome going into nationals, and that younger players would have to step up to fill the void.
The Firedogs first game at Nationals was against Brandeis University from Massachusetts. That Saturday at Versailles was sunny but windy, and thank goodness it was warm. A vast improvement from the 20 degree temperatures we experienced on the very same field a month earlier at sectionals. The dogs sideline consisted of one of the largest fan bases at the tournament which included family, friends, and even parents of former players. The game started with a quick turnover by the D-line right in front of the Firedogs end zone which was quickly converted into a Brandeis score, as the 21st seeded “Tron,” took a 1-0 lead. The O-line, with newly added freshman Jake Barnett answered back immediately with a DA to Yoder full field huck to tie the score. The two teams O-lines continued to do their job, scoring every time they took the field, exchanging scores until half. The trio of Evan Reas, DA, and Yoder combined to put up all the Firedogs points in the first half, with 7 assists by DA, and 4 scores by Reas.
After the half Brandeis threw zone, which the Firedogs continued to destroy. The dogs rolled after half scorching the Brandeis D for 3 straight points with huge defensive stops by Chan in the end zone. The run was too much for the underdog Brandeis to overcome as the Firedogs went on to win 13-7. DA finished the game with 10 assists, Reas contributed 5 scores, and Yoder added 4 scores.

The Firedogs next game was against 22nd ranked Calvin College from Michigan. The Dogs were finally awake after a slow start against Brandeis and were ready to pounce on Calvin. After a quick exchange of points, the Dogs went on a classic 5-0 run to take the half at 7-2. D-lined shined in this run, coming up with big D after another and solid handling from Tappan, Conor and Chan. On the O-line Jay, DPD and Paya continued to control the disc as DA pumped in more and more assists. The run culminated in a classic DA huck to a streaking E-man downfield into the end zone; a play that has become routine over the years, and will be impossible to replace. From here the Dogs cruised to a 13-7 victory to improve to 2-0 in pool play.

The next game was the most important of pool play for the Dogs. It pinned them up in against last year’s runner-up team, the 8th seeded Swarthmore Earthworms. With the Firedogs at 2-0, and the Earthworms at 1-1, the dogs needed to win, or lose by no more then 5 to advance into the championship bracket later that day. It was clear both teams had this game marked on their schedule, knowing that we both were the team for the other one to beat on the day.
The Dogs and Swarthmore quickly exchanged points as it was clear that both teams brought the intensity, with the Dogs scoring on a Conor to DA huck. However costly turnovers and stale defense allowed the Earthworms to shock the favored Dogs with a 5-0 run to take the lead 6-1. The overwhelmed Firedogs called a timeout and gathered to discuss what it would take to get back in the game. Senior leaders Evan, DA, and Dale chimed in on what it meant to be a Firedog, and how it meant to dig down for everything you’ve got when it mattered most.
Down 6-1 the Dogs put in their clutch line. Half way down the field Conor put up a huck to a streaking Yoder and E-man towards the end zone. The towering throw was caught up in the wind and hung as 3 Dogs and 3 defenders surrounded it. DA tipped it up in an attempt to catch it, and E-Man ripped it down from the air, claiming possession. The disc was then kicked out to Conor and tossed to Yoder jetting towards the corner. The throw was behind Yoder and he had to come back towards the disc, snagging it one handed away from the oncoming Swarthmore defender. From here the Dogs started a tenacious comeback. E-man pulled down 2 scores in this stretch including a violent spike which upset the opponents and bringing the score to 7-5 at the half. The two teams continued to trade points from the half-on. Big D’s by Conor and Tappan tried to turn the tied against the Earthworms, but the inability to move the disc without turnovers lead to the ultimate Firedog demise, falling 13-10.

With the loss the Firedogs finished their pool in a 2 way tie for first, and because of head to head record they finished seeded second. The Dogs next game was in the championship bracket, on the championship fields. The bracket pinned them up against Wisconsin Stevens-Point, a very talented team from a area known for good ultimate.
The O-line came out early and scored right away on a full field DA huck to a diving E-man in the end zone. Stevens-Point however answered back immediately, flowing the disc up field with ease and into the end zone. The O-line came back on the field to show Steven’s-Point a thing or two about flow having everyone on the line touch the disc at least once. The Dogs moved the disc up the field uninterrupted, swinging it from sideling to sideling with Paya and Dpd, and finished with another DA to E-man score. The stale defense and solid offense continued for both sides bringing the score to 4-4.
Then the Firedogs started their run, beginning with a big D by Tappan setting up a circus catch by E-man from a hammer in the end zone. On the fallowing point a layout-D by Drover on the mark set up yet another DA to Eman score in the back left of the end zone. The Dogs rode this run to take half 7-4, and continued after half to take the lead 9-4 over Stevens-Point. However the good Stevens-Point team could not be held down long as they charged back with 4 straight points bringing the score to 9-8. The two teams exchanged points until Stevens-Point tied it up 10-10. The Dogs appeared tired after a long day of ultimate and after a turnover near their end-zone it looked like their dreams of a National Championship were fading. As Stevens-Point worked the disc up the side-line Yoder’s full extension layout D on to the gravel earned the Dogs the disc back. Immediately, DA picked up the disc and hucked it to a streaking Yoder into the end zone, taking the lead 11-10. It seemed this play took the wind out of Stevens-Point’s sails as the dogs continued to a 13-10 win to finish the day. DA finished the game with 11 assists, and Yoder and E-man contributed 5 scores each.
The Firedogs came to the field that Sunday at Nationals 3 wins away from the D-III National Championship. The quarter finals however pinned the Dogs up against the best opponent they would face all year, the top seeded Wisconsin Whitewater Sub-par, a team that nearly made regular Nationals that same year.
A quick lay-out D by Sub-Par and throw for a score gave Whitewater an early lead. The Firedogs answered back with another DA to E-man huck. Whitewater then threw zone stalling the Firedogs offense. The teams traded long possessions and good D’s but all the breaks seemed to go Whitewaters way in a remarkably evenly matched 6-0 run. The 7-2 halftime lead was too much for the Firedogs to overcome as they fell 13-6 in the quarterfinal. A highlight point for the Dog’s came when they boasted an all underclassmen line, featuring all returning players. A huge defensive stop by Chan set up a huge break-mark throw from Conor to a laying out Yoder on the opposite side of the end zone.
The Firedogs finished the season 21-7, the best in history. They also finished tied 7th for division three. The Firedogs graduated an amazing senior class including E-man(going to Stanford Business School), DA (going to Wisconsin Grad-School and wining the Callahan), Dale (going to work in Cleveland), Curt Sykes(going to Ohio Grad-School), and Danny Peters(working in Mexico). All the Firedogs wish to thank these seniors for everything they have given us, and hope to make them proud next year.