Pittsburgh Flag Football League

“Luck’s on our side,” is how D’S DOGS’ Wide Receiver Brad Russel described his improbable game-winning touchdown catch. Russel was the recipient of a tipped pass in the end zone which secured a 34-31 victory over the STALLIONS. He added, “It’s great to be good, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky.”

With 4 seconds left on the game clock and the STALLIONS leading by a score of 31-28, D’S DOGS Quarterback P.J. McGuigan was driving his team down the field for a dramatic last-second finish. McGuigan received the snap and dropped back to look for an open receiver. After enough time passed for the quarterback to bake cake had passed, McGuigan flung the pigskin in the direction of Wide Receiver Jason Bialek. At first disaster was ready to end a comeback for D’S DOGS when a STALLIONS’ defender tipped McGuigan’s pass. Luckily, after the pass was deflected, Russel plucked the ball from mid-air and completed the touchdown.

According to the quarterback, D’S DOGS liked their chances to win. “We figured if we had one play from 10-15 yards out, then we would have a chance,” McGuigan offered. “It wasn’t pretty, and that’s not how we drew it up—but we’ll take it.” In flag football, sometimes the receiver has to make his quarterback look good. Russel did just that when he hauled in the game-winner on a broken play. McGuigan views Russel as “a phenomenal player.” Mcguigan continued, “Anytime he catches the ball, something good is gonna happen.”

In a game that became a shootout of both offenses, the STALLIONS and D’S DOGS knew that every point would matter in determining the game’s outcome. Unfortunately for the STALLIONS’, they gave up precious opportunities to claim a victory with their ineptitude on extra-point conversions. When it was all said and done, the STALLIONS had gone 1 for 5 on extra point opportunities while D’S DOGS were flawless, earning all of their extra points.

Besides the last-second touchdown, D’S DOGS’ second-biggest highlight came courtesy of Wide Receiver Kenny Brown. On a well-designed play, Brown raised his hands after the ball was snapped, faked like he was going to catch the snap, and then found a huge gap in the STALLION’S coverage. At that point it was curtains for the STALLION defense as Brown scampered down the sideline untouched for a nice score.

When asked why D’S DOGS was able to weather the offensive storm that the STALLIONS had cast on their over their own offensive explosion, the hero, Russel responded: “We’re always strong and our heads are always in the game.”