One of the biggest concerns going into the Saturday night Southpointe Showdown for many of the free agent teams is whether they will be able to assemble a competitive roster by the start of their opening games. Quarterback Jeff Bollinger of the WRECKING CREW expressed some concerns about putting his team together. “We put this team together two days ago, through text messages.” Bollinger continued “I picked up four of our players at 10 o’clock the night before.” The WRECKING CREW was undermanned as they entered the tournament with just 5 players. Two of their players dropped out of the competition the day of the Showdown. Although the lack of reserves probably contributed to the squad’s opening loss Saturday night, Bollinger remained optimistic. “I don’t expect us to go winless today.”

Another team that tasted defeat way too early for its liking was the STALLIONS who also lost their first game. While the STALLIONS aren’t a patchwork team, they still weren’t performing up to their expectations at the beginning of the competition. Wide Receiver Aaron Kojundic acknowledged “We played really well the first half. We came out hot in the second half, then we had some defensive breakdowns and our offense stuttered.”(click through title)

Speaking of teams that could use a lifeline and a maybe some magic to help them to the finish line, the JUNGLE CATS formerly known as WE PLAY BETTER THAN BRETT returned with their team comprised predominantly of young men born in the 1990s. In their last appearance at the Dust off the Rust tournament last January, the young competitors were defeated in both of their games. Chris Conway of the JUNGLE CATS attributed his team’s losing efforts to underestimating the level of competition they were up against. “We didn’t come in here knowing the level of competition.” Despite reprising their roles as the consummate underdogs in the Southpointe tourney, Conway believes his squad will be better this time around. “We’ve got a lot faster, taller players,” Conway explained. “We got some plays and that’s gonna help with the organization. We just have to come out and play. We can’t get walked over this time.” Although the young guns looked a lot better in their second crack at a PFFL tournament, they still have a lot of work to do. Good luck guys.

On one end of the spectrum, we have the JUNGLE CATS, young and inexperienced. Now we move to the VETS, who like their name implies are well versed in the game of flag football. The Vets hail from Hopewell, PA and were poised to do some damage in their debut against PFFL teams. Unfortunately their first game resulted in a loss. I caught up with Quarterback Steve Knetzer for his thoughts on why his team lost in the first round. Knetzer replied, “I think we competed well, but we were thrown off a little bit by the play clock in general and the loss of down penalties.” Although Knetzer was critical of the officiating, he maintained that “we just got beat by a better team.” Opening loss aside, the VETS expressed their endorsement of the PFFL. “Overall, very positive experience,” Knetzer said. “Win or loss, we’d definitely come back to the Pittsburgh Flag Football League.”

What PFFL tournament would be complete without a storyline involving the ubiquitous BULLDOGS ? While the current version of the BULLDOGS has a couple games under their belts having played in January’s tournament, they still are experiencing some growing pains. After losing their first game on Saturday night, Cornerback Ruben Hutchinson summed up his team’s identity. “When we do great, we win, and good when we don’t,” Hutchinson offered. “No team is just gonna beat us, pound us. So if we lose, we still did good.” While Hutchinson definitely had the right attitude, his cockiness may have written a check that his performance couldn’t cash when he said, “I’m gonna get 3 interceptions in the next game.” Sure, Mr. Hutchinson.

Finally the newest PFFL darlings from Youngstown, OH better known as JOE’S PROS represent the dream team. In their last showing at the DUST off the RUST tourney, the 35 and over squad orchestrated one of the greatest runs to a championship since CHAOS during the 2009 season. Player Mike Liberato described the magic behind his team’s success. “We’re just organized,” Liberato reasoned. “We’ve all been playing together 15, 20 years. We know where everybody’s gonna be.” While the JOE’S PROS veteran is proud of his team, he also realizes that their ages can work against as well. “We’re not as fast as the other guys, but we don’t make mistakes.” As far as predictions about how JOE’S PROS will fare in this month’s tourney, Liberato responded: “I think it’ll be a good tournament and we hope that we play well enough to be there in the end.”