2004 HS Championship: Open Division – Sunday 23 May

by Jones Oliver

Coverage from Day One

Sunday morning quarterfinals began at 10:15 with Amherst vs. Wissahickon, Northfield Mt. Hermon vs. Memorial, Beacon vs. South Eugene, and The Northwest School vs. Nashville.

In cap, it was Amherst, with tough defense, over Wissahickon 13-8 and The Northwest School over Nashville 14-6.

The Memorial / North Mt. Hermon (NMH) game was soon tied at 2-2. At the half, Memorial was up 8-7. It was soon tied at 9’s. Two points later, the game was tied at 10’s and soft cap was on; first team to twelve moved on to the semis. NMH scored next. Memorial then tied. Memorial pulled, NMH stacked, and NMH put it in the end zone with one throw.

In the adjacent field, South and Beacon were playing a high-energy game. At half time, Beacon had the 8-4 lead. The soft cap horn sounded with Beacon up 9-7. South Eugene settled into their game and moved on to the semis with an 11-9 win.

In the semifinals, it was Amherst over Northfield Mt Hermon 15-2. The other game, between the South Eugene Axemen and The Northwest School (NW), become a classic.

The early game had the Axemen leading as they went into halftime with an 8-4 lead. With four straight points, NW knotted the event. With a light breeze favoring one offense, each team traded points. The game went to 9’s, then 10’s, then 11’s, then 12’s,and then 13’s. Soft cap was on and it became a race to 15. By this time, the sidelines were deep with fans. Eugene used their trio of seniors, Breeze Strout, Dusty Becker, and Max Tepfer to keep their team in the race along with junior standout Eli Friedman. NW simply dug in. With the defensive assignment to contain Strout, unassuming freshman Casey Ikeda, put pressure on the Axemen. With the rest of the NW team entrenched, the game went to 14’s. NW pulled after their score and the Axemen had a downwind opportunity. After the Axemen’s turnover, NW advanced to the red zone and punched the disc in, but the score was called back on a violation. At the line, South Eugene’s defense forced the turnover. The Axemen, refreshed, marched down field and lost possession near the line. NW, with resolution, moved the disc up field and scored. Family, friends, and teammates rushed the field.

In the finals it was Amherst and The Northwest School.

Amherst, after winning the trophy in 2003, wanted it again in 2004. Their consistent and methodical play brought them to field #1 for the championship match. In that game, Amherst jumped to an early lead over NW and went to half leading 8-1. Amherst repeated as the national champions closing the game with a 15-5 win.

Madison West won the eight-team Consolation Bracket and Raging Safari won the team spirit award.