Opening day Shoot-out ends with last minute heroics

It may only be early April but the opening day match-up between Delta rivals, Longhorns and Gamblers, had a playoff feel. A late touchdown by wideout Matt Gross on the final play capped a 60 yard drive that had all the elements of a finish that would of made Gus Johnson yell with enthusiasm. It was a fitting ending to a chippy game that had its fair share of penalties, trash talk and the occasional push and shoves. It was evident early on that these two teams do not like each other.

This high scoring affair proved to be the coming out party for two gambler players that helped turn this timid offence in the pre-season, to a juggernaut-esk, west-coast styled offence. Pivot Chris Rodriguez and Josh Robertson carried the offence on their backs and led the Gamblers to two second quarter touchdowns after falling down early 12-0. But this first year squad showed poise, patience and resiliency and turned the tide in their favour and never looked back. The see-saw battle continued in the second half as both teams exchanged major scores three times in the final 30 minutes. Both teams did it in very different ways as Andrew Robertson rumbled in from 12 yards out on an option play the confused the Longhorn defence early in the third quarter. After a quick response by the Longhorn offence, Josh Robertson punched it in again for his third TD of the match. Both defences again allowed another touchdown each respectively to put the score at 31-27 in favour of the Longhorns.

After another single on the kickoff by the Longhorn kicker, the game was in the hands of Chris Rodriguez to prove his worth with only four downs to work with. A huge gain by Andrew Robertson set up two huge penalties charged to the Longhorn defence off a Josh Robertson pitch and catch and Matt Gross reception up the middle, that found the Gamblers inside the longhorn red-zone. After a broken scramble rush by Rodriguez, Matt Gross eventually caught the winning touchdown in traffic that sealed the Longhorn fate on the final play of the game. The storybook ending was a great way to celebrate the Gamblers birth into the Top Flight Flag Football League ranks and certainly had the Flag Football community in a buzz. The win wasn't all good news however, as the Gambler secondary got shredded for big plays in the second half. Working more Man-to-Man coverage on the outside receivers will surely be looked at for future contests. Full marks go to the undersized O-Line however, as they supplied plenty of time for Chris Rodriguez to work.

It was only game one of nine, but the newly formed Gamblers proved that Kevin Garnett was right, that "anything IS possible." As the season rolls and more experience is gained, theres no limit to how high this team can fly. So buckle your seat belts and enjoy the ride, The Gamblers have taken off.