19th OSS escapes 19th CMS’s onslaught in tale of two halves

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jacob Barreiro
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  The 19th Operations Support Squadron's flag football team endured a slew of turnovers and a second-half onslaught from the 19th Component Maintenance Squadron's team Monday to secure a 13-12 victory in a game that looked like it might turn into a blowout early.

The first game of the intramural flag football season saw both teams make some fundamental mistakes, and both teams agreed that they had some work to do.

"We're just out here trying to have a good time," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Arnold, 19th CMS coach. "It's the first game of the year, so we didn't have too much of a game plan or know anything about our opponent. We came pretty close."

The victors said they were happy to win, but saw a lot of areas for improvement.

"It feels good to win, but I played horrible," said Senior Airman Aaron Ramos, 19th OSS coach and quarterback, whose three second-half interceptions nearly lead to defeat. "We have a lot to work on, a lot to improve on."

OSS looked to be in control early on when it scored touchdowns on two of its first three possessions and its defense stymied the CMS offense, forcing an interception, holding them scoreless, and only allowing CMS to run 8 plays in the entire first half.

CMS's defense looked unprepared to deal with the spread passing attack of OSS, which employed a lot of short passes and scrambling runs while moving the ball down the field. OSS converted on one of two extra-point attempts, taking a commanding 13-0 lead at halftime.

Facing the possibility of a full on blowout, CMS responded in the second half by changing quarterbacks. The switch worked immediately as CMS took five plays to move the ball into the end zone, mixing quarterback scrambles with deep passes, for its first score of the game. CMS failed to convert an extra point attempt making the score 13-6.

The OSS offense, dominant as it was in the first half, appeared hapless and dysfunctional in the second half. Their offense's very first play of the second half was an interception from a deep pass. OSS frequently tried to employ deep passes in the second half to no avail, turning the ball over on its first three possessions of the half, all interceptions on deep passes.

CMS took advantage of the turnover and employed the deep pass to better effect, taking advantage of a height mismatch of its receivers to OSS's defensive backs. After the turnover, CM again took five plays to get the ball into the end zone, but once again missed the extra point, leaving the score at 13-12.

However, the OSS defense held strong. After being burned on the previous two possessions by deep throws, the OSS defense substituted players at its corners, employing taller defensive backs who would have a better reach. The strategy paid off as OSS picked off a hail-Mary like pass.

CMS would get the ball back one last time, but after moving the ball past mid field, it would stall and turn the ball over on downs. OSS ran out the remaining clock and secured a close win that once looked like a foregone conclusion.

"We are very competitive and want to be in this thing down the road," said Ramos. "They played pretty good, but we know we have to get better. It's good to win, but this gives us something to improve on."