This past Saturday, one of the most renowned rivalries in all of sports resumed after a three year break when the Daily Campus Fighting Campus Correspondents took on the UCTV Static Channels in the Pearlman Cup. After four hard-fought quarters, UCTV came out on top, but it was a tightly contested battle.
“It’s really a brutal loss for us,” noted wide receiver Stratton Stave, who also serves as the Associate Sports Editor. “Our guys came out there and really fought, which is all you can ask for at the end of the day. The one thing we did prove is that we belonged on the same turf as them. That’s a team that has beaten our club nine straight times, which will take a toll on you mentally. I think this is really just a wake-up call to them that they have to watch out for us next year.”
The game started out with the Static Channels deferring and kicking the ball to the DC first. Quarterback and business manager Zachary Wisnefsky and the offense made a little progress, but ultimately failed to convert on the fourth down and turned it over. Ben Roy, a writer for the DC and a content creator for UCTV, chose to be a Static Channel Saturday and won the starting quarterback job.
In his first possession under center, Roy marched his offense down the field, making it just a few yards away from the end zone. On third down though, the freshman made a critical error, throwing it right into the hands of Wisnefsky, who took the ball all the way from the end zone to the house for the pick-six.
Getting the ball right back, Roy was immediately forced to respond to adversity early in his career. He made it to a bit past half field on some nice runs and short passes and then launched a fourth down pass into the end zone to tie things up.
On the next possession early in the second quarter, Wisnefsky took a chance on the long ball after a few runs from Keegan Reck and Nick Spinali. The long ball found the hands of tight end Carson Swick, who established himself as a key player with the score.
The teams traded interceptions to finish off the half, as tempers began to flare concerning what level of contact was okay or not within the realm of flag football. Ultimately though, the Fighting Campus Correspondents established themselves early with a 14-7 lead going into the break. As underdogs, it was a surprising start.
UCTV got the ball back to begin the second half and it was a completely different story. Roy came out of the makeshift locker room — the UCTV sideline — and hit wide receiver Keegan Brown for an early touchdown to tie things up. The DC looked threatening with a promising drive that featured Stave running some quarterback. He hit Wisnefsky for a nice gain well into the red zone, but a tipped pass off to a receiver allowed for a UCTV interception that they took all the way back for six.
The DC suffered another interception, but away from the play, Swick suffered a gruesome injury that saw his pinky break in multiple directions. Swick served as the Campus’ main enforcer, so the injury took much of the air out of the attempted comeback.
Roy threw for another touchdown, Wisnefsky tossed another pick and then took a shot to the nose on a quarterback sneak. The mix of the injuries and UCTV waking up was ultimately too much, with the Static Channels coming on top, 28-14.
“We knew it would be a challenge,” Wisnefsky mentioned. “We knew UCTV would be a difficult opponent. We knew the odds were stacked against us. But it was an opportunity — an opportunity to showcase not just the talents of our organization’s members, but The Daily Campus’ tenacity, resolve and perseverance. Even though the outcome was not what we had hoped for, those traits were on full display. It was a physical game — several of our players were injured in the course of play. But we persevered. During these trying times in the second half, our team bonded together, facing adversity and lifting each other up through a collective unity. Though the scoreboard does not display it, The Daily Campus won in many ways this past Saturday. I want to congratulate UCTV on their hard-fought Pearlman Cup victory. It was a competitive game, and they prevailed on account of impressive play from their entire squad of players.”
There are no immediate plans for another game, but there is potential for another bout between the Tier III’s next semester.
“That being said, they should enjoy this time of celebration as much as they can,” Wisnefsky said. “As Dan Hurley famously said, ‘You better get us now, because it’s coming.’ UCTV, we will see you in the Spring…”
