The 2013 season saw the Hooligans advance back to the championship game for the 4th time in the last 5 years, falling in a close but exciting game. The season was the shortest in known CUAA intramural history with only 3 regular season games per team. Playoffs were limited to only the top 4 teams out of the 6 in the league, making the regular season more critical than normal. Games were played on the football practice fields across the street from campus, the first time games were played around that location since the 2007 season. A mid-November start meant fairly cold weather for much of the year.
The team took fans through quite a roller-coaster ride to make it back to the title game. The Hooligans started out the season scoring their lowest point total in a non-forfeit game since 2006, losing 48-11 to eventual championship game foe BDB. After working out some offensive kinks and making some key signings, the team scored its highest single-game point total in franchise history in a 93-80 playoff win. The unretirement of Zach Johnston was a key development in the offseason, and a softball-heavy lineup gave the Hooligans plenty of 9-point weapons. Besides the team-record 93 points against the Pederson Painters, several Hooligans also tied franchise individual records. Bre Taylor had 4 touchdowns in a game twice throughout the season, tying Angela Martin's single-game Hooligan record, and Zach Johnston tied his own single-game record with 9 passing TDs in a game. Angela Martin inched ever closer to becoming the Hooligan career TD leader, notching 3 on the year to give her 18 for her career and needing 3 more to tie Josh Ulm's mark of 21. Captain Mike Russell made it to 49 games played as a Hooligan this year, leaving him one away from the big 50. Let's take a game-by-game look at this season: Game 1 vs BDB - L 48-11: The Hooligans opened the season with a blowout loss to BDB. Zach Johnston was picked off an uncharacteristic 6 times, and the team's offense could barely get down the field. The 11 points scored was the team's fewest in a non-forfeit game since 2006, when the Hooligans were shut out in the first 2 games in franchise history. Some critics wondered if the team's estrogen-driven offense would work, but a turnaround was soon to come. Game 2 vs Slytherin - W 59-35: The Hooligans went into their next match against Slytherin in a must-win situation to make the playoffs. Zach Johnston rebounded nicely from the previous game tossing 6 TD passes in the game with no interceptions. The signing of Jessie Barns proved to be critical and Bre Taylor emerged as a key target on offense with 3 TD receptions. Game 3 vs Pederson Painters - W 56-52: Still needing a win to guarantee a playoff berth, the Hooligans again came up in the clutch with a 56-52 victory over the Pederson Painters. The game went down to the wire with a late TD catch by new signee Takari Johnson on 4th down proving to be the game-winning score. The victory would give the Hooligans a 2-1 record going into the playoffs, and they wound up with the #3 seed. Game 4 vs #2 Pederson Painters - W 93-80: The Hooligans were given a rematch with the Pederson Painters as their first-round playoff game. The Painters only had 4 players in the game against the Hooligans' 7, but they still proved unstoppable on offense in what turned out to be a wild shootout of a game. The 93 points the Hooligans would score beat the old franchise record of 79, and Zach Johnston and Bre Taylor both tied franchise single-game records with 9 passing TDs and 4 receiving TDs respectively. Game 5 vs #1 BDB - L 62-57: The championship game saw a fitting rematch of the season's opening game between the Hooligans and BDB. The team put forth a much better effort than the first game in a game that featured several lead changes on a cold and snowy field. The Hooligans went up 57-56 with 1:30 left after a Justin Litzner 2-pt PAT catch, and it looked as though they could repeat as champions. But BDB drove down the field and a late Tyler Holloway TD sealed the Hooligans' fate after a good effort. We hope you enjoyed reliving each game of the 2013 season! Check back soon for an overview on the contributions of each individual player that played at least one game for the Hooligans in 2013.
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Written by Mike Russell
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