The 2016 season saw the Pigskin Hooligans complete a perfect 3-0 undefeated season, claiming the franchise’s 3rd championship in the last 5 years. The Hooligans advanced to the championship game for the 7th time in the last 8 years, numbers which officially give the team the label of a dynasty. The roster featured 5 returning members from last season’s squad along with 4 new signings.
Originally it was believed that the CUAA athletic department would return flag football to the status of an intramural sport, but unfortunately they did not make that determination. So once again captain Mike Russell organized a league from scratch, handling all efforts ranging from advertising to schedule coordination. The league featured only 3 teams once more and the regular season schedule was again limited to only one game against each of the other 2 teams. All teams made the playoffs with the Hooligans receiving a first-round bye as the #1 seed and the #2/#3 teams (Wamp Rats and We Love TDs) playing a first-round game to earn a spot in the championship game. All games were played on the real CUAA football field except the championship game which had to be played on the grass in front of the stadium due to field unavailability. Let’s take a game-by-game look at the Hooligans’ 2016 season: Game 1: Sun, Nov 6 - W 58-51 vs We Love TDs: The Pigskin Hooligans opened the 2016 season with a doubleheader, playing under sunny skies before a small crowd. The Hooligans’ first game was played against We Love TDs, technically a rematch of last year’s championship game though both teams featured very different rosters. The Hooligans maintained a steady lead for most of the game but they would find themselves facing a 51-50 deficit with under 2 minutes to go. Micah Oetting showed poise in the pocket at the QB position, firing a deep TD pass to brother Marshall Oetting to reclaim the lead. The Hooligans’ defense would make a stand late in the game to hold on and secure a 58-51 win. Marshall Oetting would tie the franchise record for touchdowns in a game with 4. Game 2: Sun, Nov 6 - W 62-53 vs Wamp Rats: The Hooligans faced off against the Wamp Rats in the second game of the doubleheader after a short break. The game featured a great deal of offense as both teams traded touchdowns throughout the match. The Hooligans never trailed in the game and came away with a 62-53 victory to finish their regular season 2-0. Captain Mike Russell caught his first touchdown in four years in the match while Marshall Oetting added another 3 receiving TDs and Matt Botti switched to QB for much of the game tossing 4 TD passes. Game 3: Tue, Nov 29 - W 70-54 vs #3 We Love TDs: After finishing 2-0 in the regular season the Hooligans earned the #1 seed in the league and a first-round bye in the playoffs. We Love TDs impressively defeated the Wamp Rats 108-54 in their playoff game and moved on to face the Hooligans in the championship game. The game itself had to be rescheduled 3 times before it finally occurred, but the match finally took place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving with surprisingly warm weather. The match had to be played on the grass in front of the stadium due to lacrosse lines being painted on the football field, so captains Mike Russell and Gabe Farr agreed to a modified playing field and played “first to 70 points” instead of 2 20-minute halves. The game was exciting and featured lots of offense, but Blaine Milheim paced the Hooligans defense with 3 interceptions to help the team maintain a steady lead. The Hooligans led by as much as 28 points in the game but had to hold off a late run by We Love TDs which cut their lead to only 10 points. Humphrey Ihejirikah would catch the final touchdown of the game which gave the Hooligans 70 points and the championship win. Check back soon for Part 2 of the season overview, which will feature the stats and accomplishments of each individual player on the roster. ROLL HOOLIGANS!
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Written by Mike Russell
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May 2021
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