PIT TOUCH and FLAG FOOTBALL in WINNIPEG MANITOBA - FOOTBALL!

62 Posts

The Avengers won the elite dIvision national championship today beating the Burlington Spartans 42 TO 22. From what i understand via text message Mike Brownridge had a SUPERB tourney and established himself as one of the best touch football players in the nation. I am sure the boys will be posting something in the near future with a rundown of their road to THEIR title!!! Then again they will probably need a few days to recuperate after their celebrations tonight. WAY TO REPRESENT MANITOBA AND THE PIT BOYS!!

62 Posts

My mistake the Avengers beat the Spartans in the semis and Regina Megalo in the finals 42 to22. Either way they beat them all and now own the belt!!!

177 Posts

unbelievable Can't wait to hear the rundown on the road to the title. Congratulations Avengers!!

254 Posts

I hope someone did the Aaron Rodgers title belt celebration afterwards.

14 Posts

Never before has a Winnipeg touch league been able to advertise themselves as the Home of the National Champions! Well done fellas.

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Travers: At first we sounded like a bunch of 12 year school girls at a Justin Bieber concert.
Then we thumped chests and pointed to the sky.

We're number one baby!
Awesome Tourney, great competition, and we had out game face one.

We beat the 10th ranked and lost to the 3rd rank team in Canada during our pool qualifiers.

Once playoffs were on we beat 4th ranked, then 2nd rand and 1st team in the country.

So we earned this victory.

Looking forward to defend the title next year.

If you want to see pics of the first days action, hit the link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150871867640078.761140.834690077&l=4332727815&type=1

-Greg (Avengers Rusher)

62 Posts

Congrats Boy's! I am so happy and proud of you guys.
Wish I could have been there.
All the hard work finally paid off.

Damian(Old Avenger)

1 Post

Congratulations to the 2011 National Champions. One of the best ever performances in the comebacks and underdog roles. Just so people know, the Avengers were down 15 points to the Capitals in the fourth quarter. Stopped us on the 20 yard line or so, drove down quickly and scored and got the two point convert. Capitals drive to the 1 yard line get stopped with 3 minutes to go and Avengers drive down then score with seconds remaining and get the two point convert to win. Then it is on to the semis to beat the defending champs by 9 or so I believe then of course a pretty convincing win in the final against Regina.

Sorry I wasn't there to congratulate you guys in person, I was helping the Devils in the women's final.

Historically I would say Landell going back door in 94 and the Spartans being down a few scores late to the Piranhas in the 2007 quarterfinals and coming back from the dead to win are the only comparable victory to this years conquest.

Congratulations again, enjoy the offseason, I know a few eastern teams are gunning for more battles in years to come.

cheers

Rod Moors

16 Posts

If all don't realize, Mr. Moors is a 8 time national champion quarterback (one of those in Winnipeg) and obviously a class act. It was a pleasure playing on the same field, sir.

Kanwal

948 Posts

The PIT would like to acknowledge two other Winnipeg teams that made the trek to Calgary to compete in the National competition.

The Winnipeg Woodys who are the current division three Champions in the PIT competed at the division 2 level. Although jumping up a skill level, the Woodys found a way to finish second in their pool, unfortunately they were taken out in the quarter finals. Members of the Woodys might be able to post and give the details about the games and the experience playing in the Nationals, I know Jason Gibbons enjoyed his time out in Calgary, which is what he indicated to me during a recent coversation.

The Winnipeg Assassins who have been perennial Manitoba champions and earned second in the country during the Nationals that was held in Winnipeg a few yeas ago also competed at the Elite level, but due to some tough losses were relegated early from the Elite pool, although the Assassins must have been distraught about slipping out of contention for the Elite title, it shows character to stick it out and bounced back to win the National title they competed for. The Avengers had this happen to them a few years back and won the Division 2 championship.

Scott

31 Posts

Wow TOC....something every touchfootball player should experience in their career!!!!

First off, I would like to congratulate all of the Avengers on a come from behind..knock off the top seeds in the country and win the National Championship. The Woodys had the pleasure of watching the Avengers knock off the #1 seed in the Spartans in the semis and the # 2 seed Meglo in the finals. I would say that was the best touch football I ever had the pleasure of watching. Brownie was a freak,playing back to back games big games(1 hr separting two massive games):semis and finals, making plays on both sides of the ball and dominating whether on Offenser or Defense. Harlo making big plays as well(injured, I am assuming should not have been playing in TOC) and Professor Franklin dissecting the Capitals, Spartans, and Meglo defenses on route to their wins. All 3 played key roles in the Avengers run. Also hats off to the Assassins who won the National BB title. Not a small feat when you witness the high calibre of football being played at this level.

A quick run down on the woodys games. We lost to the Saskatoon Toads at our first game by a grand total of 2 pts. Our second game, we played against the Edmonton Bulldogs who have won many of the Edmonton City Championships. We won by a grand total of 2 points. Our third we lost to the Ottawa Gamblers..I believe they go by the name Storm in their league.
That game we were down by 3 tds game back and almost pulled out a victory unfortunatly we lost 23-18. The Calgary Los Hombres beat us with a td on the last play of the game.Unfortunately the Woodys could not string toghether 4 quarters of football. We only seemed to play one half of football in any our games.Which you cannot do at this level. The TOC experience only makes us want to return and perform better... A special thanks to Donovan who always some how mangaged to get us some sort of scouting report on these teams...you are crazy defensive leader!!!!!

The woodys would like to thank Marc,Neil,Josh and Darin from the Deadzone who joined us on this adventure as well
as Jason from the Bandits. We had a great time with you guys and hopefully next time we will have more success as a team.
To my own guys Matt,Tom,Jay,Tyler,&Donovan. You guys rock..I could not have had a better bunch of guys to go with.
Everything from the football,stuck in a suv for 13hrs, hot tub with the ladies from Montreal,(french girls are so hot but moody) to the Roadhouse(awesome place!!!thanks Jon)I think for our first TOC definitely not our last we a had a great time...the losses sting cause we know we could have done better.I would encourage other teams to go, find a way
to get to TOC. You will not regret it!!!!!!

Joey
Woodys

11 Posts

Time for a comprehensive breakdown..,

Avengers game 1: vs Regina Straingers

Tough first game to begin with versus a scrappy Straingers team. We beat them by about 10 or so at Laobor Day and this game was about the same. Both offence and defence struggled most of the game but we grinded out the win.

game 2: vs Trojans

Ranked 3rd coming in and posessing maybe the best man to man defence in the country, the Trojans provided us with a difficult test. Last year we shut them out and apparently they still had a bad taste in their mouth. Their quarterback had excellent mobility to go along with a laser for an arm and we had some troubles defensively. Created our first turnover just before halftime with a goal line pick unfortunately their wasn't enough time left to drive the field and we were down by a couple at half. Second half was much the same, and after realizing the victory was probably out of reach we rested a few guys and "sluggerville" mopped up the rest...by marching the entire field and putting up 6 on their starting D, too little to late though.

game 3: vs Red Deer Dierdorf

This was the 2vs3 game and its hardly worthy of a breakdown as this team unfortunately was no where near elite caliber which they themselves openly admitted. Some highlights however where Damian Bialkowski having difficulties implementing his defence because our National MVP Jon Franklin decided he would play D and merely blitz every play. Solid decision if you ask me:)

game 4: vs Ottawa Capitals

Mostly described by the living legend Mr. Moors above this one was a battle. We opened the game with a kick return touchdown that went Panchuk-Cox-Noble-endzone. The rest was back and forth until late in the game when the Avengers trademark "bend but don't break D" came up huge, creating a couple turnover on downs. This was Mike Brownridge's breakout game where he quite simply announced that he wasn't going to let us lose this or any other game for that matter. He left defender after defender in his wake capping it with a goal line in to put us down 1, and then the infamous out-in-out for the point point convert and the lead.

game 5: vs The Spartans

This was a team we've watched for 4 years take home the national title, but we always did so with a scowl. Knowing that if we had our opportunity against them, they wouldn't know what to do with our zone defences... well we got that chance :) With a quaterback/center combination that rivals anyone in Canada we quickly kept that in check and it was downhill from there for them. So much so that they went to a backfield system they proved to be just a useless. Mr. Brownridge had maybe the nicest/cleanest one handed interception if ever seen and imposed his will/shoulder in the second half as a friendly reminder that no team was going to walk on our D. Offence chugged along unfortunately we found ourself getting stopped multiple times inside the 20. This game could have been over at half had we finnished our drives. The second half was a changing of the guard in a sense. With the multi national winning quarterback crumbling on one side of the ball, Jon Franklin showed everyone why he deserved to be in the conversation for best quarterback in the country. Pin point throws and perfect reads were the theme as he showed he couldn't be stopped capping the victory with a Marshall Cox, In-out and up 50 yard touchdown to which Mike Brownridge was yelling mid play "don't go in kill the time!!...wait GO IN GO IN!!!" and with that the Spartans had their first TOC loss on 4 years and we were on to the final.

game 6: vs Megalomania

Truthfully not much needed here. The D was stout the entire game with Mikey and Gavin keeping the middle locked down, Justin Noble making former CFLer Matt Dominguez look like a puppy dog, and Marshall and Kanwal keeping their deep threats in check on the corners all game. Offensively, this might go down as the single best performance by a quarterback in TOC history in my opinion. Scoring on every possession and eating up MASSIVE chunks of the clock Jon lead us down the field simply by imposing the hook-out system , and when needed hitting anyone he so chosed down the middle or up the side line. On this day he was simply the best. ANd with that we were National Champs!

Damian Bialkowski: Proud member and sluggerville, and the teams social media expert he kept the world up to date with our progress all tournament long. Running all kick offs though the guy made a few huge potential touchdown saving tags and when given the opportunity on offence showed that when he wants to he can compete with the best the country has to offer.

Scott McArthur: Self proclaimed president of Sluggerville, lead our special teams all weekend without surrendering a single kick off return touchdown (Avenger first). He changed the game against the Capitals by taking a 15 yard flag to end the first half but it provided the fire and spark we desperately needed at that point.

Greg Robinson: This guy deserves a standing ovation. The only rusher to come out with us this year, he played every down and did an amazing job. Coming up with huge sack after huge sack he was everything we needed. To put it into perspective most other teams would be rotating rushers every 10 plays or so. Avengers go with a system that rotates rushers every 1000 or so :)

Marshall Cox: Maybe the fastest up and coming player in Manitoba, he was our iron man. Playing both sides of the ball and running all special teams, the guy never left the field, rumor has it he lost 8 pounds in the final because e never let him drink water! He was sound defensively, and showed his talent offensively as our consistent deep threat.

Owen Nagy: "Big Toe" as he's known at TOC had his most consistent performance ever. Continuosly pounding kickoffs to the endzone he forced teams to scrimmage inside their 30 all tournament long. For those of you who know the guy wrap your head around this one...he never kicked one out of bounds!!!

Justin Noble: A "newbee" to our defence but maybe our best man-to-man defender, he proved his worth over and over again. Continually kept top receivers in check while scoring the only special teams touchdown, you'd never know he hadn't been to the "show" before

Darryl and Garret Janzen: These guys get grouped together only because they made up the terrifying duo of Megatron (Garret) and Robotron (Darryl). Although not having much experience with the Avenger offense or Jon, these two stepped in perfectly. Darryl keeping teams at bay by destroying them with the out, and Garrett showing off his stature over the middle, these two made the two strongest wide-out threats for the Avengers to date.

Kanwal Saran: The old bear who is known in Winnipeg for not being able to cover a post if his life depended on it, showed yet again that that's simply a possum act. Can't remember one play where he was outwardly beat all tournament. He completely nullified teams sideline streaks, and brought his trademark physical style all weekend long which set the tone for every game.

Andrew Westwood: Another guy that deserves a standing ovation. Basically was the plug in the dam all weekend and never let a drop of water out. He came in at center cold of the bench continually all weekend and never once missed a beat, and the same went on defence. I personally owe this guy a 2-4, for the way he handled himself and performed. He was the embodiment of a team player.

Gavin Panchuk: Reminded everyone who the best swing receiver in touch football is. Combined with Franklin's reading abbilities the two could not be stopped. Not sure if he was ever given a pattern he just knew where to be. Made catch after catch in the middle of the field by going up strong and accepting the contact to come. With a late tournament switch to the interior of the D, gavin was finally "home" and refused to let teams throw to the middle.

Mike Brownridge: Where to start... Mike finally provided the performance we as Avengers have known he was capable of. In previous years it seemed as him and Jon were always one step off offensively, this year not so much. The guy was a BEAST. Not only could he not be stopped offensively, no single defender came even close to covering him. Short pattern, deep pattern it didn't matter, they didn't have a hope in hell. Defensively he was the physical and verbal leader. Calling the D, and single handidly taking over when he needed. Undisputed best touch football player in Canada period.

Jon Franklin: Mister football himself. The Avenger leader. The National Champ. Knocked in the past for his arm, simplistic base offense, and inability to win the big game, the guy shoved a size 12 down everyone's throat who doubted him. He may have changed the touch football landscape forever, by proving that not only do you not need a big arm to compete at the top level but you can be the best quarterback in the country without it. There wasn't a single defense in the country that could stop or even contain him. He did what he wanted all tournament long. Jon has embodied what touch football is about for years and years, and is one half of the reason we all get such a wonderful place to play the game. When you see him thank him, congratulate him, and realize you just shook hands with a living legend.

Well that's about it. I just wanted to thank all my teammates for an amazing year, one that I'll never forget. To anybody that myself or any of the above names have ever played against in the PIT. You guys are the ones who made us better and gave us this opportunity. PIT football...home of the champs

Harlo

3721 Posts

Wow, I guess I am scraping my recap, as I could not have said it better. Harlo did leave out a synopsis of his play at the tournament:

Harlo Larkin: With a displaced disk in his back, Harlo couldn't tie his shoes before games or get out of a chair without help, but when the whistle sounded he was the most dominate center at TOC (and if you know TOC, the best player is usually the centre so that is saying something!) Check out some of the pictures that will be up on the site over the next while and you wouldn't know this guy couldn't feel his legs, but yet somehow couldn't be covered the entire tournament. While Harlo couldn't play all the snaps he wanted, he made the most of his opportunities with big TD after big 3rd down catch. Perhaps the most courageous play I have seen from someone who is/was so seriously injured. Take off indoor, get healthy, and lets do this thing again one year from now buddy.

Jon

25 Posts

I am truly inspired by what Harlo, Jon and everyone had to say. I must say I am proud to be a part of the league of champions. Hopefully sometime down the road I get a chance to prove myself and get to (down the road) maybe play for the Avengers. Its now a goal I have. Thank you gentleman for the inspiration.

- JJ Mikolash

PS and of course congrats but I can not say I expected any less after watching you for so long

3721 Posts

With the start up of indoor, I haven't had the time to spend putting up the promised TOC pics. I will work at it periodically over the next while and get them up whenever I have a chance.

Here is the link to the Game #1 pics versus the #10 ranked Regina Straingers. http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/430-avengers-vs-regina-straingers-toc-game-1

Game #1 of the tournament was a grind and we weren't happy with our performance but we did manage an 8 point victory in a game that probably wasn't as close as the score indicated. I think Saturday morning some of us (read me) were still feeling the effects of the crown royal purchased at the Roadhouse in Calgary during the Avengers annual pre-TOC alcohol pilgrimage. Sigh...it tastes so good.

3721 Posts

The link to the second game pics of TOC have now been posted here: http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/432-avengers-versus-toronto-trojans-toc-game-2

The Avengers faced the #3 ranked Toronto Trojans, which may have the best man-to-man cover team in Canada. Check out the photos, every picture of our wide outs has a defensive back stuck to them. The Avengers took the loss in this game which pushed us to second in our pool and forced a play-in game to remain in the hunt for the National title. A testament to the resiliency and the adaptability of our offense and defense. We saw the smash mouth style of play employed against us for the first time this year, took our lumps, but learned from the experience. We would be ready if another team at TOC would employ the same style of football.

31 Posts

The qb from the trojans was a freak!!!! Had some serious wheels and had a lazer mounted on his shoulder.
I thought for sure trojans would get by meglo in the semis. Thats why we play the game. The whole trojan
team had tons of speed!! Just to reiterate ...teams need to go TOC..great football and lots of fun!!!
Great pics...well done Avengers!!

Joey
Woodys

19 Posts

Joey... get your facts straight... this is our second TOC visit... Remember when the nationals came to Winnipeg way back when. We lost in the final on the last play of the game. I have the trophy to prove it to!

Anyways yes TOC is a blast. All teams should consider going every year. Get to measure up to the rest of the country!

Neal
Woodys #12

3721 Posts

The link to the third game of the Avengers run at the National Championships has now been posted here: http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/435-avengers-vs-red-deer-dierdorf-toc-game-3

Game #3 saw the Avengers play the Red Deer Dierdorf in the "play in" game to avoid relegation to the A side (division 2). Red Deer was a little over their heads in this tournament having lost both of their divisional games and unfortunately for them things were not going to change in this one. While the offense and defense for the Avengers had their troubles through the first two games, it was time for a breakout. The breakout started early and often as the offense took the ball and immediately scored, then on the ensuring Deirdorf possession Andrew Westwood took their first pass back for a pick six.

The score was 28-0 for the Avengers after just one quarter, after which we rested starters and had Sluggerville mop up the last three quarters...and mop up they did. We probably hit 60 points in this one as Scott wasn't stopped as Avengers QB and guys like D and Owen ran roughshod. It was great to get the starters some rest because later that afternoon we would play the quarterfinals against the #4 ranked Ottawa Capitals. It would be our 3rd game of the day to their 2nd and we faced the 8-time National Champion QB Rod Moors.

3721 Posts

The link to the quarterfinals game of the Avengers run to the National Championship has now been posted here: http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/436-avengers-vs-ottawa-capitals-toc-game-4-quarterfinals

The Quarterfinals game pitted the #5 ranked Winnipeg Avengers versus the #4 ranked Ottawa Capitals. The Ottawa Capitals are quarterbacked by the winningest player in the history of touch football Rod Moors. Rod has won an astounding 8 national championships with two different teams (the Capitals are actually his third team he is trying to bring to national supremacy). Rod's accuracy and football acumen were on display early as our defense could not stop the Capitals assault. We were down by 15 at half-time and Scott had just challenged Mike to a fight in the parking lot. Not good.

The third quarter saw the teams exchange long touchdown drives, and at the start of the fourth we had a TD catch by Darryl "Robotron" Janzen incorrectly ruled out. Still down by 15, the Capitals get the ball and drive down to our 20 but our defense makes a stand. We take over with 8-minutes left and get a quick score with Andrew Westwood making an acrobatic 2-point convert to bring us within 7. After the kickoff, Mr. Moors begins a clock killing drive from his own end down to our 1-yard line, but our defense makes a huge goal line stand, keeping the high scoring Capitals out three consecutive plays!

Set the scene: 3 minutes left, 109 yards to go, 7 points down. John Elway and "The Drive" had nothing on this one. Mike Brownridge and Garrett Janzen took turns abusing defenders down the field, punctuated by some highlight reel catches that can be seen in the photos. Then with only seconds left Mike catches the TD on one of the crispest 10-yard ins in memory. Still down by 1 point, we go for 2 and the win. Everyone on both sides of the ball knows who the pass is going to. The offense clears out and lets Mike do his thing. With a defender left crumpled in his wake, Mike catches the 2-pointer for victory! Mike makes it clear he is the best player in Canada and the Avengers offense breaks out of its funk and is ready to unleash its pent-up frustrations on the #1 ranked Burlington Spartans in the semis.

3721 Posts

The link to the semi-finals game of the Avengers run to the National Championship has been posted here: http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/440-avengers-vs-burlington-spartans-toc-game-5-semi-finals

The semi-finals had the Avengers facing off against the Burlington Spartans. The Spartans were the #1 ranked team in the nation and the 4-time defending national champions, having not lost a game at Tournament of Champions in 5 years, ironically when the tournament was held in Winnipeg. Needless to say the pundits had the Avengers as heavy underdogs.

The Avengers had played the Spartans a couple of years ago and lost that match-up by two scores, however we were stopped in the red zone multiple times and felt we let a shot at knocking off the juggernaut Spartans team slip away from us. This game began much the same way as early on the offense drove into the red zone and could not punch it in. Lucky for the offense the defense was putting on a clinic befuddling the top-ranked offense in the nation. The above link paints an interesting picture of the game as the Avengers came out as the aggressors. Physicality is a part of Nationals that isn't seen here in Manitoba, so much so that many pass interference or rough plays that would clearly be called in the PIT are often turned a blind eye to at Nationals. Defenders Kanwal, Harlo, and Mikey set the tone by knocking receivers off their patterns and physically separating them from the ball. The TSN turning point occurred after Mikey made a sick one-handed interception (great job catching a picture of that Mae!). At that point the Spartans vaulted offense started to come unglued with the team resorting to backfield and our defense began racking up sacks and turnovers.

By this time the offense was rolling and we started to pour in long touchdown drive after long touchdown drive. While the score was close (Avengers win by nine) the scorecard didn't tell the story of the changing of the guard on the field. The Avengers, who were the youngest team in the tournament, were poised to knock off the team that everyone was gunning for in one of the biggest upsets in TOC history. The game was sealed when rookie Avenger, and Elite division scoring record holder, Marshall Cox took a 50 yard in-out-and up pass (wrap your head around that pattern for a moment) for a touchdown with a couple of minutes remaining. The ball was downed soon after and the first all Western Final in TOC history was set with the Winnipeg Avengers facing off against the Regina Megalomania for national bragging rights.

3721 Posts

The link to the pictures of the championship game of the Avengers run to the National Championship has now been posted here: http://www.pitfootball.com/albums/446-avengers-vs-reginal-megalomania-toc-game-6-championship-game

The fall season got quite busy and I didn't have time to post the pictures of the Tournament of Champions final game, so here they are! The Avengers faced off against the Regina Megalomania, the first time that an all Western Final had ever occurred in the over 40 year history of the national championships. To add some additional drama, no team from Manitoba or Saskatchewan had ever won the national tournament so history would be made on this day. Furthermore, the Avengers and Megalomania are very familiar adversaries as we play each other once or twice each year during the Labour Day Classic Tournament. In 2010 Megalomania knocked off the Avengers in the final of that tournament, whereas in 2011 the Avengers got revenge by taking home the Labour Day trophy. The rubber match would be settled on a National scale.

Megalomania started with the ball and systematically drove the ball down to the Avengers 2 yard line but Mike Brownridge continued his MVP run by picking off the ball in the end zone. From there the nerves were settled and the defense contested every pass for the duration of the game, stifling one of the best offenses in Canada. After the turnover the Avengers scrimmaged from their 10 yard line and drove the length of the field on a drive that almost exclusively featured the Franklin to Brownridge combination with Mikey scoring the first touchdown of the game. From that point on Megalomania rotated new defenders on Mikey with little success. With all of their attention drawn in Mikey's direction the field opened up and the Avengers went on a scoring spree punctuating every drive of the game with a touchdown. Gavin Panchuk ran roughshod down the centre of the field, the Harlo/Westwood combination could not contained, and team rookies Marshall Cox, Darryl Janzen, and Garrett Janzen displayed a maturity on the field well ahead of their years continually making clutch catches. On the defense, Justin Noble, another Avenger rookie, locked down ex-CFLer Matt Dominguez all game demonstrating that he might be the best man coverage player in Canada. Veteran Kanwal Saran kept up his physical play, and Greg Robinson did the miraculous, rushing every down of every game that counted, an amazing stat considering that all TOC teams carry multiple rushers on the roster. The offense rolled, the defense was stout, and the special teams unit (led by the sluggerville slugs Owen Nagy, Scott McArthur, and Damian "D" Bialkowski) was the best in TOC. When you combine that together the Avengers became the first team in Manitoba history to take home the national crown.

Once again a big thanks to Mae Robinson for her great pictures of our run to the National Championships. Over the next week or so I will get up some footage of the championship game.