As predicted, Delta Upsilon (DU) and the Great Colgate Ballers emerged victorious in the Division I and Division II Intramural Football Playoffs, respectively, held two weeks ago.

Until the championship game, there were few, if any, surprises in the Division I bracket. As expected, top-seeded and undefeated Phi Kappa Tau (Phi Tau) ran over its competition in the first two rounds, defeating the ANL Pound R’s, 35-12, in the first round and the Donkey Ranch, 35-0, in the semifinals.

In the bottom half of the Division I bracket, DU won a shootout over Phi Delta Theta (Phi Delt) by a 49-35 margin in the first round, while the semifinals saw the third-seeded DU team play a near-perfect game against second-seeded Beta Theta Pi (Beta), who had no chance in the 28-7 blowout.

In the finals, DU controlled the pace from the outset. While Phi Tau’s defensive line registered four first-half sacks, including three solo sacks by junior Ryan “Harbo” Harbison, it was DU’s two first-half interceptions that stifled Phi Tau early.

Not much changed in the second half. Although a strong Phi Tau sideline contingent tried to establish itself as the “ninth man,” nothing could faze the DU offensive punch of senior quarterback Brian Riley and senior receivers Bryan Cecala and Bill Gaughan. A strong second half effort helped DU secure the Division I title by a 31-13 margin.

In Division II, the Great Colgate Ballers used their experience and athleticism to overwhelm the competition.

The Ballers, the second seed in the tournament, had an easy go of it in the first two rounds, beating Curtis 2L via forfeit and 151 High Octane in the semifinals, 55-21.

The top half of the bracket didn’t see any surprises, either. The top-seeded Pig Slammers defeated the Stifflers, 35-27, a valiant 1149 team, 27-21.

Similar to the Division-I Championship, the more consistent and ball-protective team emerged victorious in the Division II finale.

The Ballers’s stingy defense, highlighted by an 80-yard interception, returned for a touchdown in the first half and allowed the team to capitalize on Pig Slammer mistakes. Although the Pig Slammers kept the game close, the gap was too wide for the “Hog Haters.” The Ballers pulled out a 31-21 victory to secure its second Intramural Championship.

Soccer

The first week of intramural soccer action has seen few surprises. The experienced teams with superior skills have held off the competition thus far.

Phi Tau is the epitome of this sentiment. The fraternity has emerged in first place in League A after the first week, with a 2-0 record. Last Friday, Phi Tau started its season with a 2-1 victory over a stingy Theta Chi squad, followed by a physical 3-0 win over Cobra Chi on Tuesday.

Despite losses to Phi Tau, Cobra Chi and Theta Chi are knotted in a three-way tie for second place in League A with Beta at 1-1.Beta earned its victory with a 12-0, thrashing DU last Friday; while Theta Chi beat DU 4-0 earlier this week and Cobra Chi defeated Beta via forfeit.

The two most experienced teams in League B, the Diabeatings and Phi Delt, ended the week with undefeated records as well.

The Diabeatings have been able to use solid goalkeeping and an explosive counterattack to take first place in the League B standings at 2-0 after victories over the ANL Pound R’s and Team Red Dog by respective margins of 4-2 and 3-0.

Phi Delt stood at 1-0 before its meeting with the Diabeatings after a 4-0 romp of Team Red Dog on Sunday, thanks to the leadership of senior Pat O’Brien.

The bottom half of League B is rounded out by the ANL Pound R’s, who stand at 1-1 after a 6-1 defeat of Team Red Dog, which finished the regular season winless.

Perhaps the most dominant intramural soccer team has emerged from League C. Senior Tony Appiah’s Galacticos squad made quick work of its first two opponents, defeating Hugs Not Drugs, 11-0, and Team Rad, 8-0, to take first place in the league at 2-0.

The Yo Mets joined the Galacticos in the undefeated ranks of League C as of Wednesday, albeit in a much different manner.Senior Matt Oja’s ragamuffin squad earned a forfeit victory over Team Rad on Sunday to obtain its first victory of the season.

The Donkey Ranch, a late entry in the league, also sits at 1-0 after a nail-biting 4-3 victory over Team Rad on Tuesday.

League C’s bottom half is a mishmash of many different types of teams.The first-year-laden Hugs Not Drugs sit in fourth place at 1-1 after a forfeit victory over the faculty team, Hamilton Academicals FC.The Academicals have yet to play a game as of Wednesday and stand at 0-1 in the standings, while Team Rad finds itself at 0-3.

The regular season will draw to a close next week, but with all the playoff seeds and first-place positions still up in the air, every goal will count in the last few regular season soccer games on Whitnall Field.