The first day of the 2012 Winter Tournament is in the books and the day went about as expected.
The four #1 seeds all went 3-0 and two #2 seeds earned Sunday A Bracket invitations. All of the #4 seeds went 0-3 and will have a chance to take it out on each other on Sunday in the C division. There were a few unexpected point spreads but as Denny Green once said “they are who were thought they are”. This means that the Sunday tournaments should be very competitive.
Here are some random thoughts from day 1 of the tournament.
Best Games of the Day:
Houston Storm vs. Houston Smoking Aces- Smoking Aces tied the game up on play four in the second half. Storm advanced the ball 20 yards on play 5, 20 yards on play 6 and then 20 yards on play 7 for the win.
Fort Worth Rams vs. Tuna Can Jones- Nobody can engineer game winning drives like Lynn Clark. Win or lose, Tuna Can plays every game close. Could be an interesting re-match if TCJ can get past Storm in the first round on Sunday.
Biggest Surprises:
Bryan Jokers 21 vs. Bayou City Cowboys 0- It’s not the fact that the Jokers won, it’s the fact that the Cowboys didn’t get into the endzone. A first round rematch on Sunday will be a better game.
Fort Worth Texans 38 vs. Houston Team Pub Fiction 13- What has been historically a good matchup was a very one sided affair. The Texans scored every time they had the ball and Pub struggled to move the chains.
Sinton Punishers getting the last seed in the C division. Sinton jumped into the state rankings in 2011 and it wouldn’t have been a shock to see them in the B division. They’ll have a chance for redemption on Sunday but they have a long road to the C division championship.
Best Player of the day?
I was told Gator’s Joe Vaughn may not have had 5 incompletions all day. The Gators put up big points on the way to the Sunday #1 seed.
A Division Championship Prediction
Houston Gators over Fort Worth Rams- It’s hard to pick against the defending state champions but the Gators looked dialed in today.
B Division Championship Prediction
361 Bullies over Bryan Jokers- Jokers’ fortunes improved when they’re quarterback arrived, beating the Bayou City Cowboys 21-0. A rematch in the first round should be fun to watch.
C Division Championship Prediction
Houston Usual Suspects over Austin O’s- Usual Suspects has an experience advantage over any of the other C division teams. They’ve been in this position before and they have to be considered the heavy favorite to win tomorrow
