As senior Athina Bezianis sprinted into the end zone without a defender in arm’s reach, she scored what would become the winning touchdown of the game. Assistant referee Mike Brooks blew the whistle to confirm the touchdown as the seniors’ fan section sang a chorus of “MVP” chants. The play marked Bezianis’ third touchdown of the day and handed the seniors the title of GDS flag football champions.
On Friday, Sept. 25, the seniors beat the juniors 21–14 in the championship game of GDS’ annual flag football tournament. In accordance with tradition, non-male students played in the game while male students coached.
Jack Kepniss, one of the seniors’ coaches, said the seniors’ strategy was to take advantage of crowded passing lanes by quickly passing the ball to Bezianis in open space.
“Athina [Bezianis] would beat the juniors with her speed every time, so they stopped blitzing her,” Kepniss said. (In football, blitzing is a strategy where the defense rushes the quarterback to force them to make a quick decision under pressure.)
In the finals against the seniors, the juniors had to play without three starters from their first-round game against the freshmen: Naomi Berger and Lillie Cohen were injured, and Farrah Maragh was away on a volleyball trip to Florida.
According to junior and coach Cameron Toufanian, much of the juniors’ offense revolved around Maragh. “A lot of runs to Farrah, a lot of throws to Farrah, getting the ball to Farrah,” Toufanian said. “Farrah—that was our team. And she’s gone.”
Even without those starters, the juniors played with speed in their matchup against the seniors.
“Most of the time, [the seniors] thought we were going to go long,” quarterback and junior Elayna Lewis said. Instead, Lewis and some of her teammates, Lindsay Fuzesi and Zoe Wolin, ran with the ball.
In the first-round matches, the seniors beat the sophomores 21–14, and the juniors won 35–0 against the freshmen. Sophomore coach Rehan Grewal said he felt confident going into the third-place game against the freshmen.
That confidence was not unfounded: The sophomores beat the freshmen 48–0.
Throughout the game, the freshmen struggled to execute plays. “The game was going well at first, but then [the sophomores] started to figure out our plan,” freshman coach Henry Isserman said. “We were trying to get down [the field], but no one was open.” (Isserman is a reporter for the Bit.)
“It [flag football] gets spirits going before the end of the weekend and Sports Saturday,” Brooks said. “It’s a lot of fun, getting to see the whole community trying new things and supporting each other.”