Security forces team wins back-to-back championships

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony J. Hyatt
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The 39th Maintenance Squadron's defense was absent and the 39th Security Forces Squadron's offense took advantage of it, to help earn the cops their second base championship in as many years.

Security Forces Squadron beat the Maintenance Squadron 34 to 6 at the Incirlik 2010 Intramural Flag Football Championship game Dec. 13.

MXS, who finished the regular season with a record of seven wins and two losses, came into the game seeded number two, while SFS came into the game seeded number one with an undefeated record.

After winning the coin toss in the beginning of the game, MXS chose to defer to the second half, giving SFS the ball first.

The cops came out firing.

Although MXS forced SFS to a fourth and short, the cops decided to go for it. And on their fourth play from scrimmage, SFS looked for the first down but instead passed the ball deep to a wide-open receiver, who easily caught the ball and scored. SFS then converted on the two-point conversion to take the first lead 8-0.

The maintenance team's first drive didn't fare too well. On their third play on offense, the MXS quarterback threw an interception inside their own 20-yard line.

With little field to travel, SFS was able to punch in another touchdown by a short pass to their center. They again went for the two point conversion but failed making the score 14-0.

MXS found themselves playing against two opponents this night; SFS and the unfavorable weather conditions. On their second drive, SFS was able to force them to punt, allowing SFS offense back on the field.

Wasting no time, the SFS quarterback, Matthew Rowe, spotted single coverage on the right side and threw up a deep pass on the first play. The SFS wide-receiver battled for the ball and scored a touchdown with ease. Another two-point conversion fail made the score 20-0, with SFS still holding the lead.

MXS tried to put some points up before the end of the half by marching deep into SFS territory. SFS had other plans, though, and intercepted an MXS pass to end the first half.

"Our defense was outstanding, which gave our offense the chance to do what they do and that's put points on the board," said Airman 1st Class Daniel Coronado, an SFS linebacker.

In the second half, MXS began with the ball first.

Showing some life, MXS drove the ball down the field and scored on their opening drive, but failed on their two-point conversion making the score 20-6.

With a 20-6 cushion, SFS substituted some of their reserve players, but this didn't stop them from scoring. On their next series they drove down the field and scored on a run play to extend their lead to 26-6.

Unable to get any offensive production, the final two drives from MXS resulted in turnover on downs.

SFS added another touchdown at the end of the game and, in the end, added another championship title to the Security Forces Squadron.

"It was a pleasure to have been afforded the opportunity to showcase some of the talent our squadron [Security Forces] has," said Master Sgt. Gary Snyder, the SFS coach. "We set a goal to kick butt and take names later and we accomplished that."

Col. Anthony Butts, the 39th Air Base Wing vice commander, was in attendance and congratulated each team with a plaque.

"Maintenance has played their butts off all season long, but we lost to the best team out there," said Tech. Sgt. Chad Knoblauch, the 39th MXS coach.