Bellomy Night Lights
Photo personnel: Isa Montes Source: Amy Suh
On a warm, early October evening, intramural stars emerged from the depths of campus for their flag football matchups. Already midway through week four, the season is in full swing and Bellomy Field is teeming with action once again.
With 40 teams comprised of 7-15 players participating in the sport this fall, flag football is Santa Clara’s most popular intramural. Participants range from members of Santa Clara’s Division I athletic teams to regular undergraduate students, with plenty of ex-high school football players thrown into the mix.
The league is split into two divisions–division one, competitive, and division two, recreational. Sign-ups were available for men’s and women’s leagues, but the latter did not receive enough interest to form a league.
Teams play in a traditional 7-on-7 format on an 80 yard long field for two 20 minute halves. Each game has two referees, who can be easily spotted in their black-and-white striped shirts and the occasional yellow flag they throw down on the field. It is certainly not an easy job to be a referee for any sport, but Santa Clara’s flag football league is particularly difficult.
“For the most part, there are a lot of good reactions to calls, because the players understand that the refs are trying their best,” said senior referee Damon Karp.
While he noted that he is not perfect, Karp said that he always calls an impartial game and loves to see how passionate the teams are during the game. “Flag football is great for campus,” he said. “Especially for the school community feel.” When you consider that Santa Clara no longer offers football in a Division I capacity, the environment becomes a nice change of pace for those who yearn for a chance to go out on the gridiron.
Occasionally there are blowout games–often because teams are missing players–but almost all games are very close in score. But not all of the games are pretty. Due to the competitive spirit of everyone on the field, there are times when an illegal shove or shoulder bump occurs. To add to the hyper-competitive atmosphere, there is often (mostly) friendly banter between teams. One player was overheard saying (jokingly, at least one can hope), “If I catch you in Benson, it’s wraps!”
This is all part of the fun of sports. Much of the game consists of what happens in between plays or on the sideline – it’s not all about the one handed catch or sweet juke move. Flag football is appealing because it is a team sport – everyone who plays is doing so with their friends, bonding over the game and creating new memories. It evokes a sense of community, bringing football back as a focus on a campus where it fell by the wayside in the past, watching students suit up and put it all on the line to assert dominance with the pigskin.
Standings:
D1:
1. Big Stinkies 2-0
2. SCU Select 2-0
3. Golden State Ghouls 2-0
4. Moldow’s Minions 2-0
5. Lizards and Winners 2-0
6. Cincinnati Rats 1-1
7. Warriors 1-1
8. DBU 1-1
9. Billionaire Broncos Club 1-1
10. Pocket Rockets 1-1
11. Unfair Prejudice 0-1
12. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 0-1
13. Gridiron Gang 0-2
14. Primetime 0-2
15. Joe FlacGOAT 0-2
16. MountKiscoBlizzard 0-2
D2:
1. The Meat 2-0
2. Bosa’s Worst Nightmare 2-0
3. Tina Turner 2-0
4. The Practice Squad 2-0
5. Yacht Club 2-0
6. Out of the Loop 2-0
7. Y2K 2-0
8. Don’t Touchdown There 1-2
9. Happy Happy Football Time 1-1
10. The Skudgunkers 1-1
11. Dean’s Machines 1-1
12. Bellomy Bums 1-1
13. WRU 1-1
14. Bronco Blitzers 1-1
15. Casa Migos 1-1
16. OTPHJ’s 1-1
17. Official SCU Football Team 1-1
18. Chop City 1-1
19. TKE and the Boys 0-3
20. CeedDeez Nuts 0-2
21. Munch Bunch 0-2
22. Triple Crossers 0-2
23. Long Arm of the Law 0-2
24. Bronco Brawlers 0-2