Melissa Martinez

News Editor

CSUSM’s undefeated flag football intramural team, the Suspenders defeated six West Coast teams at the Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 9, held at Arizona State University. This marks the first ever trip by a CSUSM team to the National Campus Championship Series at the University of Central Florida on Jan. 4 – 6. The Cougar Chronicle interviewed team captain AJ Kirkpatrick on this glorious win.

Question: What were the games like leading up to the playoffs?

Answer: We started off with two pool play games against smaller schools: CSU Northridge and Fort Lewis College (Colorado). We figured those were good schools to start off against, seeing as we had no previous experience and had no idea what to expect. We ended up beating CSU Northridge pretty easily, and then same against FLC. Once we realized we had the best point spread and the number 1 seed in the whole tournament, we knew we had something good going. That moment was when we turned our mindset up a level and never looked back from there.

Q: How did your team practice throughout the season?

A: We had two “get-togethers” with a couple players at a time, before the season, but nothing even close to a real practice, and once the season started we still didn’t have a full practice. We were all just on the same page from the beginning and we all knew our role on the team. Everyone just executed every play and it just happened to mesh perfectly.

Q: What was your experience like in Arizona?

A: It was surprisingly not very hot, the temperature was about 65-70 degrees with a cold wind the whole time. It was really cool to hang out in a different state and with different people. Talking to locals and other travelers about their experiences who had no clue who we were or where we were from was interesting. We loved the area and had a blast all weekend.

Q: Can you give me a few highlights of the games?

A: There are so many highlights but there are a few that stand out. In our first game, Marc Berry had 4 interceptions and basically set the tone for the whole tournament. There were multiple great plays from one-handed catches to diving flag pulls on a fourth down goal line stops. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, our quarterback, Josh Leiber, ended up being the Tournament MVP with 34 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Q: What does this mean for your team in Florida? Who are you playing?

A: Our team is going to travel to Florida and play against the champions from all 6 of the regional tournaments. Those will most likely be the toughest competition as other local teams will be able to buy their way into the tournament. There will be good teams, bad teams and great teams, and we see ourselves as a great team.

Q: Is your team nervous? Are you nervous?

A: I don’t think we are so much nervous as we are anxious. There is always “butterflies” before a big game or tournament, but all we can do is go out there and play football like we know how. We don’t care who they are or where they are from. We will go out, play our game on every down and hope that is enough when the final whistle blows. After seeing what we are capable of in the regional tournament, there is no limit to what we can or can’t do. We will train and practice and I guarantee we will be ready to compete with the best and put CSUSM on the map. Only time will tell. Keep an eye out for us.