Parada's Red Team Takes First Mid-Atlantic Fantasy Tournament

by Steve Minnich | July 18, 2013

The “Mid-Atlantic Presents: End of Season Fantasy Tournament!” Saturday June 29 with Parada's Red Team, the “Crimson Chins,” taking the title of champion, pulling through after a poor show in pool play landed them in the bottom seed of the bracket but emerging victorious in a 70*-40 finals match over Beliveau's Green Team, “Slime Time.” The busy day saw games that matched all five teams against each other, and mixed in training time for both snitch runners and referees in preparation for the new season's certification process.

Photo by Deanna Edmunds. 

Tournament Results

Pool Play

Franchino's All Blacks: 3-1, +170 point differential

Rothert's Blue Boggarts: 2-2, +30

Beliveau's Slime Time: 2-2, +10

Parada's Crimson Chins: 2-2, -20

Amodol's Pink Lightning: 1-3, -190

Semi-Finals

4. Crimson Chins def. 1. All Blacks 130*-30

3. Slime Time def. Blue Boggarts 80^-50*

Finals

4. Crimson Chins def. 3. Slime Time 70*-40

The close point differentials separating the second through fourth seeds indicate a regional strategy that I suggested in my preview article might rule the day: a premium was put on keeping games close and relying on strong seeker play to win. Besides a 190*-30 blowout of the All Blacks over Pink Lightning to start the day, every game in pool play came down to a snitch catch. In fact, there were only two games in the whole tournament that weren't decided by snitch catch: this early 190*-30 match, and a 130*-30 semi-final matchup that saw the Crimson Chins defeat the All Blacks. The Crimson Chins, even though they ended the day as champions, had to rely on a clutch snitch catch to secure their spot in the brackets; the last round of pool play matched a 1-2 Crimson Chins against a 1-2 Pink Lightning, and both teams saw key players overcome by the heat of the day as Parada of the Crimson Chins and Steve Minnich of the Pink Lightning were sidelined by leg cramps in consecutive plays. It was Nick Chan's snitch catch over Ren Young that overcame a 10 point quaffle deficit and gave the Crimson Chins the 4th seed in a 70*-50 victory, setting the table for the great run to come from Parada's Red Team in bracket play.

Amodol's Pink Team, the Pink Lightning

A lack of beating strategy led Pink Lightning's quaffle players to focus on defense, causing scoring deficiencies on the other end.  It also frustrated the seeking game, but a quick snatch made just as the snitch was returning to the pitch left them as the lone team missing bracket play with a 1-3 record.

There were few surprises to be had on Pink Lightning, or “team Honey Badgers and friends” as was coined during the draft. While Minnich's defensive focus at chaser helped keep the team within snitch range for much of the tournament, Pink Lightning definitely could have used more of his offensive creativity, which seemed to be sacrificed as he was focusing on cleaning up the back end. Jason Rosenberg certainly showed himself as a capable finisher, but it was his defensive play that impressed. It seems he's been working this off-season on his tackling and physicality at the point of attack; where I've seen him play solid point defense before, his presence was greatly improved as he was a more imposing and intimidating defender in this tournament. These two players played about to expectation, overall – it was Young who had a lot to prove of this team's big three. His seeking talent was highly touted in the draft, and his ability to hybrid as a chaser is a valuable commodity, but his skills were unproven coming into the tournament. Throughout the day, he proved himself a creative chaser with the ability to drive but with limited field awareness, as all of his creativity was geared towards creating his own chances while his passes were often misinformed or went awry. More experience at the position could bring him to be a valuable offensive chaser. At seeker, Young did not play as well as Amodol was hoping when he drafted him. As Pink Lightning's primary seeker, he went 1-3 on snitch catches on the day, and 1-2 on deciding catches. Pink Lightning's struggles in the bludger game definitely came into play here, and it will be interesting to see how Young is able to handle beater play around the snitch as he gets more experience – he greatly struggled once the snitch had been established on the pitch and the opposing team's beaters could key on him. His decisive catch against Slime Time came as the snitch was running back to the pitch – he hunted down the snitch and outmaneuvered it to make the catch about a pitch's length before the snitch reached the boundaries. He also almost came away with a decisive catch against the Crimson Chins to flip the eventual 4th and 5th seeds, but his catch by the hoops right as the snitch returned was ruled illegal due to a downed snitch. It was a bang-bang call, and one that haunted him when the Crimson Chin's Chan was able to swipe the snitch right before the runner touched down on a similar play about a minute later. The fact that both of these plays – the decisive catch and the close call – occurred when beaters were still out of the play speaks to Pink Lightning's ultimate beater deficiency throughout the tournament.  The team suffered a blowout loss to the All Blacks as they tried to gel the non-Philadelphia players with the Honey Badgers, and it was evident that the chasers ramped up the quaffle defense after that loss. One bright spot in the beater play was Foley Akinyemi, who proved to be more than a speedy starting-rush specialist as he looked more confident than ever in his decision-making and also did a decent job in bludger-recovery, often using his speed and unassuming stature to sneak around opposing beaters. The quaffle play was helped by the late arrival of Dan Cull, who dealt with some car trouble before making it to Lebanon. His wing play was especially tactful offensively, and I wonder if his presence would have led to a few more opportunities around the hoops in Pink Lightning's matchup against the Blue Boggarts. Another player that could be found around the offensive hoops was Julia Fillman, whose nagging defensive play was paired with brilliant offensive positioning. Ultimately, she had a frustrating day offensively as her teammates had trouble getting their passes to her when she hit the open areas around the hoops.

Beliveau's Green Team (formerly the White Team), Slime Time

Clutch seeking from Collin Leese-Thompson and a beater game that was greatly improved once Bryan Hall switched his focus to beating helped Slime Time to a 2-2 record and the 3rd seed with a +10 point differential.  An overtime victory to defeat the Blue Boggarts got them into the championship game, where they ultimately fell short.

With aggressive defensive keeping and smart distribution from Eric Wasser and Michael Malakoff, the physical presence of Walter Makarucha Jr at the point, and great off-ball defending from Casey Schmidt teamed with Andrew Garber's finishing around the hoops, this team boasted what was possibly the most well-rounded quaffle line-up. Michael Bolock was a great option coming in at either chaser or keeper, playing aggressive defense and providing another veteran with the ability to handle the quaffle in the half-pitch on offense. The team's overall outlook changed dramatically after the first game, when a positional shift boosted the beating corps and allowed an unsung hero to shine. After sending the game against the Blue Boggarts into overtime with a snitch catch, Bryan Hall recognized that his aggression was needed to bolster the beating and he played at beater the rest of the tournament. While his hyper-aggressive style led to a few penalties, his physical intimidation paired with Edderic Ugaddan's speed proved a surprisingly successful beater pair as they played forward well and both were able to hold a single bludger or be sent for recovery. That shift moved Melannie Williams to chaser, allowing Schmidt much-needed relief in the humid weather. Perhaps bigger than both of those moves, though, was that the shift brought Collin Leese-Thompson into the role of primary seeker both off-pitch and on. He shined in the role, making two game-winning catches in pool play and another in bracket play. He proved a monster in clutch situations, catching the snitch in both overtimes that Slime Time took part in. An interesting tidbit, Malakoff's impact as a quaffle-handler diminished as the day wore on. It seemed that his side-armed slinging distribution caught opposing players off-guard at first, but opponents figured out how to defend it as everyone became familiar with the throwing style of the South region keeper. Ultimately, Beliveau's Slime Time fell short in the final match against Parada's Crimson Chins. While they put on a good defensive effort, I wonder if Slime Time could have been stronger and possibly turned to fresher legs on the offensive end if Schmidt could have been spared for more rest after Williams sustained a leg injury in the semi-finals.

Franchino's Black Team, the All Blacks

The All Blacks started the day hot, winning the only game in pool play that finished out of snitch range and taking the 1st seed and a 3-1 record into bracket play.  However, a questionable position change and some key injuries left the All Blacks in uncomfortable positions and lacking depth, and they fell short in the semi-finals.

As I thought going in, Franchino got more than just a solid beater when she put up the galleons to purchase Amanda Dallas. Dallas proved a veteran leader on the team and helped bring them together to hit the ground running in an impressive 190*-30 drubbing of Pink Lightning to start the day. The eventual downfall of this team was the result of a couple positional changes paired with some unfortunate injuries. Brook Schulze showed promise in the first two games, but a neck injury suffered during the matchup against the Blue Boggarts caused him to miss the rest of the tournament. While he was playing, he showed a solid physical defense and an ability to drive on offense, which was, at least against Pink Lightning, enough to mask some questionable decision-making and a fiery attitude. Dallas and Jimmy Pritts looked to be the beater pair of the tournament at the start of the day, but Franchino decided that her stellar pair needed some rotational rest and slid Jonyull Kosinski into a hybrid chaser/beater role to help out. While Kosinski played a decent physical chaser defense, he had trouble holding tackles and got noticeably frustrated with how seldom he was available for scoring opportunities. A chaser used to having the scoring glory, it showed when he slid to beater as he was indecisive with the bludger and was often caught preoccupied in watching the quaffle game. Kosinski's shift to chaser/beater hybrid had the odd side-effect of sliding Dallas into a similar beater/chaser hybrid role. As a result, the beater corps really didn't end up much more rested than if Kosinski hadn't switched, and the All Blacks ended up with two players that were noticeably out of their comfort zones. While Dallas physical and aggressive beating style translated decently to the quaffle game, she'll need to work on positioning and defensive awareness should she consider taking on this hybrid role in the future. She was, however, able to use her physical prowess to single-handedly hold off three Blue Boggarts in a quaffle-scrum inside the Blue keeper zone during overtime, helping the All Blacks to one of the more exciting finishes of the day: a 100-80* overtime victory that ended not by snitch catch but by time. Even playing out of her comfort zone, the All Blacks noticeably missed Dallas after she went out with a mild head injury; they fell to the Crimson Chins in the semi-finals by a 30-130* score, one of only two games that finished out of snitch range. The last injury that sealed their fate was losing general manager Franchino to an ankle injury in the same Blue Boggarts match that they lost Schulze to. Once both she and Dallas sustained injuries, Serra White was the sole remaining female for the team, and she was desperate for some rest. On the healthy end, Pritts' physical intimidation was highly effective in bludger recovery, leaving the All Blacks with an advantage in bludger control for much of the tournament. Unfortunately, Mo Haggag, who I highlighted as an unheralded player with the opportunity to impress, failed to do so. His speed wasn't up to par, as he was beaten to the quaffle on the starting rush by Pink Lightning's Minnich and the Crimson Chins' Parada, and he will have to learn to work off the ball offensively as he was notably uncomfortable without the quaffle in his hands; seeking-wise, his technique was lacking in the assertiveness and confidence that he's been working on in the off-season. John Gaffigan was a very solid presence at keeper; it seems he's been working in the off-season on his aggression as he seemed much more comfortable stepping up and meeting opposing quaffle-carriers for some effective tackles. Pat Ciboldi was an effective quaffle player coming off the bench, using his hands well on defense and to create separation on offense. Jeremy Boettner and Austin Nuckols were effective wing players, finding space on offense; Boettner's positioning was especially effective against Pink Lightning as he often found himself fielding a pass right by the hoops for an easy goal. Nuckols' defense on the point quaffle-handler was a nagging use of hands to hold opposing point players from advancing very far past the half-line.

Parada's Red Team, the Crimson Chins

After clutch snitch catches from Nick Chan got them limping into the bracket in the 4th seed at 2-2 with a -20 point differential, the Crimson Chins grouped together to run through the bracket and end the day as champions.  Their rotational strategy at seeker found Michael Parada showcasing some seeking skills, and beater play proved to be one of the Crimson Chins's strongest assets as Kyle Jeon and Scott Axel looked to be nearly untouchable as the learned to work with each other.

The Crimson Chins had an interesting ride on their way to becoming champions in Lebanon. After being heralded as the strongest team of the tournament, they needed some clutch seeking heroics from Nick Chan to top the Pink Lightning in their final pool play game and squeak into the brackets. From there, though, the team looked as strong as advertised. Running through a depleted All Blacks squad in a 130*-30 blowout, the Crimson Chins then buckled down on defense in the finals and scored 30 of their 40 quaffle points on easy fast breaks off of turnovers, while holding a pressing Slime Time to only 40 even though much of the game was spent in the Crimson Chins' defensive half. They then claimed the title of champion on the back of a snitch catch from Parada – quite literally, as he bull rushed over the snitch's shoulders and back to pull the snitch up for a clean grab. On an individual level, Parada played in his own defensive half for much of the tournament, solidifying the back line and making an effort to ensure that his team's physicality be respected through his hard hits and solid wraps. DJ Lynch was also doing his part to demand respect through intimidation, but his defense at the point of attack was greatly outshined by his own ability to finish dazzlingly on the fast break. More than a few times, a turnover forced by either Lynch himself, Rowan Bulata, or Parada's primary substitute Thomas Byrne, was completed on the other end by Lynch after finding the space for a drive or a pass, and finished with a flourish.

Returning to the snitch catch that won the day, a pretty quality video of the catch on the Horn Tailed Horcruxes' YouTube page shows that this grab was a lot more than a stroke of brilliance from Parada, and just as much a testament to a couple of strategies that really put this team over the top and showed that they were, indeed, the team to beat, and deserving champions. When Parada spent top galleon on securing the first bid of the draft, Billy Greco, much of the quidditch community assumed that Greco would be the primary seeker for the team and a top scorer by the end of the tournament. While Greco got his points – 20 of them, on his first two goals ever in quaffle play (gained by some pretty sneaky positioning; it seems this wily seeker might have a few new tricks up his sleeve) – he didn't record a single snitch grab. This wasn't due to any lack of seeking prowess on his part, though. Often, Greco was used in what looked like a quick seeker rotation, allowing fresher legs to wear out the snitch sooner. The video above shows that, at least at the end of the tournament, this worked tremendously to the Crimson Chins' advantage due to excellent beater play allowing for large amounts of time for the Red seekers to have one-on-one attempts at the snitch. Scott Axel and Kyle Jeon were working in remarkable tandem in bracket play, aggressively controlling the game not only with bludger control, but without it as well (which was a rare occurrence, but something that, as they got more comfortable together, they didn't hesitate to risk). Once the snitch was on the pitch, Axel's assertiveness in playing in front of the snitch cleared both the opponents' beaters and seekers out of the way, allowing for a lot of Crimson Chins' one-on-ones. In the final match, Axel gave the Crimson Chins around three full minutes of nearly exclusive snitch-play before the grab was made. At the end of the day, Nick Chan claimed two snitch catches, decisive in both of the team's pool play wins, with his unbalancing raised-hand approach, while Parada claimed two as well: one of them decisive, and the biggest decision of all.

Rothert's Blue Team, the Blue Boggarts

Finishing pool play with the 2nd seed at 2-2 with a +30 point differential, a strong seeking performance from Chris Champitto needed more help from an inconsistent beating corps.  The Blue Boggarts's shortcomings in overtime highlighted how much this team relied on bludger control in order to play their game, and it proved their downfall in the brackets.

Rothert's strategy in building this team – shut down on defense, stay within snitch range and snag victories through seeking – worked out better for the Blue Boggarts than I anticipated in my preview article, but ultimately fell short in bracket play. The Blue Boggarts got the second seed through sheer determination and grit, as well as a positive point differential, and some phenomenal seeking from Chris Champitto. After starting the day with a double-snitch overtime loss to Slime Time, Champitto seeked with determination and finished the tournament with 4 snitch catches. The team, however, struggled to get themselves into position so that those catches would bring them a victory. While two of Champitto's grabs secured victories, the other two came when the team was just within snitch range and forced overtime. Ultimately, the team's failure to perform in clutch situations left them wanting after a semi-finals exit. Champitto often seemed to be on his own when he was able to catch the snitch, either shaking off a beater or drawing the snitch into a position where his teammates would be better able to help him. While Katie Rothert played with grit and Carlos Metz shined with his accuracy and spacing at the beater position, the Blue Boggarts' beater corps looked indecisive when the snitch was on the pitch and struggled between protecting the hoops and freeing Champitto for a free go at the snitch. This really showed in the three overtime matches that the team took part in, accounting for all three of the Blue Boggarts' losses in the tournament. Lacking the speed to obtain bludger control off the starting rush, it was noticeable how heavily the team relied on having that control for all the cogs to be working. Billy Rothert's physical play served him well on defense, but without a second bludger he became more hesitant on defense, often allowing an easier shot instead of risking leaving the hoops open to force the quaffle-carrier into making a quick decision or a special play. Justin Bogart's positioning, Nick Romano's size, and Kyle Savarese's speed served each of them well in opening up offensive play and scoring goals, but they each seemed to get frustrated with the team's struggles without bludger control and, resultantly, would leave their marks open on defense to try to force a play, which worked more often than not but contributed to just enough goals against to hurt them. The beaters in particular seemed to focus solely on regaining bludger control, and struggled in having a strategy for playing bludger-less beating. Metz particularly took a hit in the extra time; with a bludger in his hands, he was on point with his accuracy and having a good range, which was made easier by his intelligent spacing. However, his lack of quickness often kept him from securing and maintaining a bludger when play opened up with the snitch around; if he can develop some skills in bludger-less beating, he could be one to watch entering the season proper. Although the Blue Boggarts entered the brackets with the second seed, they ultimately showed a lack of control in clutch moments, exemplified by the point-spread that they posted in their three overtime periods: they dropped 60 points to snitch catches, and gave up 20 overtime quaffle points without scoring any themselves. While Champitto shined, he didn't receive enough support when he needed it most and couldn't push the team farther than an early bracket exit.