OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City-based D4 Assassins earlier this month captured the 44th Annual USFLT Flag Football national championship in Florida after hanging on with a late interception in the title game.
The Assassins compete in the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department’s annual flag football league along with regional tournaments all over the country. The same basic team won the 2014 Ocean City Fall Flag Football League title and competed in mid-January in the USFTL National Championship in Kissimmee, Fla. and brought home the title in the 5-Man Contact Division.
Members from the team from Ocean City included Ron Strickler, Kyle Swayngim, Brandon Ball, Tyler Boyle, John Chester and Chip Purnell. Joining the Assassins from the west side of the Chesapeake were Charlie McCaffrey, Justin Becraft, Rob Holman, Chris Petrillo, Terrell Martin, Tommy Brown and Coach Robert Hartman.
In pool play at the nationals, the Assassins opened with a 14-0 win over Blaze from Columbus, Ohio. The Assassins then fell to Ryde Out of Greenville, S.C., 25-13, in the second round, which turned out to be their only loss of the tournament. In the third game of pool play, the Assassins beat Schell Brothers, also of Ocean City, 33-20 to advance to the playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Assassins opened with a narrow 13-12 win over the Canes of Tampa, Fla. In the second round, the Assassins defeated Simply Amazing of Nashville, 18-6, setting up a dramatic championship game.
In the national championship game, the Assassins led the Bombers of Mechanicsville, Md., 7-0, with time running down. With just 50 second remaining, the Assassins attempted a direct snap to the running back, but the ball was bobbled and went into the end zone for a safety and the lead was cut to 7-2. The Bombers then had 50 seconds to attempt a drive for the win, but Tyler Boyle intercepted and sealed the 7-2 win and the national championship for the Assassins.
In addition to winning the national championship, the local Assassins team collected several individual honors as well. Kyle Swayngim was named the tournament’s Offensive MVP, while Tyler Boyle collected Defensive MVP honors. Ron Strickler, Brandon Ball, Terrell Martin, Rob Holman and Justin Becraft earned All-American designations.