Larry Hiemenz records a huge upset in knocking off nine-time champ Bruce Reiff.	Dan Dolan Jr took fifth place laurels in his annual pigskin pursuit to climb into the top ten.

A Title at Last!

With apologies to the folks of Sunday Night (or is it Monday Night?) Football telecasts on the networks, we started the 2011 tournament with a demo asking the participants, "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?" The response was a very solid yes. To this first year GM's surprise, we had eight gamers show up for the demo that preceded the tournament. Several of the participants had never played this old classic and a few others just wanted a refresher. Fortunately, the game itself is easy to explain if you understand how "real" football works - minus the bruises and the pestering sportswriters, so all of the participants were able to really learn the game to the point that they could sit down and play. Of all the games at WBC, Football Strategy is probably the easiest to learn and the hardest to master. It is definitely one of the few games where the world's worst player could beat a master.

The demo participants were very engaged and asked several great questions that indicated that they were understanding how to play the game and also that they understood some of the nuances of the game as well. Taking this slightly off topic but one of the great things about WBC is the demos that are provided for many of the games by knowledgeable and passionate GM's that are happy to teach their games to folks that want the primer to get them started into the demoed game. As with many things, this is another thing that the WBC does wonderfully.

The tournament is run in two separate single elimination heats with the winners of the two heats squaring off against one another in the championship match. The 2011 tournament saw 28 gamers participate in the opening heat. Perennial champion in this event, Bruce Reiff, squared off against our convention director, Don Greenwood, in the third installment of their much publicized grudge match. The game was tight but the dice were not and Mr. Reiff added to his grudge match winning streak as he was able to pull out a 24-17 victory with the cruel aid of three TD/turnover dice rolls. This was not the only thing that he pulled out-- as a vintage can of "whoop-*ss" made an appearance on the table.

Jonathan Lockwood won his first game with an overtime TD and Nick Page secured a 2-point win, but that was it for nail biters as the rest of the first round saw 7-point margins or more. The protégé Reiff, Ms. Nicole; rolled up 41 points in a 28-point first round victory that was more representative of the opening week of the collegiate season than the NFL.

With most of the neophytes dismissed for another year, Round 2 became closer. The older Reiff bested 2004 champ Kevin Keller 14-12 in the headline match-up of this round. On the other end of the spectrum, the younger Reiff saw a reversal of fortune as she lost by 28 to Jim Vroom. 2009 champ Bert Schoose and Ray Stakenas II won their second round matches by 20 and 24 points respectively to set up a third round game against one another. An awesome game if you like offense ensued with Ray pulling out a wild 38-34 win with a last minute TD. Bruce Reiff and Jim Vroom won the other two Round 3 games over Doug Galullo and Joe Powell respectively.

Because some winners dropped out at this point, a bye was awarded to Bruce as the previous champion so Ray and Jim squared off in the only semi-final match of the first heat with Ray advancing in OT 26-20. This set up a heat final of Ray versus 9-time champion Bruce and a rematch of the 2010 Final. Ray showed that he could play some defense as he knocked off the heavy favorite 14-11 for his fifth win of the heat.

The second heat, which is always more lightly attended if not just a second-chance loser's bracket, was contested by only eight players - all of whom were back for a second bite of the apple, making it a far easier road to the Final. Our rookie of the year, Larry Hiemenz, showed that he had learned from the demo and his first heat experience by scoring a HUGE upset in knocking off Bruce in the first round. There would be no tenth title for the WBC's plaque master this year! And, with this defeat, the possibility of breaking Bruce's perpetual WBC wood winning streak loomed much larger. Dan Dolan Jr., Joe Powell and David Rynkowski were the other first round winners. Larry's winning ways came to a 22-7 end vs David and Joe knocked off Dan 24-3 in the other semi-final. The heat finale saw Joe take a late 21-20 lead. David responded by driving to within chip shot range for the winning field goal which he promptly missed - those fickle dice - allowing Joe to advance to the championship match by the narrowest of margins.

The Stakenas offense could not muster much in their sixth contest. Joe, playing in just his fourth game with this second team, built up a 13-9 halftime lead despite missing a field goal and an extra point attempt. Missed kicks often come back to haunt the spurned advances of lady luck. Undaunted by his poor special teams play, Joe extended his lead to 11 points with a third quarter touchdown and then played keep away with nine minutes of possession to protect his lead. Ray was shut out in the second half on only five possessions. In the end, Joe captured his first Football Strategy title ever after more than 20 years of competing in that game! The joy in his accomplishment was evident as it is with everyone that walks away with their first WBC shield after years of trying. Ray played great but his back-to-back second place finish will only make his first title that much sweeter.

Soon-to-be champion Joe Powell tramples Jon Lockwood as ex-league cohort Kevin Keller scouts the opposition.	Joe Powell won this match with another league veteran, Jim Vroom, on his way to his first football title after decades of trying.