MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- The 3rd Marine Regiment Wolf Pack hunted down the Marine Aircraft Group 24 Bandits 46-6 during a semifinal tournament football game at Riseley Field, Dec. 4, 2013.
The game started with the Wolf Pack taking the opening kickoff out to the 35-yard line. They passed for a first down but after a couple plays, threw an interception into the Bandits’ possession.
“All season we came out to every game looking to have fun and enjoy the game of football,” said J. R. Martin, a wide receiver and linebacker for the Bandits. “Although we had a lot of guys get hurt and leave on deployments, we always fought hard.”
The Bandits’ offense started their first drive from their 5-yard line. The Wolf Pack held the Bandits back to three-and-out and soon found themselves with the ball. The Wolf Pack returned the punt out to their 25-yard line. The Wolf Pack then drove down the field with several first-down runs. The Wolf Pack’s quarterback finished the drive by scrambling down the field into the end zone, but could not convert for any extra points.
Riseley Field doesn’t have field goal posts, so after each touchdown, players had to choose whether to go for a two or three-point conversion. In order to get a three-point conversion, a team had one play to reach the end zone from the 5-yard line. If a team reached the end zone from the 3-yard line, they received two points. Those were the only two options offered to replace an extra point kick.
The Bandits started their next drive on their 20-yard line. They went three-and-out and set up for a punt. The Bandits fumbled the punt, which forced the punter to run for a first down to end the first quarter.
The first quarter score stood at 6-0 with the Wolf Pack on top.
The Bandits’ quarterback attempted a throw during the first play of the second quarter, but fumbled and gave the ball back to the Wolf Pack.
The Wolf Pack started their drive with a quick first-down reception. The next play, the running back followed behind his wall of offensive linemen and found the end zone for a touchdown, but couldn’t convert any extra points.
The Wolf Pack’s defense sacked the Bandits’ quarterback for the next series of downs. The Bandits quickly punted the football back to the Wolf Pack.
The Wolf Pack ran for several first downs and found themselves looking to score in a first-and-goal situation. A short pass into the end zone stretched their lead farther away from the Bandits and also converted for two extra points.
During the Bandits’ next drive, they threw another interception to the Wolf Pack. A play later, the Wolf Pack threw an interception back to the Bandits. The very next play, the Bandits threw another interception back to the Wolf Pack, but this time the Wolf Pack ran it all the way back for a touchdown and converted for three extra points.
The second quarter score ended with a 30-0 Wolf Pack lead.
The third quarter started with the Bandits returning the kickoff out to their 15-yard line. The Bandits found themselves in a three-and-out situation, which forced them to punt.
The Wolf Pack’s quarterback ran the football several times and eventually found the end zone with his feet to score a touchdown.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my offensive lineman,” said Brandon Erickson, the quarterback for the Wolf Pack. “They gave me loads of time to throw the football and opened up huge holes for everyone to run through.”
The Bandits next drive had a huge passing completion down to the Wolf Pack’s 8-yard line. The next play, the quarterback lobbed the football into the back of the end zone, where the wide receiver made a one-handed catch for a touchdown. They didn’t convert for any extra points.
The Wolf Pack started their next drive by handing the ball off to their running back several times. After a couple running plays, the running back broke away from the pack for a 50-yard touchdown run. They converted two extra points to end the quarter.
The third quarter score stood at 46-6 with the Wolf Pack on top.
On their drive, the Bandits threw a pass down to the Wolf Pack’s 25-yard line and also found another quick first down. They couldn’t find the end zone and turned the ball over to the Wolf Pack after fourth down.
The next play the Wolf Pack threw an interception, giving the ball back to the Bandits. The Bandits couldn’t find a first down and turned the ball over on fourth down. The Wolf Pack went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Bandits. The Bandits got the football on their 2-yard line to end the game.
The final score was 46-6 with the Wolf Pack moving onto the championship, where they will play the 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment Savages.
“Next week is going to be a close game if we play like we did tonight,” Erickson said. “I encourage everyone to come out and watch the championship game. It’s going to be exciting to watch.”