In a flag-football battle between purported Pros and Joes on Thursday night, the roles were reversed.
Fighting Cancer, the champion of America's bracket and supposed "amateurs," defeated Godspeed, the Professional Champion, 26-6, in the American Flag Football League Ultimate Final and won $1 million in the process.
Led by Darrell "Housh" Doucette, who did a little bit of everything on Thursday night, Fighting Cancer took advantage of the game's rules and limitations, while the conventional, pro-style approach of Godspeed, which was composed of former NFL players and track stars, proved to be the team's undoing.
With retired dual-threat quarterback Mike Vick watching from the sideline, "Housh" resembled the former Falcons star with his elusive speed and strong arm, slicing and dicing Godspeed with scampers, laterals and sideline tosses. Doucette finished with 242 passing yards, 88 rushing yards and two touchdown passes and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Housh benefited often from a quick-handoff strategy, in which the QB took a handoff from Darius Davis to eliminate the four-second throw clock and allow the QB to run at will. This caused havoc for Godspeed's confuddled defense, who rarely contained Doucette.
Channeling Tom Brady and the AFC champion New England Patriots, Doucette led Fighting Cancer on two touchdown drives of 97 and 98 yards on either side of halftime to open the scoring. The first score, a lateral from Doucette to Fighting Cancer's leading receiver, Charles Carmouche, set the tone for their dominant second half.
Doucette executed a similar scoring play on Fighting Cancer's first second-half drive to put his side up 13-0. Right after the score, the QB was overheard on the NFL Network mics telling his teammates, "There's so much space. They commit to me!"
Housh played a pivotal role on defense too. With Fighting Cancer up 19-0 late in the second half, Housh, playing safety, prevented a Godspeed seven-point TD by pulling receiver LaVelle Hawkins' flag out inside the five-yard line. On the very next play, Fighting Cancer's Harry Coleman intercepted Godspeed quarterback Seneca Wallace's pass and lateraled it to "Hollywood" Myers who took it all the way for their own seven-point score. That sequence iced the game and secured Fighting Cancer the $1 million bounty.
Godspeed had their opportunities all night long, but couldn't capitalize.
Godspeed blew two red-zone chances in the first half, going four-and-out inside the 25-yard line twice in a 15-minute span, the latter of which preceded Fighting Cancer's first score. Wallace (24/34, 361 yds, TD, INT) failed to find his favorite target, former Eagles receiver Jason Avant, in the red zone and struggled to counter Godspeed's blitzes.
Down two scores in the second half, Justin Forsett's seven-point score for Godspeed was called back after Forsett, a former Ravens running back, was ruled to have to "flag-guarded," or in NFL terms, thrown a stiff arm. The play was emblematic of Godspeed's evening, as the Pros failed to adapt to and exploit the wrinkles of flag football.