Fraternity's flag football takes third

Delta Upsilon's Kevin Zey was named to the all-tournament team.

By Ryan Huber

Published Nov. 8, 2006

Delta Upsilon fraternity's 7 vs. 7 flag football team wrapped up its extended season Sunday as it took home the third-place trophy in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Regional Flag Football Tournament at Southeast Missouri State University. The team represented MU as the Mizzou RecSports 7 vs. 7 champions.

The squad had a perfect playoff run in the Greek RecSports league, beating teams such as Kappa Alpha Order fraternity before notching a 14-6 win over Beta Theta Pi fraternity in the finals. As the league's champions, the team qualified for the regional tournament in Cape Girardeau last weekend.

Stakes were high as both the winner and runner-up of the regional tournament advanced to the national tournament held Jan. 4-7 at the University of Texas-Dallas.

Delta Upsilon entered pool play and placed third despite facing Da Wood, a team from southern Louisiana that placed fifth in the 2006 national tournament in January.

Junior quarterback Dru Linebach, with the help of wide receivers Erik Bolton, Keith Osborn and Kevin Zey, rolled over Southeast Missouri State in the quarterfinals by a score of 35-14. Fueled by the victory, Delta Upsilon looked to put its name in the finals bracket, but Da Wood had a different plan. The game was tight, but it ended in a 30-27 defeat for Delta Upsilon.

"The team that beat us won (the region)," Linebach said. "We were close."

Da Wood and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity from UT-Dallas advanced to the national tournament in January.

But Delta Upsilon was not without its share of hardware as Zey was named to the all-tournament team after his four touchdowns in the tournament. Bolton also had four touchdown catches, and Zey gathered in three.

"It's always nice to win an award, but I would have rather taken first or second and gone into Texas," Zey said.

And Delta Upsilon isn't finished yet as the flag football league is under way. Already 2-0, the squad looks to capture another RecSports title and extend its first-place spot in the Greek rankings.