ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

By Steven GalloNYIT now has a football team. After strong student interest, a co-ed touch football team was finally established this semester. The team plays in the Zogsports league. It is not an NCAA league, but for the students who play on the team, it is every bit as exciting. The games are played much like backyard football. The traditional rules of two hand touch, two completions for a first down or passing the halfway point on the field result in a first down, and a five Mississippi rush count all apply, and players must play both offense and defense.However, some not so familiar rules are also applied. For example, with the exception of two-hand touch, there is to be no contact or blocking between players. Also, teams must run “female plays,” plays that use a female player as an operative player within three consecutive downs. Also, to ensure sportsmanlike conduct, and for a better understanding of the rules, each team must provide 1 assistant referee for the game that precedes/follows their game.After struggling through half the season start, the Bears won their final two games to finish 3-3-1 and clinch the fourth and final Zogsports playoff spot. Considering the fact that this is the school’s first year in the league, this is respectable. However, ask any of the players on the team and you will hear a different story. While the team never fell below 5th place in the standings, their record for a time was nothing to laugh about. Through the first five games, NYIT went 1-3-1. At halftime of the third game of the season, the team led their opponents by three touchdowns. But a defensive collapse in the defense allowed the opposing team to tie the game just before regulation ended, leaving the team in a tie instead of a win. The two weeks that followed were blowout losses.However, the playoffs are a new season, and on November 11, the Bears will attempt to win the division championship in just their first season.