Scobel Wiggins Photography

The finals ended up being a great game—the best of the tournament. Unlike their game two hours earlier, Truck Stop came out looking confident and ready to battle the 2007 Finalists.

The game started with each team trading hucks to their bigs; Bravo hit Jim Schoettler and Truck Stop answered by sending it deep to George Hughes-Strange. At 2-1, each team still feeling each other out, Truck Stop made the first turn of the game on their goal line and it cost them. Bravo worked the disc down the field and took the first break of the game.

Two points later Truck Stop answered back with a layout D. With the disc in their hands, Truck Stop hit their defensive anchor Brian Stout in the endzone with a hammer, taking their break back. The next point accounted for nearly half of the turnover for the entire game. In what looked like a tennis match gone bad, each team anxiously jacked the disc up and down the field, incompleting every pass. Bravo got the disc back in their hands, called a time out, and preceded to turn the disc over again. Truck Stop was finally able to take advantage and hit Brian Stout in the endzone for the second break in a row.

Another two points later, Bravo would put the game back on serve after Truck Stop drops an easy pass. The next point Bravo gives Truck Stop a gift with a pull that only goes 10-15 yards before flying out of bounds. Truck Stop easily scores.

At 6-6, Truck Stop looks to get a break before half. Their pull blades into the endzone, skips off the ground and ricochets of a Bravo handler and rolls out the back. Bravo brings up to the goal line to find Truck Stop throwing the first zone of the game. Bravo patiently dumps and swings, moving the disc around. When Truck Stop transitions to man Bravo moves up the field in the confusion, but turfs the disc on the goal line. The DC team looks to huck quickly, but overthrows their receiver. Bravo doesn't blink again, and puts in the goal taking half 7-6.

The second half begins with each team answering the others' goals. At 9-9 Truck Stop brought the fury with a big block near Bravo's endzone. They punched the goal in, going up a break. The next point saw Bravo in trouble again after an errant huck. But Steven Rouisse came up with a huge layout D block. He got up, sprinted for the endzone, and caught the goal. Bravo was very close to going down two huge breaks near the end of the game.

The following point Bravo took advantage of another bad huck to George Hughes-Strange. Bravo worked the disc downfield and got another crucial break. It was a break that put the game back on serve for the third time. At 11-10, each team had their chances. Truck Stop dropped a pass on the goal line, and Bravo overthrew a receiver in the endzone. Truck Stop stuffed the goal in, tying the game at 11's.

At this point the game gets capped because of the late start time. 11-11. Game to 12. Truck Stop pulling. The DC boys took a time out to talk over their defense. After a big pull, Truck Stop ran down into a junky zone that transitioned into a man defense with the deeps switching off. Bravo seemed patient, almost anticipating the transitions of Truck Stop's defense. With their stack spreading deep, the Bravo cutters found miles of space in the middle of field and moved the disc up in huge chunks. Without spectacle or fanfare, Bravo punched in the game winning goal.

At 8-0 Johnny Bravo was dominant all weekend. They, more than anyone else, found the ability to close games out early. Even when they were up four or five points, they kept up the pressure and ensured their victory. And they never gave up at the end either. Their two one-point wins found them with the pressure ratcheted way up. In both instances they delivered.

The other seven teams, at one time or another (or all the way throughout), were afflicted by the inability to close games out. It will be interesting to see if in the months ahead these teams can develop the ability to keep the pressure on from half to half. The teams that do will certainly be able to vie for the crown in Sarasota this fall.