Scobel Wiggins Photography

For the finals, the tournament packed up and moved two miles down the road to Lake Tye Park. In the intervening time between rounds, the wind picked up considerably. Going from almost non-existant to a 10-15 MPH wind, upon arriving at the field it was clear that the stiff breeze would play a considerable role in the game.

During warmups each team made sure to get enough upwind and downwind throwing in. But as soon as the disc was pulled, it was clear who was prepared for the conditions. Sockeye started the game pulling upwind. On their first possession, Furious took a shot deep, and missed Kirk Savage in the endzone.

Going upwind, Sockeye was more than willing to huck and attack. With a big thrower behind the disc in Jeremy Cram, Sockeye put it deep and Thomas Sebby brought it down. 1-0 Sockeye, with an upwind break.

With the wind and the momentum, Sockeye looked to go up two quick breaks. Pulling, they threw up a high, blading backhand that landed in the endzone and skipped out the back. With the disc on the goal line, Furious tried to establish the same kind of rhythm upwind as Sockeye. Unfortunately, Sockeye clamped down on their middle cutters and shutdown their typically efficient and devestating inside to outside horizontal offense.

Out of rhythm, Furious began forcing throws, and Sockeye capitalized on an out-of-character huck in the endzone. Methodically, Sockeye worked the disc downwind. 2-0 Sockeye, with a downwind break.

For the rest of the first half, Furious struggled to find their consistency. Sockeye's defense looked to shut down Furious' inside cuts and the pushed their flatstack deep. In the wind and without Mike Enns—their stud upwind defensive handler—Furious couldn't find their stride and continued to make uncharacteristic turnovers, which Sockeye pounced on. At half the score was 8-4.

The second half was no kinder to the Furious offense. Multiple turnovers led to a five point Sockeye run. Eventually Furious punched in a goal, but it was too late. Sockeye won the second half 7-2, and the game 15-6.

Sockeye went 7-0 on the weekend, with serious challenges from PoNY, Furious George, and Revolver, but undefeated nonetheless. Throughout the tournament the team from Seattle seemed to be the most prepared strategically, mentally, and physically. We'll see in a few months if they are peaking too soon, or if they will continue to improve. Which is a scary thought.