Intramural sports sometimes get the reputation of being all about fun and not competition. This stereotype couldn’t be more false, especially after this year’s contentious flag football playoffs.

“We take it pretty seriously. Obviously we want to go out and have a great time, it’s one of the most fun parts of the fall, but we practice twice a week, we actually care about how we do in games and we organize plays,” said Brass Knuckles captain and junior Eva Davis.

The Brass Knuckles has a core group that have stuck together since their first year when their section in Anderson decided to join the IM flag football league. At that point, they were not even familiar with the sport.

“We didn’t really know what we were really doing. We ended up looking up all these videos of football and like figuring it out,” said junior Brass Knuckles quarterback, N.

Since that time, the team has seen a significant improvement in their play.

“Our first season, when we were first years, we won, like, one or two games max. But now we’re going for the gold,” said N.

The Brass Knuckles quarterback also commented on what the role of quarterback is like for her on the team.

“It’s so fun. I look forward to football every fall so much. I didn’t do football in high school, and I have four brothers who always made fun of my throwing, but I got here and realized I could throw. I love playing because it’s such a team sport and I don’t know, it’s kind of cool, everyone having their separate job,” said N.

Before the playoffs began, the Brass Knuckles were undefeated (7-0). Their only close game came against last year’s champions Drink Tank –– the Brass Knuckles won 13-12. Drink Tank also has a group that has played together since they were first years, though they did merge with another team that had several seniors leave. Drink Tank captain and junior Karen Vezie had never played football before coming to Whitman.

“I was kind of against playing it before I came because I’m from the UK and American football is something viewed negatively at home, but since I’ve started playing it’s been really fun,” said Vezie.

Davis expressed that beyond the competition and fun of IM sports, they do have some other lures.

“It has been different this year because I am captain, so I have had more of a leadership experience which has been really good. Mainly, it’s a nice break and it’s fun. Our team is kind of a weird mix, some from Frisbee, some from lacrosse, some just connections and we didn’t know each other, but now we’re getting closer and getting to know each other which has been really fun,” said Davis.

As the final part of the season began last Saturday, both teams had high hopes for the playoffs.

“We want to win again. Especially because we lost to Brass Knuckles, we want to win the rest of our games,” said Vezie.

But at the end of last year, after their loss to Drink Tank in the championship, Brass Knuckles made a resolution.

“We were like, ‘This next year, we’re coming back stronger. We’re going to do this,'” said N.

Drama abounded as the playoffs began. Both teams were beaten by the eventual champion, Delta Gamma. Drink Tank fell to DG in the semifinals and Brass Knuckles lost a close championship game. But prior to the game, Brass Knuckles quarterback N had a contingency plan for a tough loss like this too.

“There’s always next year,” said N.