Pike quarterback Mateen Sharif scrambles as Sig Ep’s Brady Zoucha rushes for the sack
By Phil Brown, Contributor
Some of the biggest fall intramural sporting events in Omaha and certainly UNO are the rivalry games between UNO’s Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity flag football teams.
The most recent clash of the titans took place on a mild Wednesday night in the Chili Green’s dome on Spring Street. There was a sizeable turnout of supporters for both fraternities, as the dome was filled to the brim with people.
The maroon festooned warriors of Pi Kappa Alpha, sometimes called “Pikes,” started things off early in the first quarter with an interception, setting up the first score of the game a few minutes later with a Pike touchdown.
However, this brief flash of excitement wore off quickly, as both teams began to experience trouble on offense in the next few minutes of the early first half, with turnover on downs on three consecutive possessions.
Towards the middle of the first half of play, a penalty was called on Sigma Phi Epsilon, or “Sig Ep,” which set up a Pike 1st and goal.
The Pikes took advantage of the situation and punched in score number two. Sig Ep attempted to rebound from the experience with a drive downfield, using a series of short passes, but they were stopped by another interception.
Sig Ep recorded an interception of their own soon after, but tragically the halftime marker came too quickly, and the drive was smothered.
Pike roared back with a vengeance in the opening moments of the second half, scoring on their opening possession on a long pass play. It appeared that Pike had the game in hand at this point, but Sig Ep soldiered on, recording their first score of the game on the following possession.
Sig Ep continued what was to be a brilliant second half effort by recording the game’s first sack, intercepting a Pike pass and scoring again after a bitterly fought offensive drive.
They had momentum in their favor, but as the battle finally came to a close, Pike emerged the victors to the tune of 21-12.
Pike’s Brock Lewis waxed poetic on the rivalry in a post-game interview.
“It means a lot, it really runs deep. Everyone gets into it really hard, as you can see there’s always a lot of fans that come and support us so it makes it a really fun game,” Lewis said.
He praised his team’s response to adversity.
“We’re going to focus on not having any turnovers, it almost cost us the game,” Lewis said.
Sig Ep’s Josh Hayden was full of praise for the Sigma Phi Epsilon new members.
“I’m impressed with how all the new guys came out and supported us and all the new guys that played; they played their hearts out. They realized how much this means to us, and I thought they played well tonight,” Hayden said.
As part of a series, The Gateway will cover one intramural game a week in various sports and leagues.
