The Alpha Theta Pi Razorbacks and the Pi Gamma Delta Royals will compete in the 2014 11v11 men’s intramural soccer championship in what has come to be known as the annual BJU Turkey Bowl. The game will be played Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7:30 p.m. on Stadium Field and will include a number of both pregame and postgame activities.
To kick off the night, the men’s 7v7 intramural soccer championship will begin at 6 p.m. The Basilean Eagles, with a perfect record of 16-0, will take on the Phi Kappa Pi Rams (Team 1), who now sit at 12-2-1 on the season.
The Eagles faced Alpha Team A in the first playoff round and won handily 5-2. Basilean then advanced over the Chi Alpha Pi Cavaliers, narrowly winning 2-1 to earn their spot in the championship. The Rams lost just two regular season games: the season opener against the Beta Patriots and a later game against the Kappa Theta Chi Stallions. The Lanier Falcons forced the Rams’ single tie of the season, with a 1-1 stalemate, midway through the season. Coincidentally, two of these teams would play the Rams again in the playoffs. In the first round, the Rams had to overcome the Stallions, who put up a good fight but fell 3-2. The Rams then faced Lanier in the semifinal match and won 4-3.
The men’s 11v11 Turkey Bowl will then be underway, as the Alpha Theta Pi Razorbacks take on the Pi Gamma Delta Royals. The Razorbacks are heading into their third straight Turkey Bowl, having been defeated the past two years by the Beta Gamma Delta Patriots, who have won the past six Turkey Bowls. This year, however, the 6-1-2 Razorbacks edged past the Patriots in a gripping semifinal game, winning in dramatic fashion in a penalty shootout.
The Razorbacks’ opponents, the Royals, have not had a Turkey Bowl appearance in years and are hungry for victory. The Royals have not lost a single game this year and are ranked first overall with their 7-0-2 record. Pi Gamma has won its last seven games, including its latest win over the Alpha Omega Delta Lions in a shootout during the semifinal game. Pi Gamma opened the year with two draws, first tying the Beta Patriots 1-1, and then tying its Turkey Bowl opponent, Alpha, in a game that resulted in no score for either team. That was the only game of the season in which Alpha and Pi Gamma met.
After the Turkey Bowl games, the Student Leadership Council will host a Fall Festival, to which all students are invited. The event will include doughnuts and s’mores for sale, free apple cider, live music, fire pits, pumpkin carving, lots of fall games, including a society tug-of-war and more. The event, which will be held in the back-campus pavilion area, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and conclude at 11 p.m.
