BARBOS WIN THE 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH GUTSY PERFORMANCES AGAINST BOSTON AND BOISE
WE DID IT!!!!!! The men in Green & White struck again on Saturday and Sunday last weekend, delivering gutsy back to back performances and hoisting another national championship trophy— our fourth in 56 years!!
The semi-final match up against the Boston Irish Wolfhounds was a defensively driven nail biter. It came down to sound defense, relentless tackling, and a crafty (almost wizard-like) grubber kick from Noah Pflaum to Eric “Lem Em Know” Sykes who dotted it down under the sticks. Power subs like Donovan Ronan and Kierian Langskov helped close out a tough Boston team whose forward pack may have been the largest that the Barbos have seen all season.
Throughout the matchup, the game changer (yet again) was Barbos skipper Alex Wormer. Not only was he dominant in the tackle and ball carrying all afternoon, he also found the time to grubber kick a 50:22, and charge down an attempted clearance kick from Boston that helped the Barbos maintain a lead and dominant territory.
Photos from the match are below:
Photo credit to: Todd Lunow (find him on Facebook @Todd Lunow)
After a hard fought Saturday clash, the men in Green & White knew that the job was not done. The goal of this team was always the same and never waivered … return to the national stage, and secure another championship! After last years heartbreaking loss in the final against Charlotte, the men in green and white hadn’t come this far again to get outdone in the final!
So outdone, they were not. They rose victorious with a 49-34 victory over Boise United.
The team’s attack ran through team veteran, fly-half and talisman … The Wise Wizard himself Noah Pflaum. Playing with a separated AC joint from the previous weekends matches, the veteran made this championship his last stand. His gutsy performance will be told around Barbo campfires for decades to come. After the match he was quoted as saying “every time I passed the ball, my shoulder would pop out of place and I’d have to force it back in with my good hand”. He casually said this with a huge grin on his face, beer in his working hand, and medal around his neck.
But it wasn’t just Pflaum who injected pace and pizzazz into the Barbo attack. The Barbo’s loose forward trio of Alex Wormer, Luca Tani & Jack Miller were sensational all day. Jack Miller securing the man of the match award for his efforts.
The engine room locks Joe Goldbloom, Sean Gorman & Max Murphy were pivotal in forcing Boise United into mistakes and causing turnovers.
The highlight of the afternoon came after a clearance kick from Boise. Harold Hernandez casually trapped the oncoming ball with a silky first touch off his foot. He then preceded to pick the ball up and spin it wide into the hands of Devarius “Beanie” Miller, who dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, and dodged his way 60 meters downfield into the try zone, cutting the Boise defense to shreds. Beanie has been electric throughout the spring campaign and brings the crowd to their feet each and every time he touches the ball.
In the end, Boise scored a few late tries to decrease the differential, but their efforts were too little and too late. The men in Green & White (YOUR BARBOS) celebrated at the 80th minute whistle and hoisted another piece of hardware. These men have cemented their stamp into the Denver Barbarians legacy and have so many reasons to be proud of the tremendous effort they put forward all season.
Pictures from the Championship match below, watcha reply of the final HERE, and watch a live stream with player interviews we posted shortly after the final whistle HERE (note, celebratory language used).
Photo Credit to: Griff Hastings (find him on Instragram @gth_images)
So now, what’s next?
The Barbos will be celebrating this huge accomplishment in the best way we know how— with a signature Barbos Bar Crawl!
The celebration will take place Saturday, June 10th 2023 commencing at 2pm at Bierstadt Lagerhaus in the RINO area of Denver.
We would LOVE to see as many old boys, fans, family members, and friends as possible join along with us to partake in the celebrations. On average, we only win one of these once every 14 years, so get around us and let’s celebrate together.
Full schedule for the celebration below:
