USFJ-AFL North Division title game; Yokota to host Torii Bowl

Now it can be told. Yokota's Warriors, the North Division regular-season and playoff champion, own the driver's seat and will host for the first time the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League championship Torii Bowl against the winner of Tuesday's South Division title game between defending league champion  Foster and Joint Task Force.

But in the wake of Yokota's 18-14 North title-game win over Misawa comes the $64,000 question: When will the Torii Bowl be played?

Coaches of both South teams have indicated that five days simply isn't enough time to schedule a trip from Okinawa to Yokota, once the South champion becomes known.

So, the Torii Bowl, which right now is scheduled for July 25, may have to be pushed back? This, after all the coaches when polled by commissioner Sean Dath agreed to the date, as well as agreeing to the revised South playoff format, which was squeezed into 10 days because of a late regular-season postponement?

Perhaps not everybody knew what they were agreeing to when they agreed to it. On one hand, yes, it can be said that five days in a military environment, when mission comes first and aircraft are dedicated to it, is simply not enough time. On the other hand, if everybody agreed to Dath's mandate, then everybody agreed to it, yes?

In any event, Warriors officials have already spoken preliminarily with Yokota's sports staff to see if a delay of six days, to the 31st, may be a possibility. That would give the South champion 11 days to formulate a travel method.

As it is, hat's off to a Yokota team that has been starved for a championship since last winning the old USFJ title in 1994, and the same season winning the Japan Private Football Federation's Grandheights League and the JPFF title, downing a Japanese team from Kyoto nicknamed ... wait for it ... the Ringostarrs. You can't make up stuff like that.

Yokota will play in its fourth Torii Bowl, but for the first time at home. The Warriors suffered road losses of 12-6 at Yokosuka in 2000, 30-21 at Misawa in 2005 and 30-6 last Aug. 29 at Foster.

It's interesting to note that of the eight Torii Bowls played, not a single road team has ever won. Yokosuka won at its Berkey Field in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007; Misawa at Hillside Stadium in 2005 and 2008 and Foster at Kubasaki High School's Mike Petty Stadium before a decidedly home crowd last Aug. 29.

(FYI, the 2001 Torii Bowl was canceled due to Sept. 11 and 2003 also scotched when Yokosuka and Kadena could not agree on a playing date).

While Joint Task Force and Yokota haven't played this season, JTF has won both its encounters with the other North teams by wide margins, at Yokosuka and at home to Misawa. Yokota shut out Foster 6-0 at Yokota High School's Bonk Field in the teams' lone regular-season meeting.

We'll see who takes care of business when the South title game takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Camp McTureous. But ... here's an idea of who I think might be visiting Yokota, be it on the 25th or the 31st, and what the host team might have to say about it:

"Gimme two beats, two claps and an oooo, ahhh!"

"Who brings the heat in the Kanto? You know!"

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