The 9th Annual Mockingbird Dad’s Club Cornhole Tournament took place on Saturday, March 22nd. We had a record turnout of 25 teams plus several spectators.  Players included Greenland Hills residents, Kyle Grisz, Derek Rabe, Wes Butler, Steve Taylor, Taber Wetz and son Philip, and Chris Pierce.  Other participants included MES Dad’s Club alumni, several Woodrow Wilson seniors who graduated from Stonewall Jackson/Mockingbird Elementary, 3 father/son duos, and a team from Lakewood.  Jason Sack and John McKelvy were pre-tournament favorites, but McKelvy decided his career was more important than a cornhole tournament, so we can only wonder how far the team would have made it.  

The tournament was initially scheduled for last December, but a weather cancellation forced the chairs to move the event on the first weekend of March Madness, which is hard to beat. 

The wind was an early equalizer, causing many to miss the board completely, but the wind calmed down slightly as the day progressed. When the wind wasn’t blowing, there were a few players who made all four bags in the hole, including Kevin Buehler, who got a 4-bagger on former GHNA resident CJ Arnold.

 

Father/son duos Hunter and Cooper Maples and Taber and Philip Wetz proved that age doesn’t matter and ended up tied for 7th place.  We were all hoping for those two teams to meet in the bracket, but it didn’t materialize. The Lakewood team surprised everyone with their skill and dominated early.  They were great guys, but nobody wanted the Mockingbird trophy to end up east of Abrams.

Reigning champions Matt Barger and Wes Butler went undefeated through their first 5 rounds, facing some tough opponents including Woodrow seniors Andrew Redmond and Cooper Thomas and Hunter and Cooper Maples.  Barger/Butler faced their arch nemesis King/Arnold in the final round of the upper bracket, but King/Arnold were apparently focused on tacos or basketball because Barger/Butler crushed them 21-0, sending them to the lower bracket with their tail between their legs.

 

Team Lakewood finally suffered their first loss at the hands of Derek Rabe and Dennis Hollis, but they continued to win in the lower bracket, including getting payback against Rabe and Hollis. Team Lakewood ultimately matched up against perennial favorites and often runners-up Keith King and CJ Arnold in the lower bracket. Team Lakewood drained some impressive airmail shots to once again destroy Keith’s title hopes.

Team Lakewood then met Barger/Butler in the championship, needing to win twice to claim the trophy.  Barger/Butler started out slow in the first game and Team Lakewood hit some impressive airmails to clinch the first game 21-10.  In the second and deciding game, Barger/Butler found their groove as the sun was setting, with Barger matching his opponent bag for bag and Butler capitalizing on some scoring opportunities when the Lakewood airmails finally missed their mark.  Ultimately, Barger/Butler clinched the second game 21-13, keeping the trophy west of Abrams.  Hopefully next year even more Lakewood dads will join in the fun, which we welcome as long as they don’t win. 

 

Being the gentleman that he is, Matt Barger offered to give Keith King back the set of red Game Changer bags that Keith loaned him two years ago. Those bags have now won two years in a row, so Keith King is an honorary champion.  

 

Thanks to Cornhole Tournament Chairs John McKelvy and Jared Klein for organizing the event, to Keith King for all of his help, and for Alan and Penny Marshall for once again allowing a bunch of unruly dads to crash their backyard on a Saturday afternoon.  

 

For those who are unfamiliar with the Mockingbird Dad's Club, it was officially organized as a non-profit in 2018 (but was around several years prior) to help enhance the lives of the students at Mockingbird Elementary by providing a hands-on approach to support many aspects of the school including school staff and PTA projects, sports, studying skills and more. The Dad’s Club name encompasses more than just dads as the members include uncles, stepdads, godfathers, granddads and any other father figures that stand out in a child's life to lead them through the adventure of life. The "dads" believe in these kids, and they look to help each other become better guides for those kids that look up to them.  More info can be found at mockingbirddadscom. 

 

The Cornhole tournament raised over $1,000 for MES.  Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the MES Dad’s Club Cornhole Tournament!