In what one longtime observer remarked were the “best played, closest fought matches in memory”, the braves from Pok-O-Moonshine’s five tribes competed Tuesday afternoon in Iroquois Nations Rolas— the oldest game known to man.
The round robin tournament came down to two teams with chasing history: The Tuscarora going for the first ever Tribal Games “three-peat”, and the Mohawk, looking to end a 13-year non-championship drought. The two teams faced off in the ultimate match of the day- both undefeated, and when it was done, they were both still undefeated.
By virtue of their 3-0-1 record, the Mohawk won the event, as the Tusky’s finished 2-0-2. “We knew it was close, and we knew what we had to do,” said Mohawk assistant Chief Noah G. “We used a strategy of surrounding the ‘circle’ (scoring base) so we had people in place to score.”
With a win earlier in the day in the World’s Most Complicated Game, The Mohawk have opened their lead in the overall standings with still five events to be contested, including Tuesday night’s Tug-of-War.
1- Mohawk | 2- Tuscarora | 3- Seneca | 4- Cayuga | 5- Onondaga |