PORTSMOUTH — It was an epic battle between the Half in the Bags and Challengers teams inside the VFW Post 5390 hall in Common Fence Point Monday night.

The consistency of the throws that Jim Long Sr. and Pete Hagensen of the “Bags” and Bob Dyl and Larry Dame of the Challengers were making was impressive. Bag after bag either dropped through the six-inch holes or crowded around them after being tossed from a distance of 27 feet.

The contest’s evenness dragged the match on, and the “blocked” holes were a source of frustration at times.

“If I could do airmail, I could have gotten more to drop in,” Long lamented after the match, which he and Hagensen finally won.

Oh, you don’t know cornhole terminology?

“Airmail is when you toss the bag high and it comes straight down,” said Long, explaining that such a throw could have gotten over the other bags that were blocking the hole. “But I’m not that good at airmail.”

He was good enough, however. He and Hagensen would go on to win the newly formed Aquidneck Island Cornhole League (AICL) championship Monday after nine weeks of competition. The Half in the Bags defeated the Corn Dogs in another epic contest that went to sudden death.

Dyl and Dame, who have known each other for years, started AICL earlier this year.

“I actually play at work, and me and Larry have played with our kids at Special Olympics,” said Dyl, who formerly ran a Challenger Baseball league in Portsmouth for children and young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. “That’s how me and Larry partnered up.” (Half of the cornhole boards that were spread out in the upstairs of the VFW hall, in fact, were on loan from the Newport County Special Olympics.)

“We had 14 teams to start off with, and we played for eight weeks. The top seven became the ‘A’ Division, the bottom seven became the ‘B’ Division, because there is a variety of skill levels, and that keeps everyone involved,” said Dyl, who hopes to run another cornhole series in the fall.

While the “Bags” won the “A” Division, the Bruin Brothers (David St. Laurent and Stephen Clarke) were victorious in the “B” Division, also by sudden death.

Senior skill

At 89, Long was the oldest player in the tournament — and one of the best. His son, also named Jim, owns the Longplex Family & Sports Center in Tiverton, where cornhole is serious business.

“When I play at Longplex, I can barely stay with them. They’re good. They just make me try harder,” said Long, acknowledging that the game helps keep him young. 

He and Hagensen not only won the championship Monday, they pretty much dominated league play, racking up a record of 30-2 coming into Monday night. (Fittingly, the Corn Dogs were second at 25-7.)

What’s his secret? “I don’t know. Just luck, I guess,” Long responded.

Despite all the camaraderie, the competition also featured its fair share of trash talk and friendly ribbing.

“This is my partner, Cory Luminello,” said Kendal Wagoner of the Corn Dogs by way of introduction. “He’s been my friend since freshmen year of high school. Still can’t stand him, but he’s a good cornhole player.”

Several other co-workers of Dyl’s at Sensata Technologies in Attleboro, including residents of Barrington and Somerset, also joined the league. “It’s a good crowd. Everyone gets along, and they’re all good sports,” said Dyl.

Dan Nielan of Barrington, who competed alongside Ray Conley on the Barrington Trashers team, agreed. “It’s a good group of people and everyone just comes down and has a good time — and the beers are affordable.”

Helping veterans

The cheap beers — and other drinks — come from the VFW’s new-and-improved canteen that was dedicated last fall in honor of Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts of Tiverton, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. He was 38.

Major renovations began last year on the hall to make it more family-friendly and profitable for the VFW. The Common Fence Point Improvement Association (CFPIA), which has its own community hall nearby, came to the VFW’s assistance along with the wider community and local businesses.

Dyl said he got permission to run the cornhole league at the hall after reaching out to Vic Schaefer, the post’s senior vice commander, who’s been among those leading the charge to breathe new life into the hall. Each team chipped in $50 and a donation was made to the VFW, Dyl said.

Lee Silva, one of the cornhole competitors, is a big supporter of the local VFW, and veterans in general.

“My father-in-law was one,” she said. “I loved that this is a community, and by being supportive and coming here, it helps them out. In Common Fence Point, we’re all family. We love all the vets; every now and then I’ll cook something and bring it in to them.”

On Monday, Silva competed as a member of the Cosmopolitans — “We’re at the bottom of the barrel,” she said — holding a Cosmo in one hand as she threw with the other.

“It’s the only sport where it’s legal to drink,” Dyl said. “In fact, in most cases it’s encouraged.”