ANNA MARIA – The final week of regular season adult co-ed flag football play energized The Center gridiron last Thursday night. For the four teams in the middle of the pack, every play and every second mattered.
By the end of the night, team Solid Rock Construction captured the third-seed position in the first round of the playoffs, narrowly defeating the Salty Printing squad with a score of 14-12.
Despite a late-game injury, Tuna McCracken and the Solid Rock team won by two points in what proved to be a defensive battle. With 36 total flag pulls recorded by both teams, Evelyn Long led the league in flag pulls for the week.
Long’s eight flag pulls Thursday night put her in third to end the regular season in defensive stops. Her 29 total pulls were only topped by teammates Tyler Brewer and McCracken, each with 30 in the seven-game season.
With McCracken on the sideline, receiver Connor Ludwig took the snaps for the last several minutes of the game. Throwing for a touchdown to Brewer and receiving for one from McCracken, Ludwig helped clinch the team’s playoff position.
On the flip side, Brandon Rolland had the only offensive scoring for Salty while teammate Zaon William scored six points on defense for his team.
Williams also finished the season tied with Long for third in flag pulls with 29 big stops.
Making the scoring difference for Solid Rock Construction was Brewer’s two one-point conversions, giving the squad a marginal lead. Brewer had seven catches in the game, leading his team and adding to his season total of 38 receptions.
Solid Rock’s win put them in the third quarterfinal game bracket with Sandbar Seafood & Spirits. Sandbar lost to #7 Gulf Drive Café in the first game of the night, giving the Gulf Drive team only their second win of the season.
Playing in the last game this Thursday night against the second seed Moss Builders team, team Gulf Drive Café will need to play strong and with no mistakes.
Salty’s loss placed them in fifth position behind Cortez Deep Sea Fishing. In the second playoff game Thursday night at 7 p.m., the two teams will face off for a spot in the semifinal next week.
Playing in the heat of the 6 p.m. game, the underdogs of #8 The Banks Home Lending Team hope the curse of the first-place team continues to rear its ugly head as they face the top-seed Luxury Services team.
As the quarterback, Luxury’s Chase Richardson leads the league in passing touchdowns with 32 this season. Between them, The Banks Home Lending’s Cruz Rodriguez and Cory Banks managed to pass 20 total touchdowns in seven games.
Luxury Services also closed out the season number one and three for receiving touchdowns with Tim Holly finishing with 13 TD catches and Alonzo Lemus securing 11 scoring nabs.
The team’s regular season dominance continued on defense with Holly’s 11 QB sacks, as well as a total of 12 interceptions by teammates Derrick Carey, Jasmine Muldoon and Richardson, each with four picks.
This week’s play will see if the top team prevails or if the undefeated Luxury Services team has their championship hopes stopped short Thursday night.
SUN SCOREBOARD
JULY 27
ADULT CO-ED FLAG FOOTBALL
WEEK 7
#7 Gulf Drive Café (2-5-0) 40
#6 Sandbar Seafood & Spirits (3-4-0) 30
#3 Solid Rock Construction (4-3-0) 14
#5 Salty Printing (3-4-0) 12
#1 Luxury Services (7-0-0) 63
#8 The Banks Home Lending Team (1-6-0) 27
#2 Moss Builders (5-2-0) 27
#4 Cortez Deep Sea Fishing (3-4-0) 23
