The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 10 No. 22 - March 10, 2010

sports

Champions crowned as upsets abound

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

SUN PHOTO/BILLY MALFESE The adult division co-champs,
Bengals and Titans, are left to right, back row, Tyler Bekkerus,
Billy Malfese, Jimmy Thomas, Andy Jonatzke, Greg Ross,
Scott Dell, Matt Hendricks, Chad Titsworth and Blair Schlossberg
and front row, Monica Simpson, Lee Ross, April Jonatzke,
Kyra Valadie and Will Bouziane.

One of the best aspects of sport competition on any level is that there is no definitive outcome, any team can win or lose on any given day. This fact remained true in our own little world during the flag football playoffs at the Community Center this past week, as things proved to not always turn out as most people expected. All three Super Bowl games turned out to be very one-sided and some of the top seeds didn’t advance past the first round of the playoffs. This, however, provided for an exciting finish to another successful season of flag football that has come to an end. Congratulations to this year’s Super Bowl Champions – the Sparks Steel Art Eagles, the Ross Built Raiders, the Tapes Tennis Titans and the Adult co-champs Bengals and Titans.

8-9 Division Super Bowl
Sparks Steel Art Eagles 32 - Sandbar Saints 6

The Sparks Steel Art Eagles were crowned as champions of the 8-9 year old division after defeating the BeachHouse Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs and then beating the Sandbar Saints in the Super Bowl. The Eagles and Saints were the second and fourth seeds heading into the playoffs, but were underdogs to the 10-2 Tortilla Bay Dolphins, who dominated most of the season. The Saints started off hot, scoring first on a short touchdown run by Andrew Proctor to take a 6-0 lead. However, that was the end of their scoring efforts as the Eagles shut them down with their defense.

The speedster Jack Mello had both touchdown runs in the first half and finished with 72 rushing yards in the game. At halftime the Eagles had a 12-6 lead, but Dylan Joseph quickly changed that with two second half scores on passes by Truman Carlsen, making the score 26-6 after extra-point completions to Marlin Ellis and Joseph. Leo Rose had a short touchdown run late in the game to seal the deal at 32-6. The Eagles were led on offense by a pair of touchdowns from Mello and two more by Joseph. Rose finished with 45 rushing yards, one touchdown and contributed with a solid defensive effort which included an interception and several crucial flag pulls. Carlsen completed six of fourteen passes for 82 yards and also had an interception to help lead the Eagles to victory.

10-12 Division Super Bowl
Ross Built Raiders 35 - Mr. Bones BBQ Bengals 6

In Division 2 action, the first seeded 10-12-year-old Ross Built Raiders team beat the number two seeded Mr. Bones BBQ Bengals 35-6 to earn the title of Super Bowl Champions. The Bengals offense just couldn’t get going against a tough Raiders defense. Anthony Cucci caught a five-yard touchdown pass to give the team an early 6-0 lead, followed by a pick-six by Tyler Yavalar and two-point conversion pass to Andrew Ross. The Raiders recorded a safety to add another two points and took a 16-0 lead at the midway point and didn’t let up in the second half.

Jack Shinn quickly commanded the offense by throwing a touchdown pass to Jake Ross and then on the next possession caught an interception and returned it back to the house to give the Raiders a 28-0 lead. The Bengals managed to score on a long touchdown pass from Andrew Zink to Bobby Oshaben, but it was too little too late. The Raiders defense held strong and Andrew Ross threw a touchdown pass to Yavalar late in the game to seal the deal.

The Raiders progressed to the championship game by defeating the fourth seeded Walter & Associates Titans 32-6. Jack Shinn finished with three passing touchdowns and a pair of rushing scores to help propel his team to victory. Jake Ross, Joey Cucci and Sydney Cornell each had end zone visits to help the team cruise to victory. The Titans lone score came on a touchdown run by Michael Duffman, who finished with 78 rushing yards as the team was eliminated from playoff contention.

The Bengals managed to beat the third seeded Island Real Estate Ravens 39-23 on Wednesday to advance to the Super Bowl for the 10-12 division. Logan Reiber, of the Bengals, accumulated 171 rushing yards, 45 receiving yards and made five trips to the end zone to lead his team. Jean-Paul Russo had a 16-yard touchdown reception thrown by Andrew Zink and Noah Connors passed for 68 yards and a score as well. Chris Gunn also had a pair of extra-point conversions to round out the Bengals scoring. The Ravens Josh Zawistoski threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns, one to Brandon Blandford, Ati Dattoli and Matt Manger-Denigris. The latter two finished with 68 and 75 receiving yards and combined for the team’s five extra-points, but were unable to advance further in the playoffs.

13-16 Division Super Bowl
Tapes Tennis Titans 51 - Galati Yacht Sales Raiders 6

The Tapes Tennis Titans and Galati Yacht Sales Raiders met in the Super Bowl for the 13-16-year-old division, which resulted in a 51-6 victory for the Titans. The Titans built an early and dominant lead courtesy of quarterback Austin Ferrer, who threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers and ran for another pair of scores. Ferrer finished with 233 passing yards, 70 rushing yards and an interception on defense to aid his team. Kyle Parsons hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions and finished with 100 receiving yards, along with touchdowns by Patrick Edwards, Chandler Hardy and Max Miller. Those three compiled 27, 55 and 46 receiving yards in the game, respectively. Hardy also recorded two sacks on defense, Parsons picked off a pass, and Nick Papazian hauled in an extra-point pass to round out the Titans stat leaders.

The Raiders struggled on both sides of the ball, and their only score came on an eight yard pass from Aaron VanHook to Danny Doyle. Doyle passed for 118 yards in the game, 47 of which went to Garrison Clark and 53 yards to Michael Galati. VanHook also rushed for 10 yards and caught another 18 yards in the tough loss.

The third seeded Raiders advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating the second seeded Anna Maria Oyster Bar Panthers in a 27-25 upset victory which went into triple overtime. The win came after the Raiders scored a touchdown and Michael Galati caught a two-point conversion. The Panthers were unable to convert for extra points after their touchdown, after each team had stopped each other twice in a college-style overtime setup. The Raiders had touchdowns by Danny Doyle, Aaron VanHook and two by Michael Galati. Anna Maria Galati and Denver Hardy each had two sacks at crucial times to help their team in the win. Christian Hightower, Jordan Grabski, James Hardy and Ricky Almodovar each had scores for the Panthers.

The Titans were able to overcome a strong effort by the fourth seeded LaPensee Plumbing Ravens and ultimately won 30-24 to move to the Super Bowl game. Three defensive interception returns for touchdowns by Austin Ferrer, Max Miller and Kyle Parsons, of the Titans, were what made the difference in this game. Every player on the Titans contributed by attempting at least one pass, and in the end, Chandler Hardy finished with 50 yards and one touchdown and Parsons had 33 yards and a score in the victory.

The Ravens received a pair of touchdowns and interceptions by Hunter Parrish, along with touchdown receptions by Olivia Roemer and Alex Bernhard in the defeat.

Adult Division Super Bowl
Bengals 33 - Titans 33 (tie)

The Adult Division Super Bowl featured the second seeded Bengals versus the fourth seeded Titans, which ultimately ended in the decision to be named co-champions after a grueling five overtime game. The Titans pulled out to an early 13-0 lead thanks to touchdown passes by Will Bouziane to Chad Titsworth and Greg Ross, followed by an extra-point by Blair Schlossberg.

The Bengals then responded when Billy Malfese scored on a long touchdown run and caught a touchdown pass on the following drive, tying up the score. Schlossberg then caught a touchdown strike to make it 19-13 heading into halftime. Titsworth made another trip to the end zone after Matt Hendricks intercepted a pass, which was followed by a two-point conversion by Schlossberg, which made the score 27-13.

Malfese then got the Bengals back in the game with another touchdown reception thrown by Scott Dell and an extra-point by Andy Jonatzke. On the team’s next possession Malfese found Jonatzke in the end zone which evened the score again after an extra-point by Tyler Bekkerus.

The game was all tied up at 27-27 heading into overtime, which is set-up to give each team a chance to score and win the game as long as you could stop your opponent from scoring.

Fierce competition and fatigue set in as the extra time added on, as each team scored one more touchdown in the third overtime but failed on extra-point attempts forcing more overtime. Jonatzke scored again on a short touchdown pass for the Bengals, and the Titans Hendricks caught a score to tie it once and for all at 33-33. After the fifth round of additional play and an extra hour of game time, the two teams decided to share the title of Super Bowl Champions.

The Bengals advanced to the Championship game by narrowly defeating the third seeded Chiefs 19-18 on a last minute defensive stop. The Chief's Paul Kurtz threw for 193 yards and three scores, of which 98 yards and two touchdowns went to Jason Sato and 46 yards and another touchdown to Scott Eason. The Bengals Dell had a touchdown reception and threw a pair of scores, one to Bekkerus and one to Malfese, who also caught the definitive extra-point to make it 19-18.

The Titans were able to defeat the first place Raiders 27-26 in a game that came down to the wire with a defensive stop. Schlossberg had a pair of scores and an extra-point, along with lone touchdowns by Hendricks and Ross were able to win.

The Raiders Lance Plowman had a pair of touchdown catches to lead his team and also had scores from Chris Joseph and Todd Zawistoski in the tough loss.

All-star results and rosters
8-9 Division – Blue 18 , Red 6

Blue: Masen Blandford, Alexander Buttram (1 TD), Brooke Capparelli, Truman Carlsen, Dylan Joseph (1 TD), Jack Mello (1 TD), Tyler Pearson, Leo Rose (1 Int.)

Red: Ethan Bertand (1 Int.), Dylan Doyle, Ryan Doyle, Michael Latimer, Andrew Proctor, Joe Rogers, Trent Shackelford, Joey Stewart (1 TD)

10-12 Division – Red 30, Blue 29

Red: Michael Duffman (1 TD), Mikey Ellsworth, Austin Marrow, Burke McCampbell-Hill (2 TD), Jake Ross (1 TD), Andrew Ross (1 Int./TD), Jack Shinn, Zach Stewart, Jacob Talucci

Blue: Ben Connors, Noah Connors (1 Int.), Ati Dattoli, Morgan Greig, Jake Parsons (3 TD, 2 XP), Logan Reiber (1 sack, 1 XP), Seth Walter (1 Int.), Josh Zawistoski (2 Int., 1 Def TD)

13-16 Division – Red 19, Blue 18

Red: Alex Bernhard (2 sacks), Austin Ferrer (1 TD), Chandler Hardy, Max Miller (3 TD, 1 XP), Hunter Parrish, Patrick Edwards, Tommy Price, Olivia Roemer

Blue: Danny Doyle, Michael Galati, Jordan Grabski (2 TD), Christian Hightower, Kyle Parsons, Luke Shackelford, Aaron VanHook (1 TD)

Upcoming Week’s Games

Wednesday, March 3

6 p.m. – Division 3, third place BeachHouse Cardinals vs. second place Sparks Steel Art Falcons
7 p.m. – Division 2 – third place Island Real Estate Ravens vs. second place Mr. Bones BBQ Bengals
8 p.m. – Division 1 – third place Galati Yacht Sales Raiders vs. second Place Anna Maria Oyster Bar Panthers

Thursday, March 4th

6 p.m. – Adult Division – fifth place Cowboys vs. sixth place Lions
7 p.m. – Adult Division – third place Chiefs vs. second place Bengals
8 p.m. – Adult Division – fourth place Titans vs. first place Raiders

Friday, March 5

6 p.m. – Division 3 – fourth place Sandbar Saints vs. first place Tortilla Bay Dolphins
7 p.m. – Division 2 – fourth place Walter & Associates Titans vs. first place Ross Built Raiders
8 p.ml– Division 1 – fourth place LaPensee Plumbing Ravens vs. first place Tapes Tennis Titans

Saturday, March 6

10 a.m. – Division 1 – Championship Game (winners of Wednesday and Friday’s games)
11 a.m. – Division 2 – Championship Game (winners of Wednesday and Friday’s games)
12 p.m. – Division 1 – All-Star Game
1 p.m. – Division 2 – All-Star Game
2 p.m. – Division 3 – Championship Game (winners of Wednesday and Friday’s games)
3 p.m. – Adult Division – Championship Game (Winners of Thursday’s games)
4 p.m.– Division 3 – All-Star Game

*Playoff style is a single-elimination tournament. Please contact the Community Center for a more detailed playoff schedule as it approaches closer and is finalized.


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