The year of the upsets
SUBMITTED | AMICC
AMICC 8-to-10-year-old Co-Ed Flag
Football Super Bowl Champions Tyler's Ice Cream Vikings.
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball end of the year tournament makes national sports headlines every spring. Most sports fans fill out their tournament brackets and follow their favorite teams to the championship.
The excitement of tournament play is elevated when high seeded teams upset lower ranking teams and stun the fans. Everyone likes to root for the underdog and when the upset is huge in sports, we call them Cinderella teams.
The start of the 2014 sports season at the Anna Maria Island Community Center has been no different. Thirty-three teams entered the co-ed NFL Flag Football tournaments in five different divisions. Four out of the five divisions told Cinderella stories of Super Bowl stunners.
The biggest upset of the year so far was in the eight to ten year old division. The last place, sixth seeded, Tyler’s Ice Cream Vikings team battled its way through the tournament and defeated the number one seeded powerhouse West Coast Air Conditioning & Heating Dolphins by a score of 31 to 6.
Quarterback Thomas Heckler completed five of eight passes for two touchdowns and also threw an extra-point pass. Tuna McCracken caught two touchdown passes and an extra-point pass. Ava Alderson caught a touchdown pass and her sister Josie Alderson ran for a touchdown. Madelyn Rogers also ran for a touchdown. On defense, Samuel Meddick and Jordon Pasco each had a flag pull and Heckler had an interception.
The second Super Bowl Stunner was in the 30 and Over Co-ed Flag Football League. The Cinderella, Island Real Estate Raiders, team was ranked fifth out of six teams entering the tournament. It knocked off the undefeated number one seeded Island Gourmet Bills team 47 to 46 in the semi-finals. The Raiders then went on and won the Super Bowl championship by a score of 40 to 33 over the number three seeded Ross Built Construction Panthers.
Quarterback Chris Gillum threw for 261 yards and 5 touchdowns and also threw an extra-point and two-point conversion pass. Mike Gillum had 142 receiving yards with 4 touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Jason Vancleve had 91 receiving yards and caught a touchdown and extra-point. Vancleve also threw a touchdown pass. Matt Ray caught 82 receiving yards and the final touchdown pass of the game. Brianna Shaughnessy had a big night on defense recording one sack for a safety and four flag pulls.
In the 14-to-17-year-old league, the number five seeded Integrity Sound Lions team made it all the way to the Super Bowl championship game, but were defeated by the number two ranked Feast Restaurant Broncos team by a score of 35 to 6.
Broncos Quarterback Cody Tsai completed thirteen of nineteen passes for 3 touchdowns and five extra-points. Chris Johnson caught two touchdowns and an extra-point. Burke Hill ran for a touchdown and caught two extra-points. Jerret Tsai ran for a touchdown, caught an extra-point and had four sacks on defense. Joshua Parrish and Toni Spuruto each caught an extra-point.
The only number one seeded team to win the Super Bowl title was the LPAC Cardinals team in the 11-to-13-year-old division. It defeated the number two seeded Sandbar Restaurant Colts team in a thriller 38 to 34.
Quarterback Joey Stewart completed 19 of 26 passes and had three touchdowns and two extra-points. Zach Fernandez accounted for four TD’s when he ran for two touchdowns, caught two touchdowns and had two extra-points. Tyler Pearson ran for a touchdown and caught one for a touchdown. On defense, Heagan Powers had a huge day with six flag pulls and two sacks.
The season will conclude on April 2 with the last Super Bowl game of the season in the 18-year-old and up division. This will again have upsets possibilities when the shocking surprise number four seeded Duffy’s Tavern Eagles team plays the number two seeded Beach to Bay Construction Dolphins team.
Adult co-ed Volleyball Schedule
April. 1, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. – third seed team vs. second seed team - Playoffs
April. 1, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. – winner of 7:30 game vs. first seed team – Championship Game