Championship game energy filled the air at The Center last week as the adult basketball and youth soccer leagues came to an end with the final games of the season. Three games, three champions.
Last Monday night. the action started with hardcourt play as top-ranked Moss Builders faced the number two team, Paddy Wagon. Both teams came into the game with a 5-1 record, but it was clear from the start that the Moss Builders’ squad would have to play their best basketball to win.
With less than two minutes left in the first half play, Paddy Wagon had a 13-point lead with the score 28-15. Missed free throws and missed opportunities kept the Moss team from closing the gap before the first buzzer sounded.
Starting the last half of play down by 11, Moss Builders started on defense only to have Jeremi King tip in a basket for the team’s 30th point. King took the basketball away from Jordan DeMers for a layup, increasing his teams lead to 15 points.
DeMers found his groove at the free-throw line for Moss Builders making both baskets, taking the score to 32-19.
Missed free throws by Ryan Moss and another basket by King gave Paddy Wagon 34 points, but the Moss Builders team would not quit. A layup by DeMers and three-pointer by King advanced the score to 37-22.
Jay Terry added two points to the Paddy Wagon score, followed by another basket by King to give the team a 19-point lead. The increasing deficit forced Moss Builders to call a timeout to regroup with 15 minutes left in the game.
Taking the court after the huddle, Zack Long scored a much-needed Moss Builder’s basket under the net after a Jon Moss pass.
Shutting out their opponent, Miz & Hiz Biz won the championship game to close out the season for the 11- to 14-year-old league at The Center. Pictured from left are William Pakbaz, Jackson Pakbaz, Stephen Wilson, Ava Harlan, Liam Nunez, Chad Nunez, Konnor Oelfke, Cecelia Kroth and Coach Emily Nunez. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Down by 17 and with new-found energy, Moss Builders played to win. After being fouled by Long, King went to the line, but missed all three shots.
Moments later, J.B. Shuck found himself on the free-throw line for Moss Builders, making the first two baskets and missing the last; the score was 41-26.
Paddy Wagon’s Thomas Gish answered back with a 3-pointer. Teammate Trey Yarn made a goal, giving his team a 20-point lead.
With the score 46-26, Long finally put the basketball in the hoop after several attempts. Moss Builders’ Karri Stephens made a nice layup, giving his team their 30th point in the game.
After two Paddy Wagon baskets, Luca Vecchio was called for reaching against the Moss ball handler, putting DeMers on the line with 7:05 on the scoreboard clock. DeMers’ miss left the score at 50-30.
Long hit a three and DeMers made two much-needed free-throws, narrowing Paddy Wagon’s lead to 50-35, with a little more than five minutes left in the championship game.
Yarn’s successful three-point shot and missed three-pointer by DeMers left the score at 53-35.
In the game-ending shootout, 8- to 10-year-old league champions Moss Builders won it all at The Center. Pictured from left are Oliver Barr, Asher Patel, Assistant Coach Michael Bolognone, Landon Sinphay, Miles Moss, MaryTess Bolognone, Assistant Coach Ed Moss, Oliver Morrison-Tirpak, Mason Moss, Coach Ryan Moss and Callin Westfall. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Despite a foul by J. Moss, Terry could not capitalize at the free-throw line, missing both shots. Terry’s second shot was rebounded by James Roadman who inadvertently put the ball in the Paddy Wagon basket, giving the opponent two points.
Terry’s follow-up layup and missed free throw by Stephens lead to the three-pointer by Long, ending the scoring at 57-38. Paddy Wagon handily won the big game by 19 points, giving them the title of champions in the adult basketball league.
Tuesday night’s play started with youth soccer action in the 8- to 10-year-old league. After one half of action, the score was 0-0. Freekicks after penalties put points on the scoreboard for each team.
Moss Builders and Solid Rock Construction took it to the last second of regulation play with the score 1-1. Goals by Solid Rock’s Nixon Conner and Moss Builders Mason Moss, put the game into overtime.
Solid Rock’s Isaac Roadman is credited with four saves in the big game, while goalkeeper Asher Patel helped his team in the win with two critical stops for Moss Builders.
After three additional minutes of scoreless play, both teams put their best players on the line for a shootout. Moss’ final goal in post-regulation play was the winning goal, giving his team the championship title.
Closing out the playoff action for the week, Miz & Hiz Biz blew out the Blalock Walters team in the 11- to 14-year-old league, earning the team win and the championship. All four goals for the Miz & Biz squad came off the foot of Jackson Pakbaz.
Keeping the game scoreless for Blalock Walters was the defense of Miz & Hiz and the goalie talents of Konnor Oelfke. In the other goal, Mason Moss and Cale Rudacille had two and three saves, respectively.
Another exciting season of adult basketball and youth soccer came to an end last week, making adult co-ed soccer the main attraction going into the holiday season. Can the undefeated Sato Real Estate crew take it all again? Will the Sandbar team find its first win?
Halfway through the season, and playoffs in sight, the Paul “Ace” Hayward cup and championship is anyone’s to claim.
ANNA MARIA – The Center of Anna Maria Island recreational sports filled the field with youth and adult soccer spirit and adult basketball hoopla last week. As the youth soccer season and adult basketball seasons quickly come to an end in the coming weeks, adult soccer season is taking off with the second week of play.
In the first round of basketball playoffs, Moss Builders, the top-seeded team ending the regular season, joined by Paddy Wagon, Solid Rock Construction and Beach Bums, advanced to the next week of play. Hitting the hard court this past Monday night, Paddy Wagon went up against Beach Bums and Solid Rock Construction faced Moss Builders.
After six weeks of regular season play, Moss Builders’ J.B. Shuck was the team’s top scorer and finished ninth in the league with 67 points. For Solid Rock Construction, Dom Otteni and J.J. Friszman, scored 94 and 78 points, ranking second and fifth in the league for scoring, respectively.
Andy Shown, for Paddy Wagon, had 82 points in the regular season, placing him at the number four spot in points scored. Beach Bums’ Austin Young topped the scoring charts with 105 points, while teammate Carlton Bennett scored 74 points of his own, putting him in the sixth top scoring position in the community center league.
Each of the semifinal teams is looking toward the basketball championship game scheduled for Monday, Oct. 25.
The youth soccer league’s championship games are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 26. Getting one step closer to the big game, Miz & Hiz Biz’s Cecelia Kroth scored three goals in last Tuesday’s game against Blalock Walters. Teammates Jackson Pakbaz and Stephen Wilson a total of three goals get the important win.
Moss Builders’ Mason Moss and Callin Westfall both scored two goals to give their team a 4-1 victory against Solid Rock Construction, as both teams had a bye week. Nixon Conner scored the lone goal for Solid Rock.
In the game that was won by The Gitt Team in a shootout, Colin Bankert scored the single goal for the winning team. Tomas Bartos had a solo goal for Shady Lady, giving the team an opportunity for the win. The Gitt Team’s win can be credited to Matthew Winsper and Bankert, each getting one past the Shady Lady goalkeeper for the win.
The last game Tuesday night was a close one pairing Beach Bums and Tidy MD with the final score of 4-3 and Beach Bums the winners. The Sato brothers, Brandon and Dylan, did all the scoring for the squad. Jesse Zaccagnino had two goals for Tidy MD, along with a single by Kirra Quinby.
In week two of adult co-ed soccer play, Slim’s Place dominated the scoring against Emily Moss Designs in an 8-2 win. Scoring for Slim’s Place was spread throughout the roster, with singles by Tyler Brewer, Kali Richardson and Connor Bystrom. Jessica Williams put in two shots, while teammate Race Arande had a hat trick.
On the other side of the field, Connor Haughey and Ed Moss each had a goal in the game for Emily Moss Designs.
With three points in the statistic books, Daniel Hampton helped The Gitt Team win against Sandbar. Brent Laudicina, returning to the league after a long stint away, scored one of two points for the team. Tim Holly had the other goal to help keep his team in the game, despite the loss.
Josh Sato and the Sato Real Estate squad showed once again why they are dominant both on paper and on the field. Two of the Sato Real Estate players, Ryan Hogan and Danny Anderson had three goals in the game, with a single by Hugo Santos.
The Servis First Bank team fought hard to stay in it, but the lone goal by Ugur Durmaz just was not enough to overcome the seven goals by their opponents.
In the final game of the week, Blalock Walters beat Beach Bums by two goals, keeping them undefeated. With only a single goal for Beach Bums in the game, the three goals by Chris Scott, Matt Staggs and Kaan Erdem were enough for the win.
Soccer and basketball action continues next week with championship games and more adult soccer.
ANNA MARIA – The basketball court at The Center heated up last Monday night with Solid Rock Construction looking to remain undefeated at 2-0 going up against the Beach Bums.
The Solid Rock team took an early lead in the game, but Beach Bums, with the team’s and game’s high scorer, Austin Young with 21 points in the game, kept it close going into halftime.
With the score going into the second half of play at 21-16, Beach Bums continued to chip away at Solid Rock’s lead and tied it up at 21 each moving into the fourth quarter.
Dom Otteni and J.J. Friszman, with 20 and 17 points in the game, respectively, fought back to take back the lead in the game for Solid Rock, pushing the score to 38-35 with 11 minutes left on the clock.
Holding their opponent to only three additional points in the next seven minutes of play, Solid Rock cleared the net with six more points, increasing its lead to 44-38.
Playing with no one on the bench, Solid Rock fought hard against the Beach Bums squad until the final seconds. Connor Haughey took to the free-throw line after being fouled with 33 seconds left in the game.
Haughey, scoring six points on the night, made the first shot at the line, missing the second. Down by five points, Beach Bums made final efforts to take the win, but another free throw by Solid Rock Construction and missed shots on offense ended the game with Solid Rock winning 49-42. Both teams now have a 2-1 record going into week four of adult basketball action.
Last week saw the close of both the adult basketball season and the co-ed adult soccer season at The Center with two championship games.
After a night of semifinal games, Thursday night on the pitch was built up to be the game of the season, with talent and skill on both sides of the field.
Blalock Walters set the tone of the game in the first half with the first goal by Matt Plummer.
With eight recorded saves in the night, Vintage Beach’s keeper Jason Sato made a beautiful save 10 minutes into the game, sparking excitement in the young team.
The Vintage Beach energy would soon be squashed with a second block goal by Luis Picardo at the 14th minute with the assist by Brooke Capparelli, making the score 2-0.
The Blalock defense smartly prevented shooting opportunities for the league’s high scorer Joseph Hutchinson. Luke Grady, Block’s goalkeeper, made the stop of Hutchinson’s first shot, foreshadowing for the rest of the matchup.
With two minutes left on the scoreboard, Vintage Beach made a run down the field with Cole Peterson dribbling the soccer ball into Blalock territory before passing to Hutchinson who claimed his team’s one and only goal in the game, moving the score to 2-1.
Robert Fellowes made a beautiful ground shot that Sato just could not get to with 90 seconds left in the half.
Holding a two-point lead, the Blalock defense continued to stop Hutchinson and the Vintage offense despite beautiful shots.
Vintage Beach nearly put another point on the board before the end of the half with an amazing near midfield free kick by Zach Reda. Reda’s shot went off the corner of the crossbar, preserving Blalock’s lead going into the second half of the final game of the season.
To start the second half, Blalock Walters’ Fellowes game out shooting, but Sato’s keeper abilities were just too good, stopping the hard shot.
In another Capparelli-Picardo combination run, Picardo shot his team’s fourth goal.
Out of the box, Sato made a smart stop with his knee high, kicking the ball downfield, preventing a Capparelli shot.
Trying to put something together with a little more than eight minutes left in the game, Jenna Steininger gets the soccer ball to the feet of Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s hard shot sailed over the goal.
Vintage Beach maintained a “Never Say Die” mentality on the field until the last whistle. Cody Wright, near the corner on the Blalock side of the field, passed to Clancy Vaughn who had good position in front of the net. Holding on to the ball just a little too long, the Blalock defense moved in preventing the shot.
After many team shooting opportunities and shots that were just a little off, Hutchinson’s next shot was just a little poke toward the goal, making an easy stop by Grady.
The combination of an off night for Hutchinson and a prevent defense by Blalock, the Vintage Beach team just could not find the net, including Reda who had a number of strong strikes.
In the end, the Blalock Walters team was the victor and claimed the Paul “Ace” Hayward Cup for The Center’s 2019 fall season.
In last Wednesday night’s adult basketball action, Gulfview Windows handily defeated the Ugly Grouper squad 59-44 to win the adult basketball championship game at The Center. Gulfview’s JB Shuck was the high scorer of the night with 20 points in the game. Teammate Jordan DeMers was a close second with 19 points.
Blalock Walters won the Hayward Cup. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Dominick Otteni, for Ugly Grouper, was the top scorer for his team with 15 points.
As the adult basketball season moves into the playoffs, Ryan Moss, owner of Moss Builders, finds himself playing against his company-sponsored team last Wednesday night as a member of the victorious Gulfview Windows team.
In the first semifinal game of the season, Gulfview tops Moss Builders by 18 points after a slow start. Despite winning the game-starting tip off, Jordan DeMers to JB Shuck, Moss Builders’ Trent Gillis made a layup, giving his team the early lead.
Gillis followed with his first three pointer, widening the lead 5-0. Gulfview Windows’ Ray Gardner got the basketball to Jon Moss with a precise bounce pass leading to a basket. Getting fouled on the shot, Moss went to the line for a single free throw, moving the score to 5-3.
Bradley Coleman, for Moss Builders, made his outside shot for another three, only to be followed by two shots at the line by Shuck for Gulfview. With the score 8-5, Trent Gillis made a layup for Moss Builders. Aggressive defense on the other end of the court put DeMers to the free throw line for two shots. DeMers missed the first one, but hit the second, taking the points to 10-6.
Another outside shot was hit by Moss’ Joey McElfresh, with another good shot by Coleman to give their team a nine-point lead. Gardner’s point shooting heated up with a three point shot with 10 minutes left in the half. He followed with a fast break scoring opportunity putting up a layup and getting fouled in the process.
Sinking his shot, Moss Builders’ lead was decreased to 15-12. McElfresh was called for a foul on Shuck. Shuck’s consistent shooting from the line made it a one-point game with the score 15-14.
Finally taking the lead in the game, Gardner made a nice layup, shifting the momentum of the game. Jacob Kiester attempted his first three point shot that went off the rim. DeMers answered back, making his three pointer, giving Gulfview Windows a 15-19 lead.
Gillis hit a three, and DeMers put two more points in the statistic books. R. Moss scored two points after Gardner took the ball down the court for his first basket of the game. With the scoreboard at 18-23, R. Moss took the basketball under the basket from a pass by DeMers where he was fouled. R. Moss made the first of two free throws, widening the Gulfview lead by six.
Shuck and Gillis each made two point shots for their teams, but Gardner could not hit his outside shot for an additional three Gulfview points. Making both free throw shots at the line, DeMers once again increased Gulfview’s lead with the score 20-28. After strong scoring, the Gulfview defense got confused at its end of the court, allowing Moss Builders to score an easy two points.
Both teams going back and forth down the court, with a strong and successful scoring effort by Moss Builders, ending the half with the score a tight 29-32.
The second half of play started with a three-point shot by Kiester to tie the game 32-32. This spark was short-lived as Gulfview moved the ball to the basket with 14 unanswered points, putting the score to 33-48.
Moss Builders started making its shots again, with two three pointers by Gillis, pushing the score to 39-50. On another scoring streak, Gardner, DeMers, J. Moss and Shuck all put points up on the scoreboard, giving the Gulfview team an 18-point lead.
With the score 41-59, Moss Builders kept pushing to the basket for points. A three-point basket by McElfresh fell through the net. Trying to gain possession of the basketball, Moss Builders started intentionally fouling the Gulfview squad.
Shuck and Gardner both made their free throw shots, ending Gulfview’s scoring with 67 points. Kiester ended the game with a nice three-pointer for Moss Builders to give his team its 48th point.
Gulfview Windows will match up against Ugly Grouper in the championship game at The Center.
Last Tuesday night proved to be the close championship basketball game predicted by fans, parent, players and coaches at The Center.
The number one and number two teams went head-to-head in a 36-minute battle on the hard court. In the end, Team Beach Bums’ three-point lead gave it the championship.
Bryce Higgins started off the game with the first two points for Slim’s Place, that finished in first place during the regular season because of a forfeit by Beach Bums.
Beach Bums’ Connor Ludwig hit a three-point shot three minutes into the game, only to be met with a goal by Tyler Brewer, Slim’s Place’s top scorer. Higgins hit two more shots in the half, giving his team the lead and momentum.
During the first half of play, Beach Bums’ hot hand, Brock Soletti, had shooting problems. Uncharacteristically, Soletti found himself at the free throw line missing both shots.
David Daigle hit two shots back-to-back, advancing Slim’s Place’s lead to 12-3. Buckets by Travis Bates and his team gave his team a nine-point lead with five minutes left in the first half of the championship game.
The hard long shot by Evan Christenson was rebounded by Tuna McCracken giving his first score of the game. Soletti matched the hoop with one of his own moving the score to 22-13.
Christen was fouled going up for the score giving him two shots at the line. Hitting both of them gave Beach Bums a little pep in its step during the last minutes of the game. Scoring by Ludwig, McCracken and Jeremiah Sculco narrowed Slim’s Place’s lead to five points at the end of the half.
Still looking to find his groove, Brock Soletti’s brother Shane entered the game. The brotherly competition flipped the switch for B. Soletti.
To start the second half, both teams came out aggressive and quick. When the game finally slowed down, Brewer made a smooth lay-up.
Matthew Spiedel made the first of two three-pointers with 13 minutes left in the competition, making it a two-point game.
With the score 30-28, Slim’s Place called a timeout to regroup and work widen the lead.
From downtown, both Daigle and B. Soletti net the long shot. Beach Bums called a timeout with 11 minutes on the clock.
Returning to the court, B. Soletti was fouled during a shot attempt. Making one of two free throws, Beach Bums made it a open point game.
Dribbling the basketball all the way down the court, weaving in and out of traffic, McCracken drove down the lane for a lay-up. Spiedel’s second three-point shot tied the game for the first time in the game.
Scoring went back and forth, and the spark of B. Soletti was finally lit with a layup and three-pointer, giving Beach Bums its first lead of the game with only two minutes left in regulations time.
Ludwig hit both of his free throws only to be followed by behind the arc shot by Daigle.
Hoping to retain the lead, Beach Bums called a timeout with five seconds left on the clock. B. Soletti got the throw in alone under the hoop for a quick bucket to end the championship game with the score 43-46.
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