ANNA MARIA – The winter break is over, school is back in session, and the youth flag football season started last Monday night on the Island.
Winter flag football action ensued on The Center gridiron with the tweens and teens. The younger players played their first games with preseason fun and action jamboree-style.
The eight 11- to 14-year-old league teams played their first games of the season. Poppos Taqueria, Jiffy Lube, Sato Real Estate and Solid Rock Air Conditioning took home the first wins of the season for the age group.
The teens, rostering a full league with six teams, played three games last week to start the season. Cortez Florida Vacation and Moss Builders handily defeated their opponents, Solid Rock Air Conditioning and Reel Coastal Properties, respectively.
In the second 14- to 17-year-old league match-up, Solid Rock Electrical faced team HSH Design. Both teams struggled to find the end zone on offense during two halves of play, but defenses for each squad had their shining moments in the 7-6 nailbiter.
The one-point conversion by Henry Dugan after his touchdown catch from quarterback Victor Albrecht made the ultimate difference in the game for team Solid Rock Electrical.
On defense, Solid Rock’s Dugan had three sacks on the HSH Design QB and three flag pulls to his credit. Albrecht added an interception to his season statistics, while teammates Kegan McGlade and Kaleb Romagnino had a total of three defensive stops.
Making his mark on the field for HSH Design was Jack Mattick on defense. In addition to two flag pulls, Mattick picked off the pass of the Solid Rock quarterback. His interception resulted in the six points his team put on the scoreboard.
Playing hard to keep HSH in the game on offense, Chase Castagna had three catches. Teammate Jaxon Kagin caught a pass to gain critical yardage.
Additional defensive pressure by Sterling Holiday and Kyle Castagna with big flag pulls helped keep their team in the game. C. Castagna only enhanced his game stats with two defensive stops of his own.
Despite the continued efforts of both teams, at the final second of the game, the missed point after the HSH Design TD gave Solid Rock Electrical their first win of 2025.
ANNA MARIA – With the kids taking the week off from indoor soccer, the sporting action was focused on the four adult co-ed flag football games at The Center last Thursday night. The night of four high-scoring games took the season past the halfway mark, marching toward the playoffs.
In the game of the week, team Salty Printing faced the quick defensive pressure of Slim’s Place. Working hard to widen their lead in the first half of the game, Captain Matt Manger’s team wobbled a bit, keeping it a one-point game after 20 minutes of play.
The stretched-out, one-handed catches of Slim’s Place’s Anthony Mannino were almost the downfall of the Salty team. With a seemingly sticky glove, Mannino caught passes and made interceptions to help his team keep the score close.
Before the half, Manger’s throw to Charles “Tuna” McCracken went off his fingertips into the hand of Mannino. The turnover led to six points for the Slim’s Place team.
Mannino, on offense, scored three of the team’s four touchdowns, all from the passes of quarterback Cruz Rodriguez. Two one-point conversion catches rounded out his offensive game stats.
Rodriguez scored on his own with a rushing TD. He also connected with teammate Isaiah Lambert for six. Contributing on defense, Jaden Grant put the pressure on the Salty QB, earning a sack.
The game leader went back and forth during the second half of the game.
Playing the option and using the arm of McCracken, Salty Printing scored four touchdowns from his passes. With Manger throwing for one, catches from Cody Allen, Christian Hampton and Manger from McCracken earned 18 points.
Blake Balais was the target for two TD receptions. Blake, along with teammates Manger and Raul Loera, caught critical catches after three of their five touchdowns to win the game.
The Salty Printing defense caught fire despite a game filled with missed flag pulls and defensive stops. The final offensive series for Slim’s Place was quickly put to a stop by team Salty.
The game came down to clock management, with important seconds left on the scoreboard. Holding onto a one-point lead, McCracken had possession of the football and wisely stayed inbounds without scoring to let the last second tick off the clock.
Team Floridian Mortgage lost their first game of the season against Solid Rock Air Conditioning 27-26. Fishing with Salty won, handing Moss Builders their fourth loss heading into Week Six of play.
In the final game of the week, Solid Rock Electrical won over team Prosper Bradenton.
Each of the eight teams will compete in the playoffs, making their final regular season rankings important with two regular season weeks to be played.
ANNA MARIA – The winter flag football playoffs started and the youth league award winners were announced last week. With the coaches’ votes in, 10 well-deserved players heard their names announced on The Center’s field.
Playing in last week’s opening game, AMI Coconuts’ Camden Rudacille, the league’s winner of the sportsmanship award, proved he is not only one of the best-spirited players in the league but also a skilled baller.
With one touchdown catch and a two-point conversion on offense, Rudacille also had a strong defensive game against the Moss Builders team, including six flag pulls and an interception.
Teammate Adelaide McGraw and Cheesecake Cutie’s Gunner Maize earned the offensive most valuable player honors for the 8- to 10-year-old league.
Despite the team’s loss against top-ranked Moss Builders, McGraw had a strong game with one reception and a big defensive stop.
In the third game of the night, MVP Maize’s team dominated the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant team, winning 33-0. The Cheesecake Cutie standout once again showed why he is deserving of the title, with 21 points, including a touchdown reception, a rushing score and a pick-six.
On the other side of the football, Beach House’s Aiden Guess, winner of the defensive MVP votes, had three flag pulls against the Cuties offense.
Team Adrian Griffin Interiors advanced to the semifinals with a win against Chick-fil-A. The league’s most improved player, Silas DeWitt, playing for the victors, finished the game with five catches, including one for six points and three big defensive stops.
Sato Real Estate won the second game of the night against Solid Rock Construction by 20 points in the defensive battle.
In the older youth league, Solid Rock Electrical’s Estella Long lit up the gridiron as the MVP against team HSH Design. Long had four catches and scored six points. On the other side of the football, Long stopped the HSH offense with seven flag pulls.
The league’s most improved player, Van Harvell, playing for Solid Rock Air Conditioning, helped his team to their narrow victory against Progressive Cabinetry. In the two-point game, Harvell scored a touchdown and made five big flag pulls in the night’s second match-up.
Team Wings N Things could not advance to the next round of the playoffs, despite having two of the honored players in the league. The Shady Lady Horticultural Services team was just too strong, holding Ryk Kesten, the defensive most valuable player, to one TD and five flag pulls.
Sportsmanship award recipient Charlee Maize caught two passes, pulled eight flags to stop forward progress and sacked the Shady Lady QB.
Closing out last week’s youth flag football play, team Moss Builders solidly won against team Freckled Fin. With the final score 52-8, Mason Moss put up numbers that echoed his season accomplishments which earned him the coaches’ votes for MVP.
Scoring two rushing touchdowns and catching for another six, Moss also had two interceptions, including taking one down the field to score.
Moss clearly showed his dominance both on offense and defense, finishing the game with a flag pull and one-point conversion to end last week’s youth play.
This week’s youth flag football action started on Monday with team Sato Real Estate facing the Cheesecake Cutie team, as well as the 8- to 10-year-old Moss Builders team taking on Adrian Griffin Interiors.
On Tuesday, the older Moss Builders team played Solid Rock Electric while Solid Rock Air Conditioning opposed the Shady Lady Horticultural Services squad in semifinal action.
SUN SCOREBOARD
MARCH 4 – YOUTH FLAG FOOTBALL
8- TO 10-YEAR-OLD LEAGUE
QUARTER-FINAL PLAYOFFS
#1 Moss Builders 35
#8 AMI Coconuts 8
#3 Sato Real Estate 26
#6 Solid Rock Construction 6
#2 Cheesecake Cuties 33
#7 Beach House Waterfront Restaurant 0
#4 Adrian Griffin Interiors 26
#5 Chick-fil-A 13
MARCH 5 – YOUTH FLAG FOOTBALL
11- TO 14-YEAR-OLD LEAGUE
QUARTER-FINAL PLAYOFFS
#4 Solid Rock Electrical 39
#5 HSH Design 18
#3 Solid Rock Air Conditioning 43
#6 Progressive Cabinetry 41
#2 Shady Lady Horticultural Services 26
#7 Wings N Things 6
#1 Moss Builders 52
#8 Freckled Fin 8
MARCH 7 – ADULT CO-ED INDOOR SOCCER, WEEK 5
Mi-Box (1-3-1) 13
Slim’s Place (0-4-1) 12
Pool America (3-1-1) 14
Servis 1st Bank (2-3-0) 5
Bucky Construction (5-0-0) 7
Sato Real Estate (2-2-1) 6
ADULT CO-ED FLAG FOOTBALL
QUARTER-FINAL PLAYOFFS
#5 Solid Rock Construction 29
#4 Salty Printing 13
#3 Sandbar Seafood & Spirits 46
#6 Slim’s Place 39
#2 Moss Builders 27
#7 Gulf Drive Café 6
#1 Floridian Mortgage 42
#8 Edible Cookie Dough Café 27
UPCOMING GAMES
MARCH 17
Floridian Mortgage vs. Solid Rock Construction, 7 p.m.
Sandbar Seafood & Spirits vs. Moss Builders, 8 p.m.
ANNA MARIA – The adult co-ed flag football league is closing out regular season play for the winter 2024 season. The final week’s action can shake up the current rankings with four teams sitting with four wins and two losses.
Team Floridian Mortgage leads the eight-team standings with only one loss. Moss Builders trails closely behind, along with Salty Printing and Sandbar Seafood & Spirits.
Looking to earn its second win in the season, Gulf Drive Café goes into week seven with a 1-5 record after a loss against Moss Builders in the final game of the night last Thursday. The 33-6 win came as the result of four passing touchdowns by Ryan Moss.
James Roadman caught two of the four passes, with Jesse Skipper and Evelyn Long the other targets. Long had two one-point conversions, adding to her week’s statistics.
Team captain Jon Moss added to the Moss Builders’ score with a successful point after a team TD.
Gulf Drive Café’s QB Zack Price found Brandon Rolland for the squad’s only touchdown. Failing to convert on the point after attempt, Gulf Drive was held to six points.
Teammate Karri Stephens added to the team’s efforts with six defensive flag pulls and an interception.
The third game of the night was a high-scoring affair, leaving Sandbar Seafood & Spirits the victors, 41-28. Team Solid Rock Construction could not outplay and outscore their opponents.
Quarterback Charles “Tuna” McCracken solidly threw for six touchdowns and an extra point, finding Ramon Guerrero IV for 25 points.
Life-long friend Tyler Brewer scored a TD from a McCracken spiral. Brewer scored a one-point conversion for a total of six catches in the game. Defensively, he had a flag pull and a critical interception.
Solid Rock’s QB Dominick Otteni played a strong game on both sides of the football with four touchdown throws, seven flag pulls and an interception. Otteni’s hot target, Peggy Smith, scored two TDs with seven receptions.
Smith scored a PAT and contributed to the Solid Rock Construction defense with two stops.
James Roadman, Solid Rock team captain, and Rex Kesten scored seven and six points in the game, respectively. Roadman had five defensive stops and an extra point, with his positive and never-say-quit demeanor.
As a defensive force, Kesten had six flag pulls and three sacks.
In game two, Slim’s Place did not stand a chance against Floridian Mortgage. Four passing touchdowns and one on the ground kept Chase Richardson’s team at the top.
Richardson and Jackson Hayes threw for 30 points. Adding to his three TD passes, Richardson ran into the endzone.
Teammate Cody Allen caught two for TDs and an extra point. His flag pull was one of 14 huge defensive stops by Floridian Mortgage.
Tim Holly stopped offensive progress by snagging eight flags, sacking the Slim’s Place QB six times and making an interception. Jasmine Muldoon scored her six points and made two critical stops on defense.
Slim’s Place did not go down without a fight. QB Anthony Mannino passed for one touchdown to Alexander Cruz. One point was scored by Cruz Rodriguez with a catch from a play in the “pass-only zone.”
Rodriguez added to the game stats with an interception and three flag pulls.
Team Edible Cookie Dough Café took their sixth loss against Salty Printing in another high-scoring game to start off the night’s play.
Quarterback Matt Manger threw for seven TDs, aiming for his main target, Shawn Balvin. Balvin finished the game with four touchdown catches.
The duo also made plays on D with two interceptions by Balvin and one by Manger. Balvin added two flag pulls to his season numbers.
Zaon Williams was hit twice by Manger for 12 points. Throwing for six, Williams played QB, adding to the Salty Printing points. He rounded out his play with a one-point conversion and five flag pulls on defense.
Salty’s Olvin Izquierdo and Corey Jacques each scored a TD. Jacques made more big plays in the game with a successful PAT, five flag pulls and an interception.
Among the best veterans in the league, Dina DeJesus had a takeaway against the Edible Cookie Dough Café quarterback. On offense, DeJesus gave her team two points after a Salty touchdown.
Sharing the throwing duties, Steven Pavina and Alonzo Lemus found open receivers for Team Edible Cookie Dough Café, scoring 28 points against Salty Printing.
Pavina threw for three TD and caught for seven points, including a throw by Lemus. Lemus caught two of Pavina’s touchdown throws and scored a two-point conversion.
Evan Talucci was the target of the Pavina pass for six points. Kiatrell Zachery also grabbed a throw for a one-point conversion for the Edible team.
Working hard on defense, trying to keep the score close and hope alive, Team Edible Cookie Dough Café had 15 flag pulls. The team’s defense was credited with two sacks by Johnny Sevier and Pavina.
Week seven flag football play sets the stage for the playoff. The eye is on the prize for the eight teams looking toward the championship game on Thursday, March 28.
ANNA MARIA – In a close one, Floridian Mortgage earned its second win of the season against team Moss Builders 23-19 in the adult co-ed flag football league at the Island’s community center. The Moss squad’s loss was its first of the season after three games.
The ladies of the field showed what tight coverage should look like, as Jasmine Muldoon, playing for Floridian Mortgage, and Moss Builders’ Evelyn Long were a tough match-up for two halves of play.
The game stats show just how close of a pairing the girls on the field were. Muldoon finished the game with three catches, including one for a touchdown, while Long had seven receptions and one TD nab.
On defense, Muldoon had four critical stops and Long snagged three flags. Several long throws were broken up by one of the two key team players, making for fun excitement on the field.
Overall, the defense of team Floridian Mortgage outplayed the Moss Builders’ offense with seven flag pulls and three total interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Offensively, Floridian’s success with the point after attempts helped with game momentum and added three points to the scoreboard.
Travis Bates, Octavious Cole and Jackson Hayes each had a one-point conversion catch.
Chase Richardson threw for Floridian Mortgage, hitting his receivers for three TDs. Richardson’s targets with good hands in addition to Muldoon were Tim Holly and Cole.
On the other side of the football, Richardson read the plays for two interceptions, while teammate Cody Allen caught the ball on defense for Floridian. Allen had two flag pulls and Hayes had a single stop to add to the winning team’s accolades.
The loss for Moss Builders came down to the final seconds of play. Zachary Long and Ryan Moss shared the credit for touchdown throws. Long’s pass to Moss showed the team’s diversity and why they continue to prove to be a team to beat this season.
Long scored his team’s only point after a Moss touchdown. The other two attempts failed due to the strong Floridian Mortgage defense. Long also had two defensive stops for Moss Builders.
Jesse Skipper caught the Moss pass for six of the 19 team points. Defensively, Jonathan Moss and Skipper each had one flag pull that contributed to the team’s efforts in their third game of the season.
R. Moss pulled two flags while playing on defense to help keep his team in the game until the final play.
Team Salty Printing earned their second win last week against Solid Rock Construction, 30-12. The loss was the first for the Solid Rock team.
In the third game of the night, the Slim’s Place squad won its first game of the season in a shutout against team Gulf Drive Café, 19-0.
Losing by 10 points, Edible Cookie Dough Café could not outplay Sandbar Seafood & Spirits. Team Sandbar goes into week four with two wins and a single loss.
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.
ANNA MARIA – In an action-packed flag football game, team Pineapple Market Place captured the 11- to 13-year-old league championship against Solid Rock Construction in a close battle last Tuesday night at The Center.
With the 8- to 10-year-old flag football league final game rescheduled due to an event at Anna Maria Elementary School, the top-seed Sato Real Estate squad faced the fourth-ranked Westfall’s Lawn Care and Pest Control last Thursday night.
Sato Real Estate’s 38-7 win against sixth-seed Moss Builders last Monday night earned them their spot in the championship game.
Going into the semifinal game a slight underdog, team Westfall fought their way through two halves of flag football play to win by nine points against Solid Rock.
As the clear favorites, the Sato Real Estate team was shook when their opponents came out onto the field playing to win.
With the much-needed mid-season add-on of Kellen Hunt behind center for Westfall, the Sato team fell behind for the first time in the season with a Westfall touchdown in early play.
In a cleanly physical and exciting game, Sato Real Estate’s Dylan Sato found himself injured and on the bench for several snaps of the football.
Team Westfall continued to play with accuracy and fire, taking advantage of a Sato squad struggling to find its footing in the game.
Self-determined with supportive coaching by volunteer and father Jason Sato, quarterback Brandon Sato lit up the field and ignited the excitement of the sideline with a game-changing interception. B. Sato’s nab of Hunt’s throw gave the Sato Real Estate team the positive play needed to ultimately win the championship.
Finishing the game with five touchdown passes, two defensive flag pulls and two interceptions, including one for six points, B. Sato was the unofficial game MVP.
Big brother D. Sato caught three of his brother’s throws for touchdowns and had a big defensive stop to help win the game.
Teammates Braylen Briggs and Kellen Reed each were the scoring targets for B. Sato, scoring 12 points in receiving touchdowns.
Scoring three total points, Silas DeWitt, Beau DeWitt and Reed all caught for one point conversion after Sato Real Estate TDs.
The remaining team Sato flag pulls came from Reed, B. DeWitt and Briggs. S. DeWitt had three crucial flag pulls to assist his team defensively.
Game-winning and season-making contributions came from Sato Real Estate players Camden Rudacille and Leo Tyler, helping to make the championship win possible.
Despite the loss, Westfall’s players fought hard until the last second of the final youth flag football game of the season played before the adult flag football semifinal games.
Hunt’s touchdown duos in the big game were Ethan Angel, Carter Hey and Callin Westfall, each with a scoring catch for six points. Westfall put four receptions in the stat book.
Angel finished the game with five catches and two flag big flag pulls. Hey made two stops in addition to his TD catch.
Elijah Karabagli and Cody Stockton caught three and two passes for positive yardage for team Westfall, respectively.
Helping the Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control work their way to the championship game, Thadeous Daniels and Ruby Kesten made critical plays throughout the season.
The high-scoring championship game for the older age group was a shootout with 17 total caught passes thrown by Pineapple Market Place quarterbacks, including by Jack Mattick, for a total of 18 points.
8- to 10-year-old flag football league champions, team Sato Real Estate, are, from left, (top row), Braylen Briggs, Camden Rudacille, Kellen Reed and Brandon Sato, (bottom row) Coach Jason Sato, Beau DeWitt, Silas DeWitt, Leo Tyler and Dylan Sato. – Monica Simpson | Sun
The caliber of play on both sides of the football by both teams makes it difficult to determine who would walk away with the most valuable player honors for the season-ending game.
Mattick threw for three TDs, pulled three flags, caught for one interception and one two-point conversion.
Carter Eurice and the offensive team for Solid Rock Construction threw for 16 passes, scoring 24 points.
Despite the in-the-air action, it ultimately was the two rushing touchdowns that may have been the difference for the 11- to 13-year-old league Pineapple Market Place team.
The speedy wheels of Mattick raced the football past his Solid Rock opponents.
The Pineapple scoring receptions came at the hands of Krosby Lamison with two scoring catches. Cyrus Ryan was the receiver for six points in the endzone.
Lamison’s hot hands made six catches and snagged a flag while on defense.
Rounding out the scoring, Peyton Hovda scored three points with two one-point conversions and a two-point play after a TD. Defensively, Hovda had a team high four flag pulls.
Kaleb Romangnino had a single catch and two flag pulls, while teammate Brantley Kobialka scored one point with a point after conversion.
Brantley finished the last game of the season with two catches in the game.
On defense, Colin Bankert made a huge stop for Pineapple Market Place. Bankert’s teammates Jordan Tobey and Riley Karecki each made team contributions in the winning season.
Working on the other side of the field, quarterback Eurice hit the hands of Hyden Eurice and Audrey Guess for 24 points, each with two TD catches.
Eurice made four catches, two flag pulls and had one interception in the game. Brother Carter Eurice had two flag pulls in addition to his scoring throws.
Guess was the top receiver in the game with eight catches and had five defensive stops.
Austin Guess contributed to his team’s efforts with one catch and three flag pulls, while Addie Guess had two nice receptions and a one-point conversion.
Making a nice two-point conversion and catching a pass for Solid Rock was Colson Mendiola.
Solid Rock Construction’s Bella Roadman had a beautiful defensive stop with a flag pull.
Obi Roadman and Avery Guess made huge team contributions throughout the season, helping the Solid Rock squad make it to the championship game against the top-seed Pineapple Market Place as underdogs.
In the adult co-ed flag football league, #1 met #2 in the final game of the season. With an easy win against The Briley Mortgage Team, with the final score 96-39, the Luxury Services squad secured their position in the big game.
Despite the name, Solid Rock Construction’s owners and family represented Moss Builders on the football field against the Solid Rock team. The Solid Rock squad slotted into the final championship position with the 35-28.
Ready for battle on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m., top-seed Luxury Services meets team Solid Rock Construction, with the young team looking to take home the championship.
ANNA MARIA – With the close of the first round of playoff action concluded at The Center of Anna Maria Island, the top-ranked team in each of the three leagues easily defeated their opponents.
In the 8- to 10-year-old league, top-ranked Sato Real Estate won their quarterfinal game against SynLawn with a final score of 47-12.
Scoring 18 rushing points and 12 receiving points, the Sato team spread the scoring around the squad. QB Brandon Sato found his brother, Dylan, for a scoring reception and six points.
Sato finished the game with four defensive flag pulls on the other side of the football.
Silas DeWitt was the other B. Sato target for a receiving touchdown. DeWitt made three stops on defense and had two one-point conversions in the game.
Scoring on the ground, B. Sato got the call and scored six points. His run of scoring included two pick-sixes and a two-point conversion after a Sato Real Estate score.
With a total of three interceptions, defensively B. Sato was on fire, adding six flag pulls to his game stats.
Kellen Reed kept it on the ground and scored 13 points with two touchdowns and a single one-point conversion. With a single flag pull, Reed added to his team’s 14 total defensive stops in the Feb. 27 game.
SynLawn’s Nolan Anderson stayed on his feet for 12 rushing points for his team. Anderson made five huge defensive stops with his flag-pulling skills.
Oliver McCallister made a single catch in the game. Teammates Will Breslin, Tanner Pippins and Luther Sasser each had key flag pulls against Sato Real Estate.
The strong efforts of team SynLawn just were not enough against the tough Sato squad.
In this week’s action, Sato Real Estate went up against team Moss Builders. Moss Builders, ranked sixth at the end of the regular season, finished last week against third-ranked Island Real Estate with a win.
On the same night, Solid Rock Construction faced Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control in quarterfinal play in the 8- to 10-year-old league.
Playing last Tuesday night at The Center in the 11- to 13-year-old league quarterfinal action, top-ranked Pineapple Market Place solidly defeated the Chick-fil-A team with a score of 39-20.
No upsets in the first round of playoffs with Moss Builders winning over Intentional Resilient Intuitive. Shady Lady Horticultural Services won over Storage Building Company by 14 points.
In the semifinal round of play on March 7, Pineapple Marketplace saw Shady Lady Horticultural Services on the gridiron. Moss Builders played Solid Rock Construction for the final spot in the championship game.
In the first round of adult co-ed flag football playoff action, there were no surprises in last week’s play. First seed Luxury Services kept Ugly Grouper out of the endzone, with a final score of 96-0.
Finishing the regular season in second place, Moss Builders easily won against Gulf Drive Café, up 25 points at the final whistle.
Team Solid Rock Construction beat sixth-ranked The Banks Home Lending Team, while The Briley Mortgage Team secured their spot in the next round of playoffs with a victory over The Sandbar.
This Thursday, four adult flag football teams take to the Island’s football field to determine who goes on the final game of the season.
On Thursday, March 9 at 7 p.m., Luxury Services vs. The Briley Mortgage Team will start the night off. Solid Rock Construction and Moss Builders meet in the second game of the night.
In all of The Center’s flag football leagues, there can be only two teams that battle it out for the title “champions.” The end-of-season victors will be named in the coming weeks.
ANNA MARIA – The stage was set at the beginning of the youth flag football season for volunteer coach Ryan Moss and his son Mason Moss to sweep the championships in both youth flag leagues.
The task was not an easy one. The Moss Builders teams each had their worthy opponents, challenging the veteran coach and his teams every step of the way.
At the end of last Tuesday night’s youth flag football playoff action, Moss Builders were the victors in the championship games in both the 8- to 10-year-old and 11- to 13-year-old leagues at the Island’s community center.
In the younger league, Moss Builders faced Prosper Bradenton in the semifinal game, defeating the underdog team by seven points. Solid Rock Construction defeated Beach Bums in a close one to move them on to the final game of the season.
Solid Rock Construction and Moss Builders spent the entire season at the top of the ranks. Despite the two passing touchdowns by Solid Rock’s QB Van Havell to Colson Mendiola and Mckenna Darak, the top-notch team could not capture the big win.
Isaac Roadman supported his team with a big catch. In addition to a TD reception, Roadman’s teammate, Darak, scored a point after attempt (PAT) and finished the game with four catches.
Mendiola and Havell connected for three total receptions in the two halves of championship play. Team support and big plays came throughout the season by Solid Rock teammates Nixon Conner, Matthew Darak, Braylen Briggs and Obi Roadman.
Impressive statistics were recorded by the younger Moss Builders team last Tuesday night. With Mason Moss at the helm playing quarterback, the team took the first of two championship games for the Moss Builders sponsor.
Throwing for 15 completed passes in addition to four touchdown throws and three extra point tosses, Moss led his team to victory.
Moss’ targets were Aidan Guess and younger brother Miles Moss, each with three catches. Miles scored two points with successful PATs.
Teammate Turner Worth had an extra point catch, in addition to receiving a touchdown throw from Mason Moss. Moss Builders’ Austin Guess topped the charts with three connections with Mason for a total of 18 points in the 27-15 final game of the season win.
The Moss Builders team’s season success came with the offensive and defensive play of Andre Harwood, Gabrielle Bodnar, Blake Bodnar and Carson Long.
Team Nissan of Bradenton was the championship team’s semifinal opponent in the 11- to 13-year-old age group play. Winning by 10 points, Moss Builders went up against the tough, top seed Blalock Walters squad in the big game. Team Blalock advanced to play Moss Builders after their 15-point win over team HSH.
The final game of the night was action packed and in the end was a two-point ballgame, with Moss Builders taking home the win.
Coming into the game as the top-ranked team, Blalock Walters knew the arm of Ashton Hovda would keep the game within reach, if not take his team all the way. With three passing touchdowns, two to brother Peyton Hovda and one to Liam Proud, Aston and the Blalock squad came close.
Teammate Jackson Zoller sped down the gridiron for six points, taking the football into the endzone. Cale Rudacille, with two critical catches in the game, scored an extra point for Blalock Walters, helping to keep his team on the heels of Moss Builders.
Mazie Zoller and Mattox Caseman wore the Blalock Walters jersey proudly during their team’s winning season and made key plays for their team all season.
Once again playing quarterback, Mason Moss helped his team win the final game of the night. Moss threw three touchdown passes against the Blalock defense, hitting Greg Jordan each time.
Jordan and Moss connected 11 times for a total of 21 points, including three total extra points. Moss hit his other target, Luke Winsper, twice to make positive offensive yardage.
The cherry on top in his dual league play this season was Moss’ rushing touchdown in the final game of the season. Taking the football into the endzone, Moss added six points of his own to the record books.
The 11- to 13-year-old championship Moss Builders team chased the season leader, Blalock Walters, all season with the entire team playing at the top of their game. Matthew Winsper, Austin Guess, Bella Roadman, Addie Guess, Joey Suebert and Maddie Darak played hard and fought hard all season, helping to make team Moss Builders champions.
The adult flag football games were canceled last week due to rain, delaying the championship game to a date to be determined. Adult indoor soccer play continued as scheduled, with the championship game on Thursday, March 17 at 9 p.m. at The Center.
Sun Scoreboard
Tuesday, March 8
Youth Flag Football – Semifinal Playoff Games
8- to 10-Year-Old League
Moss Builders 33
Prosper Bradenton 26
Beach Bums 25
Solid Rock Construction 26
11- to 13-Year-Old League
Blalock Walters 29
HSH 14
Moss Builders 27
Nissan of Bradenton 17
Youth Flag Football – Championship Game
8- to 10-Year-Old League
Moss Builders 27
Solid Rock Construction 15
11- to 13-Year-Old League
Moss Builders 27
Blalock Walters 25
Thursday, March 10
Adult Co-Ed Flag Football – Semifinal Playoff Games
ANNA MARIA – In an action-packed, high-flying game to start the big field action at The Center last Tuesday night, the Nissan of Bradenton team narrowly won over HSH 38-35 in the 11- to 13-year-old league flag football league. After the seventh week of youth flag football, played Wednesday night as the result of games being canceled due to weather, both squads go into the playoffs with a 3-3 record.
Charlie Rogers, quarterback for Nissan of Bradenton, lead the team to victory with four passing touchdowns. Rogers’ targets, Brennen Gunter and Colten Shook, each had two scoring catches.
Shook also took the football into the endzone, giving the Nissan of Bradenton squad an additional six points with a rushing TD.
On offense for HSH, Jack Mattick and Audrey Guess took to the QB helm, putting 18 points on the scoreboard. Guess threw for two TDs and Mattick threw for six points.
While behind center, Guess’ go-to receivers were Emma Raulerson and Avery Guess.
Critical extra points were made by Audrey Guess and teammate Tyler Conn, with two of his own for team HSH. The successful point-after attempts by Gunter and Shook helped make the difference in the team’s win.
Defensively, Nissan of Bradenton’s pick-six by Gunter was a game-changer. The interception for the score was one of two defensive nabs by Gunter in the game.
Audrey Guess had a takeaway for HSH, which helped keep her team in the game.
Despite the loss, team HSH fought hard and showed why the team is a contender in the playoffs.
The quarterfinal playoff action for the 11- to 13-year-old league starts with Nissan of Bradenton playing Miz & Hiz Biz. HSH Designs has game three of the night against Investigative Lawyers Group. Looking for their first win of the season, Wash Family Construction goes into their game the underdogs against Moss Builders.
Finishing the regular season on top, team Blalock Walters received the bye for the week and will wait to find out who their opponent will be in the semifinal games on Tuesday, March 8, starting at 6:15 p.m.
The stage is set for youth flag football at The Center of Anna Maria Island. In the 8- to 10-year-old league, the small gridiron this week will be the location of the match-up between Moss Builders and Beach Bums, as well as Shady Lady versus Cloud. Top seed Moss Builders was set to capture a seat in the championship game this past Tuesday night.
Root Logix, ranked first going into the playoffs, faces Ugly Grouper in the older youth flag football league, hoping to meet up with team Poppos or The Gitt Team in the final game of the season for the championship title.
Finishing game seven in both the adult co-ed flag football league and adult co-ed soccer league, Sato Real Estate and Burton Brick and Tile go into the playoffs, both with 5-0-2 records. Allied finishes the regular season with a 5-1-1 record to round out the top three teams.
In the four wins, goalkeeper Ryan Moss tops the night with 11 saves for Jiffy Lube in its loss against Sato Real Estate. Mark Rudacille was credited with eight saves in the night, contributing to his team’s win. Sato Real Estate’s Will Kretzmann and Damir Glavan each had single goals in the game.
Teammate Race Arande scored two points for the Sato team to finish the game with the score 4-1.
Burton Brick and Tile split the goalie duties between Jonathan Aragon with six saves and Chris Klotz with seven stops. The scoring for Burton was spread between Kris Yavalar, Klotz and Aragon with solo goals for each. Yavalar’s sister-in-law, Katie Christenson, also had a single goal against The Gitt Team keeper Neil Fellowes.
Zach Leib rounds out the scoring for Burton Brick and Tile with two goals of his own.
In the loss, Fellowes was recorded to have five goals, while the team’s goal scorers were Tanner Zellmar, Jamie Hutchinson and Will Romberger.
Slim’s Place could not find a win in the regular season with another loss against Blalock Walters. David Green and Hyun Kim each managed to get the soccer ball past Blalock goalie Kevin Mulcahy, who had seven saves in the game.
Five of Blalock’s team members put points on the board against Slim’s Place’s Mark Long, keeper for the team. Nick Bouchard and Nate Welch both scored single goals in the game.
Matt Staggs, Chris Scott and Kali Richardson all managed to get their foot on the soccer ball, each credited with two goals in the win against Slim’s Place, finishing the season with a 3-4-0 record.
In the first soccer game of the night, Allied solidly won against Servis First Bank, winning by five goals. The single goal for Servis was scored by Sean Gray.
Servis’ Andrew Sullivan and Nate Talucci worked as the team’s goalkeeper, battling the firepower of Zach Reda with four goals for Allied. Raul Loera and Cody Wright each had goals of their own to start the night of action at The Center.
The coming weeks will determine who will play in the championship games for the adults. Can Sato Real Estate win another adult soccer title? Will Allied capture their first Hayward Cup win? Or will an underdog take it all?
Sun Scoreboard
Tuesday, March 2
Youth Co-Ed Flag Football Week Quarter Final Playoffs
Another week of youth and adult sports at The Center had two teams grabbing their first win of the season.
To start the week off on a positive note, Raymond Gardner inspired his team to their first victory. With each team going into the game looking for their first win of the season, team Ray’s Ramblings fought for the three-point win against Shady Lady in the 8- to 10-year-old flag football league last Tuesday night.
The next night in adult co-ed soccer action, the Jiffy Lube squad outscored The Gitt Team by four goals, putting up their first win in the spring season, with the final score 6-2.
The week’s ending game was on the adult flag football gridiron. Moss Builders took the solid and early lead in the game, not giving the Sandbar team a chance. The first half ended with the mercy rule instituted. With a 28-point lead, team Moss Builders would start the last minutes of play unable to rush the passer until there was less than a 21-point deficit for Sandbar.
In the second half of action, Sandbar’s Karri Stephens made two touchdown catches. Stephens, a veteran of the league, is one of the best, but unassuming, receivers in the league.
Teammate Ben Sato lit up the field with three scoring receptions and eight total catches in the night. Sato’s solid training routine shows each week on the field, regardless of the sport.
Matteo Ferris, growing into his own in the adult league, threw for four touchdowns and scored a point after a touchdown. Ferris is also credited for sacking Moss Builders’ QB, Ryan Moss.
The ever-present maturing Island youth is making an impact in the community center’s adult leagues. Sandbar’s Jackson Hayes and Tyler Brewer both learned their flag football skills at The Center starting on the small fields in kindergarten.
Years later, Hayes made the statistics book with one TD catch. Brewer caught an extra point throw for two nabs in the game.
Along with Brewer and Hayes, Moss Builders’ Cole Carter played Island youth sports when he moved to Anna Maria Island. Now in the adult league, he is making his own impacts with three catches and one interception in Thursday night’s game.
Three of Moss’ throws were caught by the reliable hands of Jordan Demers. Demers made it into the end zone four times for three TDs and one extra point.
Demers’ ability to read the plays as a defender put him in the right position for two interceptions, rattling the young Sandbar quarterback.
Greg Moss contributed both on offense and defense with three catches and two sacks. Top player and draft pick Dina DeJesus was held to one catch and an extra point.
Contributing to the Moss Builders win, Zach Routh grabbed three catches, including two for 12 points in the team’s second win of the season to end another fun week of sports action on the Island.
