The kids of indoor soccer took a break last week, making adult co-ed flag football the sport to watch at The Center. Three teams went into the week’s action undefeated; only one came out on top.
Team TBT suffered its first loss, falling to Rays Rambling 30-13. Rambling’s Ryan Moss threw for four touchdowns to Karri Stephens and James Roadman. On the other side of the field, Brandon Kull hit Matt Briley and Melissa Acevedo for scoring plays.
Cortez Deep Sea Fishing could not find its groove until late in the game against Sandbar. Looking for its first win, Sandbar scored early and narrowly managed to take the victory 20-13.
The speed of the Sandbar rusher put the pressure on Cortez’s QB Tuna McCracken. McCracken led his team down the field a couple of times, with the Sandbar defense denying them access to the endzone.
On the Sandbar offense, Anthony Mannino threw for two TDs and caught one for six points with Matt Manger at the QB for the play. Manger scored a touchdown of his own to help with his team’s victory.
Being forced to improvise the offense, Cortez Deep Sea Fishing showed their opponent why they cannot be underestimated. Fighting the clock, Cortez’s offense and defense fought hard in the second half of the game taking it down to the final seconds.
Despite the two scoring passes by McCracken to Blake Balais and Tyler Brewer, the missed flag pulls by the Cortez defense and inability to connect at critical moments led to the team’s first defeat.
Beach Bums came into week three looking for their first win, but We The Best Lending found their second win instead with a 30-0 pasting of the Bums.
Quarterback Chase Richardson threw for three touchdowns to Jonathan Soultatos and Dominick Otteni for WTBL. Soultatos added six more points with an interception that he took to the end zone.
Winning for the third week in a row, Jon Moss and the Catalyst crew kept the TMT team scoreless in last week’s game with a 20-0 victory. Throwing to Evelyn Long, Brent Moss and Jesse Skipper, Moss secured his team’s place at the top of the flag football rankings just short of mid-season.
Thursday night Catalyst matches up against Team We The Best Lending, who goes into week four with the same 2-1 record as TBT, Rays Ramblings and Cortez Deep Sea Fishing. TMT and Beach Bums are still in search of their first win.
In Tuesday night youth indoor soccer action, team Moss Builders and team Shady Lady took the floor for two halves of strong shooting, fierce defense and amazing team play by all. The Moss brothers did the scoring for the Moss Builders team, with the support of the Guesses and the rest of the squad.
Aiden Guess finished the game with one assist, while brother Austin kept the opponent’s scoring to three goals with seven recorded saves.
Mason Moss started the scoring in the first half of play for his team. The Shady Lady defense worked hard to keep Moss’ shooting to a minimum.
In goal for Shady Lady, Cale Rudacille made four critical stops and teammate Jack Zaccagnino saved seven Moss Builders shots. One of the strikes by Myles Moss eluded goalkeeper Zaccagnino, igniting the spectators at The Center.
Three of the Shady Lady powerhouses did the scoring in the game. Amelia Blunkall, Cale Rudacille and Jack McCarthy each had solo goals, giving the team the lead for most of the game.
In the final minutes of the game, Mason Moss scored the third point for the Moss Builder team to tie the game. Each side’s defense fought hard, preventing the other from scoring up to the final buzzer.
The final games of the indoor soccer season will be played on Aug. 10 at The Center, leading to a season champion.
Last week in adult flag football at the Island’s community center, two teams in the league dominated the gridiron. Both Rays Ramblings and Cortez Deep Sea Fishing not only stopped their opponent’s offense but also crushed it during their games. With a final score of 42-6, the game was ended with time on the clock with the mercy rule employed, giving Beach Bums their second loss in the season.
Rays Ramblings took it to the endzone for 47 points and prevented the TMT offense from scoring more than 12 points. For the second time in the night, the mercy rule ended a game with minutes on the scoreboard.
With five weeks left in the regular season, the adult flag football championship title is still up for grabs. The final championship play is scheduled to end with the final game of the season at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23.
Sun Scoreboard
Tuesday, July 27
Youth Indoor Soccer – 8- to 11-Year-Old League
Moss Builders (3-0-2) 3
Shady Lady (2-2-1) 3
Beach Bums (3-1-1) 4
Solid Rock Construction (0-5-0) 2
Thursday, July 29
Adult Co-Ed Flag Football
Cortez Deep Sea Fishing (2-0) 42 Game Ended by Mercy Rule
Yes, they did it again. Team Sato Real Estate was named the winter adult co-ed soccer champions, giving team captain Josh Sato his second big win since the inception of the Paul “Ace” Hayward Cup.
Same captain, different squad, same dominance on the field. After weeks of regular season play, finishing in second place, Sato Real Estate won the final soccer game of the season in overtime against the solid team sponsored by Blalock Walters.
Finishing the regular season in fifth place, Blalock gave a strong showing in the championship game.
The firepower of Chris Scott, Nick Bouchard and Matt Staggs, each with a single goal in the game, just was not enough last Wednesday night at The Center.
Sato Real Estate’s goalkeeper Mark Rudacille made critical saves for his team, with six recorded saves. Meanwhile, the Blalock Walters’ goalie, Kevin Mulcahy, was kept on his toes making 13 stops.
In the win, Amy Ivin once again made her presence known on the field, scoring two goals. Adding to Ivin’s points, Will Kretzmann got two shots past Mulcahy to help clinch the victory for Sato Real Estate.
After winning the make-up adult flag football semifinal game against Mi-Box, top-ranked Ugly Grouper faced the fresh Beach Bums team, who finished second in the regular season.
In another close final game at the Island’s community center, the adult co-ed flag football champion was named, as Beach Bums beat Ugly Grouper 31-27.
Team Beach Bums beats the number one ranked Ugly Grouper in the championship game. – The Center | Submitted
A pick-six by Beach Bum’s Anthony Mannino added to his scoring in the game. Mannino also had a rushing touchdown and a catch for another six points, arguably making him the game’s MVP.
On the other side of the field, despite the loss, the team captain of Ugly Grouper, Brandon Kull, also had an interception and three receiving TDs along with two sacks. Had his squad pulled out the win, Kull would be getting game MVP credentials.
Ugly Grouper’s Jaret Rojas found the hot hands of Kull, putting four scoring throws in the record books.
Ruben Young and Lucas Paquin each had a touchdown catch from quarterback Matt Briley in Beach Bum’s win over the top-ranked team, giving them champion status going into the next season.
Without the scoring power of Zach Reda, Allied struggled to score against the solid and experienced Sato Real Estate squad. Two goals by Will Ktrezsmann led the scoring for Sato in the 6-1 quarter-final win.
Teammates Ryan Hogan, Hagan Toka, Race Azande and David Noval put points on the board for Sato Real Estate. Team Captain Josh Sato is credited with two assists, along with a single assist by Damir Glavan.
Keeper Mark Rudacille made nine stops in the big win. Allied’s Steve Oelfke made seven saves, while Clancy Vaughn had the single goal for her team in the game.
Sato Real Estate will face Blalock Walters in the Paul “Ace” Hayward Cup championship game. In overtime, Blalock Walters squeezed out the win against Burton Brick & Tile.
Blalock’s Chris Scott continued to be a scoring force with a hat trick in the second semifinal game of the night. Three additional points were on the scoreboard with single scores by Nick Bouchard, Matt Staggs and Austin Nutting.
Staggs and Bouchard are also noted in the statistics with solo assists in their team’s win. Most notable perhaps are the 10 saves by Kevin Mulcahy that took the game to additional time on the pitch.
Mulcahy’s counterpart on the Burton Brick & Tile team, Jonathan Aragon, had eight saves of his own. The goal scoring by Omar Polar, Zach Leib, and Cemal Duzgun just was not enough to take the Burton team to the championship game.
Polar and Duzgun each had two goals, with assists by Kris Yavalar and Oisin Crean.
Sato Real Estate will play Burton Brick & Tile in the final soccer game of the season at The Center.
Due to a rain delay, the flag football championship match-up will be rescheduled to a date to be determined. The winner of the game between Ugly Grouper and Mi-Box will play Beach Bums, who beat the Moss Builders team by one point in their semifinal game.
After game six in the adult co-ed soccer league, three teams go into the next week with four wins: Allied, Burton Brick & Tile and Sato Real Estate. Two middle-of-the-pack teams, The Gitt Team and Servis First Bank, met on the pitch last Thursday night, making the competition even closer.
The Gitt Team’s win put them even with the Blalock Walters’ squad with 2-4-0 records. The loss for Servis First Bank put them at a 500 season with one regular-season game left to play.
In the win, Neil Fellowes was credited with five saves for The Gitt Team. Ben Sato had eight stops and Andrew Sullivan prevented five goals on the other side of the field for Servis First Bank.
Always solid on the pitch, Greg Ross had a single goal along with teammate Ugur Durmaz. The two goals by Ross And Durmaz just were not enough against The Gitt Team.
New faces to the league put the points up for The Gitt Team. Tanner Zellmar put two shots past the Servis goalkeeper. Franco Ortiz and Owen Huffman both had solo goals for the winning team, accompanying Robbie Fellowes’ strike that led to another point on the scoreboard.
Recreational sports at The Center continues with youth flag football playoff action this week. On Tuesday night, quarterfinal action took place on the gridiron with Moss Builders and Root Logix both earning byes going into the playoffs as the top-ranked 8- to 10-year-old and 11- to 13-year-old leagues, respectively.
In the youngest competitive recreational league, Tidy MD went against Shady Lady, Cloud battled Rays Ramblings, and Coastline Contractors fought Beach Bums for a place in the semifinals. The tween team matchups put Poppos on the field with HSH, Gulf Drive Café skirmished Ugly Grouper, and Detweillers faced The Gitt Team on the large field.
Moss Builders will play the winner of the matchup between Coastline Contractors and Beach Bums on Tuesday, March 9 at 6:15 p.m. The victor of the game between Gulf Drive Café and Ugly Grouper will meet Root Logix at 6 p.m. for the first championship slot.
The championship games for both age group leagues will be played on March 9 at 7:45 p.m. for the 11- to 13-year-old league and 8 p.m. for the small field competitors.
Four adult recreational sports teams are surfacing as league leaders on the soccer pitch and the gridiron at The Center of Anna Maria Island. With two weeks of regular season play completed, will these undefeated teams take the season to the championship games?
In adult co-ed soccer, no stranger to the top of the ranks, Sato Real Estate starts the season 2-0 going into week three against the other undefeated team, Burton Brick and Tile. The anticipated 7 p.m. matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 3 will determine which team falls to the middle of the pack.
In the low scoring game last Wednesday night, Burton’s Olsin Crean scored the only goal in the game. The goalies for both teams were put to work with 11 saves by Jonathan Aragon for the winning team, while Steve Oelfke had 14 recorded saves for Allied.
All of the games were close in score and the battle between Sato Real Estate and Servis First Bank was no different. Will Kretzmann returned to the league this season with two goals in the game for Sato. Teammate Race Arande had two of his own in the win.
Also with two goals, Servis’ Kevin Roan lead his team in scoring. The team’s third goal came from Ugur Durmaz.
Thursday night, the soccer field was converted for American football action. Much like adult soccer, two teams finished week two undefeated. At the top of the list moving into week three are Beach Bums and Ugly Grouper.
On Thursday, Feb. 4 Ugly Grouper faces Moss Builders with a 1-1 record and Beach Bums meets Sandbar also with one loss and one win.
Slim’s Place’s failure to convert on the point after the touchdown lost the game for the team against top-ranked Beach Bums. JB Shuck connected with Jacob Roberts twice to put 12 points on the scoreboard for Slim’s.
A single point made the difference for Beach Bums with the extra point, giving them the victory. Quarterback Matt Briley hit Anthony Mannino for both TDs. Mannino’s hot hands grabbed the point after an interception in the game.
In the third game of the night, Ugly Grouper easily took the win against Salty Printing. Despite the veteran experience of the Salty squad, Ugly Grouper kept their opponent out of the end zone and scored 33 points in the game.
Three interceptions for touchdowns by Ugly Grouper’s Brandon Kull, Octavious Cole and Melissa Acevedo gave them 18 points. Kull found Cole and Jaret Rojas for the two touchdowns.
In a two-point conversion, Cam Winston found the endzone for Ugly Grouper.
With the positive statistics for the Salty Printing team, Jesse Kunc made an interception, while teammates Tim Shaughnessy, Miguel Alicea, Danny Murphy, Zach Anabtawi, Charles Polis and Bri Roberts all made positive passing yardage for their team.
With maintenance being done on the fields at The Center, the youth flag football players will take the field again on Tuesday, Feb. 2 for more gridiron fun.
In a much-anticipated match up, teams Ugly Grouper and Moss Builders took the field at The Center Thursday night in the first playoff game of the season.
The two team captains and close friends off the gridiron, Ray Gardner for Ugly Grouper and Ryan Moss for Moss Builders, each season look forward to the competitive, but friendly, game of co-ed flag football.
This game would be not different. The action started the same, with Gardner running into the game lighting up the field with his speed and agility.
The energy of Thursday night’s game would quickly change after Gardner fell to the ground grabbing his ankle in pain. Gardner, players on the field and even spectators heard the “pop” that every athlete dreads.
Credited with a throw for a touchdown and two rushing scores before the Achilles injury took him out of the game, Gardner will watch from the sidelines as Moss Builders moves on to the semifinals after the 46-20 win.
Moss’ brother Jon Moss threw for three touchdowns, just coming short of older brother’s four TD throws.
At the receiving end of the play, J. Moss had one TD catch along with James Roadman. J. Moss is also credited with an extra point nab in the end zone.
New to the adult flag football league, graduating from the youth league last year, Cole Carter caught the ball for a total of 14 points, with two touchdowns and two extra point conversions.
The hot hands of the night belonged to Moss Builders’ Evelyn Long with three receptions, putting up 18 points of her own. Husband Zack Long added a point to the scoreboard with a successful extra point catch.
Despite the season ending loss, Ugly Grouper’s Chad Woods scored seven points in the game, along with an extra point by Octavious Cole.
Moss Builders meets Sandbar in the second semifinal game Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at The Center. Sandbar easily defeated Beach Bums 51-21 to secure their spot in the next round of play.
Slim’s Place’s victory over Progressive Cabinetry puts them on the field with Gulfview Windows and Doors in the first semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Gulfview won against Solid Rock Construction in a close one, ending the Shaughnessy family’s season before reaching the big game.
The championship adult co-ed flag football game is scheduled for that same night, Thursday, Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. at The Center.
Sun Scoreboard
Wednesday, November 4
Adult Co-Ed Soccer Week #7
Blalock Walters (4-2-1) 6
Skinny’s Place (0-7-0) 3
Ugly Grouper (2-4-0) 3
Signature Granite (5-0-2) 12
Slim’s Place (5-1-1) 1
Sato Real Estate (5-2-0) 7
Progressive Cabinetry (2-4-1) 5
Solid Rock Construction (1-5-1) 5
Thursday, November 5
Adult Co-Ed Flag Football – Quarter Final Playoff Games
Playoff fever hit the gridiron at the north end of Anna Maria Island as the youth flag football league starts to wind down for the season. The second-ranked Blue Lagoon faced the third-ranked Tyler’s Ice Cream last Wednesday night.
Last week’s semi-final games were an exciting lead-up to this week’s match-ups for all three of the age group leagues.
With his female dominated team, Coach Rob Alderson, owner of Tyler’s Ice Cream, led his team to the first touchdown of the game on their second offense possession of the game. After huge yardage gains by Cash Carter and defensive flag pulls by Sam Leister and Kale Petrin for Team Blue Lagoon, quarterback Ava Alderson hit Carter on a long pass with a strong run after to put him in the end zone.
Tyler’s Ice Cream’s Reese Riley puts the pressure on David Patterson for Blue Lagoon in the semi-final. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Ava Alderson found Caleb O’Connor for the extra point moving the score to 7-0 for Team Tyler’s Ice Cream.
Strong on offense as the QB, A. Alderson also brought her A-Game to the defensive side of the game with a flag pull on the first down play to John Holbrook. The ladies of Tyler’s Ice Cream played a critical part of the season, including a critical second down play flag pull by Torri Fidler. On third down, what would appear to be a touchdown by Jiles Kirkland III was negated due to an impeding rusher call on the Blue Lagoon center, giving the football back to Alderson’s team.
Blue Lagoon’s Matt Speidel pulled the flag on the first down snap. A sneak play resulted in a four-yard gain by Reese Riley leading to another A. Alderson-Carter connection short of the first down.
After an incomplete pass, Speidel made a nice reception short of the first down, with a flag pull by Fidler. Fidler soon found her hands on the ball with a beautiful interception cause by the tipped pass.
While in scoring range, A. Alderson threw a scoring pass to O’Connor for another six points.
With the score 13-0, resulting from the missed point after, the one-minute warning for the first half was called by the official.
A. Alderson’s younger sister, Josie Alderson, put the quick pressure on Blue Lagoon’s David Patterson, but Patterson threw a first down pass. Holbrook caught the next pass, but lost his footing before he could gain additional yardage as the scoreboard clock only showed seconds left.
Blue Lagoon coach Jeff Holbrook called for the first timeout after J. Alderson’s sack. Lining up with two wideouts, Holbrook used his height as a receiver to his advantage catching the football in traffic, snagging it out of the air in the end zone.
Another J. Alderson sack kept the score at 13-6 to end the first half of semi-final action play.
The second half of the game put Tyler’s Ice Cream on offense. Riley, Carter and A. Alderson continued to play strong football moving the ball down the field. On a miraculous pass by A. Alderson, Carter found his way into the end giving his team a 13-point lead with the score 19-6.
Matt Speidel sped down the sideline on the first play of Blue Lagoon’s possession. Carter made a flying, diving flag pull to prevent the touchdown. A. Alderson stopped the first down carry by Kirkland.
Despite the strong pressure by rusher A. Alderson and the near sack, Holbrook hit his receiver for a Blue Lagoon TD. Speidel scored the point after changing the score once again to 19-13.
With the help of Tres Maddox on defense, Patterson pulled the flag of Carter on the Tyler’s Ice Cream first down play. On third down, A. Alderson fired the ball, but Kirkland intercepted the catch and ran it back for a score tying the ballgame 19-19.
After the pick-six, and with the game’s momentum swinging their way, Blue Lagoon worked to prevent another Tyler’s Ice Cream touchdown. Carter’s ability to catch the ball on the run helped to put another six points on the board.
Leading again by six points, Tyler’s Ice Cream went on the defensive with Nicholas Yatros on the field. Riley stopped field advancement twice with great flag pulls. In the pass-only zone, on third down, Speidel gained the first with a run past midfield to within five yards from the end zone.
Yatros’ flag pull prevented the score initially, but on first and goal Petrin threw the ball to Holbrook to once again tie the game.
On the point after, from the five yard line, the quarterback hit Patterson in the hands for the go ahead point advancing the score to 25-26.
In the last minutes of the game, Tyler’s Ice Cream worked hard and never gave up, with an impressive run by A. Alderson. With lost yardage due to a flag guarding call on the run, the Blue Lagoon defense stepped up preventing the catch by J. Alderson.
The first down catch by Carter kept the hope alive. A flagrant foul call on Blue Lagoon put Tyler’s Ice Cream in position to take the win.
Maddox made important flag pull stopping Carter before the score. The tough rush by Maddox forced A. Alderson to throw the football on second down with nobody near the ball.
In a perfect play, A. Alderson fooled the rusher evading the sack. A. Alderson’s pass was on the money, but Riley just could not make the winning catch in a heartbreaking loss for Tyler’s Ice Cream.
The championship game will be won by Blue Lagoon or Planet Stone to finish out the 11-to 13-year-old flag football league.
The sports seasons at the Island’s community center at first glance on paper appear to be short with less than a dozen games for each team to play.
From the adult flag football player’s perspective, the six regular season games leading into the playoffs during the heat of the summer can seem neverending for some and too short for others.
Going into the last regular season game, Team Talucci Construction looked like it would finish in first place. As the weeks went on, Ray Gardner’s team fell off one-by-one with critical injuries, keeping players off the field.
The loss of key players ultimately lead to the loss to Beach House Real Estate last Tuesday night, putting it in the third seed position going into the playoffs. Talucci Construction finally fell to Lexi Sato’s Team Avis in the quarterfinal game Thursday night in a heated battle between friends off the football field.
Don Purvis’ Beach House Real Estate, led on the field by replacement quarterback Chris Gillum, had its hands full against Team Truly Nolen in its first playoff game. The winless team captained by Jake Parsons found its stride Thursday night with a six-player roster for the first time since week two of the season.
Despite skillful play and an interception by critical team addition Patrick Calvary, Truly Nolen could not find the end zone in the final minutes of the game to move on to the semifinals. Parsons, Ben Sato, Patrick Harrington and late addition Joe Carder held their own in the last several games of the season, leaving the field with positive spirit.
Team Moss Builders ended the season on a victory upswing after a slow start in the first weeks of play. Back-to-back wins against Charles Buky’s Team Beach Bums put Ryan Moss and his company-sponsored team into semifinal play.
With the house of cards falling at the right time for Talucci Construction, Brianna Roberts’ Team Mason Martin took advantage of the team rankings last Tuesday night with a critical win against Team Avis.
Avis took the early lead putting 14 points on the scoreboard. To answer back, Roberts’ brother, Tim Shaughnessy, took the football for the score and extra point, giving Mason Martin a one-point lead.
Consistent strong runs by Caleb Roberts kept Team Avis on its defensive toes. Strong defensive play by B. Roberts and hard offensive work by Frank Agnelli kept Team Mason Martin in the game.
Critical receptions by Mike Brusso and a timely interception by Avis’ Danny Murphy near the end zone just as Mason Martin looked like it would score again kept Sato’s team in the game.
After 40 minutes of nail-biting play, the three Satos on the field just were not enough to hold the Shaughnessy-Roberts family trio. The Mason Martin win gave the team a much desired bye week in the quarterfinal round of play.
The semifinal games will be played on Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m. with Beach House taking on Avis and Mason Martin going up against Moss Builders.
The Island’s community center football field saw top-notch action between the seven adult co-ed teams on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Tuesday’s spectators saw two of the undefeated teams fall to their opponents, and Thursday night the third powerhouse team fell.
With Beach House Real Estate, Mason Martin, and Talucci Construction now each with losses, Team Beach Bums elevated in the ranks to finish the week in the third ranked position going into the last night of regular season games.
Team Avis proved Thursday night, with its defeat of the top ranked Talucci Construction, that having a full team hit the field can make or break a team. Struggling at the beginning of the season, Truly Nolen started finding its groove last week, also with a more developed roster.
Experiencing a roster change mid-week due to a critical injury to team captain Don Purvis, Beach House Real Estate fell to the middle of the pack with two losses. Despite the hit to the team, Purvis continued to lead his team Tuesday night against Beach Bums.
Playing with only four players, including its injured quarterback, Beach House held on, fought hard and only lost by a touchdown.
Beach Bums started the scoring on its second offensive drive, with team captain Charles Buky finding a wide-open Jay Hoffmeister. Purvis forced Buky to launch the football for an incomplete pass leaving the score 6-0.
Getting the football back after Beach House Real Estate failed to score, Beach Bums’ Chad Woods was the next to score, as the defense covered Mike Gillum. Karri Stephens made the point after reception, widening the team’s lead to 13-0.
Purvis led his team to its first touchdown with 42 seconds left on the first half game clock. Even with the rushing pressure of Geoff Evans, Jon Moss took over the football, tossing it to Purvis, who ran it in for six points. With the missed extra point, the scoreboard displayed the 13-6 lead by Beach Bums.
Beach House Real Estate’s Jon Moss takes to the air looking for a touchdown. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Buky ended the first half with three snaps of the football and no points.
Holding the Beach House offense to three plays, Beach Bums took over on offense and quickly made its way down the football field. A completed pass to Woods as well as a strong run by Buky gave Hoffmeister his second scoring play. Crossing into the end zone, Woods took the score to 20-6.
The hard to stop Purvis-Moss combo that has played strong for several seasons put six points on the board for Beach House, along with the extra point by Emily Argeros.
With a seven-point lead, Beach Bums made quick work of the field with a Woods touchdown, making moves past Moss and Argeros. The point after by Hoffmeister widened the Beach Bums lead to 14 points.
In the last five minutes of the game, Beach House Real Estate continued to work the ball, while Beach Bums continued to work the clock.
A single snap of the ball to Purvis put the ball into the solid hands of Moss for another TD. In a game where extra points make winners and losers, the incomplete Beach House kept it down by eight points.
Returning the favor, the first pass by Buky on their next offensive possession allowed Woods to earn six points and Stephens to put up another point for their team.
The lit scoreboard blazed the score 34-19 as the Beach House players put on their offensive hats. The driving plays lead to seven points by Argeros.
Managing the clock with the score 34-26, Beach Bums took the field again trying to maintain the lead. Knowing that a touchdown and two point play after by Beach House would tie the ball game, Buky played smart letting the seconds click off the clock while making critical passes and advancing the football.
In the last play of the game with 2.4 seconds left on the clock, Purvis as the pass rusher grabbed Buky in a mutual admiration bear hug to end the game with the score 34-26.
The second game of the night pitted the other two undefeated teams against each other: Talucci Construction and Mason Martin. David Zaccagnino, returning on the field this season after several years away, proved to be the game MVP with four sacks in the game.
Despite the slow start on offense, and tough Mason Martin defense, Talucci Construction pulled out the three-point victory. Once again, missed extra points proved to be critical in the Mason Martin loss.
After a failed offensive run by Talucci Construction, Mason Martin took the football down the field for Caleb Roberts touchdown. he missed point after catch by Jim Ptak left the score 6-0.
Kevin Roman, Talucci Construction’s number three pick during the draft, scored the team’s first seven points in the game from targeted passes by quarterback and team captain Ray Gardner.
Six snaps of the football, with first down catches by Ptak and defensive penalties, Frank Agnelli ran the ball spinning past defenders into the end zone. The extra point by Roberts moved the score to 13-7.
With 46 seconds on the clock, Talucci Construction moved the ball down the length of the field with massive quick paced runs by Gardner. The TD and point after by Roman put Talucci Construction up by one point.
The second half of play started with Mason Martin putting six points on the scoreboard with a wobbly but effective throw by Tim Shaughnessy to Agnelli.
Following the incomplete extra point pass, Gardner found Roman for his third touchdown catch after Gardner’s first down run. The sure hands of Dina Calvary caught the two-point conversion throw advancing the score to 19-22.
Team Mason Martin made a strong effort to score again and take the lead in the last minutes of the game. The Talucci Construction made critical stops to win the game and remain undefeated until Thursday night.
The first round of playoffs start this Thursday, with Talucci Construction earning the bye week. In the first game, Beach House Real Estate plays Moss Builders. Beach Bums takes on Avis in the second game Thursday. The final game of the night puts Mason Martin versus Truly Nolen.
The semifinal games will be played on August 31, ultimately leading to the much-anticipated championship game at 8:30 p.m. on Thurs., September 7.
Week four of the co-ed recreational flag football season passed the halfway mark last week. Three teams find themselves at the top of the ranking – all three undefeated with three wins under their belt. In a league where everyone makes the playoffs, the difference between a championship and the consolation prize can all come down to the rankings at the end of the season.
Team Mason Martin, that had the bye last week along with Beach House Real Estate, tops the charts. Team Talucci Construction finished the week in third position after confidently beating Team Beach Bums. Three games are left to determine the final ranking.
The stats sheet for the game of the week shows the diversity and breadth of talent on both of the teams that went head-to-head: Talucci Construction and Beach Bums. The total yards gained and the points put on the scoreboard made the difference in the game, as Beach Bums just could not finish offensive drives in the end zone.
Dominating on both sides of the football, Team Talucci Construction started the game on defense, sending a message to Beach Bums with an interception by Kevin Roman.
Ray Gardner, captain of Talucci Construction, confidently marched his team down the football field with a big first down play and touchdown by David Dunham and extra point by Dina Calvary to lead the game 7-0.
Three downs and out for Charles Buky’s Beach Bums, despite the efforts of Karri Stephens. Roman’s key defensive play, batting down the pass past the mid-field line, ended Beach Bums possession with no score.
Dunham got the first down call only to be stopped by Lyn Puskas after a seven-yard gain. Coming back strong, Dunham raced down the field for his second touchdown of the game.
After the snap, Gardner looked for his go to player, Calvary, but opted for the point after with the sure hands of Roman to advance the score to 14-0.
Trying to make something happen on offense, Buky hit Geoff Evans for a short gain. Gardner’s pass rushing pressure was too much for Buky on second down, causing the incomplete pass.
Out of retirement, David Zaccagnino made the play of the half with the possession ending sack on third down for Talucci Construction.
On the other side of the football, Talucci Construction took four snaps of the football and put another seven points on the scoreboard with catches by Dunham and Jonathan DellaTorre. Gardner and Roman sealed the deal with the touchdown and extra point snags.
Behind by 21 points, Team Beach Bums found itself defending the football to start the second half of the game. With a new quarterback, DellaTorre, the rushing pressure of the defense was effecting, causing two incomplete passes.
Needing to make the first down or score, Gardner got the call and tried to work his magic with a long throw to Nate Talucci past the mid-field line. Talucci could not get his grip around the ball, giving Beach Bums another chance on offense.
Once again, Buky took his team toward the end zone with two complete passes to Stephens and a big first down throw to Evans, putting the ball at the Talucci Construction 10-yard line. With the big throw to Stephens in the corner and tight defensive pressure by Roman, Stephens made a phenomenal catch, but his feet just landed on the line.
Forcing a throw into the end zone, Buky looked to Stephens, but Dunham denied the score with another Talucci Construction interception, leaving 13 minutes on the clock.
With the never say quit attitude on the field, the Beach Bums defense made big stops to get the ball back, but just could not get the ball across the line to score on its next offense set of downs.
Gardner methodically moved his team down the field again, despite a negated reception by Calvary with the impeding the rusher call on Calvary after snapping the ball. DellaTorre’s big catch was met with the defensive force of Evans as they collide on the field.
Roman put up his next offensive statistic with another touchdown reception from Gardner, followed by the extra point by DellaTorre.
The 28-point deficit would not stop Buky. As the clock was running down, the solid QB hit the hands of Stephens for Beach Bums only score in the game with 15 seconds showing on the scoreboard to end the game 28-6.
On the leaderboard, Truly Nolen is still hoping to find its first W in the season. Plagued with injuries and playing with a limited roster, the team picked up veteran player Patrick Calvary.
Moss Builders, Beach Bums and Avis each have a single win. Movement at the top could happen before the end of the regular season. It is still anyone’s season, anyone’s championship to win.
