Sandbar Saints upset undefeated Tortilla Bay Dolphins

A streak of eight consecutive wins came to an end for the Dolphins when the Saints showed up ready to play on Monday, Feb. 8. The Saints earned their fourth win on the year, a decisive 31-12 victory which gives them a chance to compete for second place with only two games left until the playoffs. The Saints’ Michael Latimer ran for 98 yards and had two trips to the end zone, including 20 passing yards and a touchdown thrown to Joe Rogers. Andrew Proctor played a big role in this win as he finished with 101 total yards of offense with one rushing touchdown and another touchdown pass to Rogers. Rogers also caught a pass for an extra-point conversion and Leo Tilelli had an interception to help knock off the previously 8-0 Dolphins. Trent Shackelford and Dylan Doyle each caught touchdown passes from Joey Stewart in the Dolphins their first loss, but the team has still secured first place heading into the playoffs. Not many teams are able to pull off the perfect season, which is the case this year in all of the youth leagues. The Raiders in the adult division are 5-0 thus far with three games to go until the playoffs. For more stats, standings and other information you can visit the Community Center’s Web site at, www.islandcommunitycenter.com.

Monday, Feb. 8
Division 2 (10-12)
Mr. Bones BBQ Bengals 12 - Mike Norman Realty Falcons 0

The Bengals managed to pull off the win in defensive-minded game, which featured three interceptions by each team and little scoring. Ben Connors caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from his brother Noah, and Logan Reiber hauled in a ten-yard reception from Chris Gunn for the other Bengals touchdown. Ben Connors had two of the team’s three picks, with Jean-Paul Russo catching the third interception thrown by the Falcons. Jake Parsons led the Falcons with 51 receiving yards, all thrown from Seth Walter. Gavin Sentman intercepted a pair of passes, Morgan Greig added another pick and Parsons also had a sack to highlight the team’s defensive leaders. The Bengals sit in second place at 7-2, and the Falcons fell to 3-6 as each team has one game left before the playoffs begin. Only the top four teams in this division will advance to the playoffs; with the Falcons currently on the bubble needing to win their final game and the Titans to lose in order to secure the fourth playoff spot.

Division 3 (13-16)
Anna Maria Oyster Bar Panthers 41 - Galati Yacht Sales Raiders 14

Christian Hightower, of the Panthers, earned the Jessie’s Island Store Player of the Week for this age group with his performance in this game. Hightower completed 13 of 16 passes for 219 yards, three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown. Two passing touchdowns went to Jordan Grabski, who finished with 113 receiving yards and an extra-point conversion on offense. Grabski also picked off three passes on defense and returned two of them back for touchdowns to help lead his team to victory. James Hardy also caught a touchdown pass and had 93 receiving yards for the Panthers. The Raiders Danny Doyle threw for 141 yards and had a pair of touchdown passes to Anna Maria and Michael Galati. Both Galatis also completed extra-point conversions to round out the Raiders scoring. The Panthers are 5-4 with three games left this year, and the Raiders are 3-5 with four regular season games remaining until the playoffs begin, which all four teams in the division will make.

Tuesday, Feb. 9
Division 3 (8-9)
Sparks Steel Art Eagles 12 - BeachHouse Cardinals 6

The Eagles narrowly won courtesy of touchdowns and tough defense by Leo Rose and Jack Mello. The two combined for 15 flag pulls, seven and eight pulls respectively. Rose caught a short two-yard pass from Truman Carlsen, and Mello had a rushing touchdown and finished with 98 yards to lead his team in yardage. Dylan Joseph finished with 63 combined yards of offense and also intercepted a pass to help prevent the Cardinals from scoring. Tyler Pearson had 51 rushing yards and one touchdown to account for the team’s scoring. Masen Blandford rushed for 61 yards, and Brooke Capparelli completed six passes for 56 yards as well for the Cardinals. The Eagles sit in second place with one game left, and the Cardinals have two remaining games until the playoffs begin in the first week of March.

Division 2 (10-12)
Ross Built Raiders 27 - Walter & Associates Titans 12

The Raiders improved to 8-1 with one game left this season with a 27-12 win over the Titans. Jake and Andrew Ross each had end zone visits, and a pair of touchdowns by Tyler Yavalar made the difference on offense. Jake Ross and Jack Shinn each intercepted passes on defense to hold the Titans offense at bay throughout the game. Shinn completed seven passes for 51 yards, including touchdown strikes to the Ross brothers. Joey Cucci also converted an extra-point attempt to summarize the Raiders scoring drives. The Titans Michael Duffman finished with 70 receiving yards, 50 rushing yards and a touchdown to lead his team in yardage. Jacob Talucci threw for 68 yards and connected with Keegan Murphy on a short touchdown pass to account for the Titans other touchdown. The Titans currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot with two games left and need to win or have the Falcons lose to make the playoffs.

Division 3 (13-16)
Tapes Tennis Titans 18 - LaPensee Plumbing Ravens 13

A pair of touchdowns and interception by Chandler Hardy made the difference in this close matchup. Hardy finished with 43 receiving yards, 39 rushing yards and touchdown receptions from Austin Ferrer. Max Miller had 70 combined yards of offense and one touchdown reception as well to help the Titans earn their seventh win. Tommy Price hauled in 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens leader in stats. Hunter Parrish completed 16 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown pass, with the other touchdown strike coming on a 45-yard pass from Olivia Roemer to Price. Only two weeks remain in the regular season, as all teams in this age division will advance to the playoffs.

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Division 3 (8-9)
Sparks Steel Art Eagles 32 - Sandbar Saints 30

Even though the schedule read Eagles vs. Saints, this game seemed more like Dylan Joseph against Michael Latimer as each opposing player had spectacular performances to lead their team. In the end, Joseph’s 222 rushing yards and five touchdowns edged out the Saints and Michael Latimer’s 207 yard and five touchdown effort. This game proved how important converting extra-points is to the game of flag football, as the Eagles successfully did twice and made the difference in the game. Extra-points by Marlin Ellis and Tori Walter allowed the Eagles to gain the extra two points needed to win. Leo Rose also intercepted two passes for the Eagles, preventing the Saints from scoring and changing the momentum of the game. Currently the Eagles sit above the Saints in second place as these two teams will likely face each other in the first round of the playoffs.

Division 2 (10-12)
Island Real Estate Ravens 21 - Mike Norman Realty Falcons 12

Josh Zawistoski was the Jessie’s Island Store Player of the Week in this age division because of his performance and ability to lead the Ravens to victory. He completed 13 passes for 143 yards, ran for 85 yards and a touchdown and threw two touchdown strikes to Mat Manger-Denigris. Brandon Blandford hauled in 42 receiving yards and had an extra-point conversion and Ati Dattoli rushed for 55 yards and picked up a two-point conversion to round out the team’s scoring. Blandford intercepted a pass, and Zawistoski led his team with four flag pulls to help the Ravens defeat the Falcons. Jack Walter and Gavin Sentman each finished with just over 40 receiving yards, and both caught touchdown passes from Seth Walter for the Falcons. Morgan Greig led the Falcons with 10 flag pulls on defense, as both teams are still in the playoff hunt with one game to go.

Division 3 (13-16)
Anna Maria Oyster Bar Panthers 27 - Tapes Tennis Titans 26

The Panthers handed the Titans their second loss of the season in this thrilling matchup between the top two teams in the division. Christian Hightower threw three touchdowns for the Panthers, two to Jordan Grabski and another to James Hardy. Grabski finished with 119 receiving yards and also converted twice on extra-point conversions to help his team on offense, while on defense he intercepted a pass and returned it back for a score. The Panthers edged the Titans by converting on extra-point attempts, with Liam Cassidy also succeeding once to win by one point. Max Miller caught two touchdown passes and Kyle Parsons hauled in another for the Titans. Austin Ferrer connected for three touchdown passes and also finished with 83 rushing yards and a touchdown in the tough loss. Ferrer intercepted a pair of errant Panthers passes, and Chandler Hardy picked off one throw to highlight the Titans defense.

Adult Division
Thursday, Feb. 4
Bengals 33 - Lions 20

Andy Jonatzke and Billy Malfese each caught a pair of touchdown passes thrown by Scott Dell, as the Bengals picked up the win and sit in a three-way tie for second place at 3-2. Dell completed 12 of 17 passes for 135 yards and threw four touchdowns to help lead his team to victory. Tyler Bekkerus had over 200 total combined yards of offense, including an interception returned for a touchdown on defense. Jimmy Thomas converted on an extra-point attempt, and Monica Simpson recorded a cruicial sack late in the game to aid the Bengals. The Lions had touchdown receptions by David Murphy and Kevin Austin coming from passes by Robert Cornell. Austin and Murphy each picked off passes as well, with Murphy returning one back to the house for a touchdown.

Chiefs 24 - Cowboys 12

Mark Anderson combined for 91 yards of total offense, had two touchdown receptions and two interceptions with one returned for a touchdown to propel the Chiefs to victory. Paul Kurtz had touchdown strikes to Jason Sato and Mike Brusso, as Brusso finished the game with a pair of interceptions as well. The Cowboys scored on short passes to Nate Talucci and Jesse Brisson, but the team struggled offensively and fell to 1-4. The Chiefs improved to 3-2 and are currently tied for second place with three games to go before the playoffs.

Raiders 34 - Titans 12

Mark Richardson completed 14 of 20 passes for 189 yards and threw five touchdowns to help the Raiders remain undefeated this season. Todd Zawistoski and Larry Pearson hauled in a pair of touchdown passes each, and Lance Plowman caught another score. Plowman also successfully converted an extra-point and a two-point attempt, with Pearson picking up an extra-point conversion to round out the Raiders scoring. Gary Zink and Richardson also each picked off a pass in the win. Matt Hendricks and Blair Schlossberg of the Titans each caught touchdown passes from Greg Ross. Will Bouziane and Schlossberg each intercepted a pass, but it was not enough as the Titans fell to 3-2 and tied for second place.

Jessie's Island Store Players of the Week

8-9-year-old division

Sparks Steel Art Eagles Jack Mello 222 rush yards, 5 TD 2 flag pulls;

Sandbar Saints Michael Latimer 50 percent pass comp., 20 pass yards, 98 rush yards, 2 TD, 2 flag pulls.

10-12-year-old division

Island Real Estate Ravens Josh Zawistoski 52 percent pass comp. ,143 pass yards, 85 rush YD, 1 TD; threw 2 TD, 4 flag pulls;

13-16-year-old division

A.M. Oyster Bar Panthers Christian Hightower 13/16 passing 81 percent pass comp., 219 pass yards, 27 rush yards, 3 TD passes, 1 rushing TD.

*Please contact the Community Center for dates and times of make-up games.