Playoff atmosphere under Friday night lights
PHOTO/SCOTT DELL
Brad Duffman running the ball for the
Eat Here Jaguars with Zach Stewart and
Leo Rose, of the Holy Cow Colts, in pursuit.
The Sun sports Game of the Week was an important AFC division II matchup between the second place Holy Cow Colts and the third place Eat Here Jaguars. The payoffs are coming up soon, and every divisional game is important in determining positioning and first round byes.
Under the Friday night lights, you could feel the playoff atmosphere in the air. The intensity for both teams could be felt from the first snap of play. The Eat Here Jaguars defense set the tone early causing the Holy Cow Colts offense to go three and out on their first two possessions. The Jaguars defense was led by Brad Duffman, who had three big sacks and four flag pulls and Gavin Sentman who had one interception and six pulls.
The Jag's offense came ready to play too. On the very first play, quarterback Jacob Talucci threw a short pass to Brad Duffman who juked and jived all over the field and finally was stopped on the three-yard line. Two plays later, Talucci threw a jump ball pass to Duffman into the middle of the end zone for the touchdown. On the Jaguar's second possession, they worked the ball down the field until, on third and goal, Talucci found Troy Cleland in the back of the end zone for their second touchdown. The extra point was good on a quick pass to Anthony Cucci and made the score 13-0.
With about two minutes left in the first half, Gavin Sentman picked off a pass and returned it to the three-yard line. On the next play, Talucci hooked up with Duffman again for the touchdown pass. The extra point was no good and made the score 19-0. Needing desperately to get something going, the normally high scoring Colts offense responded. With only 50 seconds left, quarterback Austin Morrow hit Zach Stewart on a deep crossing route. Zach took it to the house for a 42-yard touchdown. The two point conversion was no good and made the score 19-6 at the half.
Good coaching on both sides by veteran volunteer coaches Ben Stewart and Nate Talucci kept the score the same until 10 minutes left in the game. The Holy Cow Colts struck first in the second half. On third and goal from the three-yard line, Morrow passed to Zach Stewart for the TD. The point after was not good and made the score 19-12. The Colts were now within a touchdown of tying the game.
The Eat Here Jaguars really needed to get something going again on offense. Matt Manger-DeNegris answered for his team. Needing one yard for a big first down, he made a great catch and run down the sideline almost scoring, but was stopped on the one-foot line. The next play, Talucci came back to the quick center pass, and Cucci made the touchdown grab. The two-point conversion was good when Manger-DeNegris ran it in and made the score 27-12.
The Jaguars defense stopped the Colts and with less than two minutes, looked to just run out the clock. They handed the ball to their speedster Brad Duffman who zigzagged all over the field, staying in bounce, until finally he made it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. This made the final score 33-12 and gave the Jaguars the win.
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Game Summaries:
Division III (8-9-year-olds)
Island Real Estate Saints 0
Connelly Marine Falcons 12
Connelly Marine Falcons 12
Beach Bums Seahawks 19
Division II (10-12-year-olds)
Mr. Spiffy Cleaning Chargers 32
Sandbar Cowboys 13
LPAC Cardinals 12
Walter & Associates Steelers 40
Ross Built Construction Vikings 20
LaPensee Plumbing Falcons 7
Holy Cow Colts 0
Walter & Associates Steelers 33
Mr. Spiffy Cleaning Chargers 6
Anna Maria Oyster Bar Dolphins 20
Sandbar Cowboys 14
Southern Greens Buccaneers 19
Southern Greens Buccaneers 14
LPAC Cardinals 20
Sandbar Cowboys 19
LPAC Cardinals 38
Division I (13-16-year-olds)
Bassett, Vita, Vining & Hermann Group Raiders 40
1st American Bank Bills 13
Beach Bistro Bears 21
Mr. Bones BBQ Eagles 14
Mr. Bones BBQ Eagles 18
1st American Bank Bills 32
Adult Co-Ed League
Walter & Associate Steelers 13
Rotten Ralphs Packers 39
Jessie's Island Store Vikings 21
Slim's Place Jaguars 14
Beach to Bay Construction Rams 18
MartiniVille Bears 33
Hurricane Hanks Patriots 12
Duffy's Tavern Buccaneers 18
Bob Vita Landscaping Cowboys 19
Island Sun Falcons 39
AMICC NFL Flag Football Schedule:
Instructional League (5-7-year-olds)
Awards - Mar. 14, Monday, 6 p.m.
Division III (8-9-year-olds)
Mar. 2, Wednesday, 6 p.m. Island Real Estate Saints VS. Connelly Marine Falcons
Division II (10-12-year-olds)
March 1, Tuesday, 7 p.m. Eat Here Jags VS. Walter & Associates Steelers
March 2, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Ross Built Vikings VS. Southern Greens Bucs
Division I (13-16-year-olds)
March 1, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Bassett, Vita, Vining & Hermann Group Raiders VS. Mr. Bones BBQ Eagles
March 2, Wednesday, 8 p.m. Beach Bistro Bears VS. 1st America Bank Bills
Adult Co-Ed League
March 3, Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Sato Real Estate Browns VS. Slim's Place Jags
March 3, Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Rotten Ralphs Packers VS. Duffy's Tavern Bucs
March 3, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Bob Vita Landscaping Cowboys VS. MartiniVille Bears
March 3, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Jessie's Island Store Vikings VS. Beach To Bay Construction Rams
March 3, Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Walter & Associates Steelers VS. Hurricane Hanks Patriots