The County Cup Little League tournament continued this past week, minus an outstanding Islanders team that represented Anna Maria Island. This Majors Division outfit, coached by Chris Moneuse and Mike Brusso, had an excellent showing in the competition, beating Manatee East champs Gatorade and finding itself in the top 12 and through to the knockout stages.

The opposition at this stage couldn’t be better than Gatorade, but the Beef O Brady’s team it faced had the edge over the season and a much higher win percentage than its opponents.

Beef O’Brady’s opened the Monday night contest by scoring three unearned runs on a shaky Islanders defense. But sterling defensive play by Johnny Mattay at first base, plus two impressive strikeouts by Justin Gargett, helped bring the inning to a close.
The second inning was over quickly as both pitchers stuck out the side. The Islanders couldn’t get anything going in the third, while Beef O’Brady’s pushed across another unearned run in its half of the inning, making it 4-0, with Gargett racking up two more strikeouts.

Coaches tried to rally the players as they went in to bat at the top of the fourth. Max Miller led off with a line drive, only to be tagged at first base. Gargett then singled to right and advanced to second on an error, but was stranded there as the next two batters fanned.

Gargett continued his mastery of Beef O’Brady’s in the bottom of the fourth with two more strikeouts and a nice play to first base.

In the fifth, Hambone Clark hit the ball hard, but was thrown out at first, Johnny Mattay singled to right and eventually reached third base, but was tagged out at home plate. Nick Papazian laid down a bunt single stole second and third then scored on a past ball. That’s all the Island squad could muster and it moved to the home half of the fifth trailing 4-1.

Beef O Brady’s came in to bat and it was done before it knew what happened, as Justin Garget struck out the side for the second time in the game, giving him a total of 12 and his team a chance as it went into the sixth inning.

But it was not be on this night, as the Islanders couldn’t manage any more offense and the game ended with a Beef O’Brady 4-1 victory.

This team has plenty to be proud of, however, finishing the season as one of the county’s top 12 squads. Coach Moneuse was full of praise for these young athletes and pointed out that they started the season as inexperienced players who were never expected to beat the likes of Gatorade, but did, and finished the season as a solid team.

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The championships for the Community Center Flag Football league Divisions One and Two were played on Wednesday, with one ending in a rout and the other a nail-biter.

In Division One, the undefeated AMI Video Buccaneers defeated the Pine Avenue Bills 49-14, while in Division Two, the Americo Title Cowboys took the title by beating Mr. Bones Steelers 20-14.

The games bring an end to another successful and popular flag football season, with plans already under way for next year’s campaign. Congratulations to all the participants and to Community Center Athletic Director Andy Jonatzke, who did a good job of keeping control of the games while still allowing everyone to have a great time.

Division Two
Americo Title Cowboys 20 - Mr. Bones’ Steelers 14

As the score implies, the more exciting game was the contest between the Cowboys and the Steelers. The two had finished in a three-way tie for first with Galati Marine’s Chiefs in the regular season and played hard-fought contests all year long.

In Wednesday’s Super Bowl, two very different coaching styles were obvious from the outset as Cowboys coach Ben Stewart could be seen pumping up his team as he ran the line like a man possessed, versus the somewhat intense style on show from Steelers coach Todd Zawistoski.

Whatever their difference in approach to this game, the score remained tight throughout, with the Cowboys looking to run a little more and the Steelers mixing up the plays, slightly favoring the passing game.

The turning point came late in the contest with the score tied at 14. Neither team was generating a lot of offense, and both defenses were effectively stifling their opponents, with the Cowboys’ Travis Belsito and the Steelers’ Connor Field making numerous defensive stops.

The decisive play was when Coach Stewart called Belsito’s number as the clock was winding down. The speedy halfback responded brilliantly with a long run for the go-ahead touchdown that eventually proved to be the winner.

Division One
AMI Video Bucs 49 - Pine Avenue Bills 13

In the senior division, the heavily favored AMI Video Bucs took the game to the Pine Avenue Bills early and often and never looked back.

The 8-0 Bucs were never really tested and piled up six offensive touchdowns to zero for the Bills, throwing in another two defensive scores just for good measure. For the Bucs, Brandon Gengler continued his TD ways by scoring four times, three on offense and one on defense. Chris Pate added two TDs and Tommy Price and Kyle Parsons one each. All of the scoring for the Bills was done by Kyle Arritt, who had two defensive touchdowns and a one-point conversion for his team’s 13 points.