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.
SUN SCOREBOARD
ADULT CO-ED FLAG FOOTBALL
WEEK 5
Salty Printing (3-2-0) 33
Slim’s Place (1-4-0) 32
Solid Rock Air Conditioning (2-3-0) 27
Floridian Mortgage (4-1-0) 26
Fishing with Salty (4-1-0) 32
Moss Builders (1-4-0) 25
Solid Rock Electrical (3-2-0) 40
Prosper Bradenton (2-3-0) 21
