The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 9 No. 31 - April 22, 2009

sports

Island football action heats up

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

PHOTO PROVIDED Bradley Duffman grabs Jack Shinn’s flag
in the Packers-Texans game.

After a much needed week off from spring break, Island football players are back in action rested and ready to go. This week showcased some excellent football being played in all divisions, with a couple of close thrillers in the 13-16 age group. Games were cancelled on Tuesday due to bad weather, and there were no games on Friday because of a festival taking place on the Holmes Beach field over the weekend. Go to www.islandcommunitycenter.com for updated standings, schedules and game recaps.

Monday, April 13
6 p.m., 8- to 9-year-olds
Panoramic Cardinals 24 RLS Industries Patriots 8

Tyler Pearson led the Cardinals offense by scoring on three occasions, showcasing his excellent speed and agility in the game as well. The duo of Pearson and Michael Latimer, who also ran for a touchdown and recorded two interceptions, were a dominant force on both sides of the ball and made it difficult for the Patriots to put points on the board. The lone score for the Patriots came from Andrew Proctor, who also was on the receiving end of a two-point conversion to round out the teams scoring drives.

7 p.m., 8- to 9-year-olds
Island Dojo Martial Arts Academy Jaguars 18
Sparks Steel Art Falcons 8

This hard-fought contest between the Jaguars and Falcons featured solid defense between both teams and timely scoring for the Jaguars. The Falcons took the early lead in the game when Edward Cullinan caught a long pass from Joey Stewart and ran into the end zone for six points. However, the Jags defense held them the rest of the game, despite suffering a safety in the second half. Nicole Sewall, Jean-Paul Russo and Tyler Yavalar each had visits to the end zone, providing the Jaguars with enough points to seal the deal.

Tuesday, April 14

Both games were cancelled due to rain, will be rescheduled at a later date as necessary.

Wednesday, April 15
6 p.m., 10- to 12-year-olds
Galati Yacht Sales Texans 26
Mike Norman Realty Packers 12

A well-balanced scoring effort from four different players allowed the Texans to cruise to a 26-12 victory, keeping them undefeated for the 2009 season. Chris Galati scored once and chipped in with an extra-point catch as he continued to come through big for his team this year. Zach McGuire also had a reception for a touchdown and played a very solid game at quarterback. Katie Christenson and Logan Reiber each had touchdown receptions of their own as well. The Packers scoring efforts came from Seth Walter and Jack Shinn, both reached pay dirt for six points to account for their 12 points.

7 p.m, 13- to 16-year-olds
Island Real Estate Colts 36
Strategic Ministries Cowboys 26

This matchup between the Colts and Cowboys turned out to be an explosion of offense for both teams. The Colts were led by the efforts of Aaron Vanhook, who scored three touchdowns, two on long passes from quarterback Austin Ferrer. Vanhook and Ferrer are two new additions to the Colts roster, since the G.T. Bray Eagles roster was split up amongst the three Island teams to provide more equal competition for all. Wyatt Hoffman and Kyle Parsons each had trips to the end zone, both on long passes from Ferrer to cap an excellent performance for all three players. Henry Bernett also chipped in with a nice catch on a two-point conversion play as well. The Cowboys had a strong offensive performance from newcomer Travis Belsito, who recorded two touchdown catches on the night. Justin Kile and Luke Shackleford also contributed with touchdowns to round out the Cowboys scoring.

Thursday, April 16
6 p.m., 10- to 12-year-olds
Sand Dollar Colts 34
Ross Built Chargers 13

The Colts received the win thanks to an all-around team effort on offense and defense. Mike Ellsworth intercepted a pass and ran it back into the end zone to give the Colts an early 6-0 lead. The speed and size of Nick Mello proved to be too much to handle for the Chargers, as he scored a pair of touchdowns and ran for a two-point conversion. Austin Marrow and Brad Duffman also got in on the scoring action, reaching the goal once each for the Colts. The Chargers offense managed two touchdowns, one from Jake Ross and the other from Morgan Hackworth. Hackworth also notched an extra-point catch, but their efforts weren’t enough against a hot Colts team.

7 p.m., 13- to 16-year-olds
Beach Bistro Cardinals 42
Island Real Estate Colts 30

This back and forth scoring affaire was only a 6-point game with only a couple minutes left, but the Cardinals were able to shut down the Colts offense when it counted most and hold on for the win. The Cardinals received three touchdown catches from Max Miller, who led the team on offense. Isaac Pinckney controlled the game on offense as quarterback, recording five touchdown passes. Jordan Grabski and Chandler Hardy were on the receiving end of Pinckney’s passes, Grabski with two catches and Hardy with one. Danny Doyle also managed to reach pay dirt once to round out the scoring efforts for the Cardinals. Wyatt Hoffman and Aaron Vanhook came through big for the Colts, each with two touchdowns scored and playing solid defense. Kyle Parsons also contributed by receiving a pair of completions for two-point conversions for the Colts as well.

Island baseball comes up short in weekend action

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

PHOTO PROVIDED Jack Coleman gets the
ball back into the infield.

The Ace Hardware Minors team wasn’t able to produce enough offense to defeat Wood Dock & Seawall over the weekend. Despite playing a solid game defensively and the pitching looking bright from time to time, the bats did not come alive on a sunny Saturday afternoon at G.T. Bray. The opposing pitcher for Wood Dock was a very accurate and hard-throwing lefty, a type of pitcher the team had very little experience or success against. Pitching and defense is what kept the Islanders in the game. They were only down 6-0 after three innings. Mikey Ellsworth started the game on the mound striking out five batters and only giving up three earned runs. Ellsworth struck out the side in the second inning with the team down 3-0. Emma Monuese later came in the game in the third inning when Ellsworth’s pitch count was reached and managed to get the last out to end the inning. Monuese allowed three runs to score in the inning, but got out of it with defensive help from Miles Fischer and Anthony Cucci. The Islanders only managed to put together a few base runners in the game, as they faced one of the best pitchers they had seen all season. The team hopes to improve in its next outing with only two weeks of games left this season.

 

 

 


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