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Stowe Area Flag Football League

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18

Sep, 2016

Week 1 Game Summaries

 
The Stowe Area Flag Football League kicked off its 2016 season this past Sunday with a record number of players and volunteer coaches.  This translated to a very competitive Week 1 across the divisions.
 
DIVISION 1
 
49ers 24 - Steelers 0
It was a great day for football in Stowe as the SAFFL D1 league started off with the Steelers and 49ers playing the early game. It was a team effort for the Niners, with everyone getting flags and moving the ball.  Cooper Provencher had a great all around game with a TD run, catch and pick 6.  Tobey Bellows also ran in a TD and threw for a score.  Braden Martens and Emmett Lisai also had some very nice catches during the game.  The defense played a swarming game all day highlighted by another INT by Luke Hamel, and great flag pulling by everyone.  The Steelers had some good offensive plays with passes from QB Alex Mitchell and runs by Tyler Scarlata, but in the end were not able to convert any of the drives into points.  Defensively, outstanding flag pulling by Eliza Cabot and a TD saving interception by Carter MacDonald kept the team energized througout the game. In the end, the 49er's came out strong with a big win for week one.
 
Panthers 38 - Raiders 30
Panthers overcame a challenging start to nudge out a 38 to 30 win over a strong Raider performance on both sides of the ball. The mostly rookie team came came out throwing and kept it up for most of the game relying on QB talents of Jacob McCormack and Dylan Mauro both in the air and on the ground helped by the amazing offensive line protection from Gavin Murphy, Fineas Clark, and Landon Miller.  Scoring highlights include two TB receptions by Chase Brown, Sam Stutz with a TB reception and pick-6, and rushing TBs by Samson Berlin and Parker Guffey.  Making it happen between end zones with key receptions and runs by Grant Powell, Caku Brown, Jaxson Volansky sealed the deal. A final drive by Lily Murphy kept the fight on until the whistle.  Panthers defense came out to play as well with blitzing led by Leander Pinkham but the team could not have pulled out the win without a solid defensive contributions by every member of the team.  The Raiders came out firing in the first half but the amazing Panthers defense and offensive speed proved to be to much. The game started with two quick TD's from QB Isaiah Thomas and RB Max Romano. Drew Zimmerman and Sam Clarkin held the offensive line as Owen Branch looked like Von Miller by keeping the opposing QB scrambling with his pass rush. Teighen Fils-Aime and Gus Wright spread the defense as wide receivers to leave room for RB Cole Dorney and Tanner Hackett to move the ball up field.  Cooper Shove was the leading flag puller with amazing speed on defense.  In the second half the Raiders tried to make a comeback while riding on the back of QB Ian Zimmerman as he went beast mode for two TD's. Noah and Quintin Lynch proved themselves with seamless transitions from offense to defense.  While seconds ticked away Kason Lang caught a huge bomb and came up just short of scoring.  NFL scouts may be present to see the rematch in week 4 at the Stowe Polo Fields. 
 
DIVISION 2
 
Giants 20 - Cardinals 18
It was the season opener and the crowd was ready for a very competitive game between the Giants and Cardinals. The Cardinal’s offense was very strong with two touchdowns in the first half scored by Luke Farley and Eric Friedrich.  Their extra point attempts were blocked by Daniel Lyden and Isaac Medow.  The Cards' defense was particularly stout in the first half, keyed by an interception by Carson Matckie and strong tackling from Alex Chudzik and Jon Hamel.  That left the score Cards 12, Giants 0 at the half.  With the start of the third quarter the Giant’s defense put up their “Big Blue” wall.  Team defense leaders were Lucy Genung, Olivia Gianni, Charlie Davidow, Calvin Contos, and Will Fowler.  They held the Cards to just one touchdown in the second half, scored by the QB, Max Singer, to take the lead with under two minutes remaining.  Meanwhile on the Giant’s offensive side of the ball, quarterback Emerson Smith unleashed an aerial assault with multiple passes completed to Gabe Wright, Daniel Lyden, T.J. Guffey, and Luca DeRuzza.  T.J. scored two touchdown receptions and an extra point.  Luca, playing football in the league for the first time, scored the game winning TD and extra point with eight ticks left on the clock.  Cheering on their Giant’s teammates were Will Brochhausen and David Gosselin.  They were on the sideline with injuries.  The coaches are hoping them to be off the “I.R.” list very soon.
 
Colts 27 - Cowboys 24
In the first game of the D2 season, the Colts got on the board early with a dazzling run from Hans Huber.  Alex McNabb led the Colts offense playing Quarterback for most of the game.  Alex kept the offense going with some great runs of his own and scoring the teams second touchdown with a beautiful pass over the middle to Cam Anderson.  The Cowboys kept the score close throughout the game with great quarterbacking by Ben Cabot and Chace Newhouse. A couple of down-field connections set up beautiful touchdown receptions by both Emma Blanck and Ben Cabot. Meanwhile, Dylan Haskins came up big for the Cowboys, dodging defenders twice during the game to run the ball into the end zone. Fantastic first-game flag grabbing by Jake Clarkin, Cailin Apple and Hayden Tibbits along with consistent pass rushing by Annecy Blanck, Oliver Branch and Charlie Kimmich helped to keep the Colts from running away with it. But in the end missed extra point opportunities led to the Cowboys' loss.  With the Cowboys gaining momentum, the Colts were able to keep their lead with a spectacular TD run from Cooper Olney.  Ryan Keene hauled in a great catch thrown by Alex for the extra point.  The Colts running game was strong all day, with other great runs by Parker Davey and Reese Wheeler.  Emma Courtemanche came up with 2 great flag pulls late in the game helping to slow down the Cowboys offense.  Emma Dubie, Hayden Peters, and Eames Eiden also stepped up with some big plays on defense helping lead the Colts to the win.  Colts leading rusher, Hans Huber closed out the Colts scoring with another great run for a TD.  Congratulations to both teams for a game well played.
 
Patriots 19 - Colts 6
In the second game of their doubleheader, the Colts came up short against the Patriots, 19 to 6.  It was closely fought game on opening day in Division 2 play.  A defensive battle for most of the game, each team stopped the other on numerous occasions.  In the first half, the Colts struck first with a long run by Hans Huber that saw him dice his way up field before turning the corner and gaining the end zone.  The Patriots responded later in the first half with a long slashing run by Charlie Veit to tie it up 6 to 6 heading into half time.  The third quarter started the same way as the first half with strong defensive play by both teams that prevented the other side from scoring. Midway through the third, the Patriots' Veit broke free again with a long run for his second TD of the game.  Aidan Robin followed the TD up with a nice fade pass to the right corner of the end zone to Veit for the extra point.  In the fourth, Veit turned the corner and sprinted into the end zone for this third score of the day.  The Patriots defense held the Colts scoreless in the second half with strong flag tackling from a wide range of players, including Lucia Lovell, Lewis Clapp, and Evie Reid.
 
DIVISION 3
 
Redskins 30 - Chiefs 26
The first game of the Division 3 (high school age) season was a back0and-forth contest of two very closely-matched teams.  Many of these athletes have been in the flag football program for close to ten years, and their enjoyment over the years is evident in the constant smiles on players' faces.  In the end, it was Matt Finley's six foot six inch frame that took advantage by grabbing two touchdown passes over Chiefs defenders.  Since the Chiefs and Redskins are the only two teams in the division, players are surely strategizing during the week for a big rematch this Sunday.
 
The Stowe Area Flag Football League would like to thank this year’s sponsors:  Apple Construction, Bistro At Ten Acres, Black Cap Coffee & Beer, Brook Field Service, CCS Constructors, Darn Tough, Edible Arrangements, Inntopia, Lamoille Valley Ford, Mansfield Orthopaedics, Northern Reliability, Piecasso, Stowe Family Dentistry, Snowflake Mountain Resort & Spa, UPS Store, Weston & Sampson Engineers, and Yellow Turtle.  Their generous donations help fund the operating cost of the league and make the game affordable to families.