So this was it, the final week of the regular season with playoff spots on the line. On Oct. 13, the Little Panthers took on the visiting Palisades Pirates on a chilly, grey fall day.
Note: Rookie Flag Division had the week off.
Competitive Flag Division
This game started off with a bang with a 70-yard touchdown by Ricky Favere on the first play. Two plays later Taylor Rohn scored on a 55-yard run, and the rout was on. Xander Farkas, Daniel DeTello and Taylor Rohn (with his second of the day) rounded out the rest of the scoring for the Panthers. The defense stood tall, allowing only one score, and everybody got a chance to play. Noah Snyder, Jaxon Walser, Zachary Henn and Ricky Favere all contributed multiple flag pulls to the solid team effort. Coach Greg said after the game that it was nice to be able to get everyone involved sometimes, doing things they don’t usually do, and to carry the momentum of a huge 34-7 win into the playoffs. This team could easily be 7-1 as they had the opportunity to win three games on their last drives–two of which ended at the 1 yard line as time expired–but still got into the playoffs with an even 4-4 record.
Daniel DeTello–normally the starting center–gets a handoff and very narrowly evades a flag pull.
Credit: Rick Favere
A de-cleating block paves the way for the next picture…
Chase Limpar running for a score.
Teammates celebrate an apparent score by Noah Snyder.
Gabriel Jacavage gets a long run late in the game.
Daniel DeTello (#8) and Joey Basmagy (#46) doing a great job of blocking.
The Competitive Flags’ final regular season game team photo. Thank you to the players and coaches for all your hard work and dedication. From left to right: Xander Farkas, Jackson Walser, Davis Spradlin, Daniel DeTello, Mitch Guerra, Taylor Rohn (2nd row), Gabriel Jacavage, Weston Doklan (2nd row), Mateo Lazaro, Maddox Vutech (2nd row), Joey Basmagy, Noah Snyder (2nd row), Ricky Favere, Trevor Weidner, Luke Peters, Sean Guest, Zachary Henn (2nd row), Calvin Jones, Landon Wolf, Emma Hill, and Chase Limpar.
100 Pound Division
The final game of the season for the 3-4 Panthers was a fairly low-scoring affair. The Panthers defense played fairly well as they held the visiting Pirates to only two scores in the game. Noah Hubert led the defense with 5 tackles including 3 for loss. He was followed by 3 tackle with 1 for loss performances by Jaylen Caballero and Andrew Young. The offense had some big plays from Noah Hubert, both running and passing, but had a tough time reaching the goal line. In the end, the Panthers found themselves on the short end of a 12-0 score, dropping to 3-5 on the season and barely missing out (by way of a tie-breaker) on a coveted playoff spot. There is going to be some turnover on the roster this summer as the older kids move up to the next division and some new talent comes in from the competitive flag team.
Dual threat QB Noah Hubert weaves through the Pirates defense.
An unidentified Panther defender makes a sideline tackle.
Noah Hubert puts down a potential tackler with a strong stiff arm.
Gavin Brunel makes a nice open field tackle.
It looks like they both had him but….
Jakob Ziegler runs through two tacklers.
The 100s!
120 Pound Division
The undefeated Panthers came into this game on the heels of a narrow victory in the previous week, but could not have asked for a better start. Landon Beckowski took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Then the Panthers followed that up with two touchdowns, an 8-yard run and a 60-yard fumble recovery/return by Constantine Donahue, and never looked back. For good measure, Andrew Gilbert, Jack Robertson and Jackson Albert also scored touchdowns for the Panthers. The defense allowed only one score on the day and was paced by Jackson Albert’s four tackles with 2 for loss performance. Constantine Donahue contributed three tackles while Andrew Gilbert and Cole Hubert notched two tackles and a turnover each, a fumble recovery and an interception, respectively. Karter Beller, Ashton Beckowski and Braden Weiss chipped in two tackles a piece. The Panthers won the game in blowout fashion, 39-7, and finished the season undefeated with an 8-0 record and a top two playoff seeding.
Landon Beckowski scores on the opening kickoff.
Constantine Donahue cuts back across the defense.
Jack Robertson sheds a tackle for a huge gain.
Jack Robertson sheds a tackle for a huge gain.
Jack Robertson sheds a tackle for a huge gain.
Landon Beckowski tackles a Pirate return man.
Andrew Gilbert goes in for the score.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
Cole Hubert tracks the Pirates QB to the right spot for the interception and returns it for a nice gain.
The 120s celebrating their undefeated season. Congratulations, Panthers!!