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Welcome back, TSLers, to another amazing season of spring football at the Rose Garden! The Sentinel took a bit of a sabbatical last season, but rest assured, we are back and ready to deliver the best coverage in all of co-ed touch football in Western New York! Word is the Topper Dome is FINALLY going to be put up, so that is new and exciting! I wonder if Jeff and the crew are sourcing some naming rights to the dome, or if they will let Topper have his ego stroked even more by letting it be called the Topper Dome? We couldn’t let Topper make his long-awaited return without a little jab, could we? With that, let’s take a look at some games from opening weekend!

D1

Sticky Bandits 25, Frodo Swaggins 21

To be the best player on a D1 team, it seems like you need to be tall, have dark hair, be a bit slender and take control of the game when your team needs it (that is why Drew of Sticky, Al of Frodo, Derek of Eyes Downtown and Chris of Eyes Uptown are all their teams male MVP’s). Al was uncoverable and Sticky nation routinely had a hard time keeping up with him. Al is Garrett’s clear cut WR1, and he deserves it. He has shown loyalty, been level-headed and a great player. Not to be overshadowed, Frodo might have the fastest and most friendly trio of ladies between Katie, Dri and Tori. If Garrett wants to accomplish the feat of grabbing that D1 title, he will need to continue to utilize his ladies and Al. Unfortunately for Frodo, Mike Thomas was on point and able to connect with Christine Krol (the clearly better Krol) on an out and up and Drew on multiple deep shots right over Garrett to pull it out. 

Eyes Downtown 43, Eyes Uptown 34

In what has become a yearly tight battle, this game went exactly the same as it always does. Both teams vying back and forth on the scoreboard, with plays being made all over the field. Bobby McConnell utilized Kayla Voss time and time again, getting her open with some great play-calling. He will need to utilize her more, as ED is only rolling with two girls this session with the promotion of Katie Salisbury to TSL518 (Ran by Topper’s brother Steven Topper McGovern, also single and loves Corona’s). Chris Nelson has a great interception of Bobby though, showing his quick toe-tap on the sideline that would have been in bounds even by NFL standards. The game came down to the end, with Blasé sacking Joey on the last play.  Yep, that's all that happened here.

D2

Mavericks 44, Puckett All-Stars 38

It may have come as a surprise to many that PAS made the big jump from D4 to D2, but they added a lot of talent to the team and this game was back and forth the entire way. Adding to the aforementioned tall slender males having success, PAS has one that flat out balls out, and high points the ball with the best of them. PAS also did their usual of getting down to the goal line multiple times, and utilizing their girls throwing ability to get an easy 8 points. Trailing with under two minutes left on the clock, Jordan Lawson did his thing and marched his team right down the field, hitting the newly anointed nickname “Smokeless Dave” to get down close to the endzone, then again in the back to pull ahead. PAS had a little time left, but a last second hail mary fell short, and Mavericks prevailed. 

Scared Hitless 38, Can’t Touch This 36

Everybody knows CTT for their tall, rocket-armed QB Ryan but they have a ton of talent, especially with the girls they have. Jack from CTT got bloodied up all game, but kept fighting and used his speed to get open time and time again. The girls of SH were counting pretty quickly, and getting after Ryan and forcing quick decisions. SH added Travis, which is a great addition for a team looking to take the title. Those are the savvy veteran moves you make to take your team to the next level. In the end, the experience of SH put them over the top and took a close win. It seems like D2 is really shaping up to be one of the best divisions out there. 

D3

Wanderers 34, Buffalo Vice 32

BV finally got their D4 championship after years of battling for it, and make the jump to D3. The early results are promising, even at 0-2 they were competitive the entire way. Wanderers are led by outspoken and known irritant, but actually good guy Frank Laudico who plays the game in a smart strategic way. That is, until he does something silly and Sal can be heard chastising him. Wanderers controlled the game all the way down the field time and time again, and in the second half found their girl in the back of the endzone to take control of the game. With a bit of a lead, Frank decided to throw a deep ball instead of taking time off the clock, resulting in an interception and some not so friendly words from known good guy Sal. Andy Clark used his strong arm to find his receivers, but in the end, just too many turnovers did them in. The rain certainly did not help. BV will be just fine in D3, however, and I see some wins coming. 

Let’s get Reckked 33, Bullet Club 20

LGR comes in with a little bit of roster turnover, but probably for the better after adding Garrett Beesing along with the Santo’s. It is tough to replace Kyle Conniff, but that may be as best a way to do it as they could. Still led by Alex Buchilis, he found Garrett deep time and time again, leaving people wondering if BC was even going to try to guard him. BC comes in with a new QB in Dylan Jaloza, a move that puts Langley back to receiver and complaining about his arm hurting a lot less (people were tired of hearing it). This was a game that came down to who made less mistakes, and BC just had too many interceptions to pull back into the game once LGR took control. 

D4

Interdimensional Lightning Falcons 42, Roaring 20’s 18

ILF is back with new colors, same QB, same players and same bad boy arrogance. Roaring 20’s is a new team filled with young players who are athletes, very friendly and very talented. They also have a mullet guy, which makes me wonder is having a mullet guy a requirement for new teams? We should check on that. ILF scored a bunch of points with Ellory and Becca each getting a touchdown and plenty of targets. Ethan Herbold demonstrated his arguably strongest arm in the league by throwing the ball 50 yards multiple times. Roaring 20’s found some success in the second half, throwing some deep shots. When ILF pressed their luck and let Andrew Kicak try at QB, he immediately threw back to back pick 6’s, to nobodies surprise. Watch out for Roaring 20’s, once they figure it out and learn the in’s and out’s, they will make some noise. 

Tater Tots 48, Creekers 22

TT looks like a brand new team, led by B at QB and the early returns are promising. B showed his strategic mind all game, putting his receivers in position to make a lot of plays and get out in space. B hit drunk Meg multiple times to continue to convert, and by the end B was laughing and joking with the fellas on Creekers. Creekers returned just about everybody from their D5 championship, but just struggled a bit in the rain, and the experience B and the Tots had proved to be too much. This feels like more of an outlier for Creekers, as I expect them to still make some noise in D4. 

D5

Gucci 26, Stir the Sauce 24

Gucci returns, sans Chris Wolcott who opted to play with the Tud Buds this session and are looking to take the crown, led by the awesome Kelly Kane. STS is essentially woodpeckers incarnate, this time led by big Dan the wrestler. The fields sorely missed him in his absence, but he is back! Gucci used a bit of strategy, rushing the affable and large human being Thomas Fields to disrupt the STS QB. STS got some momentum going and put points up to stick close with Gucci, but as everybody knows, Kelly Kane is a tough one to beat getting 8 points every TD. Kelly found one of her girls for an early touchdown and they never looked back. STS looks like a strong competitor in D5, I look forward to seeing how they come together and develop. 

Travis Henry’s Kids 43, PowerPuff Girls 16

PPG is basically Father Baker, except with a smarter QB that actually shows up in Kyle Conniff. Amber is the captain of this team, and she did very well in her selection of teammates, presenting a very formidable gender team that will be a nuisance for D5 teams. The start was tough for Kyle and the ladies, struggling to move the ball and score early on as the rain came down hard. THK took a step down in division to the chagrin of many, and looked ready to roll from the start, scoring on every drive. Amber could be heard yelling “why are you in D5 John!” to get in the head of the known basket case Langley. PPG found some success on the boundary to pick up some chunk yardage, but in the end the experience of THK playing together and the size won out. Pistol Pete and Alex took over the game and made countless plays. 

D6

Blitzkrieg 29, Sticky Laces 20

This one was a great game, but Sticky Laces was playing from behind the entire game. Kyle from Not So Sticky brought his team over from the other league, and I expect they will do just fine in D6 once they get their feet under them. A crucial drop in the endzone on 6-0 may have been the difference early in the game, as it would have kept SL within striking distance. Blitzkrieg's girl Ally was way too fast for the SL defense and made a lot of plays. Alex and Blitzkrieg are now the veterans of D6, and showed it. They should be the early favorite for that division. 

Pit Harade 21, Dogg Pound 16

Dogg pound is another new team on the block, led by Tino of Two Tuddies. They have some pretty cool jersey’s, and kept it close with the experienced Pit Harade. PH is a whole vibe, being led at QB by Dave Walter, who nobody can say a bad word about. Dave and the crew used that experience to move the ball down the field, and made a few more plays than DP did. Look out for them later in the season though, they are another that could surprise some folks. 

***

The League has been getting a lot of complaints in recent sessions that their teams are not being covered on here! Remember, the Sentinel only has 2 eyes and can only see so much, so if you want your team covered and it hasn’t been, send a recap of your game to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and he will send it to us (we don't have our own email address). Make sure to include names so we learn some of the new faces! 

That is it for this week, see you all next week and remember, I’ll be watching!

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