Week 3 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Wednesday, 07 September 2022 19:41

Published: Wednesday, 07 September 2022 19:41

Written by Jeff Krol

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As Week 3 wraps up I think we are all asking ourselves the same questions… How is it still this hot? And why didn’t I apply and, more importantly, reapply the sunscreen?!? I know I was wondering how I could be that sweaty and learning that I could sweat in places I didn’t think possible. I don’t know about everyone else, I could be alone in this, but I am ready for the fall weather. The crisp fall air, a slight breeze, and softer, less concrete, ground while we all play football is what I am looking forward to. I know it's early but looking ahead to next week it looks like another hot one is in the forecast, 84 degrees and Sunny. I will not forget the sunscreen and extra water next week that’s for sure! Now that I wasted entirely too much time ranting about all things not football let’s get into the good stuff, Shall we…

Breakfast Club:

Amber Alert vs. Special Kay’s, 41-8. Story of Breakfast club this fall, Amber’s Team is stacked. Dave Baker throws a great no-look pass to Taylor Pagano on the sideline is just one highlight from this one-sided game. I would be surprised if they didn’t end up taking the title this fall.

Division 1:

Passed Our Prime Vs. Scared Hitless, 33–44. Watching Hogan throw what felt like 4 picks in the first 5 mins of the game doesn’t fully capture what happened here. POP had many bright spots in their play even though they couldn’t capture the Win. Ralph Finney was showing off his skills, per usual, with a pick or two himself and Brandy Clarke was added to their already phenomenal girl line up. Before you go and complain, yes, she was added before the deadline. She made a great debut for the team with a couple great catches too.

Gray Hair vs. Eyes Downtown, 23-48. Bobby McConnell was showing his experience in this, finding, and exploiting the weak spot on GH’s defense. Nick Angelo was getting open for him on offense making it hard for GH to cover. Dave Eickoff threw a couple interceptions which won’t get the job done in D1.

Division 2:

Frodo vs. Untouchaballs, 24-22. The match up I was waiting to see, the D3 championship rematch. Frodo had something to prove, to prove they are the team to beat in D2, and they did it all without arguably their best player, Sean Weisansal. This was a team effort for FS as everyone played their role to keep get the win.

Freeballers vs. DILFS, 39-20. DILF’s were short handed, having all three girls play for them the entire game. Jessie Kieta came up big on defense for Freeballers sacking Travis Clevenger to prevent scores before half. Eric Stegmeier couldn’t cover Derew Pew and George Lombardo, as they both made plays on him that would lead to TD’s.

Division 3:

Bullet Club vs. Practice Squad, 35-17. Looks like BC has finally figured it out, adding new, better players and going down a division will help you win. All jokes aside Jeff Easton played Lights out in this game finding Jess McAndrews open multiple times in the middle of the field. John Langley was also showing off his receiving ability catching a tuddy or two and the new addition of Nick Bauer and Nick Buczek is paying off for the squad both contributing on both sides of the ball. Looking forward to them winning the Division and moving up to the Division they were in for so many sessions and couldn’t figure out. Maybe with this new squad the story will be different for them in D2, only time will tell, and whatever the football gods have in store for them…

Division 4:

Buffalo Vice vs. Puckett All-Stars,34-38. New Jerseys for BV is the biggest story here. Damn They look good in Pink!! Too bad the Jerseys didn’t give them the spark they needed to pull out the win.

Cobblestone vs. Cunning Stunts, 24-42. Cobblestone couldn’t figure it out against the all-girls squad. Like most co-ed teams who play a girls’ team for the first time they started out thinking that it would be an easy win and figuring out that it was actually very hard to beat a team who has a squad of people with great hands and a system that is designed to win. Is this the year the girls will win the division or will Joey Batts choke in the playoffs to have them lose, again???

Division 5:

TMA vs. Today’s Feast, 27-14. TMA is looking like a well-oiled machine while TF looks like they are still figuring it out. TF had a case of the drops in this game, multiple receivers had a hard time holding on to the ball. TMA’s Qb was continually finding theirs, Val Testa not there, no problem, he will hit Diana Bernal for huge catches and multiple yards. Ron Webber also a staple for the squad, so consistent in his catches, such an asset for his team.

Division 6:

Two Tuddies vs. Superior Moser Squad, 28-33. Two Tuddies Quarterback has an arm and he showed it off in this game. Going deep to his receiver’s multiple times, even hitting them a couple times for touchdowns.

Lenny’s Ladies vs. Not So Sticky, 16-50.  NSS had a new Qb throwing for the squad as Christine Krol was missing this week, and Rags was missing too. Jeff Krol took on this Role and nailed it. Watch out Rags and Christine, Jeff is coming for the starting role as he dominated against Lenny’s Ladies in this match.

One thing I noticed about this session is attendance issues with all teams. I know it's hard in the fall as everyone has other obligations, vacations, family things, birthdays, stags, bachelorettes, Bills games, trying to fit it all in before summer ends and it doesn’t go unnoticed. You are all missed at the fields, except Sean and Joey, and I can’t wait until you return to talk to more people and to see more people playing football! So, let’s encourage our friends to come play and stay and hang out at the bar! Let’s get B’s brother back out here. And I would love to see Ferger out at the fields once this year. Then football will feel like football again!

Until next time, I’ll be watching…

Week 1 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 12:59

Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 12:59

Hits: 2397

Ladies and gentlemen of the TSL universe. Welcome back to the teams that have played in past sessions and a great big welcome to the newcomers; you will soon realize that this is the best social co-Ed football team in WNY. Although it has not been so long since most of you played as it was a short turnaround of about 7 weeks, for me it has been quite a bit longer as I took some time off the past year while focusing on other endeavors. Too elaborate to discuss. I am glad to be back writing and am even more excited to review new teams, old teams and interesting game day activity that may take place at the Rose Garden on each and every Saturday of this session. For those of you who are new to the league this article will be an opportunity to read about the fun things, spectacular plays, above and below average players of the week. I can’t do this alone and I need intel. 

So, people, everyone but Joey Batts and Sean Weisensal, please email the godfather  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with info about your team and your players you want me to share with the TSL universe. Exciting things are happening this fall and they need to be discussed! One of those things is that for the first time in the history of the league breakfast club is happening in the fall. New and familiar faces have taken to the fields to play for the title of best and most fun team out there. Other exciting happenings is the divisions finally look a little more even, having moved up more teams toD1 to take on and win against Eyes Downtown. Let’s get started Shall we…

Perhaps the biggest story of the week was each division looked a little light on players. Looks like many were not prepared for the season to start having real life take priority over spending the day with friends, enemies, and frenemies at the fields. Most notable-Topper was nowhere to be found, taking a Saturday off letting the league be run by the duo of JK’s- Joe K. and Jeff Krol. But they can’t do it all alone, so its also important to mention some others who make the league run week to week: Travis and Garrett, thank you for all you do! And thank you to everyone else I failed to mention. Your dedication and commitment to the greatest league in WNY doesn’t go unnoticed.

Division 1: 

Grey Hair vs. Legends, 16-44. Legends have talent but they also have players who need to tone it down. This is touch football and while we all may get heated from time to time you don’t need to have such a poor attitude on the field. Stop yelling at the refs and just play football. Everyone is going to miss a call or two but when you win a game by 28 points why get an unsportsmanlike penalty. Unnecessary. 

Grey Hair vs. Scared hitless, 34-24. Always a fun game to watch as these two teams started out as HK whatever together. GH ended up winning by using strategy putting George Lombardo at rush for Dylan Day to try and throw around. Which helped long time player of grey hair John Von get 3 interceptions to seal the victory. Amber Hay also came ready to play making spectacular catches in both games showing off her speed and skill

Division 2:

Frodo vs. Replacements, 65-18. Not much to say here, when Sean Weisensal has 4 interceptions it’s hard for any team to beat; specially a newer team still trying to figure things out. 

Dilfs vs. Replacements, 53-14. Replacements welcome to D2. Katie Keller, no surprise to anyone made great catches to help them win and had a notable interception. Replacements- Rough day for you but good news is there are plenty of weeks to figure it out.

Division 3:

Practice Squad vs. Mountain Dew me, 28-18. PS good job getting your first win in D3.

Bullet Club Vs. Cant touch this 42-35. Maybe one of the biggest stories of the day- Bullet club wins their first game in two years. They have a mix of new and familiar faces on the squad John Langley played QB and hit his targets well. Anthony Deaks was consistent and made some great catches and Jess McAndrews, Hello! I see you making some one-handed catches on the sideline. 

Bullet Club vs. Get Schwifty later in the day and wins that one too, 21-30. Hot start to the season, let’s hope it continues.

Get Schwifty also played and lost twice, playing Scott Seniors Starting, 14-40. Where was Senior though? He was missing but the Keller Clan pulled it together and played well even without him. Damian Keller, played really well and is starting to learn the game better with each game. One to watch out for, no surprise though having the Keller’s blood

Division 4:

Puckett vs. Stunts, 44-51. Puckett played well; stunts played better. Stunts added some new talent this year and these ladies are showing off in week one. Is this the session they will finally win the Division and be forced to move up?? 

Cobblestone Vs. Puckett, 40-50. Darryl and company played shorthanded almost the entire game and still only lost by 10. Excited to watch both teams next week to see if Puckett stays consistent with losing and Cobblestone gains momentum when they have their whole squad.

Division 5:

Woodpeckers vs. TMA, 6-45. Woodpeckers had a skeleton crew and couldn’t find a rhythm they even brought in a secret weapon to try to gain momentum, but not even James Hearn, in his cargo shorts and sneakers could help the team win. Meanwhile on the other side Val Testa played phenomenal for her team making catches and coming up big on defense rushing for her squad. 

Passing while intoxicated vs. Today’s Feast, 16-26. Most exciting thing to happen during this game was the ref making a questionable call that was argued by TF for way too long. Did the guy really step out of bounds? Didn’t matter they ended up winning the game regardless. PWI lives up to their name, the QB was hammered during both games played and could hardly stand. Was complaining he couldn’t see straight…. Someone needs to tell him that’s a side effect of drinking and he should probably take it easy during week 2 or his team may find a new less drunk guy to play.

Lets Get Reccked vs. Come from Behind, 24-38. Good debut for Lets get Reccked as they have new talent on the team in Saxon Weil. First game in the TSL ever and was making plays on both sides of the ball, Welcome Saxon! 

Division 6:

Punt cakes vs. Not so Sticky, 39-40. Close game, PC scores with a girl with minutes left, the one thing NSS couldn’t let happen. PC went for 2 for the win, ball was caught but short of the goal line, so NSS wins. Rags Qbed a smart game to keep them in it while Mike Thomas had some great catches. Jeff Krol and Colorado Mike were strong on D to help them pull out the win.  First good showing for PC that seem as though they are new to the game. We will see what happens later in the season once they get a couple games under their belt. This game happens again it may be a different story. 

Final thoughts:

Football is officially back! Week one is a wrap and B’s Brother is back. Make sure if you are new to the league, you go and say hi!! With the B theme the bees were terrible at the bar this week, so terrible some people ended up inside. If you are allergic or just dislike bees, please be careful around the bar. Thank you to everyone who comes out and plays every week and thank you for the readers and contributors to the articles. It makes my life so much easier if I have things to type directly from the source. Send in your comments!!!!

Happy to see everyone who made it the fields this week, looking forward to seeing more people next week.

As always, thank you and I’ll be watching… 

Week 2 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Wednesday, 31 August 2022 13:26

Published: Wednesday, 31 August 2022 13:26

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 2402

It feels good to be back. Week 2 of the greatest football league in WNY felt like football should. There were many more faces on the fields this week; everyone looked happy to be at football; except for a few who never look excited to be playing the greatest sport of all time. And burnt, everyone looked crisped and sunkissed on Saturday after a long and hot day in the sun with very little breeze. No time to complain though because in a few short weeks, or days (since it is WNY and we can have all 4 seasons in a matter of minutes), everyone will be wishing they were sweating instead of shivering. With that short introduction let’s start with what you are really here for; to read about yourself, your team, and hopefully your victory, or demise. Shall we….

Breakfast club:

The Messy Jessies vs. Amber Alert, 16-48. Topper made his great return this week as he subbed for Messy Jessie at QB. Unfortunately, Amber Hay drafted a team that was too unbeatable for the great Topper and the rest of the team to handle. Hopefully we will see more appearances from Topper this session as he has taken on a lesser role in the day-to-day operations of the league.

Division 1:

Sticky Bandits vs. Scared Hitless, 29-22. The notable, Mel Linsmair, was missing Saturday and her absence was surely felt for Scared hitless as they came up a little short of the seasoned veterans in Sticky. They ran a strategic and calculated offense to make the plays they needed and pull out the win.

Sticky Bandits vs. Gray hair, 48-32. Gray hair was playing with just enough players to field while Sticky brough their army of bodies. George Lombardo drops an interception at the end which would have helped them come back for a chance to tie the game, but he couldn’t hold on to it. Sticky comes out on top for the day with two wins. Sticky was showing off their veteran abilities playing 2, what were D2 teams, to get the wins.

Eyes downtown vs. Tight Ends, 26-31. Tight ends looked a little more prepared this session as they actually had players ready to play and win as they went 2-0 on the day. Was Bro coming back at QB what the team was missing? Or did their girls just steal the show? Katie Salisbury is always on my radar and Amber Hay subbed for the team and made some good plays. She is one to watch out for as every week she looks better and better. Eyes downtown looked like they added a few new faces, unless my eyes deceived me, I thought I saw Ben Stack on the field trying to catch a ball thrown ridiculously hard by Bobby McConnell to make a play.

Division 2:

DILFS vs. Frodo, 32-49. Frodo moves up and is dominating D2. Yes, it is only week 2 but it doesn’t look like this team is slowing down any. The girls were the bright spots for the team yesterday as Val Clevenger made a great catch to get them close to the endzone. Sarah Hunt had a falling, gut corralling touchdown and what I think was the next drive, Kristen Daniels got lost in the back of the endzone to catch another TD. Well done ladies.

Buffalo Vice Retro vs. Untouchaballs, 19-37.  Burr sure knows how to scramble to keep plays alive. Matt Helm made some good catches and a couple good plays on defense to help them win.

Division 3:

Mountain Dew Me vs. Practice Squad, 33-32. As the score would reflect this was a very back and forth game. Ashtin Fiegel was coming up big for PS and Jen Mertz was making big catches for MDM. MDM is fast, very fast and luckily for PS they were able to contain them long enough to win by 1. Who knows what would have happened if they would have had a couple more drives to utilize their speed.

716 vs. Itches, 35-9. Dylan Jaloza was on fire at QB for 716. That combined with Jessie Kieta at rush was hard for Steve Moser and company to handle.

Practice Squad vs. Itches, 28-28. What a day for PS. They were showing that they were made for D3. B gets hurt at the end of this one but continues to play to help his team tie a D3 veteran team. Rylee Moser was bodying guys off to make the catches she needed, great tactic. I think this is the match up to watch out for in the finals.

Division 4:

Buffalo Vice vs. Spinelli’s, 54-54. Vice has Andy Clark back at QB and he still has chemistry with his team after leaving for a couple sessions just to return to play with them again. Makes you wonder why he left in the first place. Grass isn’t always greener I assume... Oh well, on to talking about the really Tall guy making a catch in the endzone over Katie Swanson for a TD, she had no chance. Well played on that one vice. Vice showed their strategy and skill. Shame they didn’t come out with a W. But I guess a tie is the next best thing.

Cobblestone vs. TOX, 36-45. Darryl Carr repeatedly targeted the guy in gray football pants for long balls for this one. TOX obviously noticed as they must have adjusted their defense to stop him coming out with the win. Adrian Cannon was slinging for the squad and was using girls for quick passes and TOX receivers were getting open for him. 

TOX vs. Interdimensional Lightning Falcons, 13-21. As TOX clearly made the adjustments they needed to defeat cobblestone but were unsuccessful against ILF as Joe Miano was using his no-look pass to hit Karl Smith in the endzone for a victory. Aaron Balcerzak for TOX had a couple dropped balls in this game and Adrian overthrew him as well. I do not know how you overthrow someone so tall but Aaron has been overthrown now by not only Adrian but also Topper when they played together. Come on guys, you don’t have to put it that high to get it out of other players reach.

Cobblestone vs. ILF, 14-26. This game seemed promising for Cobble stone until it didn’t. They had the lead for about half of the first half then couldn’t match ILF’s strategic plan of letting them drop passes and not make plays. Darryl tried to force a couple balls to what seems to be his favorite receiver, gray football pants guy, instead of using his open targets. Would really like to learn your name- please email the godfather, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to let me know who you are so I can give you a proper shoutout.

Division 5:

Let’s Get Reccked vs. Passing while intoxicated, 19-30. PWI’s QB didn’t come so intoxicated he couldn’t stand Saturday. Great work! PWI made some great offensive plays, they had a girl QB who lofted up to a tall guy in the endzone for a TD helping solidify the victory.

Division 6:

Blitzkrieg vs. Superior Moser Squad, 37-33. SMS has an interesting and cool concept, a girl QB. This game was a fun one to watch as Rylee Moser QB’d most of the game. She hit Steve on what looked like a stop and go on the outside for a TD. Lauren Moser took over at the end of the game and was showing she could also make plays throwing the ball up to Mike for a TD. Blitz was showing a little stronger game as they picked off the girl Qb’s a couple times and New/old Qb Andy was playing a strong game in old Qb, Alex’s absence.

Not So Sticky vs. Superior Moser Squad, 34-26. SMS had Rylee Moser at QB so NSS accepted the challenge and Christine chose to throw for their team. This game was very back and forth and for a lack of a better word, messy. Everytime I looked someone had just fallen over someone else on the other squad. Christine Krol did a great job calling plays and throwing the ball to the open guy to help them come out with the win.

Lennies Ladies vs. Two Tuddies, 20-12. Maddie Norton on Lennies Ladies was showing what she was made of on this one. She had two interceptions and made some great catches. Two Tuddies is still learning the rules and figuring things out and was no match for Maddie and other Girls.

A Big thank you to everyone who came out to play and everyone who helped yesterday. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Angry Buffalo did a wonderful job with containing the bees and the bar was bumping most of the day. Thank you to the readers and the contributors.  Please keep your comments coming to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., I look forward to reading what others have to say about how they think their team played, their all-star players, etc. Until next week…

The Final Wrap Up for Fall 2021

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 15:49

Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 15:49

Written by Patrick McGovern

Hits: 5846

That’s a wrap ladies and gentlemen. The Fall 2021 season has come to an end, leaving new champions in our midst. Overall, Saturday was an amazing day of football that had no shortage of talent on display. The weather held out as best as we could have hoped for given the forecast and rain during the week. Sure, some of the fields were sloppy so I’m certain there’s a good handful of you blaming your losses on that but winners win. Let’s talk about the Semis and Finals!

D1

The semis for D1 were kind of anticlimactic. Sticky Bandits got off to a slow start, failing to find not only the end zone but midfield, on their first 2 possessions. Public Enemy was on full throttle from the start and got up to an early 2 score lead. Sticky Nation was not able to battle back. Brian Stevens was relatively quiet this session but he came up big for his team in the semis. Unfortunately, they had already dug themselves into too deep a hole to come back from.  Pete Nguyen played an all-around incredible game and really brought PE back to their glory as a virtually unbeatable powerhouse.

Tight Ends in Motion versus Eyes Downtown was a little more competitive. Bobby McConnell struggled early finding his receivers. TE got a lead but ED was able to battle back to get within a score at the half. Back to back picks to start the second half pushed ED right back down though. Emily Curry came away with one of the picks off a deflection from one of the ED females. As everyone besides McConnell saw, Eric Delecki was wide open deep. TE capitalized with a gender TD. ED tried going deep on the next drive but Nick Wendt made a phenomenal catch and TE finished it off with another gender TD.

They went on to face Public Enemy in the finals. TE struggled early this time, getting into several 4-2 situations and not using their females effectively. PE got out to an early 20 point lead which TE was able to battle back from. They brought it within 9 points with the ball on the 2 yard line in the final minutes. On 6^th down, TE needed a gender TD so Emily Curry threw to a wide open Bro Kleckler…who dropped it. Chris Cole’s swan song was complete and he can ride off into the sunset a champion.

D2

A&A versus XTC was a back-and-forth battle, of which there were many. XTC seemed to have the poise going into and to start this game. A&A repeatedly got into 4-2 situations and needed to bring in a 3^rd girl to get the extra downs. Matty Ice couldn’t scramble like he likes to and it took them some time to switch to the short game schema. XTC had some kinks to iron out of their own. Brandt Dubey threw 2 picks that could have been more if the defense held onto the ball. A&A was down but a big Hail Mary catch by Jay Jasker gave them some much needed momentum going into half time. XTC was missing both Kelly Sabo and Kelly Mazur. They had a respectable sub in Emily Schilling but she took some time to adjust to Dubey’s throwing velocity. Katie Keller was quiet in that she was hardly utilized, maybe not your best game plan.

TopShot and Scared Hitless was a down to the wire finish in the semis. Both teams played well on both sides of the ball and both teams made their share of mistakes. I saw a couple open receivers that were looked over for TopShot. Scared Hitless had some uncharacteristic drops. What everyone should take away though was that this game easily could have gone either way. SH was up 1 after Adrian Cannon scored for TS. TS decided to be men (and women) and go for the win. Commendable. Everyone flowed to the right with Cannon running the back line. Jackee Thompson went left. Wide open. Dylan Jaloza kept his eyes facing right though and didn’t see Thompson. He fired it in to Cannon who made the catch but was ruled out of bounds and SH advanced.

They met A&A in the finals. These teams are fairly matched on paper. They both have speed and height with SH having the edge in the former and A&A taking the cake for the latter. Both teams bring solid females that could easily take over any game. A&A had a big defensive start to open the game then both teams alternated scoring drives. The first half ended with SH up by 1. Matty Ice tried to throw another Hail Mary but fell short. A&A began starting drives with 3 females in the game. SH started arguing with the refs and the game got away from them from there. To be honest, I didn’t see the play they were arguing about so I can’t comment on that. A&A started to run away with it late in the second half and SH couldn’t regroup quick enough to come back. I’m pretty sure I heard Matty Ice announce his retirement as well after the game but I can’t be sure.

D3

Grey Hair Don’t Care took on 4^th and Dong in another back-and-forth battle early. By the half, it was a 9 point game. Nicole Keller had some great sideline catches to move her team down the field. Austin Weber put on an MVP performance, making what seemed like at least 1-2 catches per drive. 4&D missed the tall guy they usually have going up to get everything. The females of GHDC played outstandingly. Molly Santo was a great addition and had her fair share of catches. With 6 minutes left, 4&D had a shot to catch up but Scott Drosendal tossed up a back-foot throw that was picked off by Jon Von and that sealed the deal.

The Angels took on Frodo Swaggins in a somewhat anticlimactic semifinal. The Angels did not seem like themselves for whatever reason. Matty Ice had trouble hitting his targets and threw a couple picks. The field conditions were detrimental to The Angels usual game plan, resulting in Matty taking numerous sacks or overthrowing his receivers. The ladies also had their fair share of drops and could not move the ball like they usually do. Frodo Swaggins used their height advantage to get down the field. Garrett Beesing made some great throws and drew up some impressive plays. He utilized all his receivers well and their females were able to come in when in the red zone and punch it in.

Grey Hair and Frodo met in the finals. Both teams were flying high and playing lights out football. Rawdog made some nice deep catches and Dave Eickhoff was on. Corey Santo was another great addition, bringing up the teams overall elusiveness rating. Frodo Swaggins finally had their full roster present and it really made a difference. They were able to stay fresh and make plays but GHDC played a smart, solid game and Frodo couldn’t keep up.

D4

The Cunning Stunts and Falconies game was a close one that was a rollercoaster to watch. The CS got a fast start, taking a 24-0 lead. Joe Miano maintained composure and played some excellent football. All the females played great for Falconies which is exactly what you need against a gender team. Andrew Kicak put the pressure on rushing but Joey Battaglia was able to get the ball out quick. I started listing all the CS I saw make great catches but then it turned into just listing everyone so I will simply say the Stunts utilized their receivers perfectly. Every one of them was a threat across the middle and deep and the Falconies could not get a big stop when they needed it. The Falconies were able to chip away at their deficit and send the game into OT with a long ball TD. They started with the ball and made it to their 2 yard line. Emma Patterson took a pitch and threw it up to her receiver. Brandy Clark jumped up and made a huge defensive play, just barely getting a piece of it and pushing it out of reach. On third down, Miano found Mike McKenrick but he dropped the ball. The Stunts just needed to score. After an incomplete pass then a Kicak Sack for a 5 yard loss, it wasn’t looking good for the Stunts. Third down, Renee Lantz went front cone and Batts drew the defenders to her by calling her name. Meanwhile Brandy Clark snuck along the backline and Batts found her wide open to push the Stunts into the finals.

Buffalo Vice and Itches and Ohs was another close one. Itches and Ohs had the lead early but Buffalo Vice was able to battle back by making some adjustments on defense and getting Caitlyn Mason involved in the offense. Amy Denning caught her fair share of deep passes and Dan Gonzalez did what he does best. Laura Streeter added to her YAC stats with several plays through the middle of the field. Itches and Ohs were able to hang on to the lead until the final 2 possessions. Buffalo Vice scored late to take the lead but with just over 1 minute left, they left too much time on the clock. I&O drove down to the 1 and Rylee Moser caught the go ahead TD on 6th down. The conversion was good leaving Buffalo Vice with only one option. They sent up a Hail Mary but it fell short and I&Os came away with the win.

It’s always fun to watch gender teams play another team with solid females and that is exactly what this final gave us. Itches and Ohs took another early lead. The Stunts were able to battle back to tie it up at the 2 minute warning. I&O drove downfield and were able to take the lead with a phenomenal sideline catch by the guy with the beard. Joey Battaglia and Co got the ball back with 45 seconds left but 2 incomplete passes ran down the time and I&O walked away champions. 

D5

Spinellis Plumbing was the odds on favorite for most of the season after dominating D6. Lettuce Win was all but counted out before making a huge stand last week. It could have been the Cinderella story everyone loves to see but it was not. SP at no point looked flustered or even mildly concerned. Nick Hawes threw the ball incredibly well. They honestly did it all. They went deep, they slanted across the middle, they crossed, they wheeled, they hooked. LW had some trouble getting the ball to their receivers. The real tall guy on their team was a monster and should have been utilized more, like every play. I’m not sure how long Connor Stalker has been throwing for in this league but from what I’ve seen of LW’s games, their QBs have not been consistent. If Stalker stays and gets some consistency and basic plays under his belt (including getting his females involved), I think LW could make more waves next season. 

Not So Sticky took on 716 on the next field. 716 was missing some personnel due to scheduling conflicts. NSS, on the other hand, played their most complete game ever. The defense was solid, and offense made no mistakes. Talia Calabro had at least a half dozen contested or tough catches and was the star of the game. #42 on 716 continued to impress with crazy athletic plays. NSS scored late in the second half to go up 21 and locked in the win.

Spinellis was waiting for them in the finals. Both teams' offenses played outstanding, scoring on every possession aside from one pick by Rags. NSS got themselves a mental win by running with them and keeping up with scoring. PS scored a collective 110 points on the day (yes, that was the most and quite possibly a record) so kudos to them. Ryan Rusin had an MVP-worthy performance, coming away with approximately 70% of the target shares in PS’s victory.

D6

Travis Henry’s Kids came out fast and furious against Blitzkrieg. Unfortunately I didn’t see a lot of this game (I was thirsty). But from what I did see, Blitzkrieg had some trouble moving the ball. They looked like they had their full roster back so hopefully next season will be more competitive. THK on the other hand has had a rollercoaster of a session. They went 5-4 and finished in second. They put up some big numbers one week, then couldn’t get any offense going the next. Defense needs work. That said, they made it to the semis and made easy work of it. I didn’t see any big plays that really stood out but they held Blitzkrieg to 8 points which was second least in a high-scoring final day of football.

Taking the prize for least amount of points allowed was TMA in their shutout win over Lenny’s Ladies. Again I was at the bar for most of this game (sorry, watching so many games gets me parched). But I saw enough to get the gist of what was happening. The Ladies couldn’t get anything going on offense. Joe K had a couple misfires and his females had some untimely drops but it basically came down to the fact that they just could not match up against TMA. In all honesty, no one seemed to be able to this session. Jamie Warren had a stellar performance for LL so she definitely deserves a shout out. TMA just their speed and height to get down the field then got their females involved in the endzone. Diana Bernal threw a TD pass from the 5 yard line. LL had no answer for Ron Webber.

In the finals, TMA was rolling. On the field, they looked ready to take on PE. The sidelines had no shortage of hype. Travis Henry’s Kids just could not seem to find a way to match up. TMA had the edge on speed, height and route running. You know who THK really could not shut down, though? Brent F-ing McKenzie. He had 3, yes 3, touchdown catches. And not a “stand on the front line and turn around” TD. One was a deep ball over the shoulder, one was out in front that he went and got, and the other was a John Cena, all alone in the back of the endzone. John Langley threw a couple infelicitous picks which further added to TMA’s hype and they finally came away with their first championship. 

That’s all for this season! It was long, it was wet at the end, but overall the best teams won and it was a great time. Be sure to check back for the Award Nominees and Banquet information come up in the next couple weeks. If you are new to the league or have been here but never go to the banquet, that should change. It’s basically a wedding without anyone having to make a lifetime commitment. I’ll leave you all with my Final Top 5 Notable players for 2021. 

1.     Chris Cole (Public Enemy)- He probably could have been on this list every week but I saved him for the end so he can ride off into the sunset on the top of every list.

2.     Nick Hawes (Spinellis Plumbing)- as I said, PS put up 110 points in 2 games. I remember when they could barely field a team not to mention get a win. Hawes has put this team on his back and their success speaks for the rest. 

3.     Ryan Henry (TMA)- There was talk about whether he was the right pick for QB1 on TMA but Henry put to rest all of that chatter by taking control when it mattered most.

4.     Casey Lawler (A&A, The Angels)- unmatched on speed, Lawler has proven herself to be a top tier female in any division. Matty Ice’s go-to bail out player, she can do it all, from the slant route for 5 yards that she turns into 10-15 to the deep ball with speed that the vast majority of defenders cannot cover.

5.     Topper- I always reserve the last spot for our fearless leader, without whom the league would not be possible. Thank you Topper, for all you do that allows us to spend each Saturday with our football family. 

Until next time, I’ll be watching…