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Week 1 Games - January 26, 2008
PHOENIX: On a beautiful, sunny, Saturday morning, the inaugural season of the Phoenix Hellraiser flag football league kicked off with the sun shining down on the fifty-plus players and spectators that had gathered at Colter Park to be a part of this historic event in Phoenix gay sports.
Kobalt Titans - 22, Friends Fury - 32
The first game of the day featured the Friends Fury hosting the Kobalt Titans. The Titans office came out of the gates hitting on all cylinders as quarterback Brian Miller connected with receiver Matt Vaughn early and often. The Titans first drive ended with a long touchdown pass from Miller to Vaughn that put the Titans up 7-0 after the successful extra point attempt.
The offense of the Fury answered quickly as newcomer Danny Avena hauled in a pass over the middle from quarterback Jim Cook and took it to the house. After a failed point-after attempt, the Titans led 7-6. The Titans offense picked up right where they left off and marched the ball down the field against the Fury. The drive ended with the same result as Miller connected with Vaughn for their second TD of the game giving the Titans a 14-6 lead.
The Fury answered again on the ensuing drive with Cook finding several different Fury receivers. The drive ended with Cook hitting Mike Graham in the endzone to cut the Titans lead to 14-12. With the first half winding down, the Titans offence took the field again. This time, as the Titans offense was marching down the field again, Graham made a beautiful interception in the middle of the field and returned it down the sideline for a touchdown, giving the Fury their first lead of the game 18-14.
With the lead and the ball at the start of the second half, the Fury hoped to take control of the game. However, the Titans defense came out strong and held the Fury to the only 3 and out of the game – resulting in the only punt of the day in both games! The Fury defense buckled down as well, taking on a bend-but-don't-break attitude. The Fury stopped the Titans on a 4th and short when Fury defensive player D.J. Lescavage barely grasped Miller's flags in his gloves short of the first down. The Fury took advantage on their next drive with Graham hauling in an amazing over-the-shoulder catch from Cook. The Fury were successful on the first point after try of the day to make the score 25-14.
The Titans came out determined to cut the lead and marched the ball down the field again, with Miller finding several Titan receivers including Matt Strand and Brian Wilson. The Titans marched deep into Fury territory and were on the verge of scoring another touchdown when Graham made his second interception of the day in his own endzone for a touchback. The Fury changed up quarterbacks with Avena taking command of the offense. Avena proved effective as he moved the ball down the field, eventually finding receiver Shawn Rea in the endzone to make the score 32-14 after a successful point-after attempt run by Lescavage.
The Titans made their own change at quarterbacks with Vaughn replacing Miller. Vaughn also proved effective as he marched the Titans down the field by finding several Titan receivers. Vaughn showed off his speed and elusiveness on his final touchdown of the day as he raced down the field around several defenders for a 20+ yard TD scramble! After a successful 2-point try, the final score of the game was 32-22.
Other notables of the game include a sack by Titan Emmanuel Soignard and interception by Titan Efain Rascon.
Final Stats:
Touchdowns:
Throwing (Miller 2, Cook 3, Avena 1)
Running (M. Vaughn 1)
Receiving (M. Vaughn 2, Graham 2, Avena 1, Rea 1)
Passing Interceptions (Miller 1, Cook 1)
Interceptions (Efrin 1, Graham 1)
Sacks (Soignard 1)
Apollos Hitmen - 20, Plazma Playaz - 33
The second game of the day had the Plazma Playaz playing host to the Apollos Hitmen. The Hitmen jumped on the Playaz early, taking a 13-0 lead. Hitmen quarterback Joey Jacinto connected with Mike Allen on the second play from scrimmage on the longest play of the day. On the ensuing drive, Jacinto stepped in front of a pass from Playaz quarterback Jared Luna for a pick-6 and returned it for a touchdown.
The Playaz quickly settled down and Luna led his team down the field connecting with several receivers. The drive ended with Luna zipping a ball through a labyrinth of defenders to Jared Garduno for the Playaz first touchdown to cut the Hitmen’s lead to 13-6. Sparked by their offense, the Playaz defense tightened up and used their speed to get to Jacinto all day. The Playaz recorded 8 sacks on Jacinto by the end of the game – 4 from Garduno, 2 from Luna, and 2 from rush specialist Josh Nolen.
After the Playaz defense stopped the Hitmen on a turnover on downs late in the first half, with 2 plays remaining Luna found Garduno once again on a long pass down the middle of the field. After a successful point-after try, the scored was tied 13-13 at the end of the first half.
The Playaz offense continued to be aggressive with the first possession of the second half with Luna effectively moving the ball down the field. Luna found Sothy Chau for a score and the Playaz took a 20-13 lead. Not to be outdone, Jacinto came out and found several different receivers including Terri Foster (Baby Girl), Aaron Fullerton, and Evan Baldwin. The drive was successful with Fullerton hauling in a pass for a touchdown to tie the game at 20-20.
Luna took the ball and again commanded his offense with great effectiveness, getting several different Playaz receivers involved with the game plan. This time the drive ended with Luna finding Nolen on a crossing route in the endzone to increase the Playaz lead 27-20.
The Playaz continued to harass Jacinto on defense applying a lot of pressure, but that didn’t stop Jacinto from finding his favorite target – Evan Baldwin – the tallest man on the field. The Playaz tenacious defense worked as Garduno leapt up to snatch an interception over the outstretched hands of Baldwin. The Playaz used the turnover to their advantage as Luna moved the ball down the field and showed off his fancy footwork on a 15 yard scramble up the sideline for a touchdown to make the score 33-20.
With time running down late in the second half, Jacinto drove his team down the field, however the pressure and defense applied by the Playaz proved too much as the Playaz stopped the Hitmen on a 4th down attempt. With the game in control, the Playaz simply ran out the clock to capture their first victory.
Other notables of the game include an interception by Luna on the final play of the first half.
Final Stats:
Touchdowns:
Throwing (Jacinto 2, Luna 4)
Running (Luna 1)
Receiving (Allen 1, Fullerton 1, Garduno 2, Chau 1, Nolen 1)
Passing Interceptions (Jacinto 2, Luna 1)
Interceptions (Jacinto 1, Luna 1, Garduno 1)
Sacks (Garduno 4, Luna 2, Nolen 2)
