The
American Youth Football League 12U has a new National Champion, The Pembroke
Pines Optimist! On November 22nd 2015 at 6pm EST the Diamond Valley
Steelers lead by head coach Calvin Broadus came marching on to the field at
Charter High school with their heads held high! They were #2 in Snoop
Dogg's youth football league, and Snoop himself brought on a challenge to the
PPO team. A challenge they took seriously and literally ran with to
obtain a 35-27 point victory.
Head
coach Chris McGonigal said pre game “ We want to win for the city of Pembroke
Pines” and win is exactly what they did.
The head referee Teddy Brown along with back judge, Wesley Floyd, Umpire
James Canty, Line Judge Anthony Smith and Mike Dulaney made some great calls
for both teams all evening. I had a hard
time remembering that I was watching twelve-year-old kids play football and not
a college Big Ten or SEC match up. Want
to hear a few of the high lights? Yes, I
believe that you do.
The
Steelers came on strong in the first quarter as their primary wide receiver;
Elijah Davis caught a bomb pass on a slant route that had me nervous for the
PPO team at first glance. Jason Black,
the Steelers running back ran like Barry Sanders back in the day, however he
was tackled several times by the Bengals defensive monsters. The quarter back for the Bengals, Nicolas
Vattiato is a future Cam Newton and had god speed on the field. This kid has mad skills! Robert Floyd made an exceptional grab and
continued to gain twenty-five yards like a super star. Vinson Davis almost took it to the house on
the next play however a block in the back was called against the Bengals to
prevent him from the TD. It was a
tremendous effort. Corey Clarke made
several excellent plays for the Bengals.
Floyd had another immaculate run to kick off the second quarter, however
another offensive penalty; block in the back was called.
Vinson
Davis made an almost impossible one-handed grab as I thought I was watching
Odell Beckham Jr. with 3:41 minutes to go in the second quarter. Jaden McBurrows took it to the house on the
next play making it 20-0 Bengals. The
extra point was made, as that seems to be a challenge for these kids. Making field goals, kicking, and punting is
harder than it looks. As rich Eisen
says, “Punters are people too.” Elijah
Davis is a super star for the Steelers and finally scored a TD to put the
Steelers on the board. He is no match
to Robert Floyd of the Bengals who again executed on play after play. 21-7 Bengals lead at the half.
The
Bengals had the ball first in the second half and Davis made one heck of a
return to their 49-yard line. It looked
like a great drive until a fumble on the Steelers 26 yard line. Wait, what is this? Snoop Dogg is on the field? He is literally on the 30-yard line singing
gin and juice? Just kidding, as he was
on the field discussing something we could not hear in the press box with the
umpire. Note that Snoop Dogg was on the
field several times during the match up.
I guess he thinks that he is Bill Belichick in another life. Darryl Reed for the Bengals made a superb
tackle for the defense at a crucial moment as Steelers RB (and WR) Elijah Davis
almost scored. Jaylin Smith smashed into
the end zone with furious speed making it 21-14 after the extra point. Face mask calls in the American Youth football
league can and will be called. Steelers
called out on that penalty with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
The crowd
goes wild when a flag was thrown for equipment violation against the Bengals on
the next play. They were not happy with
the call. Rolle Micah was a hero with a
pick six as he ran like lightning to score for the Bengals. The scene was similar to a NFC championship
playoff game as the score was tied 21-21 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter felt like I was on a swing
set with Jaden McBurrows making several exceptional plays only to get called
back due to several Bengals offensive penalties back to back. Floyd took off like Marshall Faulk and “The
Greatest Show on Turf”, and eventually Snoop called a time out. It did not matter as the Bengals scored
another TD and the kicker made the extra point making it 29-21. Yes, I just realized that they get two points
for kicking the “extra point” in the AYFL.
Just when the Bengals thought they had the game in the bag the Steelers
Super Star Davis ran over 60 yards after the kick return to score a TD however
the extra point was no good making it 29-27 with only 4:34 minutes remaining in
the game. Vinson Davis scored shortly
after again for the Bengals making it 35-27 as the extra point was missed. The Steelers came out light lightning as
Jason Black made a Michael Irvin like catch however; the ball was fumbled with
less than a minute to play.
The
Bengals entire team ran onto the field as “I’m Going Back to Cali” blared over
the stadium speakers. The game was
exciting, energizing, and so great to see the teamwork and community support
from both sides. They all shook hands,
as Snoop Dogg made his way down the line to congratulate everyone. Snoop Dogg’s challenge was officially taken, tackled,
and topped by the Pembroke Pines Optimist team.
Everyone here at The Sports Girls LLC congratulates each and every
athlete on the field. We look forward to
next year. Coach Chris McGonial and his
Pembroke Pines Bengals are the AYFL 12U National Champions.
Special shout out to WWW.Sportsovertime.com and "All about the A on Face book."
Happy Holidays From The Sports Girl, Beth Silverberg
@BethSilverberg on Twitter
@RealSportsGirls
For media inquiry contact: Beth@TheSportsGirls.com
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