Courtesy of Keegan Rush and the Triad Flag Football League…..CLICK HERE to read all….
Winston Salem Predators defeat Blackout 24-21
Player of the Game: Predator QB AD Rutherford – 4 Passing TD’s, 1 Defensive Sack
The first game of the day was the Blackout against the Winston Salem Predators. Blackout was without over half of it’s team due to the holiday weekend but still was able to make a game of it. Blackout played 1 man down, 7-on-6. Blackout QB CJ Shook did everything he could to keep his team competitive but, the athleticism of AD Rutherford and David Pickett wound up being too much. Chris Plouffe’s squad played an all around good game. Sean Bennett racked up plenty of catches and pulls. In the end the Predators took the game.
House Dawgs defeat Carolina Bengals 32-20
Player of the Game: Dawgs QB DF Littlejohn – 1 Passing TD, 3 Rushing TD’s
In possibly one of the biggest upsets I’ve witnessed in flag football, the House Dawgs came away with the win. The Bengals are the team to beat in the Triad and it’s rare to see them drop a game. What makes this upset all the more impressive is that this is the first time the House Dawgs had ever played together. After having a team drop from the league 4 days before the league was set to start, TFFL officials helped organize a free agent squad. To call this team a mere “free agent team” would be an understatement because athletically they are on par with the top teams in the league.
Judging from the first couple minutes of the game you would have never known the Dawgs would come away with the win. On the first play from scrimmage for the Dawgs DF Little john was intercepted by Santana Gonzalez of the Bengals who returned it for a pick 6. However, after that early miscue, Littlejohn was on top of his game. He would go on to rush for 3 TD’s and throw a TD to WR Brandon Stokes. His play in conjunction with great defensive play gave them the win. Dawgs CB Mario Washington intercepted two passes and returned 1 for a TD. Joe Lawson also picked a pass off. The cumulative defensive effort by Lawson, David Whitefield, and others propelled the team to victory. The Bengals picked up steam by making a QB change though. When the Bengals brought in QB Kendon Doe, he instantly hooked up with WR Darius Cobb on a touchdown pass. It was too late. The Dawgs would win 32-20.
Often we won’t include a sidenote to a game but, it needs to be said. The battle in the trenches was amazing. The rushers and blockers were battling on every single play. Robert Baker and Cameron Cates specifically was the most interesting match-up of the entire day. Dawgs OL Chris Hinson, Chase Dixson, and Mike Stanton had their hands full with the Bengals rush as well.
HeadHunterz defeat Winston Salem Predators 28-27 in OT
Player of the Game: HeadHunterz QB Zeek Sanders – 1 Passing TD, GW 2 pt. conv. in OT.
In their first game, Rod Smith’s HeadHunterz would find a win. It would come in overtime against the Predators of Winston Salem. AD Rutherford would have a big game once again throwing 3 TD’s and having 2 big defensive sacks. What kept the HeadHunterz in the game was the miscues of Rutherford though. Barry Sims and Jamie Beach of the HeadHunterz both had big interceptions.
David Picket had a monster game for the Winston Salem Predators with 6 Catches, 2 TD’s and 3 defensive pulls. One of those touchdowns included a touchdown before the end of regulation to help force overtime. What makes this play so special is he “mossed” 3 HeadHunter defenders in what many think was the “play of the day”.
House Dawgs defeat Burlington Bombsquad 26-24
Player of the Game: Dawgs WR Brandon Stokes – 8 Catches, 2 TD’s
The House Dawgs pulled off another very impressive win over the Burlington Bombsquad. Both teams being new to league play made them both very hungry for the win The league’s best scrambler DF Littlejohn going up against one of the league’s top rushers in Earl Wallace made for an entertaining match-up. Dawgs CB Mario Washington would recover a fumble on the first possesion. This led to a quick strike from Littlejohn to WR De’Andre Stevenson. Littlejohn would go on to throw 3 more TD’s, 1 more to Stevenson and 2 to Brandon Stokes. Brandon Stokes would finish the day with 8 catches.
The Bombsquad started the game with a different QB but would eventually have Jeremey Davis taking snaps. Davis would get the bombsquad going on all cylinders and would throw three touchdowns himself to Marcus Walker, Tim Dorsett, and Lavoris Rogers. Early miscues gave the Dawgs the advantage in this game, the TFFL is hoping for a match-up in the playoffs. These are two of the top teams in the league and it was great to see them battle in the first game.
Bengals defeat HeadHunterz 42-6
Player of the Game: Darius Cobb – 4 Catches, 3 TD’s
After losing to the Dawgs, everybody on the field knew their next opponent would feel the wrath of that loss. Kendon Doe would toss 3 TD’s and Xavier Carrington would throw for 2 as well. Franklin Terry would intercept a pass and take it to the house, and would pick a pass off again as well. Zeek Sanders of the HeadHunterz did everything he could to get the offense going but the Bengals were too tough for them.
The rush was getting through on every play and Robert Baker and Derek Parker caused chaos as both of them picked up sacks for a safety. There isn’t too much to write about when it’s so heavily one-sided. The HeadHunterz put up a fight early but after a couple miscues, it was a runaway by the Bengals.
Burlington Bombsquad defeat Blackout 38-32
Player of the Game: Bombsquad QB Jeremey Davis – 6 Passing TD’s
Blackout was short handed in their first game but some of their players made it to the 2nd game. Earl Wallace and Devin Vaughn came away with their first win of the season by turning up the defensive pressure. Even though they gave up 32 points, they made a huge defensive stop on 4th down as the clock ran out by forcing an incomplete pass. Earl Wallace would have 2 sacks for the game and Alex Winters would have 8 pulls. Jeremey Davis of the bombsquad would go OFF by throwing 6 passing TD’s. Among his WR’s that caught them were Marcus Walker (2), Tim Dorsett (1), Damon Holmes (1), Sam Gwynn (1), and David Totten (1).
Blackout’s QB CJ Shook had a very impressive game with 3 passing TD’s and 2 rushing TD’s. When Blackout gets their supporting cast, they will be a completely different team but still had a good game against a tough team none the less. It was a high scoring shoot-out that had many spectators on the edge of their seats. Should the two teams face each other again down the road, it will be a great game.
Brothers in Arms defeat Sabercats 32-26
Player of the Game: Brothers in Arms CB Tayshawn Lowe – INT for TD in OT
Two of the younger teams in the league played each other and it was a high scoring affair. BIA QB Alex Settle and Sabercats QB Ricky Duke exchanged scores all day. Both of them had 4 TD’s on the day each and many players stepped up at pivotal moments in the game. Jay Winton’s team answered back every time Cam Baldwin’s team found the endzone.
Overtime was short. On the first play of overtime Ricky Duke would throw an interception and Tayshawn Lowe of Brothers in Arms would return it for a touchdown. It was a well fought game by both teams.
Sabercats defeat Whitsett Warriors 24-12
Player of the Game: Sabercats QB Ricky Duke – 2 Passing TD’s, 1 Rushing TD
The Sabercats would bounce back after a loss in overtime to beat the Warriors. Ricky Duke would toss two touchdowns and run one in on the ground. The Whitsett Warriors came out with a new look ground game instituted with Josh Morehead, Chris Knight, and Don Knight. Although it picked up yards consistently the Warriors struggled to get first downs when they needed them. Captain Jay Winton of the Sabercats came up big with a lot of clutch pulls by racking up 5 on the day.
Offensive Ricky Duke would move the chains by finding Justin Bennett and Ronte Gamble in the creases of the defense. Offensive for the Warriors Josh Morehead would throw a TD pass to Chris Knight and defensively Jay Egonue would intercept a pass and return it for a touchdown. Billy Morehead had 4 catches on the day as well.
GSO Predators defeat Brothers in Arms 26-12
Player of the Game: Predators QB Earl Sams – 5 Passing TDs
The Predators would take the field and everybody took notice. Not because of the highlighter yellow jerseys but because of the athleticism. Captain Rodney Beasley would wreak havoc in the backfield by racking up 3 sacks and a safety. BIA QB Alex Settle had no time at all to make any plays for his team. The Predators defense held BIA in check for the most part. Their only scores would come on a defensive fumble and a Shawn Haith TD to Tayshawn Lowe.
The Predators QB Earl Sams went off by finding Johnny King for 2 TD’s, Antwan Washington, and Andreas Platt. The defense led by Rodney Beasley, Allen Stallings, and Randy Thompson would not allow much of anything to get past them. They had a very strong showing in their first TFFL game.
GSO Predators defeat Whitsett Warriors 27-0
Player of the Game: GSO Predators Rodney Beasley – 1 Rushing TD, 3 Catches, 1 TD, 2 Sacks, Safety
Despite the 27-0 score, the Whitsett Warriors had a much stronger showing against the Predators than they did in their previous game. Their offense was able to move the ball but they just couldn’t find the endzone at all. In the final game of the day Rodney Beasley went HAM. 1 full field rushing TD, a receiving TD, 2 sacks and a safety. His supporting cast of Andreas Platt (INT for TD) and Elaun McMillen (INT) contributed as well.
Earl Sams would toss two touchdowns and have another quality game. It was as well rounded of a game that you can play as a team. Whittsett Warriors standouts were Sean Moore with 4 pulls and Billy and Jarius Morehead who both had 2 catches. The Warriors faced a very strong team in the Predators and displayed well despite not finding the scoreboard.