Fairfax County Flag Football League

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subject: "Congratulations: CCR NOVAs - A Champs"

FCFFL

Nov 16, 2006
8:07 AM

ANNOUNCEMENT:

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NOVAs QB is much better at game summaries than I am so I`ll let their team fill in the details for those games.

In the Lazy Sundae-Sharks semifinal, Sharks took a 6-0 lead (touchdown and a missed XP) into the half. Lazy Sundae put a field goal through to pull within 3, then intercepted the Sharks and had a chance to take the lead.

Lazy Sundae turned the ball over on downs several times over the course of the game, and here the Sharks took the ball back and scroed another TD to increase the lead to 13-3. Lazy Sundae went for it on 4th down just outside the Sharks 20 on their next possession. Sharks then ran out the clock.

NOVAS QB

Nov 16, 2006
11:55 PM


;	The CCR Novas headed into the semifinals of the Fairfax Flag Football League "A" tournament ready to put the finishing touches on their first undefeated season. Rested and ready after several rainouts, the Novas were focused on the Coyotes and were smart enough to know not to look past their young and athletic opponent. The Novas knew that the young and athletic Coyotes had improved immensely since their regular season meeting (a 26-0 Novas win) and would be eager for revenge. CCR received the opening kickoff and proceeded to march down the field with Novas G Billy Bayne converting a key fourth down along the way. Once in the redzone however, the Coyotes D stiffened and forced a fourth and goal from the 10. The Novas elected to kick and the successful field goal try made the score 3-0 CCR. On the ensuing possession the Novas D-line set the tone for the evening by exerting relentless pressure on the Coyotes QB who did a good job of eluding the rush, but was unable to plant his feet and connect with his receivers for any sizable gains. The three-and-out gave the ball back to the Novas O in good field position. A deep pass to WR Dan Lordan put the Novas back in the redzone and this time they were able to cash in for seven when QB John Hering connected with WR Dave Szcesniak on a quick in-and-out pattern. With little time remaining in the half and CCR in a prevent D, the Coyotes managed to move the ball deep into Novas territory. The drive stalled at the 15 however, and a long FG try was wide left as time ran out making the halftime score 10-0 Novas. In the second half the Coyotes picked up where they left off, using a combination of short middle passes and wild scrambles from their elusive QB to move the chains and advance into Novas territory. But just as the momentum had begun to go the way of the Coyotes, veteran Novas LB Chris Mack swung the pendulum back in CCR`s favor by stepping in front of an errant pass for a crucial interception. The Novas offense advanced into Coyote territory before stalling on the Coyote 30. Novas Coach Shay Mattera waved in the FG unit, but then called a timeout to confer with his offensive captains. After concluding that a FG would still leave the Coyotes within two scores, Mattera elected to go for it. The decision was validated on the ensuing play as RB Lonzell Offutt took a swing-pass on the right side, pulled up and launched a perfect spiral back across field to a wide-open Hering who caught the ball at the 10, slid between two defenders and then scooted into the endzone. The double-pass TD put the Novas up 17-0 and had the entire team thinking about the finals. The Coyotes weren`t dead yet however. After quickly moving to midfield on the strength of a roughing the passer penalty, the Coyotes QB took a deep snap, planted his feet and launched a 50-yard bomb to a wide-open receiver who had beaten the Novas secondary on a well-run post pattern. The extra point made it 17-7 with two minutes left in the game. After recovering a pooched kick, the Novas offense was simply looking to run out the clock and avoid any injuries. On first down however, Hering darted up the middle and then pitched to Novas G Mike Barber who rumbled, bumbled and stumbled his way to a 60 yard touchdown run somehow managing to avoid getting his flags pulled along the way. After a quick endzone celebration Barber was carted off to the sideline where he spent the next 15 minutes on the oxygen tank. The fluke TD made the final score 24-7, a score not quite indicative of the hard fought battle that was waged. In the end, the Novas experience and the Coyotes lack of depth proved to be the difference.

QUESTION

Nov 17, 2006
9:57 AM


;	NOVAS QB do you write for the Washington Post or Time sports page, if not you need to.

agreed

Nov 17, 2006
3:24 PM


;	great recap of the game. Congrats on the Championship

Sad Clown

Nov 17, 2006
3:27 PM


;	It was like I was watching the game. Nice recap...good game guys, and good luck in the states.

Recap tha Championship

Nov 17, 2006
4:03 PM


;	Hey NOVA QB where waiting for the Shark/Nova write up!!!

HELLO

Nov 21, 2006
12:17 PM


;	CAN WE PLEASE GET A RECAP OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FROM SOMEONE WHO PLAYED IN THE FREAKIN THING. I HEARD IT WAS THE BEST GAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE LEAGUE? ANY TRUTH TO THAT?

Novas QB

Nov 21, 2006
1:45 PM


;	Thanks for the compliments guys. It makes writing these things worth it. Unfortunately, I don`t write for the Post so I have to sneak in the recaps when my boss isn`t looking. The Novas - Sharks recap will be out shortly.

Novas QB

Nov 21, 2006
4:24 PM


;	The finals of the Fairfax County Flag Football League "A" division were played at Herndon Intermediate School last Wednesday night and pitted the defending four-time champion Sharks against one of the league`s longest tenured teams in the CCR Novas. Despite their legacy of recent championships, most observers figured the Sharks to be a slight underdog having lost 21-13 to the Novas in the regular season in addition to having to whither a much more brutal playoff bracket that included perennial "A" contenders Kerns and Lazy Sundae. To top it off, the Sharks had to face a rested Novas squad immediately following their hard fought semi-final victory over Lazy Sundae, while the Novas had over an hour to rest and regroup after their win over the Coyotes in the first final four game. The Novas kicked off to begin the game as a capacity crowd of 14 roared in anticipation (not including the 20 peewee football players lingering in the McDonald’s parking lot). Picking up where they left off, the Novas rotating D-line of Ajay Jones, Brent McNey, Che Parker, Kevin Sylvain, Mike Barber and Josh Friedman exerted heavy pressure on the Sharks QB who had trouble breaking through their disciplined containment. A quick three-and-out resulted and the Novas offense took over with good field position. CCR worked the ball down the gridiron exploiting the flats and hitting their linemen to break off small chunks of yardage at a time. On third and goal from the Sharks 7-yard line, QB John Hering found RB Lonzell Offutt open on the left side of the endzone, but Offutt had trouble finding the ball in the lights and a fast-closing Sharks DB arrived just in time to knock the ball to the turf and bring up fourth down. Novas K Travis Brown trotted out for a 24-yard field goal attempt which split the uprights to give CCR an early 3-0 lead. The next Sharks possession was a duplicate of the first as the Sharks QB had trouble finding the time to spot up and hit his receivers. On fourth and long the Sharks punted again and Novas DBs Pete Angstadt and Lawerance Dupree teamed up to make the game’s first big play. Angstadt fielded the ball at the 38-yard line, made a quick move to avoid two defenders, then sprinted 20 yards before pitching to Dupree who accelerated down the sideline before getting knocked out of bounds inside the Sharks ten yard line. The Novas offense parlayed the big punt return into points on the very next play from scrimmage. Hering rolled right before dumping the ball back to G Billy Bayne who fired a knuckleball to C Chris Mack in the front of the endzone. Mack did a good job of using his body to shield off the defender and haul in the TD pass. The extra point made it 10-0 Novas who appeared to be in complete command. With under two minutes remaining in the half and the Novas set to receive the second half kickoff, the game looked like it could be materializing into a blowout. However, four-time champions never die easy and the Sharks were quick to respond to prove that point to the Novas and any other doubters that may have been in the crowd. Deep in their own territory and facing a tough rush and a cover-three Novas Secondary in prevent-D, the Sharks finally broke through, when their QB bought some time in the backfield, stepped up into the pocket and fired a 60-yard strike to a speedy wideout who somehow managed to get past the deep Novas secondary. Novas S Ty Byrd lunged to make the flag pull inside the ten yard line to save the TD. The Novas D stiffened, and two incomplete passes and a sack left the Sharks facing fourth-and-goal from the 20. The Sharks QB took the snap and under heavy pressure threw incomplete in the endzone. However, a CCR lineman was whistled for hitting the arm of the Sharks QB as he threw. The resulting personal foul penalty gave the Sharks new life and a fresh set of downs. They needed only one to get on the scoreboard and back in the game as their QB took the snap and scrambled his way around the left side and into the endzone. The extra point made the halftime score 10-7 in favor of the Novas. Still reeling from the late Sharks TD, the Novas made a mental error on the second-half kickoff return, accidentally downing the ball on their own 20-yard line. The blunder put them in a tough first and 20 situation with bad field position. The CCR offense was able to overcome the special teams blunder, converting a fourth down play and proceeding to go on a long time-consuming drive, but the Sharks defense eventually forced the Novas into a 4th and 10 from the Sharks 30. On the fourth-down play Hering lofted a pass down the left sideline for an open Angstadt, but the ball proved uncatchable as it drifted out of bounds. With the momentum shift apparently complete the Sharks took over on downs and the offense ran out onto the field eager to claim the lead. On the first play of the drive, however, the Sharks QB threw an ill-advised pass down the right sideline to a well-covered receiver. Byrd timed his jump perfectly and the leaping interception gave the ball back to the Novas O. After a short running gain, Novas Coach Shay Mattera looked to exploit an ever aggressive Sharks secondary with a deep pass. The play worked like a charm as Hering rolled right, faked a pitch to Offutt and then heaved a pass to WR Dan Lordan who found himself wide-open on a post-pattern. The Sharks made the flag pull, but the Novas had first and goal from the five. After a 4-yard gain on a swing pass to Angstadt, the Novas scored their second TD of the day on a well executed guard-out play. On the play, 6`10" Novas G Dave Hinchliffe found himself one on one with a sub-six-foot Sharks defender who had speed and agility, but no chance of making the play given the height difference. Hinchliffe easily reached up to haul in the pass and give the Novas a 17- 7 lead. With a ten point lead and less than five minutes remaining in the game, it appeared that CCR had the "A" league title all but sewn up. But once again the Sharks responded in champion-like fashion when their QB shook loose and again found an open receiver beyond the Novas last line of defense. The 70-yard TD made the score 17-14 with two minutes remaining and gave the Sharks a glimmer of hope. However, CCR recovered the onside kick at the 30 and knew that a first down was all that stood between them and their first outright Fairfax “A” league title as well as an undefeated season. On first down Offutt ran for eight yards, but CCR was penalized for holding. The Sharks realized that time was running out and elected to decline the penalty rather than give the Novas an extra down. That put the Novas O in a second and 2 situation. After a run netted a one-yard loss, the Novas knew that the Sharks D would have to dedicate themselves to stopping the run. Sure enough, on third down Hering took two steps to his right and then lobbed a pass to WR Dave Szczesniak who was 20 yards past the nearest defender. Fighting the lights, Szczesniak managed to haul in the pass and immediately took a knee prompting the CCR sideline to erupt in celebration. Having earned a first down, the Novas informed the referees that they would be kneeling on the ball and the whistle blew on a 17-14 Novas victory. The Sharks played a heck of a game and battled to the end, damn near pulling another victory out of their hat. Good game fellas and we look forward to seeing you at States.

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