Sunday, 20 May, 2018
If you are a fan of any and all forms of American football, then this was a GREAT day for you!
It all started at 10:00 a.m. at Skorpion Field where we were hosting the third and final Flag football Qualifying Tournament for the Nationals in early June.
Based on previous results, our U15s were already qualified while both our U13s and U17s needed wins today to move on to the upcoming tournament in the Tuscan city of Grosetto.
Let's see how the day progressed with each team scheduled to play two games.
U13 Team Action
This squad needed to win one of their two games to avoid the end of their campaign.
The Milan Seamen have the world's
biggest U13 Free Safety in #76 Luca
Tommy to Emma
always seems to work
Great Socks = Great Play
At least that's what Davide here believes.
Marco Breaking-Away
Milan is excited by this interception
to say the least
Bombs Away!
Throwing short is ok too
Milan's #76 covering Melissa
man-to-woman
TD EMMA!
And another!
Davide returning an interception
I love the flowing locks.
We lost this game to the Seamen, so now it came down to a one game season with the Busto Arsizio Blue Storms. We had split our two previous meetings in these qualifying tournaments. Today's winner would move on, the loser was done for 2018.
Big Play Melissa
This Blue Storms pass was
just too tall
PURSUIT!
DAVIDE PICK-SIX!
Emma on a blitz
It's all about socks karma
Battle!
It was a high scoring, hard fought game but guess what . . .
WE'RE GOING TO THE NATIONALS!
Congratulations to all of the players and coaches of the U13 team for punching their tickets in such a clutch, dramatic fashion.
U15 Team Action
This group was undefeated on the season and already qualified for the Nationals. Today they were only playing to see how high of a seed they will get in the U15 National Tournament.
Nothing like a good, steady QB
Track the ball . . .
. . . Catch the ball
Are you going to try to cover me?
Gabriele "Il Dottore"
is a force in the open field
Sammy putting a move on a DB
Go and get it up high!
Go and get it down low!
Filippo racing for the pylon
and six more points
TD SKORPIONS!
GREAT TD CATCH!
GREAT one handed Goal Line
interception by a Seaman
Coaches DJ and Enzo's post-game
talk with our undefeated U15s
Two more wins today, one easy and one hard fought, may mean the #1 seed at Nationals, we'll soon find out.
U17 Team Action
We needed a win to qualify, we got two!
Tanya is the U17s
pass rushing demon
She had five QB sacks in today's two contests.
Is that #5's hand?
#1 "Capo" getting a high five
after a PICK-SIX
SLING IT!
Too tall
Yes, I intercepted that pass . . .
. . . with these hands!
Defending the bomb this time
C-QB exchanges were good today
Almost a TD
Open in the Flat
GREAT defensive effort!
GRANDE TANYA!
No QB feels safe when she is on the field.
Our six games were over and all three of our Flag teams had indeed qualified for the Nationals . . .
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Only one other club in all of Italy, the Milan Rhinos, qualified all three of their Flag teams for the Nationals.
GREAT JOB SKORPIONS!
A few other things were going on at Skorpion Field during the games.
The selling of football shoes and
NFL clothing is always a big hit
This stand is run by a private company but the big sellers today were all forms of Skorpion apparel sold in our Snack Bar.
Speaking of our Snack Bar . . .
. . . it was Prosecco Time
after the games were done
No time for vegetarians
Good looking . . .
. . . good tasting goat meat
and ribs on the BBQ!
Now it was on to the next/final American football event of the weekend . . .
The 3:00 p.m. kickoff
of a non-Group DII game
Ravenna Chiefs (2-4)
Second Place in Group B
at
Varese Gorillas (0-6)
Fourth Place in Group C
Group B's four teams are all located in or near Roma. I just wanted to get a feel for their level of play in the South.
Interesting poster outside
the stadium sums up our feeling
on the subject
Could be dangerous
I do like their Gorilla logo
The game was being played at Varese's soccer stadium, not the Gorillas' normal, quaint field.
Hallway of Honor . . .
. . . for Varese Calico only . . .
. . . and only two honorees
Lots of Skorpions were in the House!
There were still a few empty
seats on the visiting side
Nice field
This venue was the site of the 2012 Italian Super Bowl between the Parma Panthers and our beloved Catania Elephants on a hot June day with a then packed stadium.
Parma won the title that day with Laurie and I in attendance.
As for today's game, it was had fought from beginning to end but the Chiefs prevailed in the end.
Even though they are now 0-7, the Gorillas are still playing hard and with great enthusiasm. I believe that this attitude is a sign of the positive job that their coaching staff is doing and of the team's character and love for the game.
Division II - Week in Review
Week #12 Results
Brescia Bengals (4-3) 49
Sarzana Red Jackets (2-5) 30
Ravenna Chiefs (3-4) 17
Varese Gorillas (0-7) 8
BYES
Busto Arsizio Blue Storms (7-0)
Cagliari Crusaders (1-6)
Sant'Agata Knights (1-6)
Varese Skorpions (5-2)
Group C Standings
1. Busto Arsizio Blue Storms 7-0
2. Varese Skorpions 5-2
3. Cagliari Crusaders 1-6
4. Varese Gorillas 0-7
Week #13 Schedule
Saturday, May 26th
Varese Skorpions (5-2) at Busto Arsizio Blue Storms (7-0)
Palermo Sharks (3-3) at Sant'Agata Knights (1-6)
Sunday, May 27th
Cagliari Crusaders (1-6) at Varese Gorillas (0-7)
Reggio Emilia Hogs (6-1) at Sarzana Red Jackets (2-5)
Week #13 is the final week of the 2018 DII regular season. For the only time this season, all 24 DII teams will be playing over the weekend, no byes for once.
This will be a physically hard week of two teams in particular, the Group A Palermo Sharks (3-3) and the Group E Verona Mastini (4-2) who are both in second place in their respective Groups at this time.
After both winning games last Saturday, they will play each other this coming Wednesday night in Sicily before playing again on Saturday.
The Sharks will travel on Saturday to Sant'Agata to play the 1-6 Knights while the Mastini will also be on the road taking on the undefeated 7-0 Padova Saints.
Speaking of tough, physical weeks, your #7 ranked, 5-2 Skorpions will take to the strada to play Group C's Champion 7-0, #2 ranked Busto Arsizio Blue Storms.
After the Blue Storms game there will be a bye week before the playoffs Wild Card weekend.
The eight teams seeded five through twelve will play Wild Card games.
The top four seeds earn a Wild Card weekend bye for their season long excellence.
Stay tuned . . .
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