Falcons Win Flag Football Title

This was a magical season for the St. Matthew’s flag football team, culminating in last week’s 16-12 victory over Windward in the Pacific Basin League B Division championship game. After Windward scored first to take a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, St. Matthew’s stifling defense was able to neutralize the Wildcats’ offense until the fourth quarter. Jack Newman scored the Falcons’ first touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run. Quinn McGinley passed to Brendan Sanderson for the two-point conversion, giving St. Matthew’s (11-0) the lead, 8-6. Windward scored its second touchdown with 38.9 seconds left to take a 12-8 lead, but the Wildcats again failed to convert the extra point. Brendan Sanderson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Falcons’ 40-yard line. Then, on a fake screen pass, Hunter Schoop ran a slant pattern to the Wildcats’ 10-yard line, stepping out of bounds to stop the clock with 11 seconds left. Doing his best Joe Montana impression, McGinley threw a 10-yard touchdown to Newman with six seconds left, then found Schoop for the two-point conversion. In the third and fourth quarters the Falcons’ offense converted four fourth downs to keep drives alive as St. Matthew’s defeated Windward for the third time this season. Coached by Jose Bravo and assistants John Gould, Reynaldo Macias and Rob Risley, St. Matthew’s cruised into the final, having blanked Westside Neighborhood School, 44-0, in the quarterfinals and routed Wildwood 52-16 in the semifinals–a game in which Newman returned to kickoffs for touchdowns. Also contributing to the Falcons’ championship run were Thomas Adair, Ryan Alford, Alex Brown, Zac Christian, Thomas Dameris, Jeffrey Ehlers, Colin Enzer, Caleb Garbuio, Kelly Harlan, Pablo Mendez, Louie Nadeau, William Ruppenthal, Brendan Sanderson and Matt Ursin-Smith.