Farmingdale’s PAL flag football league wrapped up another successful season at Woodward Parkway Field and Allen Park. Congratulations to all the tournament champs and to all the players who make the league such a hit. Special thanks as always to league founders Ray Webb and Denis Donovan and to all the volunteers who keep coming back year after year!
Peanut 1: The Jets ended the year with an impressive offensive showing against the Giants. Quarterback Chris Kosinski threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. On the receiving end of the touchdowns were Brian Berge, Joe Caladrino, and Matthew Shea. Bryan Birkl and Tyler Kretzmer both scored on long touchdown runs. Tommy DeRespino, Jake Hajko, Brandon Greco and Dominic Cottone all helped the ball moving with big runs.
The Saints ended their season in another close game. Every player on the Saints contributed to an overall great game but a special mention goes to Gavin Vega who scored an electric run scoring TD across the entire length of the field. Coaches Steve Connolly and Vinny Vega were impressed by the effort week in and week out by Gabe Aliendro, Josh Behar, Christopher Bergersen, Michael Connolly, Toran Kassenbaum, Connor Kennedy, Christopher Leon and Gavin Vega.
The Vikings had one of their best outings all season. Jack Wiser opened the scoring on the first play of the game, taking the hand off up the right sideline untouched. Matt Cangelosi added a score of his own, and had an interception to stop the Steelers momentum. He then tossed a TD pass to C.J. Mangio who made a fingertip grab in the corner of the endzone. Marco Interlandi scored his first TD of the season on a sweep play to the right. Allessandra Barletta and Izabella Cimino contributed with long runs of their own and played well on defense. Jackson Vignona and Benjaim Purcell anchored the defense with some big plays, as usual, shutting down the Steelers. Great Season Vikings!
Girls 3-4: The Lady Cardinals closed out their campaign with a touch loss to the Jets. Jenna Cosenza led the way with some nifty runs on “O” while Lindsey Shimborske contributed some tough “D,” including a timely INT that gave the Cards great field position. Olivia and Vanessa Strocchia once again wrecked havoc on the gridiron while Grace Giovannelli ran wild on the Jets tough “D.” Samantha Nocerino contributed some impressive runs on offense while Samantha Mayers hurried the Jets QBs with some breathtaking defensive rushes. Rebecca Morales was all over the turf, diving to make big stops on “D” and throwing darts to her teammates as QB. Gianna Morales made a couple of nifty runs and also contributed some impressive stops on defense, as well. Finally, Olivia Connolly displayed her impressive wheels with some dazzling runs through the teeth of the Jets’ “D.” Coaches Steve Connolly and Ralph Morales are very proud of the girls for their inspiring play and continued improvement throughout the season! Congrats and thanks to the 2011 Cardinals!
Girls 5-6: The Lady Jets played a nearly perfect game in the semifinal victory against the Steelers. Quarterback Makayla DiFlumeri connected three times with Sophia Iaccino for touchdowns. Elizabeth Tedesco, Patrice Cotov, and Giana Galanoudis each had two receptions and Stephanie Birkl has two runs for long gains. Nicole Kosinski played an impressive defensive game with an interception and two quarterback sacks.
The victory was sealed when Sophia connected with Nicolette Lospitalier as time expired in the game.
Pee Wee 4: The 4th grade Saints defeated the Steelers to become the 2011 Super Bowl Champions! Both teams played their hearts out with the Saints prevailing 18-12. With 10 seconds left Nicholas Tedesco scored his third touchdown to end a very exciting game. Quarterback Daniel Brady threw all three touchdown passes and led the offense along with Ryan Hjako who had many amazing runs. Rushers Vinny Gennaro and Jack Rhein along with the defense, led by Nick Galasso, Zach Silverman, Andrew Magrane, and Joe Fernandez held the Steelers as the clock ran out. Congratulations to the Saints on a great season.
Junior Varsity 5: In the first playoff semifinal game, the Jets faced the high-powered Patriots, who had earlier this season handed the Jets their only loss. This time, the Jets turned the tables with a convincing 26-6 win over their rivals. On offense, Matt McAffrey was Sanchez-esque, throwing pinpoint passes to all receivers. Mikey Grossmann scored 3 TDs, and Mike Trocchia added another. The defense was superb, led by great flag pulling by Anthony Scuderi, Jarred Aleman, and an awesome pass rush by Justin Sipple. In the Super Bowl final, the Jets fell behind a powerful Texan team, 12-0. After Mikey Grossmann scored 2 TDs and a 2-point conversion to take the lead, Matt Ganci scored on a screen play up the middle, which proved to be the winning points. Once again, the defense came up big, led by great plays by Mike Trocchia, Ahmad Jawed, and a smothering pass rush by Justin Sipple. Congratulations to the 5th grade Super Bowl Champs: J -E -T -S Jets Jets Jets!
Junior Varsity 6: The Texans completed their perfect season with an 11-0 record with three victories on Super Bowl Sunday. The Jets beat the Giants 40-7 in the first game of the day. In the first game, Dylan Scire scored two touchdowns to lead the team to a victory. The second game was more of the same, Joe Cangemi took over as quarterback and the offense did not skip a beat. Danny Thompson scored on a long run and Greg Pandaliano got into the end zone on an extra point conversion as the team won 38-12. The Super Bowl turned out to be a game that will go down in history against a formidable Bengal team. After falling behind early 13-0, the Texans re-grouped and tied the game with touchdowns by Mark Bakich and Joe Kosinski. Anthony Speciale led the defense pulling flags all over the field and sacking the quarterback in the end zone for a safety giving the Texans a 15-13 lead.
This was quickly relinquished after a quick Bengals score. The Texans took over on offense on their own five-yard line with a minute to go. Peter Viskoc connected with Joe Kosinski in the end zone who wrestled the ball away from two defenders with 8 seconds left forcing overtime. Joe K then connected with Mark B on the first play of the extra period for a 27-21 victory.
The Vikings closed out their season with a hard-fought loss against a very good Bengals team. Anthony “Bags” Battaglia led a gallant effort with tough-nosed defense and a strong showing on offense. Antonio “Junior” Smikle played an incredible two-way game as he tried his best to will the Vikes to victory with awesome catches on “O” and some timely picks on “D.” James Palagonia continued to impress with a couple of TD dashes and Steven Pantano once again played incredible “D” by making diving flags all over the turf while still having enough energy to quarterback some impressive drives on “O.” Kevin McMahon also displayed impressive QB skills while Robert Smith, Thomas Marcotte, and Frank Bondietti made timely contributions to keep the Vikes close. Finally, Luke Morales and Devin Brown contributed a couple of fine runs on “O” and some key stops on “D.” Coaches Sal Pantano and Ralph Morales are very proud of the boys and congratulate them on a fine season … way to go, 2011 Vikings!
