WEEK 1 REVIEW

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Monday, 29 April 2024 17:29

Published: Monday, 29 April 2024 17:29

Written by Jeff Krol

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Welcome back, TSLers, to another amazing season of spring football at the Rose Garden! The Sentinel took a bit of a sabbatical last season, but rest assured, we are back and ready to deliver the best coverage in all of co-ed touch football in Western New York! Word is the Topper Dome is FINALLY going to be put up, so that is new and exciting! I wonder if Jeff and the crew are sourcing some naming rights to the dome, or if they will let Topper have his ego stroked even more by letting it be called the Topper Dome? We couldn’t let Topper make his long-awaited return without a little jab, could we? With that, let’s take a look at some games from opening weekend!

D1

Sticky Bandits 25, Frodo Swaggins 21

To be the best player on a D1 team, it seems like you need to be tall, have dark hair, be a bit slender and take control of the game when your team needs it (that is why Drew of Sticky, Al of Frodo, Derek of Eyes Downtown and Chris of Eyes Uptown are all their teams male MVP’s). Al was uncoverable and Sticky nation routinely had a hard time keeping up with him. Al is Garrett’s clear cut WR1, and he deserves it. He has shown loyalty, been level-headed and a great player. Not to be overshadowed, Frodo might have the fastest and most friendly trio of ladies between Katie, Dri and Tori. If Garrett wants to accomplish the feat of grabbing that D1 title, he will need to continue to utilize his ladies and Al. Unfortunately for Frodo, Mike Thomas was on point and able to connect with Christine Krol (the clearly better Krol) on an out and up and Drew on multiple deep shots right over Garrett to pull it out. 

Eyes Downtown 43, Eyes Uptown 34

In what has become a yearly tight battle, this game went exactly the same as it always does. Both teams vying back and forth on the scoreboard, with plays being made all over the field. Bobby McConnell utilized Kayla Voss time and time again, getting her open with some great play-calling. He will need to utilize her more, as ED is only rolling with two girls this session with the promotion of Katie Salisbury to TSL518 (Ran by Topper’s brother Steven Topper McGovern, also single and loves Corona’s). Chris Nelson has a great interception of Bobby though, showing his quick toe-tap on the sideline that would have been in bounds even by NFL standards. The game came down to the end, with Blasé sacking Joey on the last play.  Yep, that's all that happened here.

D2

Mavericks 44, Puckett All-Stars 38

It may have come as a surprise to many that PAS made the big jump from D4 to D2, but they added a lot of talent to the team and this game was back and forth the entire way. Adding to the aforementioned tall slender males having success, PAS has one that flat out balls out, and high points the ball with the best of them. PAS also did their usual of getting down to the goal line multiple times, and utilizing their girls throwing ability to get an easy 8 points. Trailing with under two minutes left on the clock, Jordan Lawson did his thing and marched his team right down the field, hitting the newly anointed nickname “Smokeless Dave” to get down close to the endzone, then again in the back to pull ahead. PAS had a little time left, but a last second hail mary fell short, and Mavericks prevailed. 

Scared Hitless 38, Can’t Touch This 36

Everybody knows CTT for their tall, rocket-armed QB Ryan but they have a ton of talent, especially with the girls they have. Jack from CTT got bloodied up all game, but kept fighting and used his speed to get open time and time again. The girls of SH were counting pretty quickly, and getting after Ryan and forcing quick decisions. SH added Travis, which is a great addition for a team looking to take the title. Those are the savvy veteran moves you make to take your team to the next level. In the end, the experience of SH put them over the top and took a close win. It seems like D2 is really shaping up to be one of the best divisions out there. 

D3

Wanderers 34, Buffalo Vice 32

BV finally got their D4 championship after years of battling for it, and make the jump to D3. The early results are promising, even at 0-2 they were competitive the entire way. Wanderers are led by outspoken and known irritant, but actually good guy Frank Laudico who plays the game in a smart strategic way. That is, until he does something silly and Sal can be heard chastising him. Wanderers controlled the game all the way down the field time and time again, and in the second half found their girl in the back of the endzone to take control of the game. With a bit of a lead, Frank decided to throw a deep ball instead of taking time off the clock, resulting in an interception and some not so friendly words from known good guy Sal. Andy Clark used his strong arm to find his receivers, but in the end, just too many turnovers did them in. The rain certainly did not help. BV will be just fine in D3, however, and I see some wins coming. 

Let’s get Reckked 33, Bullet Club 20

LGR comes in with a little bit of roster turnover, but probably for the better after adding Garrett Beesing along with the Santo’s. It is tough to replace Kyle Conniff, but that may be as best a way to do it as they could. Still led by Alex Buchilis, he found Garrett deep time and time again, leaving people wondering if BC was even going to try to guard him. BC comes in with a new QB in Dylan Jaloza, a move that puts Langley back to receiver and complaining about his arm hurting a lot less (people were tired of hearing it). This was a game that came down to who made less mistakes, and BC just had too many interceptions to pull back into the game once LGR took control. 

D4

Interdimensional Lightning Falcons 42, Roaring 20’s 18

ILF is back with new colors, same QB, same players and same bad boy arrogance. Roaring 20’s is a new team filled with young players who are athletes, very friendly and very talented. They also have a mullet guy, which makes me wonder is having a mullet guy a requirement for new teams? We should check on that. ILF scored a bunch of points with Ellory and Becca each getting a touchdown and plenty of targets. Ethan Herbold demonstrated his arguably strongest arm in the league by throwing the ball 50 yards multiple times. Roaring 20’s found some success in the second half, throwing some deep shots. When ILF pressed their luck and let Andrew Kicak try at QB, he immediately threw back to back pick 6’s, to nobodies surprise. Watch out for Roaring 20’s, once they figure it out and learn the in’s and out’s, they will make some noise. 

Tater Tots 48, Creekers 22

TT looks like a brand new team, led by B at QB and the early returns are promising. B showed his strategic mind all game, putting his receivers in position to make a lot of plays and get out in space. B hit drunk Meg multiple times to continue to convert, and by the end B was laughing and joking with the fellas on Creekers. Creekers returned just about everybody from their D5 championship, but just struggled a bit in the rain, and the experience B and the Tots had proved to be too much. This feels like more of an outlier for Creekers, as I expect them to still make some noise in D4. 

D5

Gucci 26, Stir the Sauce 24

Gucci returns, sans Chris Wolcott who opted to play with the Tud Buds this session and are looking to take the crown, led by the awesome Kelly Kane. STS is essentially woodpeckers incarnate, this time led by big Dan the wrestler. The fields sorely missed him in his absence, but he is back! Gucci used a bit of strategy, rushing the affable and large human being Thomas Fields to disrupt the STS QB. STS got some momentum going and put points up to stick close with Gucci, but as everybody knows, Kelly Kane is a tough one to beat getting 8 points every TD. Kelly found one of her girls for an early touchdown and they never looked back. STS looks like a strong competitor in D5, I look forward to seeing how they come together and develop. 

Travis Henry’s Kids 43, PowerPuff Girls 16

PPG is basically Father Baker, except with a smarter QB that actually shows up in Kyle Conniff. Amber is the captain of this team, and she did very well in her selection of teammates, presenting a very formidable gender team that will be a nuisance for D5 teams. The start was tough for Kyle and the ladies, struggling to move the ball and score early on as the rain came down hard. THK took a step down in division to the chagrin of many, and looked ready to roll from the start, scoring on every drive. Amber could be heard yelling “why are you in D5 John!” to get in the head of the known basket case Langley. PPG found some success on the boundary to pick up some chunk yardage, but in the end the experience of THK playing together and the size won out. Pistol Pete and Alex took over the game and made countless plays. 

D6

Blitzkrieg 29, Sticky Laces 20

This one was a great game, but Sticky Laces was playing from behind the entire game. Kyle from Not So Sticky brought his team over from the other league, and I expect they will do just fine in D6 once they get their feet under them. A crucial drop in the endzone on 6-0 may have been the difference early in the game, as it would have kept SL within striking distance. Blitzkrieg's girl Ally was way too fast for the SL defense and made a lot of plays. Alex and Blitzkrieg are now the veterans of D6, and showed it. They should be the early favorite for that division. 

Pit Harade 21, Dogg Pound 16

Dogg pound is another new team on the block, led by Tino of Two Tuddies. They have some pretty cool jersey’s, and kept it close with the experienced Pit Harade. PH is a whole vibe, being led at QB by Dave Walter, who nobody can say a bad word about. Dave and the crew used that experience to move the ball down the field, and made a few more plays than DP did. Look out for them later in the season though, they are another that could surprise some folks. 

***

The League has been getting a lot of complaints in recent sessions that their teams are not being covered on here! Remember, the Sentinel only has 2 eyes and can only see so much, so if you want your team covered and it hasn’t been, send a recap of your game to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and he will send it to us (we don't have our own email address). Make sure to include names so we learn some of the new faces! 

That is it for this week, see you all next week and remember, I’ll be watching!

WEEK 5 REVIEW

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 19 September 2023 19:18

Published: Tuesday, 19 September 2023 19:18

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 375

On what was another beautiful day out there at the rose garden on Saturday, the games were absolutely electric! I get the feeling some of the neighbors around the fields may get annoyed with all the yelling they hear, but it must not be too bad, seeing as how we get no complaints. So far the fields have held up pretty well, it must be the change in how they are aligned. I heard some early complaints about it, but it seems those have subsided since we don’t have craters causing injuries. Let’s take a look at some games!

Breakfast Club:

BDD 40, Blach-ur-anus 32

BUA had Nick Hawes stepping in at QB with Garrett out, and the game started hilariously with a pick on the first play. Micah was slinging the rock for BDD and was accurate and on point early, finding his girls easily. BUA started to make a comeback in the second half, but BDD fended them off with key plays made by Stoner Dave. 

D1:

Eyes Downtown 27, Legends 13

Legends continues to do that thing where they throw someone different out at QB, like they are just toying with the rest of D1 and aren’t taking the regular season too seriously. This time they had to as Joey Batts was not there, and ED took advantage. Bobby McConnell was ready to average previous losses, and this time had his big target Derek Bongiovanni to throw to. Nick Angelo was all over the field making play after play. ED continues to show they are a serious player to win the whole thing. 

Legends 31, Sticky Bandits 30

Coach Jay was in action for the Sticky Bandits this week and had an early pick to set the Sticky Bandits up for an early two score lead.  Andy Smigiera responded quickly though and found wide open touchdowns to Travis and Shbend to close the gap and preserve the Legends' undefeated season (for another hour at least).  Andy and Mel also had great picks in coverage for the Legends.

D2: 

Freeballer 58, Can’t Touch This 18

Just when you think that CTT is unstoppable, they met their match! Well, at least for this matchup. Hogan is QBing for Freeballers now, and perhaps they found their match as he stood back there, directed the offense, and delivered strikes to his receivers. Adrian was all over the place on both sides of the ball, showing he is truly on of the top players TSL has to offer. Ryan Dougherty moved his team down the field, they just couldn’t capitalize early when given chances, and it snowballed a bit from there. Definitely see this rematch being a lot more fun!

D3:

Keller Whales 30, Bullet Club 19

Keller Whales are led by Damian Keller and boy does he have a solid arm. Early on in a tough spot on 4-1, Damian delivered a deep strike to Katie Keller to set up an early score. Langley was back at QB for BC, and we’re not quite sure if he was too amped up, but he was a bit off on some pretty open throws, mixed with a couple drops from his receivers. With the game close towards the end, the rusher for KW made an outstanding play to one hand a pick and take it for a TD. KW converted on the 2-point to ice the game. KW just knows how to play!

D4:

THK 31, Buffalo Vice 29

This was perhaps the game of the 10am time slot as this game was back and forth the entire way. THK had some momentum early but failed to score early which caused an early deficit. And then, the deep ball came out and Langley found Pistol Pete and Mike Burke on deep routes for touchdowns. Andy Clark was sharp all day, but a key pick early set THK up. One note: the tall guy from BV had the interception of a lifetime, with a SICK one-handed interception. At the end, with the game on the line, Pistol Pete came up with a goalline pick to seal the deal. 

PWI 43, Puckett All-Stars 30

I have to say, PWI might not be the most athletic team, but boy are they rock solid! Buddy Lee has continued to improve with every High Noon he drinks, and his receivers just catch the ball. Buddy had his guys and girls getting open against PAS’s tough man defense, driving the ball down the field with ease. PAS was missing a couple players but had their core, but in the end a few too many mistakes and an upstart PWI took them down and made their claim as a D4 championship contender again. 

D5: 

Gucci 37, Cobblestone 20

Let me start by saying this: Darryl Carr gets the love he gets because no matter what, he is going to have his team play. What a rockstar. Cobblestone only had 4 players and played their hearts out to make this as competitive as possible. Gucci was just simply too good and took advantage of that. Gucci is just a different team when Kelly is back there, and they had their big guy Thomas Fields back too. In the end, it was a clear mismatch, but give Cobblestone their props for going out there and playing anyway. Darryl could have taken the easy way out and forfeit, but good for him for playing. 

Cobblestone 56, NSS 40

So here we REALLY give props. Cobblestone won with FOUR PLAYERS. NSS, how did that happen??  When a team has only four defenders, you should score against them every time.  Instead NSS somehow threw multiple picks.  We don't know the girl's name on Cobblestone but it feels like we will soon -- she was unstoppable on both sides of the ball.

D6:

Mighty Drunks 54, Blitzkrieg 15

Blitzkrieg is a team that always looks like they are having a great time no matter the outcome of the game. In this case, Mighty Drunks were eating up the field, scoring a bunch of points on offense and stopping Blitzkrieg in their tracks on defense. The QB of MD looked calm and comfortable, picking whatever receiver he wanted to show off in the moment. 

Blitzkrieg 49, pit Harade 36

Pit Harade had Gordon at QB who would try to go deep too often and not take advantage of the easy 10-15 yard completions he had available. The game was very back and forth and felt like neither team wanted to win. Blitzkrieg’s men would run deep routes with smiles on their faces, trying to haul in the ball over and over again. In the end, Blitzkrieg’s redzone offense was more consistent, utilizing the back line and sealed the win with a deep ball touchdown with a minute left in the game. 

WEEK 6 REVIEW

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 26 September 2023 19:11

Published: Tuesday, 26 September 2023 19:11

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 348

Week six is in the past, and it is safe to say the great games are just going to continue to keep rolling each weekend as the race for co-ed touch football immortality is coming up upon us! The weather once again cooperated, where everybody was shedding their layers by noon time. My impression of the league so far: who the heck knows who is going to win it all in each division! It feels like anything can happen. With that let’s take a look at some of this weeks games!

BC: 

Blach-ur-anus 46, Steph’s Misty-rious Infection 31

Garrett made his grand return after a two week hiatus and it could not have come at a better time. The new Steph infection was down quite a few players, but Frank Laudico was still ready to sling it, hitting his ladies time after time for gains. Nobody has ever accused Garrett of being the smartest QB (just kidding, we love Garrett) but he was strategic the entire game, taking advantage of his open receivers ability to get open. In the end, the lady touchdowns made the difference as BUA made enough to get the win.

D1:

Losing Streak 36, Legends 24

This was a game of turnovers and a little bit of controversy, but we will get to that in a minute. Jordan Lawson looked focused and ready for this battle, delivering strike after strike to his talented receivers. Joey Batts made his return to QB for Legends, and was overall sharp but made some uncharacteristic turnovers that swung the game in the LS direction. On one of those picks, Chris Nelson picked the ball off and ran to the goal line and pitched to a girl, but a Legends defender made a great effort and deflected the ball into the endzone. In the end it was ruled dead ball at the spot it was deflected, but it raised some questions on if it should be a touchback. May need to get the rules committee together and add some clarification for the future. In the end, Jordan found Chris for a touchdown on 6-0 to seal the game, and a huge win for LS. 

Frodo Swaggins 39, Sticky Bandits 30

Garrett was able to gather the fellowship around Frodo and looked comfortable in the pocket throwing to his receivers. Garrett was able to complete substantial passes to Katie, Dri, and Tori repeatedly. The nail in the coffin was when Tori ran an out and up over Brandy Clarke, scoring a much needed 8 points. On the other side of the ball, Josh Schneider made it his personal mission to try and pick Mike Thomas off, running all over the field demonstrating his value as a top 5 defender. Sticky was down 19 points and felt momentum coming back their way. Mike Thomas scored a gender touchdown with around 5 minutes left. Sticky managed to get the stop they needed for one last drive, but couldn’t punch the ball in as Mike tried to his Nicole Sharick on a front line out. Congrats Garrett and Frodo for finally getting in the win column!

D2: 

Freeballers 42, Scared Hitless 32

Freeballers were the dominant team, especially with a quarterback the team refers to as HIM. Adrian Cannon played stellar defense all game making quarterbacking miserable for Dylan Day. On several occasions Adrian broke up some deep shots to the guys of SH. Dylan did find the occasional open receiver hovering the sideline or goal line. Once SH had 4 guys available, they started to move the ball better, but attendance seems to be their issue thus far. As the game was coming to a close, Freeballers decided to stop playing defense and let SH get a gender touchdown and the two point conversion to let the game become a little more interesting. Freeballers ended up running enough time off to seal the deal. 

D3: 

Keller Whales 39, Bullet Club 38

This was a back and forth all afternoon, and was exciting with a lot of offensive fireworks. BC got up early with well-run and precise drives that ended in touchdowns to George Lombardo. KW would not let that stop them, driving the ball down the field to make it a game and then on the last play of the half, got a nice catch in the back corner of the endzone to make it a tight game. This game felt like each offense was scoring on every drive, until BC didn’t on a missed pass from Langley to old veteran Tommy Hughes, giving KW the edge in the end as the Keller Clan celebrated a hard-earned win. 

The Family 40, Wanderers 38

The Family has been blitzing through their competition since some early hiccups, and may just be perhaps the most athletic team in TSL. Led by Terrell Bolden, who was sharp and accurate all game, TF moved the ball down the field time and time again for scores. Not to be outdone by TF’s athleticism, Wanderers might be one of the smartest teams out there, and they showed it again with methodical drives down the field. On one pass, Frank found his brother, Alan Laudico, who made a jump cut, breaking the ankles of the TF defender. A loud “OOOOOO’ was yelled out by even the defenders teammates Alan shook him so bad. In the end, the high-powered offense of TF was too much, and they get yet another victory. 

D4: 

ILF 35, PWI 0

This was a game of substitutes and captains who are too arrogant to request bye weeks when 90% of their teams are out of town. John Langley was in the middle of his 5th quadruple header of the year and there was no wear to be found. Langley threw to “Drunk enough to catch, not drunk enough to fall over” Meg and Brett Fiend repeatedly, racking up a score of 35-0. Brett had three touchdowns, in the front of the endzone, back and all around, and was practically begging John to let him join THK. Derek Pew was the QB of PWI and the wind was against him, every pass over 15 yards would sail and curve thanks to an errant gust of wind. 

Father Baker 36, Buffalo Vice 32

Buffalo Vice was fully staffed and started off hot, hitting deep routes and using their height to their advantage. Caitlin Mason’s efforts in the first half proved to be another threat to a stacked offense. She was juking past Robin and catching long touchdown passes on Maddie Norton. Not to be outdone by Caitlin, Maddie scored on a stop and go, while on another drive, Robin was left wide open that resulted in a deep touchdown pass. The interesting change of this game was that Father Baker was again on a missionary trip so Father Coniff filled in for him. At the end of one half, Vice was ahead by two scores. Father Coniff quickly learned what the nuns prefer to run on offense, who was the best in confession, and was best in coverage. Father Coniff provided holy guidance on defense which led to stops. Due to some uncharacteristic drops by BV guys, some defense by Molly Santo and Britnee Perry, and a game-sealing interception by Father Coniff, Father Baker pulled off the upset. 

D5:

GUCCI 46, Not So Sticky 6

This game was over in the first ten minutes, as the sub-filled Not So Sticky roster never stood a chance against the high powered GUCCI machine.  Kelly Kane often gets the credit (and rightfully so) for being the badass alpha female that keeps GUCCI rolling, but Laura Territo didn't disappoint either with a gorgeous interception to break the spirits of NSS once and for all.  People stopped asking for score checks after the first half, as this was never really in question.

WEEK 4 REVIEW

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 12 September 2023 20:10

Published: Tuesday, 12 September 2023 20:10

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 428

Week 4 has come and gone, we are now halfway through the TSL season, but don’t let that bum you out! We have so much more season to go. The weather cooperated for us, with cooler temps and a bit of overcast to protect you non-sunscreen wearers from yourselves. We had rematches galore, gender team battles, and new teams out to make a point which makes the mid-point of the season that much more interesting. Let’s take a look!

D1:

Eyes Downtown 40, Sticky Bandits 26

It would appear the Sticky receivers adopted the Kansas City Chiefs catching drills, because they just couldn’t avoid costly drops! ED carved up the Sticky defense (it would appear they weren’t so sticky on defense), utilizing Derek Bongiovanni’s size and speed, Nick Angelos glorious hair, and the athleticism of Kayla, Amber and Katie. The ED defense was playing on turbo time as they earned two sacks by lead rusher Blase, a pick by Amber Hay and a game-ending toe-tap pick by Cody Stumpf who exclaimed “you’re done!” as he caught it.

Legends 39, Eyes Downtown 38

ED recruited a foreign exchange athlete swapping out Johnny Yioulos for mustached Italian athlete named Mario. This Mario Man was jumping all over the field, bouncing on his opponents, eating mushrooms, and trying to use flowers to throw fireballs. Bobby McConnell aired out a deep ball to Mario, who jumped up in the air, catching the football, screaming “wah-hooooo!” as he landed in the end zone. ED and Legends went back and forth in their second bout in three consecutive weeks. After some controversial calls, Legends came out on top to hold on to their undefeated season. 

D2:

Can’t Touch This 36, Scared Hitless 23

The girls of SH are drastically underrated as they have incredible hands and speed. The SH defense was able to sack Ryan Dougherty 5 times. Despite the sacks, CTT was able to get the ball in the end zone multiple times with deep shots, back line routes and toe taps. The receivers showed their great chemistry with him, finding openings in the defense all game long. 

D3:

The Malones 50, Bullet Club 37

The Malones are extremely skilled, and their record was not indicative of the talent they possess. TM has a QB with a good arm and he put it on display, completing quite a few deep passes over the BC defense. The ladies for TM have skill, and they showed what they were about with catch after catch. BC was abandoned once again by their QB Langley, but Tommy Hughes led the charge well. After getting down early, Tommy did what all wily vets do, and led the comeback to take a late lead. A controversial touchdown call marred this a bit, but in the end, TM came out on top for their first win. 

Let’s Get Reccked 57, Wanderers 14

The surprise of the day, Wanderers were playing with three girls and three guys the whole game. LGR was playing with four guys and four girls, so seemingly a mismatch, and it was. The availability of subs and consistency allowed for Buchilis’ team to have a massacre win over the wanderers. LGR scored a bunch with no struggle at all, and the whole team was celebrating after the game. 

D4:

Cunning Stunts 53, Father Baker 44

This game was the highlight of the day and proved exactly why we need to have gender teams. These two teams showed the perfect example of what happens when all the best girls in the league play against one another; they score a bunch of points, draw a crowd, and play exciting football. Father Baker was missing their Father Baker, as he was doing missionary work in Chicago. He was replaced with Father McConnell who had the holy ghost in all of his throws. Touchdowns were had by all, whether they were deep routes, a Katie Salisbury Juke, or a 6 play drive. The game came down to who could capitalize on their extra points and the final drive. Joey Batts intercepted the ball on fourth down of the final drive to seal the victory. 

D5:

Come From Behind 38, GUCCI 23

GUCCI is the total package with the TSL's greatest female QB and a slew of athletic, physical receivers for Kelly to work with.  They might still be the favorites to win D5, but if they lose (again) in the playoffs, we wouldn't be shocked if Come From Behind was the team to do it.  Paul Lovullo was his usual lethal self on Saturday, and GUCCI just didn't have an answer for his connection with Rob.  Athletes were diving over each other to make plays and it was obvious both teams wanted this one, but only Come From Behind could come out on top.

D6:

Pit Harade 34, Back That Pass Up 14

Nick Stutzman from Two Tuddies was subbing as QB for Pit Harade, but you'd never know it was his first game throwing for this team.  His chemistry with Mike Malicki in the end zone was unstoppable, and Back That Pass Up had no answer for Mike's height or Sam Pezzino's speed.  Buddy Lee calls a great game for both of his teams, but his receivers dropped a number of passes that might have given Back That Pass Up a chance to keep up on the scoreboard.