After ten weeks of fun and competition the Santa Barbara Friday Night Lights Youth Flag Football League reached its grand finale on Friday, May 13.
Eight teams lifted championship trophies for their age groups in the blue and red divisions before the night was done.
“This always ends up being one of the best nights in flag football. These guys have been working for ten weeks on their skills and abilities. The best games with the best team’s meet up for one night only,” said Friday Night Lights commission Ted Padilla. “It was a great championship night. Kids having fun in a safe environment on Friday nights is what it’s all about.”
The night concluded with the seventh and eight grade Jacksonville Jaguars holding on to defeat the Ravens 31-21 in the upper tier red division championship game.
The Jags feature a stacked roster of Baylor Wilson, Carter Plowman, Connor Jackson, Fernando Alejandre, Jarett Kendall, Lucas Abughazaleh and Rhys Phillips. They are coached by Greg Wilson and Joe Plowman.
In the seventh and eight grade blue division championship the Chicago Bears defeated Buffalo Bulls 34-6.
The Bears roster consisted of Charlie Vazquez, Austin Singer, Beck Smyth, Asher Pirozzi, Mateo Arredguin, Colton Cordero and Johnny Kent. The Bears are coached by Joseph Cordero.
In the fifth and sixth grade red division championship game the Seattle Seahawks scored a last minute touchdown on a catch by Archie Schwabecher to defeat the Chiefs 20-13.
Chase Ramarenko, Christian Yonker, Alex Silva, Chase Farrar, Connor Lee, Mateo Muslera and Schwabecher make up the Seahawks roster.
In the 5th and 6th grade blue division the Saints defeated the Dolphins 34-30. The Saints roster features Coltonn McCollum, Cash Lee, Shun Salinas, Drew Courson, Paul Hansen, Devin Mclaglin and Brayden Echlemer. The Saints are coached by Justin McCollum.
The third and fourth grade Trojans claimed one of the more thrilling championships of the night in red division by defeating the Wildcats 21-13.
Rider Welch, Led Jones, Wyatt Warkentin, Kian Mault, Kumoni Roth, August Rich, Max Quijono and Matty Mancuso lifted championship trophies for the Trojans. They are coached by Mark Warkentin.
In the third and fourth grade blue division Oklahoma State coached by Carson Fealay defeated UCLA 34-6.
The championship festivities began with the first and second grade Northwestern Wildcats defeating the first and second grade USC Trojans 28-6 in the upper tier red division championship.
In the first and second grade blue division the Army Blacknights defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 19-14.
The first and second place teams from each division are invited to play in the Tournament of Champions beginning Saturday, June 4th in Orange County.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
