Flag Football Wins the Coastal League Championship

The Jaguars fired on all cylinders in the front half of the game, absolutely bewildering the Vikings on their way to their third championship over the last four seasons. 

The Vikings, who had the ball first, squandered the opportunity to set the game tone by throwing an interception to Carter B. ‘23 (Super Bowl Team MVP) on the opening drive. This initial turnover was a sign of things to come as the Jaguars played elite defense throughout the afternoon. The Jaguar offense took advantage of the turnover on their first drive of the game, as quarterback Shaun S. ‘24 (Super Bowl Offensive MVP) threw a laser over the deep middle third of the field on a post route to Max C. ‘23, who separated from his defender and scampered 40 yards+ for the early lead. de Toledo then converted the extra point as Ryan S. ‘23 chip blocked and then rolled off the linebacker across the formation for the catch and the conversion. 

The second quarter mirrored that of the first, as the Jaguar defense forced three interceptions in the quarter. Carter got his second pick of the day, as pressure from the defensive line flummoxed the Viking quarterback. Mani E. ‘23 (Super Bowl Defensive MVP) followed with a demoralizing pick-six, his first score as a Jaguar, to put de Toledo up 13-0. Carter then snagged his third interception of the first half off of a tipped pass by snagging the ball right before it hit the ground like a vase on the brink of shattering. The Jaguars then extended the lead to 21-0 on a corner route to an open Evan R. ‘22 followed by a 2-point conversion to Max on an out route.

Even though de Toledo was up at half by three scores, the team kept their foot on the accelerator, continuing to perfectly execute the game plan. The offense took advantage of the Viking defense’s overcommitment to the first move and had extensive drives even though they did not score in the latter half; this did though lead to purposeful clock management tactics. The defense only got stronger by the quarter to the point where the Vistamar coach was just shaking his head about what to do to get the ball moving. The defense bullrushed the backfield, sacking the quarterback on seemingly every other down. And when they were not sacking the quarterback, they were causing him to throw the ball inaccurately, as he never felt settled in the pocket that was constantly collapsing around him. Even when the ball did get out of the quarterback’s hand, the secondary either knocked the ball out of harm’s way or they picked it off like Scotty L. ‘23 did in the fourth quarter for the team’s fifth interception of the game. 

It was a sensational season for a team that opened the year with a loss, only to rattle off eight straight victories. Most teams would not have been able to bounce back from that opener nor would most teams be able to come from behind in a semifinal match down 12-0 within the opening minutes of the game. The reason this team in particular was able to achieve these feats was due to their resilience and their straight up love for the game and for each other. They leaned on each other throughout the season, knowing that if they were not their best self on a certain day, that they had the depth around them to lift them up and keep them centered. This is the true mark of a champion. There are many great teams who have failed to lift the trophy at the end of the year because they lack this key ingredient; great teams show talent, championship teams show grit. It was the we-are-never-out-of-this attitude that drove the team to its successes and that ultimately put on a crown on the season.