The flag football summer league concluded on 6 Sept. with a series of intense playoff and final games at Ed Bush Stadium.
The league, which commenced on 28 June, featured 5 versus 5 matches across men’s and women’s non-contact, and men’s contact divisions.
The playoff matches kicked off with teams playing simultaneously for each division before the championship games.
In the men’s non-contact division, Cobras overcame Anklebullies with the final score being 22-7, qualifying them for the finals.
The other playoff match saw I-Reign defeat Titans with a score of 21-12, also qualifying them for the finals later that evening.
In the women’s non-contact division, both I-Reign and Lady Titans emerged victorious with scores of 14-0 in their respective playoff matches against Vixens and Lynx, securing their spots in the final.
The men’s contact division playoffs featured I-Reign defeating Titans 27-6 while Cobras secured the win over Spartans 29-6 advancing both winners to the finals.
In the men’s non-contact final, I-Reign defeated the 2024 champions, Cobras, with a score of 19-13.
On the women’s side, I-Reign also dethroned last year’s champions, Lady Titans, with a decisive 20-7 victory in the final match.
In the men’s contact final, the Cobras triumphed over I-Reign with a final score of 19-10.
Championship winner’s reflection
For Brendan Malice, I-Reign’s men’s team captain, the key to their championship win was sticking to their game plan and staying poised.
“We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game. Obviously, they have a really good coaching team [and] good players. A lot of their players play for the national team, so it was just sticking to our system, having some good poise and just being ready for a good game,” he said.
He highlighted the presence of veteran leadership on his team as another contributing factor for the win.
On the women’s side, Maggie Ebanks, I-Reign’s team captain, said she feels as if her team’s final match “was our best game of the season”.
“I felt like we came out, we played as a team, we kept it fun, and it felt like practice on a Saturday,” she added.
With I-Reign women dethroning Lady Titans, Ebanks said, “It was nice to meet them again and it was nice for the game to go the other way.”
With the championship under their belts, Ebanks said her team’s plan is to maintain its core of veteran players while bringing in new talent who can “come in and grasp the game and be able to make a stamp in the team as well”.
The Cobras’ captain, Oliver Parker, was ecstatic about his team’s win in the contact division, especially after they missed out on the non-contact championship earlier in the evening.
He highlighted the strength of his talented and physical team, crediting the “big boys on the line” for their incredible blocking.
Parker even managed to score a full-field touchdown himself on the first play of the game, a feat he joked no one expected.
Reflecting on the season, he said, “We played well throughout the season, and we knew that we were well built to win this. We felt the same for the non-contact.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us, but we were always confident about winning this tournament.”
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