It was the final regular season game for the JCC of Bayonne’s Indoor Flag Football Senior Division and the Eagles (7-3) and the Bengals (4-6) had some unsettled business to take care of. After a two-point loss in week eight, the Bengals were ready for one last shot at the high-powered Eagles. The Bengals landed the first blow as Jared Radil hauled in a TD toss from brother Drew Radil. Drew then hit Mike Dopazo with a two-point laser to make it 8-0, Bengals. The Eagles fired back with a long TD strike to Anthony “TD” Morrone and a two-point toss to Tyler Cholankeril to knot things at 8-all.
After working the ball to half-court with Natalleyah Teixeira and Jared Radil running clear-out routes, the Bengals cashed in as Mike Dopazo reeled in his 14th TD of the season. Down 14-8, the Eagles tried to quick-hit the end zone, but the Bengals’ Anthony Minotto put an end to that plan with a huge interception. Boasting the league’s best defense, the Eagles’ Ryan Ballance, Justin DeCicco and James Bajor dominated the Bengals’ offense to force a three-and-out. After surviving an early miscue, the Eagles returned to the long ball as Anthony Morrone took a post route to the house for a TD, followed by a two-point catch.
He gave the Eagles a 16-14 advantage. The next two plays saw Morrone picking off a Bengals’ pass, only to be followed by Anthony Minotto registering his second pick of the game to put the Bengals right back on track. Minotto then put his offensive skills on display by pulling in a 30-yard TD rocket to make it 20-16, Bengals. As the clock descended under a minute, the Eagles started to march and they quickly took the lead at 22-20 off Anthony Morrone’s league-leading 28th TD. With the game on the line, the Bengals had two timeouts and the length of the court to travel.
After picking up a first down, the Bengals’ Anthony Minotto made a diving TD catch to give his squad a 26-22 lead. Minotto then made an equally acrobatic two-point catch to make it 28-22 with nine seconds remaining. With no timeouts, the Eagles put the ball in the hands of their playmaker Anthony “TD” Morrone, but after a 20-yard pickup, the Bengals’ defense converged to make the stop and clinched a hard-fought 28-22 victory.
The Senior Division Players of the Week for week nine were: Offensive Player of the Week – Anthony Morrone, Eagles; Defensive Player of the Week – Anthony Minotto, Bengals; Teamwork/Leadership Player of the Week – Anthony Minotto, Bengals.