CAFFL Championship Game Recap

The CAFFL season has officially come to an end and it went out with a bang matching up the Vipers and the Mustangs in the Championship finale. The Mustangs came in with a ton of momentum after beating the Elite who were the top regular season team in the league. The Vipers were kind of riding under the radar the whole year, even though they were in the top 2 in every single weekly Power Ranking I still believe that a majority of the Flag Football World thought that the Mustangs vs Elite game was the real championship. The Vipers certainly didn't think so and their offense came up big again and their defense got some clutch stops too and that is why they were officially crowned your 2022 champions.

The Mustangs would get the ball first in the game but would turn it over something they did not do against the Elite, the Vipers would make them pay and would score the first touchdown of the Championship game. The Mustangs would do what they always do they would find an answer on offense and tie things up at 6, Vipers offense again would go back on top and get the two points to take an 8 point lead. Jackson Davis who was brilliant in the semi-final game would find his number one target Hayden Gray and the Mustangs would even the score at 14. On the next drive the Mustangs would make several big time plays on the defensive end and the Vipers would face a 4th and 20, in my mind the play of the game Ramar Easter would throw basically a Hail Mary to the endzone and Norwood would make a beautiful over the shoulder catch to give the Vipers a 6 point lead. Davis and the Mustangs would not show any signs of panic and tie things up at 20. Going into the second half it looked like the Mustangs got the momentum back on their side after intercepting a pass thrown by Adrian Morris, however on the ensuing offensive possession the Mustangs would fumble the ball on an exchange between Davis and Running Back D.J. Hayes, and to add insult to injury Franklin Smith would pull off a scoop and score on the miscue. With the Mustangs down by 6 they would answer again to even the game up at 26 all, the Vipers would then go right back and get a score of their own. With the clock winding down the Mustangs were desperate for the game tying score and they would get it, on their two point attempt they would convert on a pass to go up two or so they thought, the Mustangs would be flagged for having an extra man on the field and they would not convert on the following attempt keeping the score tied at 32. Vipers had what looked to be one more shot at scoring and they would make the most of it on a touchdown to Norwood, Adrian Morris would then convert the extra point on a terrific scramble. Mustangs had to hurry down by 7 points but they would just not have enough time to drive the ball down the field and the Vipers would accomplish their season long goal, winning the Championship 39-32.

What a great year for both title game representatives, the Mustangs looked dead to rights at one point in the regular season but they would persevere and have a shot to repeat as champions. The Vipers on the other hand were a mystery heading into this year especially after going through an extremely disappointing and frustrating 2021 season but they would add multiple new weapons to their offense and would increase their commitment to their craft, it truly was a season to remember for the CAFFL and we can't wait to see what 2023 has in store.