CAFFL Week 3 Report

After a week away from CAFFL action players made their return to the league but this time it was at Lakeside High School. It was clear skies and great football on Sunday, all six teams were out to compete for the final time as conference play officially begins in Week 4 where we will see just two games instead of three. 

The opening game gave us the leagues top squad the Elite as they took on the Admirals looking for a bounce back win after a bad loss against the Mustangs. Opening kickoff was controlled by the Admirals and they quickly marched down the field and got the ball inside the five yard line but the Elite defense were able to get out of trouble and keep the game scoreless. Nash Teague looked on form again in Week 3 and is quickly becoming an MVP candidate and he quickly connected with his brother Brack to make the game 8-0. The Admirals would again get the ball close to the endzone but due to a bad snap going over the head of Dalton Vaughn the Elite would scoop it and score it and they quickly saw themselves 16-0. Elite would get the ball right back on kickoff and Nash Teague would avoid the Admiral pass rush and raced in the zone to make the score 24-0. Elite have been brilliant all year long at getting the lead quickly and never letting up they open this game with 44 straight points before the Admirals finally got on the scoreboard. Admirals were very effective with their three quarterback in Week 1 but they haven't been nearly as effective since. The Elite would tack on 8 more points and win the game 52-14, they remain the only undefeated team in the CAFFL. 

The game of the week was undoubtedly game number two as it was a rematch from last years championship game. Many experts in the Flag Football expected this to be one of the highest scoring games of the season as these two teams met twice last season and scored 78 points total in their regular season meeting and then a record 134 points in the Championship game. On Sunday however it was a defensive battle Shawn McCoy got the Bandits close on a good run to start the game then Brett Meeks would start the games scoring with pass to Spencer Wilson to put the Bandits up 6-0. The Mustangs first drive came to a halt as Jackson Davis threw a pick to Nate Gay, the Bandits looked to be in business already up 6 but Meeks would throw a costly pick six to Andrew Davis and the Mustangs would be tied 6-6. Early in the game the Bandits were utilizing handoffs that go back to the quarterback forcing the Mustangs to either rush Meeks or let him have unlimited time to find a target. Jacob Nichols would get the Bandits back on the board with a touchdown rush 12-6. Bandits would then get the ball back and score again this time getting the two point conversion to go up 20-6. Davis would make up for his early interception and toss a strike to Hayden Gray in the back of the endzone for the Mustangs first offensive touchdown of the game. As the game went on the Mustangs would use the Bandits strategy against them using the handoff and toss it back to the quarterback game plan. The Mustangs would push ahead and get some stops and a string of stops to take the win 32-20.

The final game on Sunday gave us a new look Sentinels team facing off against the Vipers, Scott Kemp added four new players that he hoped could get him and his team their first win of the season. Things did not go as planned however as the Vipers had laser focus in this one, Ramar Easter continues to be one of the biggest threats in the league with the ball in his hands as he got the Vipers on the board first. Scott Kemp had major accuracy issues especially early in the game, but one of his better passes of the game unfortunately went through one of his new receivers hands on what would of been a game tying touchdown. The Sentinels turned the ball over on their own ten yard line and Easter would waltz in the endzone for his second score of the game and it was now 14-0. Kemp would lead a drive and get the Sentinels to practically the one yard line but they would fail to cross the goal line. Adrian Morris and the Vipers would finally strike through the air with a pass to Doon West to go up by 20 points. Kemp would throw an interception to West and another touchdown pass would give us a 28-0 score going into halftime. Vipers weren't slowing down in the second half another touchdown would put them up 36-0. Sentinels finally get on the board as Arin Natzke raced for the corner of the endzone and beat the Viper defenders. Vipers scored again 44-6 and on the next drive for the Sentinels a Scott Kemp pass ricocheted off a player and landed in the hands Ramar Easter who would take it to the house. Each team would go onto to score one more time and heck while I'm writing this article the Vipers probably scored on the Sentinels again, but as it stands the final score 60-12. The Sentinels are trying to make the case of being the worst defensive in the history of the Central Arkansas Flag Football League. Through their first three games they are giving up a shocking 52 points per game if they have any hope of winning a game in this league they have to clean up mistakes on the defensive side of the ball.

Next week is the beginning of conference play and we will see interesting matchups as the Sentinels meet the Elite in a true David vs Goliath matchup and the Admirals take on the Vipers another game that features a heavy underdog.