By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine made it look so easy in their three-peat, while the HO Nash Lions had to dig down deep in their comeback for their first title as the Bahamas Youth Flag Football League completed its third annual High School Tournament.

Saturday’s one-day tournament at the multipurpose field adjacent to the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium drew its largest participation even with a team coming in from Harbour Island.

But when it was all said and done, the Big Red Machine prevailed with a 18-7 rout over the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins for their third straight over-14 title, while the Lions clinched the under-14 crown with a slim 25-22 victory over the Queen’s College Comets.

The tournament, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada, Bahamas Waste and the Royal Star Assurance, drew teams from SAC, CV Bethel, Queen’s College, HO Nash, Doris Johnson, Kingsway Academy and Harbour Island.

Jayson Clarke, the tournament director, said they had a total of 12 teams with more participation from the government schools.

“It was a great success. This was the biggest one we have had so far out of the three years we’ve been doing this,” Clarke said. 

“We are most impressed with the fact that we had a team from Harbour Island competing as well.” 

Hopefully, it will be bigger and better next year, according to Clarke, after he presented championship rings instead of trophies to the winning teams in both divisions.

14-and-over

Big Red Machine 18, Mystic Marlins 6

While they went undefeated in all of their matches, St Augustine’s College fell short of shutting out all of their opponents in a dominant performance for their third straight crown.

Allen Dolce, an assistant to head coach Michael Moss, said the Big Red Machine played like true champions.

“We played excellently. This was the only team that scored on us today,” Dolce said. “We just had a little mental mistake and we allowed them to score. 

“This is our third straight championship, so it doesn’t matter, it just feels good to win it again.”

They did it with the combination of Devon Rox, Aden Moss, Keanu Miller, Romiko Glinton, Tyler Delancy, Paidin Rutherford, Teegan Wilkinson, Dylan Nairn, Storm Young, Trenten Campbell, Aalijah Taylor, Kymani Coakley, Ernest Thompson and Davis Francis.

Thompson, who played on all three championship teams, said it’s good to go out in grand style as a graduating student to win it again.

“I was able to enjoy this one with a new team, so I was happy for them as well,” Thompson said. “This team was more together. Last year we had an A and B team, but we got to play together and win together. Everyone got a ring.”

Michael Bullard, one of the coaches for Doris Johnson, admitted that it was a learning experience for the majority of their players, but it was an incredible feat for them to get to the final.

“For them to make it to the championship was incredible. I had some fun coaching them,” said Bullard, who kept the fans on the sidelines rocking with laughter about his tactics. “They like listening. They like playing football, so it was fun.”

The only problem, he noted, was the fact that they ran up against a well-oiled machine in SAC.

“They are incredible,” he continued with his gestures. “You could tell they practice. They have a good coach. They know what they are doing.

“Their coach realised what I was doing on defence and immediately, he attacked that. I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting that. But that’s good. That was a fun game to play. It was a good chess match.”

Bullard, however, assured the Big Red Machine that they will be back next year and their plan is to snap their winning streak.

Lining up to play for Doris Johndon were Ethan Munnings, Tyrus Bailou, Pedro Williams, Shamel Saunders, Antwone Scott, Brandon Williams, Daniel Turnquest, Jayden Hepburn, Densky Decius and Pablo Dantes.

14-and-under 

Lions 25, Comets 22

It wasn’t pretty, but HO Nash made sure they found a way to come back from a 16-0 deficit in the first half to secure the win.

They did it with grit and determination as they slowly turned things around in the second half to stun the Comets, who just seemed to have run out of gas. 

“We wanted to win both divisions, but our older boys played lackadaisical and they didn’t get into the final,” said Deangelo Edmunds, who coached the Lions along with Sydline Justilien. “I wanted to go home with two pieces of hardware, but one is good. Our younger boys, led by our MVP Dylan Delahey, played well to come back for this win.”

Delahey, the spark plug for the team, suffered an injury late in the second half when he collided at the head with another player. Having helped HO Nash take a 19-16 lead, he watched from the sidelines as his team mates managed to hold the fort and secure the win.

“I feel good. We performed well. We could have played better, but we still won the championship,” said the 14-year-old ninth grader. “We just kept our heads up. I played well and everybody just rallied behind me.”

The other members were Derek Brown, Jeremiah Moultrie, Zyian Davis, Rondo Hopkins, Dylan Johnson, Brandon Woodside, Peyton Lewis, Daniel Moss, Roston Lewis, Lebron Johnson, Anthony Hanna and Makayo Green made up the Lions’ roster.

Despite the loss, Cloyd Miller, one of Queen’s College coaches, said their players gave all they had right down to the final whistle as they had an opportunity late in the fourth to still win, but fell short. 

“This was a junior team. Our senior team didn’t do too well. They got eliminated,” said Miller, who coached both teams along with Kevin Coakley and Karl McCartney. 

“Our junior team did very well. They fought very hard. We made some mistakes, but we played very well. For a lot of them, this was their first time playing, but they are passionate about the game.”

Led by their quarterback Kealan Cartwright, who pushed them out to an early 16-6 lead, QC used a combination of boys and girls to get the job done.

The other members of their team were Tatyana Clarke, Garth Todd, Ethan Miller, Demia Mycock, Amari Jones, Alphanique Dean, Robert Hall, Andre Flowers, Kyri Carey, Dwayne Small Jr and Kamron Henfield.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg was on hand to officially open the tournament. He commended the Royal Bank for their sponsorship and he encouraged the players to make lifelong friends as they play the game.

Ericka Rolle, managing director and country head at RBC, gave some remarks, indicating the reason why they have decided to sponsor the tournament, as we do in other sporting events in the country.

She also thanked the organisers, the parents and the players, encouraging them to enjoy the unforgettable moments they will experience during the tournament.

Rev. Dr. Harvis Bain III gave the opening prayer to set the tone for what he expected to be a well-played tournament without any injuries.