The Willoughby South Rebels defeated the Hawken Hawks, 20-14, to win their first ever Northeast Ohio Flag Football Championship on Monday Night.
“It was awesome, we came in, not knowing what to expect and we got it done,” said Willoughby South running back, Ava Sandy. “It was really rainy, we couldn’t really rely on the passes, so we had to run it. I got it down and just kept it going.”
With the Cleveland Browns sponsoring the Championships and Browns players, Mike Ford, Thomas Graham, Greg Newsome, and Anthony Walker in attendance, both Willoughby South and Hawken won their quarterfinal and semifinal matchups to punch their ticket to the championship game. To get to the championship game, Willoughby South was victorious over Maple Heights in the quarterfinals.
Photo by Al Kornspan
In the semifinals, the Rebels upset the defending champs, the Kirtland Hornets, coached by state championship Head Football Coach Tiger LaVerde.
“Our defense kept us in every game,” said Willoughby South Head Football Coach Matt McCue. “They had a few key turnovers against Maple Heights to get that one and then we had a back and forth game with Kirtland. We had some key players step up and make plays when we needed them (against Kirtland).”
The Hawks advanced to the finals by defeating Berkshire in the quarterfinals. They then defeated the regular season champs, Lake Catholic, to make the finals.
Photo by Al Kornspan
Throughout the Northeast Ohio Flag Football playoffs, Hawken’s Kate Bollinger, Carmen Cicerini, Lizzie Kent, and Helena Yanchar led the Hawks to dramatic come from behind playoff victories with amazing athleticism, effort and intensity.
Particularly noteworthy for the Hawks was the combination of Yanchar at quarterback connecting for touchdown passes to Bollinger on multiple occasions, Cicerini’s excellent running at tailback, and Kent’s lock down defense in the secondary.
In the championship game, both teams played great, under difficult, rainy and cold conditions.
Due to the weather, both teams chose to feature their excellent running backs in the championship game. In a back and forth battle, behind the running of Willoughby South’s Ava Sandy and Hawken’s Carmen Cicerini, the Rebels edged out the Hawks on a late second half touchdown to win 20-14.
Throughout the game, Sandy displayed an amazing spin move that proved difficult to stop.
“I did it at practice once (the spin move) and everybody went crazy. Then I just kept doing it. It works.” Sandy is optimistic about the future of Willoughby South Flag Football. “We have a lot of underclassmen and a lot of seniors graduating, so we’re expecting a lot from them next year too,” said Sandy.
Photo by Al Kornspan
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