Championship night Dec. 19 for the adult coed soccer league at the Center of Anna Maria Island validated the regular season standings as Blalock Walters cruised to a 5-1 victory over Vintage Beach.
Blalock Walters wasted little time in taking control when, at the 3:21 mark of the first half, Neil Fellowes found Matt Staggs at the back post and crossed the ball from the right. Staggs headed the ball back to the middle, where Greg DeMuse kneed it into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
Five minutes later, Staggs headed home a nice cross from Luis Pichardo to give Blalock Walters a 2-0 lead.
Vintage Beach finally broke through with six minutes left in the half when, leading scorer, Joey Hutchinson, finally found some space. Hutch juked two defenders and finished with his left foot to halve the score.
Blalock Walters quickly erased any momentum Vintage Beach had when, after a nice buildup, Matt Plummer passed forward to Brooke Capperelli. Capperelli patiently held the ball before passing back to Robbie Fellowes at the top of the box, where he hit a nice shot that beat Vintage goalie Jason Sato to the lower corner for a 3-1 lead.
Vintage Beach had one last chance when Zach Reda got fouled just past midfield. He took the ensuing free kick and blasted a rocket that sailed — just barely — over the crossbar as the half came to an end.
Five minutes into the second half, Blalock Walters almost extended its lead when Robbie Fellowes intercepted a pass and carried the ball forward, but his left-footed shot was deftly saved by Sato.
Vintage Beach kept battling and came close to scoring in the 34th minute, when Reda had a nice shot from the right side saved by goalie Luke Grady resulting in a corner kick. Hutchinson then hit a nice volley off the corner, but it skimmed over the crossbar.
Blalock Walters essentially put the game away in the 37th minute when Pichardo headed in a long throw in for a 4-1 lead.
Pichardo completed the scoring five minutes later, when he finished off a nice cross from Capperelli for a 5-1 lead that held up over the final nine minutes.
Pichardo had two goals to lead Blalock Walters, which also received goals from Staggs, DeMuse and Robbie Fellowes, while Grady finished with nine saves in the victory.
Hutchinson notched the lone goal for Vintage Beach, while Sato had eight saves in the loss.
Vintage Beach advanced to the title game thanks to a 7-6 victory over Sato Real Estate Dec. 18 that saw Zach Reda lead the way with three goals, while Joey Hutchinson added a goal and two assists. Clancy Vaughn and Cody Wright each added a goal and Jason Sato made eight saves in the victory.
Race Aranda scored four goals to lead Sato Real Estate, which also received a goal and three assists from Josh Sato and a goal from Amy Ivin in the loss.
Blalock Walters advanced with an easy 7-2 victory over Flynn Law behind hat tricks from Luis Pichardo and Matt Staggs. Brooke Capperelli added a goal and Robbie Fellowes chipped in with two assists, while Luke Grady made eight saves in the victory.
Daniel Anderson scored both goals to lead Flynn Law, which also received an assist from Chris Scott and eight saves from Robb Marshall in the loss.
Gulfview takes basketball title
Gulfview Windows and Doors captured the adult basketball championship Dec. 17 at the Center of Anna Maria Island with a dominating 59-44 victory over Ugly Grouper.
JB Shuck paced Gulfview with 21 points, while Jordan DeMers added 19 points. Ray Gardner chipped in 10 points, while Ryan Moss’ 6 points and 2 points each from Jon Moss and Shawn Hollman completed the scoring for Gulfview Windows and Doors.
Dominick Otteni scored 15 points to lead Ugly Grouper, which also received 10 points from Andrew Terman and 7 points each from Kevin Mulcahy and Drew Taylor in the loss.
Horseshoe news
Two teams advanced to the knockout stage and battled for the day’s championship during Dec. 18 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits.
The team of Neil Hennessey and Bob Lee cruised to a 23-14 victory over Steve Hooper and Bob Palmer to earn the day’s bragging rights.
Three teams were in the mix for the Dec. 21 title at the conclusion of pool play. Dom Livedoti and Jim Kleiner drew the lucky bye into the finals and watched as Tom Farrington and Jerry Disbrow edged Tom Skoloda by a 23-18 score in the semifinal match.
Livedoti and Kleiner took the day’s championship with a 22-17 victory over Farrington and Disbrow.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by random team selection.
There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.
Key Royale news
Golf action at Key Royale Club teed off Dec. 18 with the men playing a nine-hole, modified-Stableford system match that saw Jon Holcomb earn clubhouse bragging rights on a score of plus-3.
Ken Butler, Fred Miller and Ken Nagengast combined on a plus-2 to win the team challenge.
The women played a nine-hole, individual-low-net match in four flights Dec. 19.
Phyllis Roe and Helen Pollock finished in a tie for first place in Flight A with matching 3-under-par 29s.
Flight B also saw a tie for first, as Jana Samuels and Carol Patterson both carded 5-under-par 27s for the low-net rounds of the day. Margrit Layh was alone in second place with a 1-under-par 31.
Jan Turner took the top spot in Flight C with a 3-under-par 29, while Penny Williams finished in second place with an even-par 32.
Terry Westby fired a 2-under-par 30 to take first place in Flight D by a stroke over Susan VanOrsdel. Amy Tripp and Laurie Hicks tied for third at par.
The men were back on the course Dec. 21 for a nine-hole scramble. The team of Larry Davis, Rick Hendler, Sam Major and Tom Nelson combined on a 5-under-par 27 to earn clubhouse bragging rights for the day.