Football prevailed at the Center of Anna Maria Island.
Moss Builders, in the 8-10 division of the youth flag football league, and Root Logix in the 11-13 division, prevailed in their March 9 semifinal and championship games.
The 8-10 division kicked off with Moss Builders taking on Beach Bums and hanging on for a 36-34 victory behind a huge game from quarterback Mason Moss. Moss threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, while adding a 2-point conversion.
Moss connected with Matthew Winsper for two scores and a pair of extra points and Audrey Guess for a touchdown and an extra point.
Brandon Sato threw for four touchdowns, including three to brother Dylan Sato to lead Beach Bums. Paxton Powell and Ava Gitt both added TD receptions in the loss.
The second semifinal match saw Cloud Pest Control exterminate Shady Lady Horticultural Services 33-0 behind four TD passes from Charlie Neri. Neri connected with Leo Foster on two scores, while hooking up with Noah Rigney and Lucas Signor for touchdowns. Jasmine Sparks completed the scoring for Cloud Pest Control with a pick-six.
The championship game was a defensive affair, with Moss Builders holding on for a 13-12 win. Turner Worth ran for a touchdown to lead Moss Builders, which received a touchdown pass from Mason Moss to Winsper and an extra-point pass to Austin Guess.
Neri threw two touchdown passes to Landon Sallier to lead Cloud Pest Control in the loss.
The 11-13 division semifinals opened with Poppo’s edging The Gitt Team 18-12 behind a pair of touchdown passes and a receiving touchdown from TJ Eckert. Connor Samblis added a TD pass and Colton Shook and Kaden Quimby each finished with touchdown receptions.
Gavin Lyssy ran for a touchdown and Tommy Baugher connected with Landon Snyder to lead Gitt.
The second semi match saw Root Logix cruise to a 20-6 victory over Ugly Grouper. Payton Harlan threw three touchdown passes, including two to Harrison Schnerelein and one to Hunter Winsper. Luke Winsper scored a pair of extra points in the victory.
Ashton Hovda connected with Peyton Hovda for the lone TD for Ugly Grouper in the loss.
The championship game saw Root Logix hold on for a 31-21 victory behind two rushing TDs and a receiving TD from Luke Winsper. Harlan threw for two scores and a touchdown run, while Schnerelein completed the scoring with a touchdown catch.
Eckert threw for a score, ran for two touchdowns and added a touchdown reception to lead Poppo’s, which also received a touchdown pass from Samblis and a touchdown reception from Frankie Coleman. Coleman also added a quarterback sack for a safety and Rowan Benford had an extra point to complete the scoring in the loss.
Adult soccer playoff action
First-round playoffs March 10 in adult soccer at the center mostly stuck to the script, as all of the top seeded teams posted wins with the exception of No. 5 Blalock Walters. The Blalock team cruised past No. 4 Servis First Bank in the final match of the evening.
Kali Richardson scored a pair of goals to lead Blalock Walters, which also received a goal each from Chris Scott and Nick Bouchard and seven saves from Kevin Mulcahy in the victory.
Johnny Perusi notched the lone goal for Servis First Bank and Ben Sato made six saves in the loss.
Action kicked off with No. 3 seed Allied coasting past No. 6 seed The Gitt Team behind two goals from Cody Wright and a goal and two assists from Zach Reda. Clancy Vaughn completed the Allied scoring and Steve Oelfke made 11 saves in the victory.
Tanner Zellmar scored the goal for The Gitt Team, which received 10 saves from William Romberger.
Top seeded Burton Brick & Tile prevailed in overtime by a 9-8 score against No. 8 Slim’s Place.
Chris Klotz scored three goals and Kris Yavalar added two to lead Burton Brick & Tile, which also received a goal apiece from Cemal Duzgun, Zach Live, Omar Polar and Sumiko Chapman. Jonathan Aragon helped preserve the victory with 10 saves.
Slim’s Place were led by Michael Moya’s three goals and two goals from David Greene. David Hiram, Hyun Kim and Chris Culhane each added one goal and Mark Long made 10 saves in the loss.
No. 2 seed Sato Real Estate lived up to its billing with a 4-1 victory over No. 7 Jiffy Lube. Amy Ivin, Ryan Hogan, Will Kretzman and Race Arande each scored goals and Mark Rudacille made five saves in the victory.
Gerardo Urbiola notched the lone goal for Jiffy Lube, which received nine saves from Ryan Moss.
Playoff action continues March 17 at 6:15 p.m.
Flag football playoffs underway
First-round playoff action in the adult flag football league got going March 11 with four games.
The action kicked off with No. 6 seed Mi-Box earning a 24-19 upset victory over No. 3 Solid Rock Construction behind three touchdown passes from Matthew Manger and a passing touchdown and three TD receptions from Dominick Otteni. Luis Caro Cruz completed the scoring with a touchdown reception.
Jon Moss threw for three scores, including two to Evelyn Long and one to Jesse Griffin in the loss.
No. 1 seed Ugly Grouper looked its part in a 58-14 thrashing of winless Salty Printing.
Brandon Kull had a huge game, finishing with three passing TDs, two receiving TDs, a 1-point conversion and a pick-six on defense.
Jaret Rojas also threw for three scores, while Cory Banks added a TD pass and catch. A touchdown reception from Julia King and a pick-six from Octavious Cole completed the scoring for Ugly Grouper.
Tim Shaughnessy threw TD passes to Cody Smith and Bri Roberts to lead Salty Printing in the loss.
The third quarterfinal game saw No. 2 seed Beach Bums avoid a major upset for a 20-19 victory over No. 7 Sandbar Restaurant. Matt Briley ran for one score while also connecting with Rueben Young for a pair of TD passes. Donnie Dietch provided the winning margin in the victory with a 2-point conversion.
Matteo Ferris ran for a TD and threw a scoring pass to Tyler Brewer to lead the Sandbar, which also received a touchdown run from Tuna McCracken in the loss.
The final game of the evening saw No. 4 Moss Builders crush Slim’s Place 33-13 behind a strong game from quarterback Ryan Moss, who ran for three TDs and threw a pair of scoring passes to Zach Routh. Cole Carter completed the scoring with a TD reception.
Tim Holly threw two touchdown passes to JB Shuck, who also had an extra point, and JJ Friszman to lead Slim’s Place in the loss.
Semifinal action continues March 18 with No. 1 Ugly Grouper taking on No. 6 Mi-Box at 7 p.m. followed by No. 2 Beach Bums in a battle with No. 4 Moss Builders in the second semifinal matchup.
Horseshoe news
The eighth annual Ron Pepka Memorial Horseshoe tournament was played March 13 honoring the long-time lead for the Anna Maria pitchers.
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Ronald F. Pepka died at age 79 on Nov. 19, 2013.
The team of Bob Palmer and Bob Hawks secured a spot in the final three after edging Bob Mason and Parker Hoyt 22-18. Palmer and Hawks had to settle for third place after dropping a 22-1 decision to the team of Tom Skoloda and Bob Brown.
Skoloda and Brown stayed hot in handing Bob Rowley and Neil Hennessey a 22-3 loss, their first in the double-elimination tourney and forcing a deciding game. Skoloda-Brown earned the Ron Pepka Memorial title with a 22-17 win in the championship game.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.