The sports highlight in this report has to be the hole-in-one reported at the Key Royale Club but, first, news from the Center of Anna Maria Island.
The regular season of flag football has concluded and the youth league at the center moves on to its second season — playoffs.
The 8-10 division playoffs began Feb. 27, after press time for The Islander, with undefeated Sato Real Estate taking on No. 8 seed SynLawn at 6 p.m. No. 2 seed Solid Rock Construction also plays at 6 p.m. in a matchup against No. 7 Cloud Pest Control on field 2. No. 3 seed Island Real Estate follows with a 7 p.m. match up against sixth-seed Moss Builders, while No. 4 Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control takes on No. 5 AMI Coconuts at the same time. The winners advance to March 6 semifinals.
Pineapple Market Place grabbed the top seed in the 11-13 division and gets rewarded with Chick-Fil-A as its first-round opponent at 6 p.m. Feb. 28, while No. 2 seed Solid Rock Construction takes on No. 7 seed Sandhoff Construction at 7 p.m. Moss Builders held down the No. 3 seed and plays No. 6 Intentional Resilient Intuitive at 6 p.m., while No. 4 Shady Lady Horticultural Services battles No. 5 Storage Building Company in the last quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m.
Action in the 8-10 division kicked off Feb. 20 with AMI Coconuts outscoring SynLawn 28-12, while Island Real Estate cruised to a 28-6 victory over Moss Builders in the second early game.
Sato defeated Solid Rock 25-13 in what could be a championship preview in the third game, but Westfall’s 35-30 victory over Cloud Pest was the game of the week.
Ethan Angel had one rushing touchdown, three receiving touchdowns and a 2-point conversion to lead Westfall, which also received four TD passes from Callin Westfall. Thadeous Daniels finished with a TD grab to complete the scoring in the victory.
Cloud Pest Control received two TD passes from Owen Purcell and a rushing and receiving TD from Maci Sallier. Kyle Groseclose and Sammy Gilmore each ran for a score, while Elijah Casciani completed the scoring with a touchdown catch in the loss.
Shady Lady opened 11-13 division action by cruising past Chick-Fil-A by a 45-20 score, while Solid Rock had a “solid” 40-26 victory over Storage Building in another 11-13 division matchup. No. 3 seed Moss Builders showed they can hang with undefeated Pineapple Market Place, losing by a 34-26 margin, but the 11-13 division game of the week was Intentional Resilient Intuitive earning its second victory of the season with a 25-20 victory over Sandhoff Construction.
Charlie Neri threw one TD pass to Henry Dugan, while Kegan McGlade, Austyn Molby and Emma Rolerson each ran for a score in the victory. Dugan and McGlade also were solid on defense, finishing with three and four flag pulls.
Colten Shook had a TD pass and a TD reception to lead Sandhoff, which also received TD passes from Charlie Rogers and Van Havell and receiving TD from Luke VanDuinen and Grady Sandhoff in the loss.
Seedings set for adult football playoffs
The regular season has concluded in the adult flag football league and the playoff seedings are set.
Playoff action gets started March 2 with four quarterfinal games, followed by semifinal games March 9 and the championship match March 16.
Luxury Services clinched the top seed with a 7-0 record and gets rewarded with a first-round matchup against winless Ugly Grouper, while Moss Builders held onto No. 2 with a 6-1 record and will take on No. 7 Gulf Drive Cafe. Third seed went to Solid Rock Construction, which will take on No. 6 Banks Home Lending, while No. 4 Briley Mortgage Team battles No. 5 SandBar Restaurant.
Adult action Feb. 23 kicked off with Briley Mortgage demolishing Ugly Grouper 41-0, followed by Luxury Services cruising to a 46-28 victory over Solid Rock. Moss Builders closed the action for the evening with an easy 38-19 win over Banks Home Lending but the game of the week was Sandbar’s 48-41 victory over Gulf Drive Cafe, thanks to five TD passes and two TD runs from quarterback Matt Manger. Zachary Routh was his top target with nine catches, including four TD grabs. Christian Hampton added eight catches, one for a TD and a 2-point conversion.
Steven Pavino threw six TD passes to lead Gulf Drive Cafe, which also received 10 catches — three for touchdowns — from Anthony Mannino who also added a 2-point conversion and seven flag pulls on defense. Jacob Ferda added three TD grabs and a 2-point conversion to the loss.
Horseshoe news
Horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits Feb. 22 saw four teams advance to the knockout stage to battle for the day’s championship. Rod Bussey and Bob Mason skunked Bob Lee and Bob Palmer 25-0 in the first semifinal, while Tom Farrington and Dom Livedoti edged Del Reese and Ron Gagnon 22-16 in the second semifinal match. Bussey and Mason earned the day’s bragging rights with a 23-14 victory over Farrington and Livedoti
Three teams advanced to the playoffs during the Feb. 25 games with the lucky bye to the finals going to Tim Sofran and Bob Hawks. Bob Heiger and Bob Brown eliminated Bob Baker and Lisa Allen 21-15 to advance to the championship match. Heiger and Brown ran out of gas against the well-rested Sofran and Hawks team, as they cruised to a 22-2 victory in the finals.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Anna Maria pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by random team selection.
There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.
Center registering for soccer
The adult spring soccer season at the Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, runs March 23-May 25, with matches played 6-9 p.m. Thursdays.
Registration is required by Tuesday, March 7, followed by drafts at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 8.
The cost to play is $10 for members, $120 for nonmembers.
Youth soccer — for kids 3-17 — will begin with “Spirit Week” friendly matches Monday, March 27, followed by the regular season, April 3-May 23.
Registration is required by Friday, March 17.
The center will hold evaluations and a draft at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, for ages 11-13 and a draft only at 5:30 p.m. for those 3-5.
The center will hold evaluations and a draft at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, for those ages 8-10 and a draft only at 5:30 p.m. for those 6-7.
There will be no evaluations for younger kids.
Games will be played Tuesday evenings and potentially on Mondays.
The cost is $10 for members and $130 for nonmembers.
For more information, contact recreation director Tyler Bekkerus at recreation@centerami.org or 941-778-1908, ext. 210.
Key Royale golf news
The highlight of the week on the golf course at the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach was Tony Niewijk hitting his first career hole-in-one Feb. 17 on the 162-yard fourth hole.
Witnessing the event was his wife, Marilyn Niewijk.
Congratulations Tony!
Brian Hogan carded a plus-7, 7 points above his average, to take first place in the Feb. 20 modified-Stableford system match at the club. Ken Newbold was 2 points back, while Bob Blaser, John Cassese, Brian Comer, Mike Cusato, Dave Rickney and Quinten Talbert all finished at plus-4.
The Key Royale women played a nine-hole individual-low-net match Feb. 21 in two flights. Debbie DuVernay fired a 3-under-par 29 to take first place in Flight A. Sue Pierce was two strokes back in second place, while Terry Taylor and Sue Wheeler tied for third at 1-over-par 33.
Terry Westby’s 7-under-par 25 was the low-net round of the day, good for first place in Flight B. Connie Livanos took second place with a 3-under-par 29, while Barb Harrold was alone in third at 1-under-par 31.
Members played a nine-hole scramble Feb. 23. The team of Ron Buck, Mike Cusato, Roger Rottschafer and Larry Solberg combined on a 3-under-par 29 that was matched by the team of Brian Comer, Chuck Patrick, Blake Ress and Deb Richardson and the team of Larry Pippel, Rich Salzburg, Terry Schaefer and Ron Vandeman for a three-way tie for first.