While I’ve been touring spots in Ireland with family this past month, I’ve kept my phone tuned to the sports news from home.
Thankfully, the persistent and often heavy rains on AMI finally subsided enough to allow first-round action in the adult flag football league playoffs at the Center of Anna Maria Island.
The action kicked off Sept. 5 with No. 1 seed Floridian Mortgage slipping past No. 8 Solid Rock Air Conditioning 38-24 behind five touchdown passes and a touchdown run from quarterback Chase Richardson.
Tim Holly led the Floridian receivers with seven catches, including three for TDs. Rex Kesten and Zach Wyrick each added TD catches.
Dominick Otteni threw four TD catches, including three to Zaon Williams, who finished with a game-high nine receptions. Kari Stephens added a TD, while Otteni, Stephens and Williams had interceptions on defense.
Tuna McCracken threw four TD passes to lead No. 3 Salty Printing to an easy 33-12 victory over No. 6 Slim’s Place. Blake Balais paced Salty’s receivers with two TDs, while Raul Loera and Matt Manger each added one score in the victory.
Cruz Rodriguez threw a pair of TD passes to Jaden Grant for Slim’s in the loss.
Miguel Rodriguez threw three TD passes, while also running and catching a touchdown to lead No. 2 Fishing With Salty to a dominating 35-18 victory over Prosper Bradenton in the third game of the night. Dina DeJesus had a pair of TD catches to go along with 2 extra points, while Matthew Briley finished with a TD and a pair of extra points in the victory.
Prosper Bradenton was led in the loss by Ray Gardner’s three TD passes, including two to Tony Gimmari and one to Connor Ludwig.
The last game of the evening saw Moss Builders cruise to a 33-12 victory over Solid Rock Electrical behind six TD passes by Ryan Moss. Moss connected for two TDs to James Roadman, while Shawn Balvin, Greg Moss and Peggy Smith each added touchdown catches to the victory.
Jonathan Moss threw TD passes to Brandon Rolland and Jesse Skipper for Solid Rock in the loss.
Fall soccer on tap
The fall recreational soccer season at the community center is set to re-start after rainouts Sept. 16 in the 3-4 and 5-7 instructional age divisions, while the 8-10 and 11-14 age divisions will kick off their seasons Sept. 17 with Spirit Week, a round of mini-games in a jamboree format to kick off the season.
Fans and players are encouraged to show their team spirit by dressing up in team colors and accessorizing their looks with colored hair and painted faces.
The season looks to be competitive with the 11-14 division boasting five teams and the 8-10 division six teams. Add in the four teams in the 5-7 age division and the two teams in the 3-4 age division and you’ve got a lot of kids playing soccer this fall on the island pitch.
Stay tuned to The Islander for scores, highlights and team standings.
Key Royale golf news
Forty-eight Key Royale Club golfers played Sept. 3 in the club’s annual Labor Day Tournament. Playing a nine-hole scramble, the team of Anne Klein, Dan Horversten, Mark Short and Scott Self combined on a 2-under-par 30 to capture first place for the day. One stroke back in second was the team of Meril and Rich Salzburg, Ken Nagengast and Steve Vasbinder.
Clarissa Hill won the women’s long-drive contest and John Kolojeski took the prize for the men from the gold tees and Nagengast beat the rest of the field with the longest drive from the blue tees.
Nagengast also captured the closest-to-the-pin on the eighth hole, parking it 10 feet 6 inches from the hole. Meanwhile, Joe Coyne sank the longest putt on hole No. 2 from 16 feet 4 inches.
KRC teaching pro Phil Parkin entertained the golfers by hitting a tee shot for each group on the first hole. Following the round of golf, members enjoyed a cookout on the patio with brats, dogs and burgers.
The KRC women played a nine-hole individual-low-net match Sept. 4. Sue Wheeler took first with an even-par 32, two strokes ahead of second-place finisher Terry Westby. Jana Samuels was alone in third with a 5-over-par 37.
Thursday’s regular golf outing was canceled due to the wet conditions brought on by persistent rain.
Horseshoe news
Horseshoe action was short and sweet as playoffs were not needed to determine the weekly winners. On Sept. 4, Bob Heiger and Tom Farrington teamed up to produce the lone 3-0 record in pool play, earning them a trip to the winner’s circle.
The Sept. 7 games were more of the same as Gary Howcroft and Gersey Fernandes teamed up to forge the only 3-0 record and were the day’s outright champs.
The action gets started 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.