The Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach concluded its annual couples’ handicap golf tournament with 36 pairs competing.
The tournament began in early January and concluded Feb. 22. Each couple played four rounds of golf for a total of 36 holes in a Pinehurst format — where a player tees off and plays their second shot with their partner’s ball. The team then chooses which ball they prefer to finish out the hole.
The team of Jenny and Ron Huibers took first place with a score of 115.4, just ahead of second-place finishers Laura and Marty Hicks at 116. Lisa Edmonds and Tony Donnelly grabbed third place with a score of 116.6, followed by Nina and Robert McSparren at 118.
Jenny Huibers won the long drive and putting contests for the women, while Brian Hogan won the long drive for the men and Jim Hitchen took the men’s putting contest.
Winners of the closest to the pin on hole No. 3 were Sue Porterfield and Rob Ellis, while the hole No. 8 winners were Andi Saia and Richard Brown.
A buffet followed in the clubhouse.
Regular golf action was rained out Feb. 22-23 but members got out Feb. 25 for a nine-hole scramble that saw the team of Joe Coyne, Dave Desrosiers, Dave Rinckey and Jana Samuels fire a 3-under-par 29 to grab clubhouse bragging rights for the day. Second place went to the team of Deb and Dave Richardson, Jeff Ropar and Greg Shorten with a 1-over-par 33, just ahead of Janelle Clements, Bob O’Brien, Nub Turner and Tom Young, who finished at 2-over-par 34.
Football heads to playoffs
Adult flag football action at the Center of Anna Maria Island is gearing up for playoffs as final seeds take shape.
Moss Builders is in the top spot with a 9-0 record, just ahead of 8-1 Gulf Drive Cafe and 7-2 Floridian Mortgage. Moss Air holds down fourth place with Slicker’s Eatery at 5-4 and Coaster Continent at 4-5 right behind. Solid Rock Construction holds down seventh seed with 3-6 MI-Box and Ross Built following. Reel Coastal Properties at 1-8 and Slim’s Place at 0-9 complete the standings.
Action Feb. 27 kicked off with Ross Built cruising to a 44-13 victory over Slim’s Place. Ross Built jumped out on top early and often and other than two long touchdown catches by Dave Kesten, Ross Built was in control.
Tyler Bond led the way with a touchdown reception to go along with three touchdown passes, an interception return for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. Corey Vonborstel chipped in with three touchdown passes, while also hauling in a pair of touchdown catches. Jake Ross added a pair of touchdown receptions and Andrew Ross completed the scoring with a touchdown catch in the victory.
The second game of the evening saw Slicker’s Eatery defeat Solid Rock Construction 27-7, followed by Gulf Drive Cafe’s 29-13 victory over Moss Air Conditioning. The last game of the night saw Coaster Continent outscore MI-Box 47-32.
Gulf Drive Cafe will take on Moss Builders March 6 with a chance to seize the No. 1 spot. Other matchups with seeding implications include Slicker’s Eatery versus Coaster Continent, vying the same evening for the No. 5 seed.
Youth playoff matchups set
Flag football action Feb. 24 finalized the standings for the 11-13 and 14-17 divisions.
The 11-13 division has No. 1 seed Moss Builders taking on No. 8 seed Shady Lady Horticultural Services and No. 2 seed Sato Real Estate taking on No. 7 seed Salty Printing at 6 p.m. Monday, March 3, after press time for The Islander.
The next matchups have No. 3 seed Solid Rock Construction squaring off against No. 6 seed Sandhoff Construction and No. 4 seed Jiffy Lube taking on No. 5 seed Poppos Taqueria.
Eleven-13 division action Feb. 26 kicked off with Moss Builders outscoring Salty Printing 41-20, which was followed by Sandhoff Construction easing past Poppo’s Taqueria 18-12. The third game of the night saw Shady Lady cruise past Jiffy Lube 33-7, while the game of the week saw Sato Real Estate earn a 20-13, come-from-behind victory over Solid Rock Air Conditioning.
Brandon Sato led with two TD passes to Cayson Travis and Brantley Kobialka, who also added a pair of extra points. Dylan Sato provided the winning margin with a pick six.
Kyle Mims and Hayden Eurice led Solid Rock Air Conditioning with a TD pass and a TD reception, with Eurice adding a pair of interceptions on defense. Sammy Gilmore added an extra point catch, while Carson Long finished with 12 flag pulls in the loss.
The race for top seed in the 14-17 division was tight as Solid Rock Electrical, Moss Builders and HSH Design all finished with 5-2 records, but Solid Rock Electrical and Moss Builders have the top two seeds and the first-round bye. No. 3 seed HSH Design takes on No. 6 Reel Coastal Properties and No. 4 seed Cortez Florida Vacations will match up against No. 5 seed Solid Rock Construction. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. on March 3.
The final regular season games got started Feb. 26 with Reel Coastal Properties dispatching Solid Rock Air Conditioning 29-6 and Moss Builders cruising past Solid Rock Electrical 30-12.
The last game of the night was a back-and-forth affair that saw HSH Design hang on for a 35-28 victory over Cortez Florida Vacations behind the play of Jack Mattick and Chase Castagna.
Mattick finished with two TD passes on offense while adding a pair of interceptions, including one he returned for a TD on defense. Castagna added a TD pass, a TD run and two TD receptions. Jaxon Keegan added an extra point catch, while Kyle Castagna was a force on defense with three sacks, including two for safeties.
Cortez Florida Vacations were led by Ryker Keift’s four TD passes, including two to Colten Shook, who also added a 2-point conversion. Maddox Culhane added a pair of touchdown catches, while Gregory Jordan completed the scoring with a pair of extra points in the loss.
Horseshoe action
Horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits Feb. 26 saw four teams advance to the knockout stage with 3-0 records in pool play. The team of Bob Mason and Bob Hawks defeated Tom Anderton and Ron Gagnon 21-5 in the first semifinal, while Tim Sofran and Tom Farrington advanced with a 21-15 victory over Gersey Fernandes. Sofran and Farrington dominated the final, winning easily by a 26-3 score.
Two teams met in the finals during the March 1 games. Sofran made it two victories in a row, this time teaming up with Del Reese to forge a 21-8 victory over Bob Hawks and Bob Lee.
Play gets started 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.