San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

Well, I know this is supposed to be a blog for the Eagles Football team, but I’m too busy right now to put together another site for Drew’s baseball team… so, I’m going to use this blog for now to recap Drew’s and the Giant’s Baseball season.

Drew is playing for the Sr. Minor Giants of the Queen Creek Little League.  Last year as a 7/8 year old Drew played in Jr. Minors and did pretty well so we decided to move him up to Sr. Minors this year.  So far, so good.

Tonight was the Giant’s season opener so Drew was nervous and excited.  He started the game at third base and pitched in relief in the 4th and final inning. In Drew’s first at bat, he belted the first pitch they threw to him down the first base line.  Unfortunately, the first baseman was in good position, knocked the ball down, and beat Drew to the bag.  Drew was a little ticked off, but managed a smaile as he ran by the fans on the way back to the dugout.

In his second at bat, Drew fell behind in the count and did a nice job of protecting the plate as he fouled off a two strike pitch to stay alive at 2-2.  On the next pitch, Drew took the ball the other way for an RBI single into right field.  He scored later in the inning.

Drew came in to the game to get the Giants out of a jam in the fourth and final inning.  With two outs and the bases loaded, Drew pitched to a full count and got the Blue Jays hitter to ground into an inning ending ground out.

The Giants won the game 12-2 as the Blue Jays walked in the run that invoked the mercy run rule.  The Giants play again on Saturday night at 8pm at Desert Mountain Park.  Coach Jared said that the Mets are one of the Giants biggest rivals and are one of the better teams in the league.  Should be a great game!  Go Giants!

I recently came across a moving story about a young man who lost his mother to cancer and the small role that sport played in supporting those left behind through the grieving process.

The story reminded me a bit of the situation with Kellie Ardans during the 2007 season.  For those of you who may not know, Kellie was the mother of one of our greatest Eagles, Maison Ardans. Kellie passed away during the 2007 football season from cancer.  The outpouring of support from the Eagles family was something that left an indelible impression on all of those who witnessed the tragedy.  To the Ardans… if you happen to read this.  We still and always will have fond memories of Kellie and you all remain in our heart of hearts.

The story (click here), is yet another great example of how sports can help to teach our young ones some of life’s most important lessons.  Enjoy… and I hope you are all doing well.  See you next fall.

Hey Folks… the playoffs are here and the Birds are looking to run the table to the Championship.  It’s not going to be an easy go by any stretch, but this team has really rounded into form and has a legitimate chance to win it all.  All that said, I’m pretty nervous about tomorrow’s game.  The Rams have been playing really well of late and will likely give us all we can handle Saturday morning.  Incidentally, the game is at 8am at Queen Creek Middle School if you’ve been hiding under a rock or something.

So, it’s prediction time… Earlier this season, the Eagles beat the Rams in a game that they pretty much dominated from start to finish. Dakota Neer had a big first half returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown and scored again on another long TD run (Dakota missed the second half with an elbow injury).  The Eagles defense was stout, but gave up a long run that the Rams ended up scoring on in the first half, but the Rams offense stalled the entire second half as Saba and Harris picked off pass attempts.  Danny Kittner provided the dagger with a late TD that sealed the victory 20-6.

I think the Birds are going to prevail, but I think it will be tight at half time.  I’ll go with 6-0 Birds.  I think we’ll get an insurance TD early in the fourth quarter and punch in the extra point to take a 13-0 lead.  Then, I think the Rams will score a 4th quarter TD to tighten the game to an uncomfortable 13-6 margin.  The Eagles will run out the clock threatening to score once again but take a knee and the victory 13-6.

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The Eagles won their 5th in a row this past Saturday in convincing fashion (45-6).  It was probably the best performance of the year for the Eagles who have been playing solid football of late.  There were two other games this weekend in the Mighty Might division.  The Cardinals (3-3) beat the Rattlers (2-4) 18-12 to secure the 3rd seed in the playoffs and the Diablos (6-0) knocked off the Rams (1-5) to remain undefeated.

Next Saturday, the Eagles play host to the Rams at Queen Creek Middle School at 8am.  The Eagles will need to bring their “A Game” to advance as the Rams have been playing much much better than they were when the Eagles faced them earlier this season.  The Eagles will practice Monday and Wednesday this week from 6-8 at Desert Mountain Park.

Given the Eagles had already clinched the second seed in the upcoming playoffs, the Eagles (4-1) matchup with the Special Forces (2-3) had “trap game” written all over it. With their incredible win over the Cardinals last weekend, the birds in black had already asserted themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. This game was about pride and focus and momentum.

The Eagles took the field on Saturday morning on a four game win streak and looking to make a statement. The Special Forces were looking to even their record to 3-3 and improve their playoff seeding. Something had to give…

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Another week is in the books and the results are in from last weekend’s games.  With their win, the Eagles clinched the second seed heading into the playoffs and will face the #7 seed on 11/1 in the opening round.  At this point, it appears that the Eagles will open against the Rams, a team the Eagles beat 20-6 earlier in the season.  There is the possibility that the Rams could beat the Diablos this weekend, but that’s a pretty tall order as the Diablos have been dominant.

In other STYFL Mighty Might action, the Diablos pasted the Special Forces 36 to 6 and the Rattlers edged the Bulldogs 12 to 6.  The Junior Pee Wee Eagles thrashed the Cardinals 38-0 to move to 3-2 on the season while the Pee Wee Eagles fell to 4-2 on the season with their loss to the Cardinals.

Although the MM Eagles have clinched the second seed, they still have to beat the Special Forces to maintain their momentum heading into the playoffs.  The matchup between the Rattlers and Cardinals could have second round playoff implications assuming the Eagles advance out of the first round.  Both of these teams gave the Eagles a run for their money during the regular season and would present a formidable challenge to the Eagles desire for a post-season rematch with the Diablos.

Let the games begin…

WOW… pause, sigh… wow, what a game! In what was easily the most gut-wrenching game of the season, the Eagles notched a 13-12 triple overtime victory over the Cardinals to move to 4-1 on the season. In doing so, the Eagles ensured at least a tie for second place in the STYFL Mighty Might Division.

It wasn’t easy, but the Eagles showed a truck load of heart in a game that frankly could have went either way. This was a game that was won on shear will and determination over a very talented team. Usually, it’s pretty easy to isolate the big plays in a game when I write these game summaries. This time… not so much.

There were so many huge plays I could talk about… from Trevor Caron’s incredible defensive play on the edge, to the stellar performances by Bay Finch, Drew Ball and Tristin Ingram on the interior of the defensive line, major defensive contributions from Tyler McGhee, Alec Deaton, Konnor Lemmons, London Darger, Lawrence Charles, Dason Gillespie and Javin Wright, to a bone crushing hit by Reed Erwin… and on and on and on. The boys played like champions on this day. “Heart”, “Toughness”, “Character”, “Courage”, “Perseverance”, “Determination”… you name it… they had it.

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Week 5 results are in and the Eagles (3-1) stand alone in second place with two regular season contests remaining.  The Birds dispatched the Rattlers 18-12 last weekend in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.  The team is really starting to round into form and has a tough contest coming up this weekend against the Cardinals (2-2).  The Cardinals are coming off a surprising upset 12-7 loss to the Rams (1-4). In other STYFL Mighty Might action, the Bulldogs upended the Special forces 19-18 in a nail biter.

With wins over the Cardinals and the Special Forces, the Eagles would be guaranteed the #2 seed heading into the first round of the playoffs on November 1.  Since there are seven teams, the league will hold a play-in playoff round featuring games between the #2-#7 teams.  Should the Eagles end up with the #2 seed, they would play the team with the weakest record at the conclusion of the regular season. At this point, their opponent would be the Rams who the Eagles beat earlier this season 20-6.  I know, I know… one game at a time.  It’s fun to speculate though.  I just have the feeling that the Eagles will run the table and set themselves up nicely for post season play.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  Go EAGLES!!

The Eagles took the field Saturday morning for a key match up with the Rattlers as both teams jockey for playoff positioning. Coming off their bye week, the Eagles were chomping at the bit to get back on the field and into the endzone.

The Eagles were a bit short handed as Danny Kittner, Trent Hatch, and Haiden Stowers missed the game due to Fall break family vacations. The Eagles were also dealt a big blow when two-way starter Wyatt Harris missed the weight cutoff by a measly 4 ounces. (The league really needs to think hard about their weight policies in my opinion… I can see 4 pounds, but 4 ounces more than half way through the season?) Javin Wright also missed the first half because he missed a practice last week due to illness. (Yet another questionable rule in my opinion).

At any rate, the absence of these key players provided an opportunity for some of our young bucks to step in and get the job done. And that they did as the Eagles came out and dominated the ball game from the opening kickoff and ultimately prevailed 18-12 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.

Dakota Neer had another sensational game as he turned an off tackle run into a one man reverse play and raced down the sidelines for the games opening score late in the first quarter. The Rattlers foiled the Eagles point after try attempt leaving the score 6-0.

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The bye week has come and thankfully gone as the Birds (2-1) prepare for their showdown this Saturday with the Rattlers (1-2).  There were, however, three games last week in the Mighty Might Division that gave us a little more insight into the Eagles upcoming schedule.  There’s no doubt that the Eagles will face a stiff test in the weeks to come as they jockey for playoff positioning.  The regular season championship is still within the Eagles grasp, but the Diablos (4-0) control their own destiny.  Unless the Diablos are upset in the upcoming weeks, the Eagles will be playing for the #2 seed in the playoffs.

Week three saw three matchups as the Diablos destroyed the Rattlers 26-0, the Rams edged the Bulldogs 8-6, and the Cardinals outlasted the Special Forces 12-0.  Current results and standings are below.