Once in a lifetime!!!
Every year in October the NFL holds regional qualifiers around the United States for youth
flag football. Each member of each team has to be registered with an NFL youth flag football
league in order to compete.
Peabody took 4 teams from the league to compete in the Giants regional qualifier and while
all teams finished well with a combined record of 7-5 it was the Girls team that won their
division and qualified for the NFL National Tournament of Champions. MacKenzie
Carpenter, Kenia McKeon, Dale Gannon, Erika Weiser, Brittney Creamer, Samantha
Famolare, Breanna Ricci, Emily Milewska, coach Brad Beausoleil and coach Austin
Bradshaw all made the trip to Florida with high expectations.
The NFL provided first class flight tickets, accommodation for the 2 nights at the all-star
sports resort in Disney, free transportation, breakfast, lunch, a buffet style dinner, tickets to
Disney Quest, tickets to Disney's Magical Kingdom, NFL football jerseys and even $20 each
for spending money.
After registering on Friday afternoon all teams had to attend the welcome dinner at Pleasure
Island in Disney. Ex-Patriot Cedric Jones was on hand as one of the NFL's youth directors to
welcome everyone and explain the principles of the event and what NFL commissioner Paul
Tagliabue has planned for the future.
In each age category (9-11 co-ed, 12-14 boys and 12-14 girls) there were 8 regional
winners from the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore
Ravens, New York Jets, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and San Fransisco 49ers.
The games were all played at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. After a short warm up
practice the tournament began. The Peabody Patriots got of to a great start by scoring on
their first possession thanks to a Milewska 45yd pass to Creamer, however the defense
struggled against the Girls from San Diego and while there were more catches from
Carpenter and Mckeon the girls couldn't find the end zone for the rest of the game, the final
score being Peabody Patriots 6 - Hollenbeck Middle school 22.
The second game was played immediately after against the Mo Steelettes from Miami that
traveled to Baltimore to qualify for the tournament. Peabody again scored first and again a
long completion from Milewska to Creamer started things off. The defense stepped up with
some great flag pulls from Gannon and Ricci, however after Peabody loosing their all-star
defensive captain Carpenter after a nasty collision during a play, the team struggled on D
again. On its last possession of the game Peabody drove down the field to the 1yd line when
time ran out and Peabody ended up loosing the game 12-6.
In the last game of the round robin section Peabody was desperate for a win and played
hard the entire game but once again like the real Patriots the team suffered another crucial
injury to Famolare in the center of defense, now down to just 6 players Peabody found it
hard to move the ball against the girls team from Indianapolis and just like on Monday night
a few weeks ago the Colts took the game. The final score being JAM Fantasy sports 20 -
Peabody Patriots 0.
After finishing last place in the rankings the girls got the pleasure of facing the #1 seed in
the play-offs which turned out to be the Girls from Indianapolis again. A change of tactics
and the return of Famolare and Carpenter ensured the Peabody team would have a better
chance this time around. The girls again played great football but with a few costly
interceptions on the goal line and half way line the Patriots failed to punch it in. Weiser put
good pressure on the QB all game and was finally rewarded with a safety along with 3
interceptions for Carpenter in the game the D played the best it had all day and even with
huge catches from Carpenter, McKeon and Weiser the O couldn't get points on the board.
The final score was JAM Fantasy sports 13 - Peabody Patriots 2.
All the girls played extremely well and should be very proud for their first time at the
nationals, the MVP for the team was Brittney Creamer with her good play on Defense and
scoring Peabody's only touchdowns. Everyone received a trophy and everyone agreed the
weekend was a huge success and a great experience.
Highlights of the games will be on ESPN in December and January, watch this space for
exact dates and times.
Try-outs for the next girls 12-14 all-star team will be held in June '06.
Every year in October the NFL holds regional qualifiers around the United States for youth
flag football. Each member of each team has to be registered with an NFL youth flag football
league in order to compete.
Peabody took 4 teams from the league to compete in the Giants regional qualifier and while
all teams finished well with a combined record of 7-5 it was the Girls team that won their
division and qualified for the NFL National Tournament of Champions. MacKenzie
Carpenter, Kenia McKeon, Dale Gannon, Erika Weiser, Brittney Creamer, Samantha
Famolare, Breanna Ricci, Emily Milewska, coach Brad Beausoleil and coach Austin
Bradshaw all made the trip to Florida with high expectations.
The NFL provided first class flight tickets, accommodation for the 2 nights at the all-star
sports resort in Disney, free transportation, breakfast, lunch, a buffet style dinner, tickets to
Disney Quest, tickets to Disney's Magical Kingdom, NFL football jerseys and even $20 each
for spending money.
After registering on Friday afternoon all teams had to attend the welcome dinner at Pleasure
Island in Disney. Ex-Patriot Cedric Jones was on hand as one of the NFL's youth directors to
welcome everyone and explain the principles of the event and what NFL commissioner Paul
Tagliabue has planned for the future.
In each age category (9-11 co-ed, 12-14 boys and 12-14 girls) there were 8 regional
winners from the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore
Ravens, New York Jets, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and San Fransisco 49ers.
The games were all played at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. After a short warm up
practice the tournament began. The Peabody Patriots got of to a great start by scoring on
their first possession thanks to a Milewska 45yd pass to Creamer, however the defense
struggled against the Girls from San Diego and while there were more catches from
Carpenter and Mckeon the girls couldn't find the end zone for the rest of the game, the final
score being Peabody Patriots 6 - Hollenbeck Middle school 22.
The second game was played immediately after against the Mo Steelettes from Miami that
traveled to Baltimore to qualify for the tournament. Peabody again scored first and again a
long completion from Milewska to Creamer started things off. The defense stepped up with
some great flag pulls from Gannon and Ricci, however after Peabody loosing their all-star
defensive captain Carpenter after a nasty collision during a play, the team struggled on D
again. On its last possession of the game Peabody drove down the field to the 1yd line when
time ran out and Peabody ended up loosing the game 12-6.
In the last game of the round robin section Peabody was desperate for a win and played
hard the entire game but once again like the real Patriots the team suffered another crucial
injury to Famolare in the center of defense, now down to just 6 players Peabody found it
hard to move the ball against the girls team from Indianapolis and just like on Monday night
a few weeks ago the Colts took the game. The final score being JAM Fantasy sports 20 -
Peabody Patriots 0.
After finishing last place in the rankings the girls got the pleasure of facing the #1 seed in
the play-offs which turned out to be the Girls from Indianapolis again. A change of tactics
and the return of Famolare and Carpenter ensured the Peabody team would have a better
chance this time around. The girls again played great football but with a few costly
interceptions on the goal line and half way line the Patriots failed to punch it in. Weiser put
good pressure on the QB all game and was finally rewarded with a safety along with 3
interceptions for Carpenter in the game the D played the best it had all day and even with
huge catches from Carpenter, McKeon and Weiser the O couldn't get points on the board.
The final score was JAM Fantasy sports 13 - Peabody Patriots 2.
All the girls played extremely well and should be very proud for their first time at the
nationals, the MVP for the team was Brittney Creamer with her good play on Defense and
scoring Peabody's only touchdowns. Everyone received a trophy and everyone agreed the
weekend was a huge success and a great experience.
Highlights of the games will be on ESPN in December and January, watch this space for
exact dates and times.
Try-outs for the next girls 12-14 all-star team will be held in June '06.
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