Peabody Patriots Girls All-stars at the NFL youth flag football nationals 12/22/07
For the third straight year in a row the Peabody Patriots all-star girls team made it to the
National Tournament of Champions held at Disney's wide world of sports complex in Florida.
The team made up of all girls from Peabody, MA included first year players Kayla Jackson,
Kali Sullivan, Catarina Rocha, Tanya Williams, second year players Deanna Moreschi,
Michaela Merchant and Mary-Catherine Dunne and third year player Erika Weiser.
The NFL booked and paid for the teams flights from Logan airport Thursday
15th November to Orlando international airport, it was a long trip but the
team finally arrived at the Disney all-star sports resort just before midnight.
Friday morning the team met for registration and each team member received
a NFL Flag backpack filled with goodies. Each girl also received a $30
Disney card to spend where they pleased along with their Patriots game jerseys
and banquet passes. As the team was registering we were asked if 2 of the girls would like
to spend the day being filmed throughout Disney's theme parks with EX NFL player Brian
Mitchell. Our two most senior players Erika Weiser and Michaela Merchant jumped at the
chance to be a part of the NFL network show!!!
After registration the remaining girls along with family and friends spent the day
at MGM studios going on all the big rides and even bumping into our own stars
(Erika and Michaela) while being filmed. Later in the afternoon the
coaches met to discuss rules and regulations for the tournament before
returning to the complex to get ready for the banquet. This years banquet
was held at the Fantasia Gardens which was only open for players and
coaches. The food at the banquet was outstanding, and so was the
entertainment as the girls danced with the other players from across the
country. Fantasia Gardens also included the countries longest and most difficult (according
to readers digest) miniature golf course. Some of the girls along with their coach decided to
tackle the course and on the 3rd hole Kayla Jackson hit a 86ft hole in one!!!
Saturday morning the team along with parents met for breakfast and then
boarded the shuttle bus to the Wide World of Sports complex. The Peabody
Patriots had one of the first games of the day at 8:30 and went up against the
New York Jets girls. The Peabody girls offence struggled on their first
possession after an incompletion and 2 dropped snaps. The defense held
strong and forced a turnover however after getting the ball back another
dropped snap, this time in the endzone give the girls from NY 2 points and the ball back.
The NY Jets capitalized on the Peabody jitters and hit one of their receivers long for a TD,
however the girls played a good goal line defence and kept the Jets out of the end zone for
the extra point. With only 8 minute halves it was soon half time and a much needed one for
the Peabody girls to gather themselves and regain their composure. The girls came out in
the second half firing passes to Deanna and Kalya to move the ball down field,
after a nice run from Catarina the Patriots were with in striking distance and first
year QB Kali Sullivan managed to find Tanya in the back of the endzone for the
Patriots first TD of the tournament. The defense managed to stop the Jets from moving the
ball with pressure from Weiser and good flag pulling on the out side from Rocha and
Dunne. While the girls continued to move the ball on offence they could not just
quite punch it in and the game finished with a Peabody loss 8-6. The Patriots
second game was at 9:25 against the Oakland Raiders girls and after going
over which plays worked the best the team felt confident heading into the match up. The
Patriots started with the ball and looked like they could not be stopped driving the ball down
field. Deanna Moreschi caught a pass over the middle from Sullivan and took it
the distance for the first TD of the game,the girls went for one point and
succeeded as Sullivan hit Jackson for the conversion. The defense
stepped up again and on a third and long the team dropped back and Weiser
intercepted the pass and took it into Oakland territory. After another strong run
around the outside from Rocha putting the Patriots in excellent field position,
Sullivan found Jackson in the endzone for the second time and the Patriots were up 13-0,
again the girls went for one and this time Moreschi caught the conversion to put the score
at 14-0 at half time. The Raiders came out in the second half with the ball but with a bad
exchange with the running back dropped the ball in the endzone and gave the Peabody
girls the ball and another 2 points putting the score at 15-0. The rest was history as the girls
defense stopped the Raiders from putting anything together and they closed out the game
15-0. The save of the game however was by Dunne who managed to save a
little frog that found its way onto the field of play!!!
The Peabody Patriots final group game was against last years defending
champions, the Arizona Cardinals. The girls had a tough time of it
and the Cardinals dominated all areas of the game as they
came away with the victory 32-0. After a quick packed lunch provided by the
NFL the girls waited to find out their seeding heading into the play-offs. As the
announcement came over the loud speaker the girls from Peabody were placed 5th overall
and would face the #4 seeded Chargers. The Peabody girls felt very confident
after watching the Chargers earlier game s. The game started with Peabody on
Defense and quickly forced a three and out. The offense once again came
out firing and Sullivan hit her #1 receiver Moreschi for another TD down the
sideline, the conversion failed and Peabody were up 6-0. The Chargers found
a rhythm of their own and took the ball the length of the field to tie the game
6-6. On the next series Sullivan's pass over the middle was intercepted and
taken back for a TD putting the Chargers up 13-6 with a successful
conversion. The Peabody girls came out running the ball but could
not make the first down marker which gave the ball back to the Chargers.
The Chargers went straight to the air and completed a big pass down the sidelines
for another TD, along with another conversion put the Chargers up 20-6. With time running
out the Patriots had to move the ball quickly, but it was not meant to be as
Sullivan's pass was again intercepted and run back for a TD, the final score
of the game was Chargers 27 - Peabody 6. The Peabody
fans cheered the girls of the field and congratulated them for their efforts and
determination!!!
It was the end of the tournament for the 8 girls from Peabody, but not the end of the trip.
The team stayed and watched the 3 championship games from the bleachers
and took an opportunity to relax and enjoy the rest of the flag football action.
After the Championship games the teams lined up and received a
tournament plaque for their efforts. Then it was a quick bus ride back to the
sports resort, change and out to Disney Quest to finish of the day. Sunday
morning the team left the hotel at 4am to get to the airport in time to fly back to New
England with memories that will last a lifetime for the girls from Peabody, their coach and all
the family and friends that made the trip.
Every girl played extremely well, they stuck together as a team, played their hardest, never
made excuses and never gave up!!! We are all very proud of the Peabody Patriots all-star
girls team as they represented Peabody in the best possible light.
This past qualifier we also had a team that made the championship game in the regional
tournament, they were one win away from making the tournament of champions, we hope
teams practice hard all year and maybe next year we can take even more teams to
represent Peabody and the league.
By Austin Bradshaw
League Organizer
For the third straight year in a row the Peabody Patriots all-star girls team made it to the
National Tournament of Champions held at Disney's wide world of sports complex in Florida.
The team made up of all girls from Peabody, MA included first year players Kayla Jackson,
Kali Sullivan, Catarina Rocha, Tanya Williams, second year players Deanna Moreschi,
Michaela Merchant and Mary-Catherine Dunne and third year player Erika Weiser.
The NFL booked and paid for the teams flights from Logan airport Thursday
15th November to Orlando international airport, it was a long trip but the
team finally arrived at the Disney all-star sports resort just before midnight.
Friday morning the team met for registration and each team member received
a NFL Flag backpack filled with goodies. Each girl also received a $30
Disney card to spend where they pleased along with their Patriots game jerseys
and banquet passes. As the team was registering we were asked if 2 of the girls would like
to spend the day being filmed throughout Disney's theme parks with EX NFL player Brian
Mitchell. Our two most senior players Erika Weiser and Michaela Merchant jumped at the
chance to be a part of the NFL network show!!!
After registration the remaining girls along with family and friends spent the day
at MGM studios going on all the big rides and even bumping into our own stars
(Erika and Michaela) while being filmed. Later in the afternoon the
coaches met to discuss rules and regulations for the tournament before
returning to the complex to get ready for the banquet. This years banquet
was held at the Fantasia Gardens which was only open for players and
coaches. The food at the banquet was outstanding, and so was the
entertainment as the girls danced with the other players from across the
country. Fantasia Gardens also included the countries longest and most difficult (according
to readers digest) miniature golf course. Some of the girls along with their coach decided to
tackle the course and on the 3rd hole Kayla Jackson hit a 86ft hole in one!!!
Saturday morning the team along with parents met for breakfast and then
boarded the shuttle bus to the Wide World of Sports complex. The Peabody
Patriots had one of the first games of the day at 8:30 and went up against the
New York Jets girls. The Peabody girls offence struggled on their first
possession after an incompletion and 2 dropped snaps. The defense held
strong and forced a turnover however after getting the ball back another
dropped snap, this time in the endzone give the girls from NY 2 points and the ball back.
The NY Jets capitalized on the Peabody jitters and hit one of their receivers long for a TD,
however the girls played a good goal line defence and kept the Jets out of the end zone for
the extra point. With only 8 minute halves it was soon half time and a much needed one for
the Peabody girls to gather themselves and regain their composure. The girls came out in
the second half firing passes to Deanna and Kalya to move the ball down field,
after a nice run from Catarina the Patriots were with in striking distance and first
year QB Kali Sullivan managed to find Tanya in the back of the endzone for the
Patriots first TD of the tournament. The defense managed to stop the Jets from moving the
ball with pressure from Weiser and good flag pulling on the out side from Rocha and
Dunne. While the girls continued to move the ball on offence they could not just
quite punch it in and the game finished with a Peabody loss 8-6. The Patriots
second game was at 9:25 against the Oakland Raiders girls and after going
over which plays worked the best the team felt confident heading into the match up. The
Patriots started with the ball and looked like they could not be stopped driving the ball down
field. Deanna Moreschi caught a pass over the middle from Sullivan and took it
the distance for the first TD of the game,the girls went for one point and
succeeded as Sullivan hit Jackson for the conversion. The defense
stepped up again and on a third and long the team dropped back and Weiser
intercepted the pass and took it into Oakland territory. After another strong run
around the outside from Rocha putting the Patriots in excellent field position,
Sullivan found Jackson in the endzone for the second time and the Patriots were up 13-0,
again the girls went for one and this time Moreschi caught the conversion to put the score
at 14-0 at half time. The Raiders came out in the second half with the ball but with a bad
exchange with the running back dropped the ball in the endzone and gave the Peabody
girls the ball and another 2 points putting the score at 15-0. The rest was history as the girls
defense stopped the Raiders from putting anything together and they closed out the game
15-0. The save of the game however was by Dunne who managed to save a
little frog that found its way onto the field of play!!!
The Peabody Patriots final group game was against last years defending
champions, the Arizona Cardinals. The girls had a tough time of it
and the Cardinals dominated all areas of the game as they
came away with the victory 32-0. After a quick packed lunch provided by the
NFL the girls waited to find out their seeding heading into the play-offs. As the
announcement came over the loud speaker the girls from Peabody were placed 5th overall
and would face the #4 seeded Chargers. The Peabody girls felt very confident
after watching the Chargers earlier game s. The game started with Peabody on
Defense and quickly forced a three and out. The offense once again came
out firing and Sullivan hit her #1 receiver Moreschi for another TD down the
sideline, the conversion failed and Peabody were up 6-0. The Chargers found
a rhythm of their own and took the ball the length of the field to tie the game
6-6. On the next series Sullivan's pass over the middle was intercepted and
taken back for a TD putting the Chargers up 13-6 with a successful
conversion. The Peabody girls came out running the ball but could
not make the first down marker which gave the ball back to the Chargers.
The Chargers went straight to the air and completed a big pass down the sidelines
for another TD, along with another conversion put the Chargers up 20-6. With time running
out the Patriots had to move the ball quickly, but it was not meant to be as
Sullivan's pass was again intercepted and run back for a TD, the final score
of the game was Chargers 27 - Peabody 6. The Peabody
fans cheered the girls of the field and congratulated them for their efforts and
determination!!!
It was the end of the tournament for the 8 girls from Peabody, but not the end of the trip.
The team stayed and watched the 3 championship games from the bleachers
and took an opportunity to relax and enjoy the rest of the flag football action.
After the Championship games the teams lined up and received a
tournament plaque for their efforts. Then it was a quick bus ride back to the
sports resort, change and out to Disney Quest to finish of the day. Sunday
morning the team left the hotel at 4am to get to the airport in time to fly back to New
England with memories that will last a lifetime for the girls from Peabody, their coach and all
the family and friends that made the trip.
Every girl played extremely well, they stuck together as a team, played their hardest, never
made excuses and never gave up!!! We are all very proud of the Peabody Patriots all-star
girls team as they represented Peabody in the best possible light.
This past qualifier we also had a team that made the championship game in the regional
tournament, they were one win away from making the tournament of champions, we hope
teams practice hard all year and maybe next year we can take even more teams to
represent Peabody and the league.
By Austin Bradshaw
League Organizer
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
