Panthers pounce to top of standings

It was guys’ day out for the Cayman Islands Flag Football Association this past Saturday, 8 July, at Ed Bush Sports Complex, as the women’s league enjoyed a bye.

2016 champs Island Heritage Predators took on Maples in the first game of the day and won by a 13–8 margin. The Predators emerged with an early lead thanks to touchdowns by Kaleb Ebanks and Peter Whittaker.  Maples’ quarterback David Taylor had some difficulty passing due to strong defensive pressure but was able to find Stephen Mitzel in the last quarter of the game to put his team on the board.

The MaplesFS Knights clashed with the Burger King Panthers in the final game of the day. The Burger King Panthers is one of the most established teams in the league with players and coaches remaining generally constant year over year. The team executes effectively on both sides of the ball; with offense led by agile Glenn Duran and defensive strongholds like Andrew Frederick and Brendan Malice. As a result, their win came as no surprise with a final score of 20–7 over the Knights.

However, the Knights seem to have found their stride with quarterback Tyler Harvey. Harvey was able to navigate the experienced Panthers’ defense to gain positive yards and ultimately score for his team.

Island Heritage Predators Peter Whittaker making his TD catch.

The Knights only had Sunday to recover before they met their sibling team Maples at the Annex. The Knights maintained their rhythm over the weekend first with a touchdown by Theo Edman and holding off the Maples offense until the final minutes of the game. Maples equalised with a touchdown by fan favourite Larue Nixon sending the game into overtime. Nixon scored again to put Maples in the lead and the Knights were not able to tie the game in their favour before the end of overtime. Maples was then able to claim their first victory of the season with a final score of 12–6.

The first offensive possessions in the ladies’ match between Maples Jaguars and The Greenhouse Lynx showed that it was going to be a defensive contest as Yasmin James of Lynx came up with an interception of Jaguars QB Yolanni Manzanares in the first play of the game. The Jaguars’ defense held strong with a red zone defensive stop by making some key tackles to hold Lynx on a short field and force the turnover on downs. The Maples offense in turn had to deal with rusher Bernadette Beckles who sacked their quarterback multiple times. It remained a defensive game until the final two minutes when Lynx running back Marleena Smith was able to burst past the goal line, resulting in a 6 – 0 victory for the Lynx.

The league continues on Saturday 15 July at the Annex with games beginning at noon.

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