Local Team Wins FFFL State Title for 4th Year in a Row; Ties All-time Record 26 June 2011, Palm Bay, FL - The Florida Flag Football League (FFFL) today awarded the Men’s A Division State Championship Trophy to the semi-pro Apocalypse Flag Football Team headquartered in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. This is the fourth consecutive year that Apocalypse has won the A Division FFFL State Championship, tying an all-time record set by Palace Saloon of Tallahassee in the 1980s. The team is coached by Craig Miller of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and assisted by Tony Walton, Defensive Coordinator from Clearwater. Apocalypse all-star players come from Tampa Bay, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Apocalypse began the double-elimination tournament by defeating Venue from Clearwater. Venue was led by FFFL Hall of Famer and 4-time state champion quarterback Corey Boyd. This year, the Palm Beach Knights were ranked number 1 after a series of FFFL State Ranking Tournaments. Apocalypse defeated them in the second game of the winners’ bracket 42-7. To their credit the Knights fought back through the losers’ bracket to face Apocalypse a second time. In order to win the tournament, the number 1-ranked Knights needed to defeat Apocalypse twice but went down to a second defeat, losing 24-7 with the final game stopped by mercy rule with 2 minutes to go. A local Apocalypse rival, Miami’s Ruff Ryders, ranked 6th coming into the tournament, surprised a lot of teams by defeating the number 2 and 3-ranked teams. They faced Apocalypse in the finals of the winners’ bracket where they lost by 3 scores and called the game early. They then lost by one point on the last play of the final game in the losers’ bracket to the Knights who scored with 3 seconds to go in the game to pull within 1 point. The Knights then elected to go for a gutsy 2-point conversion which they converted to win the game. Coach Miller praised his all-star 3-headed quarterback-trio led by Brian Baer of Parkland and co-passers Brad Corliss of Davie and John Wassmer of Tampa. Coach Miller also said “our defense showed up in force for the first time this year, and a ton of credit goes to Tony Walton, player-coach, plus several of his defensive all-Florida superstars from the Tampa Bay/Orlando area. Defensive standouts included several semi-pro players, like James Panui of the Florida Firebirds, Osceola Ghostriders, Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators. David “DJ” Brooks plays with the Bay Area Warriors semi-pro team. Other defensive stars include: Terrence “TB” Bunting, semi-pro David “DJ” Brooks, Seneca Evans, and Howard “Bud” Lewis.” South Florida standouts included MVP and USFTL All-American Derrick “Hollywood” Brown of Tamarac, semi-pro Reggie Haugabook of Miami, Quinton McLendon of Pompano Beach and Bernard Summerall of Miami. Miller said “A powerful defense begins with unstoppable rushers like Hollywood Brown and Bernard Summerall. I attribute our success to extraordinary team-speed, intelligent play-calling and unselfish guys that never bicker and play like a band of brothers.” Apocalypse has now won four straight state titles and five (5) IFFF World Cup championships in 4-man, 7-man and 9-man flag football, which were won in the Dominican Republic, Miami, Costa Rica and Palm Springs, California. Sponsors are needed if you are interested in becoming part of this phenomenal team. Next up: a regional multi-state national tournament in Atlanta in late July. The team’s website is www.ApocalypseFlagFootball.com
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RELATED LINKS: Flag Football Magazine | Florida Sports Foundation | USFTL | Florida Flag Football |
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