The defending champions, the Wildcats put the women’s division on notice with a 45-0 drubbing of newcomers, the Jaguars, in the Bahamas Flag Football League that opened its season yesterday at the Thomas A. Robinson fields, after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In another game that played simultaneously on another field, the Avengers took care of the Warhawks, 19-12 in the men’s division.
The Wildcats played some stingy defense en route to the blowout victory. Their offense was also on display with some well-executed touchdowns. Head coach of the Wildcats, Dwight Marshall, said that it is good to get back on the field and it fueled his team.
“They had a lot of pent-up energy,” Marshall said. “They were ready to play and they played with heavy hearts because it is our first game without our leader, Phil Rahming. Before the game, they were very emotional and I was a little worried that it would affect their play, but once we got past the moment of silence, it was time to play football.”
“They came out and responded. We played against a team with new players. They have work to do. It was good just to get out and play.”
He acknowledged that is team is working on a new system and has a lot of work to do. Marshall is looking to get his team prepared against the veteran Pink Panthers, which they face next week.
The Pink Panthers were in action yesterday but their game plan did not go according to plan, as they were shut out 14-0 against the Hawks. In the final ladies division game, the Eagles shut out the Lady Avengers 14-0.
In the men’s division, the Warhawks tried to stage a late game come back, but the Avengers properly managed the game to come away with the win. The Avengers’ head coach Robin Shepherd was happy to get the win.
“The flow went well,” Shepherd said. “Some adjustments we could have made and plans to make when practice start. Overall we are happy that we got the win. We went back to what we do in practice which was keep calm, focused and execute what we do in practice.”
Shepherd wants his team to keep that momentum going forward, especially when they play the defending champions, the Predators.
In the only other men’s division game, the Lions did enough to hold off Team Red Dot 14-6.
Both Shepherd and Marshall were happy that the league resumed play with spectators and strict COVID-19 rules.
