KHANTRABAND UPSET THE BRAVES TO CLAIM THE DIVISION A TITLE

I wrote this piece for a class of mine so I thought I would share it with you as well. See this as some Division A bonus coverage!

In Monday’s finale to Flag Plus Football’s Division A Spring season, Khantraband beat the heavily favored Braves 31-30.

“We did it! Not four in a row!” were the first words out of Khantraband’s quarterback Dan Lazzara during his post-game interview. This win not only sealed the championship but snapped a three-game losing streak at the hands of the Braves.

“We lost our freaking captain the day before and we were freaking out,” said Lazzara. Khantraband knew they were the underdogs in this one and the hill they were going to need to climb was only made steeper when their captain, Tam Vilaydeth broke his arm the night before the finals.

Even though the teams had already played each other three times, both quarterbacks took a prudent approach and prioritized the short passing game. After the teams traded scores, Khantraband quarterback Dan Lazzara connected with David Centomo on a crossing route for a one-yard score which gave Khantraband the lead. The first defensive stop of the game came on the next drive. The combination of a sack and a false start penalty were too much for Jonathan Maheu and the Braves’ offence to overcome. They turned the ball over on downs.

A two-score lead in high level flag football is practically insurmountable. With over 250 games of experience tucked under his red Patrick Mahomes jersey, Lazzara knew a score would be huge. After a shacky start to the drive, Lazzara connected with AJ Gomes on fourth down for what appeared to be a touchdown. To Khantraband’s great consternation, an inadvertent whistle from line judge Marc Ellis brought the ball back to the five. After failing to punch it in, Gomes and Khantraband were visibly irate.

“In the moment, I was pretty heated. This cannot be the play that decides the game,” said Gomes talking about the official’s mistake after the game. He admitted that a few seasons ago, he probably would have lost his nerve and hurt his team. This time, Gomes told himself “fuck it what’s next” and kept his cool.

Gomes and his team needed nerves of steel because the Braves kicked off the second half with a bomb to Alex Pilon to reclaim the lead. Not to be outdone, Khantraband’s Serge Pilon responded to his twin brother’s 40-yard touchdown snag with an equally spectacular 34-yard score of his own. The two teams would go on to trade scores. One thing was obvious: whoever had the ball last was going to win.

The Braves’ Jean-Daniel, working out of the left slot, caught a five-yard slant to give his team a five-point lead. With exactly a minute left on the clock before the final five untimed plays of the game, Lazzara went to work.

Lazzara saved his best pass for last. From ten yards out he sent his top receiver, Serge Pilon, on an out and up route down the right sideline. As if on a wire, Lazzara fit the ball in between two leaping Braves defenders and into Pilon’s hands to give his team a 31-30 lead with two plays left. Those two plays were not enough for the Braves to march the field.

“It was a great pass, he had a tiny window to fit the ball into,” said Pilon talking about his game winning catch.

Pilon added the finals MVP plaque to go along with his regular season two-way player of the year award. Khantraband’s win stymied the Braves quest for a third consecutive Division A title