ANGELS MANHA TOP BATTLE OF UNBEATENS

By Nick Akimoto

Following the Liberation Weekend break, Triple J GNYFF Youth Football League action returned with a fierce matchup between two undefeated Manha teams. In a rematch of last year’s Manha championship, the Eagles visited the Angels on their home turn at Shiroma Field to battle it out for the top standing. It would be the Angels who would survive the blistering Sunday afternoon heat with a 19-6 victory. 

In a battle between the division’s top programs, both teams kept the ball on the ground to try and will their way to the endzone. Despite the bruising efforts of Aaron Brub, who would pound his way through defenders for 136 yards and a touchdown, the Angels’ backfield of Landen Medler at quarterback and Sage Verango would combine for about 200 total yards, but it was Verango who would find his way into the endzone for all three of the Angels’ touchdowns. 

“It’s very exciting because the last time we lost against them in the championship,” said Verango. 

On defense, the Angels sent big pressure in the backfield to get to Brub, who seemingly shook off tackles like water. Thanks to the big effort tackles of Micah Diego and Xayden Keezel, the Angels would rebuff a would-be game tying score from Brub. 

MANHA RECAP

It was obvious from the sound of the whistle that this was a game that both teams had circled on their calendar. As the Angels lined up to start their drive, the Eagles defense was antsy to try and get a stop. The Angels were looking to get their big playmaking duo of Verango and Medler into space, running reverses for Verango and QB power runs for Medler. After two big runs slashing his way through the Eagles’ defense, Verango finished with an 8 yard touchdown, starting things off with a 7-0 lead. 

The Eagles were eager to even things up as they set up their offense. Perhaps a bit too eager, as consecutive false starts would set the Eagles back, making it seem like they would be unable to strike back on offense. Thankfully, Brub would break off a huge 20 yard run to get another set of downs for his team. Fueled by the big play, the Eagles’ blockers would clear open a lane for Brub to go down the field and score a 38 yard touchdown. 

Due to both teams electing to keep the ball on the ground, the first half would go by quickly. The Angels would be left with just enough time, however, for one last drive. The Angels sideline knew that allowing the Eagles to go into the half after such a huge score would be huge blow when they returned, so the Angels knew that it was critical that they score quickly before the end of the half. 

Once again, the Angels called on QB power runs for Medler, allowing him to dance his way around defenders which set up Verango nicely to dance his way into the endzone off a reverse once again for another touchdown. At the sound of the whistle, the Angels had succeeded in giving themselves a 13-7 lead going into the half.

Starting of the third quarter, the Eagles came out in an adjusted wildcat formation, putting Brub back in a shotgun wildcat formation. The adjustment proved effective after the first few plays, but Brub would cough up the ball after a 10 yard run and give the Angels a chance to place this game further out of the Eagles’ reach. 

Once again, Medler and Verango mix up the Eagles with the possibility of Medler taking the ball Verango taking the handoff for the reverse. While the Angels chose to keep the ball in Medler’s hands for a majority of the drive, Verango would grab his third TD as the Eagles would overcommit to the QB run and Verango would find open space on the sideline and increase the Angels’ lead to 19-6. 

While they were down two scores, the Eagles were still firmly in the battle. After a couple new snaps in the wildcat formation, Brub began softening up the defense by battering his way through the Angels’ defense for some chunk yardage. This set Brub up to go for a 30 yard run, where he would be tackled just short of the endzone. 

By this point, the Angels had begun to fear Brub as a runner, but Brub had emptied a lot of the tank after the huge run and had also been chasing around Medler all game as defensive end. The Eagles gave Brub one play off, trying to catch the Angels off guard by handing the ball to Hayven Quichocho, but the Angels pressure in the backfield was finally able to bring down the ball carrier for a loss. The Eagles turned back to Brub once again, but the Angels were able to swarm him at the line. Once more Brub took the snap, and once more, a choir of Angels descended upon him at the line of scrimmage.

On fourth down, Brub gathered himself and looked to get into the end zone by all means necessary. The Angels, however, were looking to keep him out with the same level of severity. As Brub received the snap, he ran outside the pocket looking for space. The Angels secondary was ready, as they blitzed the Eagles’ #1 runner. Brub made a second effort and carried a number of Angels defenders, but the defense managed to pull him down and secure the win.

WEEK 7 RESULTS

Manha

Outlaws 39, Crusaders 12

Cowboys 26, Steelers 6

Angels 19, Eagles 6

Packers 41, Raiders 14

Metgot

Outlaws 41, Crusaders 6

Cowboys 28, Steelers 0

Angels 12, Eagles 0

Raiders 28, Packers 14

Matua

Outlaws 63, Crusaders 0

Cowboys 38, Steelers 0

Angels 16, Eagles 0

Packers 32, Raiders 6

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