STINGY OUTLAWS ‘D’ LEAD TO FIRST EVER MATUA TITLE

By Jay Leon Guerrero

The second-seed Faha Outlaws avenged a regular season loss to the undefeated Hal’s Angels to win the 2024 Triple J GNYFF Matua Championship by a score of 24-6 on Saturday at the UOG Field.

Defense was key for the Outlaws, only allowing a touchdown from the Angels via kickoff return. The Angels were unable to find the big plays against a stingy Outlaw defense that came prepared.

“Our line (on offense and defense) was phenomenal today. They deserve much of the credit for today’s performance,” said Outlaw head coach Justin ‘Shocker’ Cruz.

The Outlaw defensive front line closed all the holes, which prevented the speedy Angel running backs from making big plays.

“Our front five was working really well today. They’ve built that chemistry from day one, ” said Outlaw Daniel Salas.

The Outlaws scored on the opening drive with quarterback Kaizayuh Flores throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Reef Balajadia. A two point kick conversion from Chase Benevente had the Outlaws up 8-0.

The Outlaws stopped the Angels on the ensuing drive and started another drive with a mixture of pass and run plays to get into the red zone. The Outlaws had momentum, but that was quickly stopped by an interception from Angel defensive back Justice Alcantara at the 10-yard line.

The Outlaw defense prevented any big plays from the Angels with the secondary ready with a pair of interceptions in the first half by Damion Quinata and AJ Dela Cruz Ocampo.

The Outlaws scored late in the second quarter with a goal line dive by fullback Ervin Torres to go up 16-0 by halftime.

Just as they did in the semi-final game, the Angels came out fired up and scored on the kickoff to start the second half. Alcantara found a hole and dashed down 72 yards to get the Angels on the board with a highlight touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion kick, they trailed 16-6.

The Outlaw crowd grew nervous, knowing the Angels were a good second-half team as the offense took the field and quickly got off the field after failing to get a first down on three attempts.

The Outlaw defense, however, was ready for the Angels’ plays and answered with a pair of tackles-for-losses and a pass tip defended by Wilson Nikepwi.

“Our coaches watched film and studied their games, from start to finish. In practice, we prepared the team as best we could,” said Cruz.

The defense did not allow the big play in the second half the Angels have done all season. Salas led the team in tackles with seven total, three tackles were solo tackles. 

Flores scored an insurance touchdown after an interception by Jayven Pangelinan at the three-yard line. Benavente went 3-for-3 on two-point kick conversions to help the Outlaws put up 24 points.

“It’s always a chess match going up against the Angels. They are a good football team that is not only a hard knock team, but they have plays to catch you off guard at any given moment of the game,” said Cruz. “Thankfully, the team was focused out there, and we were prepared.”

Flores completed five passes for 86 yards. He also had 36 rush yards. Torres had 22 rush yards and a touchdown. Salas had 35 reception yards.

“We knew their offense was really strong, so we focused on defense all week at practice,” said Flores. “We also stayed conditioned so we can go all four quarters unbothered,” added Flores.

Cian Hannon led the Angels with a game high 52 rush yards on 10 attempts.  Alcantara had the kickoff return touchdown for 72 yards and caught six passes from quarterback Apollo Moylan for 20 yards.

The Outlaws came close to the title in 2023 with a small roster before losing to the Eagles. With a large number of returnees this season, this was the shot at team history – and they did it!

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