Football

GNYFF REGULAR SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE

Outlaws upend Packers in season-ender

by
GSPN
July 21, 2025

By Nick Akimoto

The final week of the GNYFF regular season saw a climactic Matua showdown between the Packers and Outlaws. With both teams tied in the rankings, the stakes were high, as the winner would receive the higher seeding going into GNYFF semifinals.

It would be the Outlaws who would win the day 25-12, thanks to the offensive contributions of Ghesan Gaje, Anton Santiago, and Rio Reyes. 11-year-old Reyes proved to be a reliable workhorse for the Outlaws, picking up 40 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Establishing their run game allowed for Gaje and Santiago to hook up through the air for two huge touchdowns.

The explosive offense kept the Packers on their heels and helped stave off a would-be Packers come back. In the trenches, the Outlaws leaned on Logan Cruz and Maniebo to lead the way. As the towering duo look to anchor the Outlaws offensive line in the postseason, Maniebo had one
thing to say: “We’re just gonna bang.”

GAME RECAP

The Outlaws struck paydirt first a pop pass from Gaje to Santiago, who had snuck his way past the blitzing linebackers. Santiago then barreled his way into the endzone for the first score of the day.

After a Joe Fausto interception, the Outlaws found themselves near the goal line. The Outlaws coaches called in their power package, putting Johnnie Brub under center. She ran a QB sneak to get the Outlaws to the goal line and lined up to run the same play to try to get into the endzone. The Packers smothered the gaps, however, leading Brub to get stood up. As she pushed against the pile, she bounced off to the right and found open space to dive in for a touchdown. Her efforts made the Outlaws touchdown possible, but she wasn’t done yet, as she picked up a low snap for the extra point kick, rolled out to the left, and found her sister Reylyn Brub in the endzone to put the Outlaws up 13-0 at half.

“These two girls are the ‘gamest’ I’ve seen in a while for youth football,” said coach Justin Cruz about the Brub sisters.

The Packers came out the second half with a sense of urgency, as their offensive line surged to
pick up their blocks. The impressive blocking cleared the way for a 50 yard sprint by running back Sahi Santos, all the way to the endzone. Santos’ score closed the lead to 13-6, putting them back in the game and the Outlaws on notice.

Going back the other way, the Outlaws offense was unphased. The gameplan remained the
same: clear the lane for Reyes to pick up as many yards as possible. Reyes’ tough running helped
the Outlaws get down the field, but at the goal line, the Packers stiffened up. Reyes stood up the
challenge as he bounced to the right and absorbed contact by a Packers defender. As he shook
of the first hit, another defender made contact on his right. Reyes spun it off and reached into the
endzone to put the Outlaws up 19-6.

As the fourth quarter approached, the Packers knew they had to score on this drive. The
Outlaws knew as well, but they also were aware of the challenge that they faced of containing
the explosive running of Santos and Saleven Padrones. The running back duo went back and
forth getting 3-4 yard gains, but each run ended in explosive contact as the Packers kept
hammering back the Outlaws defense. On the goal line, the Packers gave the ball to Padrones
who ran to the left before getting held up by three Outlaws defenders. Padrones stayed
upstanding, however, as he shook off the contact and dove into the endzone to put the Packers
back within one score at 19-12.

The Outlaws sealed the game off a play action pass from Gaje to a wide open Santiago from 20 yards out.

With regular season play over, the Matua Outlaws retain their third place seeding and will be
facing off against the Cowboys in their semifinal matchup. The last time the two teams met, the
game ended in a tie.

“We gotta bring the heat cause they’re gonna bring it too. We tied them last week and we know
they want it back, so we gotta beat them if we want to get to the championship,” said Packers
offensive tackle Logan Cruz.

The top four teams from each division advance to the semifinals next week. (see standings below)