The Novato Stingers banner flies proudly for Game 3 in Florida
The pictures from this game are now available on the 2009 Novato Stingers Shutterfly site.
Game 3 Summary
The Novato Stingers concluded their 2009 National Championship odyssey on Thursday, December 10th with another game at Austin-Lindall Park in Kissimmee, Florida. Novato arrived under a daunting Florida downpour and was drenched within a few minutes of starting the pre-game warm-up. But players and coaches alike were smiling and joking as if it were a sunny and warm.
When game time arrived, the Stingers were ready to roll and their fans, though few, were already in mid-game form. Novato won the coin-toss and elected to receive the ball first.
The Stingers first drive was strong again, as they methodically drove the field on a short series of runs and short passes. Unfortunately, they came up short with a fumble deep in Bears' territory.
The good news was this was the chance for the Stingers version of the Novato "Black Swarm" to take the field for the final game of the season. Novato's starting "Black" defense has shut down opponents all year, so it's proper that we recognize each of them for their outstanding work all year. The starting eleven are: linemen Hunter Wegner, Daronn McCall, Chris Folsom and Robbie Cassée; linebackers Gene Peugh-Wade, Angelo Lagomarsino and Marc Alvarez; cornerbacks Alec Ball and Danny Dreher; and safeties Henry Dalton and Ben Putman. And on this day they, and their "Gold" counterparts did their jobs well.
The Stingers D held fast on the Bears' first drive, which was still going when play stopped at the end of the first quarter with the score tied 0-0. Coach John Jones admonished the Stingers to step-it-up another notch and they did on the first play of the second-quarter when Cassée made his first interception of the year giving Novato the ball back.
The Stingers started with a Tommy Sanz to Cassée pass for a first down. Putman followed with a couple of strong runs but Novato gave the ball back on downs.
Novato held Leyden on the next drive but gave the ball back after a quick run and a fumble on a half-back option pass that didn't quite work right.
Leyden's next drive ate up the remaining time and the teams went to halftime still locked at 0.
The Bears got the ball first in the second-half and the resulting drive took nearly the entire quarter. The stingy Stingers D held fast, but Coach Jones had to make a tough call toward the end of the quarter to avoid a real problem. Because the Leyden offense had been on the field so long, the Stingers' Gold offense hadn't been in for enough minimum plays. If Leyden had kept the ball into the fourth quarter, all Stingers without the minimum plays would have had to go in on defense until they reached their required numbers. Since the Novato players in this situation were all offensive players, this could have been a real challenge.
Fortunately, by calling all three of the Stingers time-outs in the last two minutes of the third quarter, and with the Novato defense holding fast, the Bears turned the ball over on downs before the end of the quarter.
So, with the Gold offense now getting it's plays, the Stingers finally got a break-away by Marc Alvarez for what looked like a 70-yard touchdown and the lead. But it wasn't meant to be, and the ball came back because of a holding call. The Stingers got off one more running play before the two teams broke before the fourth quarter still knotted at zero.
The Stingers started with a Sanz to Alvarez pass, but came out just short and had to punt the ball back to the bears. But the Stingers held fast, and after a critical third-down sack by Alvarez, Novato got the ball back with good field position. Putman and Alvarez moved the ball on the ground and Cassée caught a pass over the middle to move the Stingers to the Bears 5-yard line. Putman took two more tries up the middle, moving the ball to within two-inches of scoring. With one more herculean lunge, and with the aid of a huge push by the left side of the offensive line, Putman pushed in for the score, giving the Stingers a 6-0 lead after the failed PAT.
After giving the ball back on the kick-off, Novato's defense came up big one last time. Chris Folsom got through for a huge sack and the rest of the sward stopped the Bears cold for a 4-and-out. After one last play it was over, and the Stingers walked away with the win and the satisfaction that comes with being the third-place AYF PeeWee Division II team in the nation.
Final Score: Novato Stingers 6, Leyden Bears 0
Final Ranking: 3rd Place, AYF PeeWee Division II National Championship
Here are a few highlights from the Stingers big win in the consolation/third-place game:
Ben Putman returns the opening kick-off for the Stingers
Robbie Cassée intercepts the ball on the first play of the second quarter
Tommy Sanz throws the ball out to the right...
The Stingers "Black Swarm" in action
Marc Alvarez breaks one for a touchdown...but it's brought back by a holding call
Putman pushes it into the end-zone for a touchdown
The stingers celebrate the touchdown!
Chris Folsom comes up huge with a sack in Leyden's final drive
The Stinger "D" stops the Bears on their final play of a stellar season
The Novato Stingers are 3rd in the nation!
Coach Jones shows off the hardware
Your 2009 Novato Stingers are:
Head Coach: John Jones
Assistant Coaches: Jack Jones, Rich Putman, Jose Herrera, Mark Wright, Martin Sanz, Mario Balestrieri, Demaurea Fleming
Players: 5 Danny Dreher, 6 Jordan Polera, 7 Henry Dalton, 8 Gene Peugh-Wade, 9 Angelo Lagomarsino, 10 Ben Putman, 12 Alec Ball, 13 Tommy Sanz, 14 Daronn McCall, 16 Robbie Cassée, 18 Hunter Wegner, 20 Anthony Balestrieri, 21 Marc Alvarez, 24 Paul Kunst, 25 Chris Folsom, 28 Andrew Tapia, 33 Daniel Hopkins, 34 Sean McDevitt, 42 Sam Mina, 43 Brandon Caamal, 44 Joseph Navarro, 47 Moses Johnson, 52 Michael Sumpter-Blakely, 54 Ryan Johnson, 59 Daylan Birlin, 60 William Cestarollo, 65 Andrew Larkin, 66 John Paul Hernandez, 82 John Viezcas and 99 Matthew Simmons
Team Mom: Carrie Cassée
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