Flag Football World Champions!
The World Championships of Flag Football were hosted by Superhero Sports (SHS) at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando Florida on January 20 & 21, 2024. The event welcomed over 400 teams from the United States, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and China to compete over two days. Teams began with four round robin games on Saturday in their respective age divisions. Sunday saw a beginning to the single elimination playoff round that would culminate in winners crowned in divisions from 5u through 17u for both boys and girls.
The Niagara Youth Flag Football organization sent eight teams to the competition through their Nitro Travel program. Nearly 120 players and their families braved winter storms and flight cancellations to make their way to the Sunshine state to compete. The Nitros had their best showing yet at an American tournament.
The highlight of the tournament belonged to the 15u boys who entered the weekend as reigning champs of their division from the Summer Nationals in Ohio. They maintained a perfect competition weekend completing seven games in total to beat Flight School out of Quebec and two different teams out of Mexico amongst others. In playoffs, the boys maintained their composure under the guidance of Noah Walters as QB1 to secure tough victories against Team Mexico and Elite: All Smoke out of Florida. Joining the team for this competition was 14u player Sadieke Hayden and D1 tackle player Damian Barnes by way of Georgia. The team comes back to Canada as World Champions and ranked second in the Zorts National Power Index. Veterans, Trent Dobson, Travis Boland, and Noah Walters also earned the second 1v1 Championship with a win over the Montreal Mavericks. Coaches Matty Hill, Alex Hill and Jeremy MacLeod are very proud of all the 15u players who contributed to the success this weekend.
The accomplishments of the other Nitro teams didn’t go unnoticed either. The 7u team under the guidance of Coaches Michael Sacco and Chris Merritt had a great opening tournament. The very new team, many of whom had only previously played in one tournament had a tough schedule on Saturday, tackling teams from Kentucky, Florida, Texas, and Maryland. The Co-Ed team with veteran players, Vincent Merritt, siblings Jahsai and Soreya Goguen and Neriah Ivory battled to a decisive 13-0 victory against the NY Playmakers on Sunday to advance to the quarter finals.
Coaches John Berardi and Glen Seburn were impressed with the grit and determination of their 9u coed squad. Joining them for this tournament was veteran of all girls 10U team, Shiloh Ivory along with Dhenali Anderson as the only other returning player, Ivory and the team battled hard on Saturday against competitors from the across the U.S. including a very close game to Nxt Gen out of Florida. Like the 7u team before them, the 9U Nitros claimed an exciting victory against the Pink Outlaws of Utah in the first round of the playoffs to make it to the quarter finals.
The 10U Nitros had a challenging draw when they faced the reigning champions, We Different in their first game. As another team with only a handful of veteran travel players, Coaches Ryan Clark and Chalene MacLeod were impressed by the team’s fortitude. Following the tough loss to the We Different crew, experienced players and captains Jagger D’Orazio and Quinton MacLeod supported the team to battle on to close games against teams from Connecticut, Florida and an eventual tie to the Storm Elite out of Massachusetts. In the biggest age division of the tournament with over 60 teams, the fresh 10u players made their presence felt and set the stage for great things to come from this team.
Coaches Jeremy MacLeod, Matty Hill and Terrance Murray were thrilled to see the accomplished 12u team start their tournament with a bang and a shut-out victory over the Cypress Wrekin Crew out of Texas. The team made up of veterans Ezra Ivory, Kiptyn MacLeod, Gabriel Murray, and Mah’kyi Goguen were supported by several newcomers and even a few of our 12u girls pulling double duty. While the rest of Saturday was an uphill climb for the 12u team, they came ready for battle Sunday. With a thrilling victory over the Triple Threat from Wisconsin and a nail-biting win over the South Florida Elite, the team found themselves in a Semi-Final fight against the Florida Bulldogs. With their best finish state-side to date, the team is hungry for their next challenge.
On to the girls teams, the 12u Girls battled hard all weekend. Receiver Shiloh Ivory joined the team after her double duty with the 9u boys. Veterans Aaliyah Henry and Aly Lostracco anchored the team after warming up with the 12u boys. QB Juliet Mencfeld and twins Emma and Ava Robinson and Abby MacCormack rounded out the veterans who were joined by newcomer Amalynn Berardi and players from our younger 10u team. The girls battled two of the top three teams in their division on Sunday and claimed a shut-out victory against phenoms Athena Athletics out of Pennsylvania. Six of the girls even tried their hand at the 1 v1 Saturday evening before battling back on Sunday. With a decisive victory over Prime-Time Elite from North Carolina, Coach Jason’s 12u girls found themselves in a brawl against Mexico in the Quarter Finals. It was another incredible showing from the Nitros.
Coaches Matty Hill, Alex Hill and Erin Clark are thrilled with the progress of the 14u girls’ team. The girls, led by captains Cate Hawkins and Teagan Clark, kept the game close with the eventual Division champions in the first game out against Cancun Quintana Roo. Building on their momentum with each game, the team held the second game to a tie with the Immortals out of Florida and eventually claimed a victory over the Panama Cardinals in game three. Perhaps the biggest personal victory came when the girls fell just two points short of Athena Athletics, a team that held them scoreless just six months ago. Their incredible results in pool play, found the girls sitting with a bye going into Sunday’s playoffs. Veteran QB Danica Spicer impressed all weekend and anchored the girls to their best American result so far and coaches believe the sky is the limit for these dedicated players.
Finally, the newest Nitro team let everyone know that they had earned their place to compete. Coaches Chalene MacLeod and Ryan Clark were thrilled with the results of the first international competition for the 17u girls. During pool play the girls faced two of the top five teams in the competition and found their groove putting points on the board. Captain, Callie Johnstone led with a positive attitude to keep the girls in the hunt. The turning point came with a late-night Saturday touchdown connection from QB Charlotte Clark to Johnstone deep in the endzone. This momentum carried on to Sunday when the girls rallied together to win their opening and first ever playoff game against Canada’s Storm team. The game saw QB Alannah Bushorr connect with Kennady Forster and Charlotte Clark for two more touchdowns. This quarter-final result is just the beginning for these spunky Lady Nitros who are ready for a very exciting season ahead.
Niagara Youth Flag Football founder and owner Matty Hill is thrilled with the Nitro team results in Florida and sees great potential for the rest of the 2024 season. Players and families feel the same way and over the course of the weekend, games were flanked on all sidelines by parents, relatives and spectators from the Nitro organization cheering on our teams with grace and class. With six more teams joining the travel program, the Nitros will have 14 teams from 7 to 18 years of age competing in 2024 in 5v5 flag and 7v7 touch. While the World Championship this weekend was a fantastic competition to begin the season, players and coaches are already looking ahead to a spring and summer filled with Canadian provincials and Nationals, the Ontario Games, the Canadian NFL competition and the Niagara Youth Flag Football International Open.