Mother Nature finally caught up with NFL-Farmingdale PAL Flag Football. Well almost. After Grasshopper and Peanut Games were canceled because of rain, the grounds crew went to work. With only one hour to get the fields lined and ready for play, a group of dedicated parents made it happen. The league would like to thank Pete Hassett, Bill Hassett, Tom Hacker, Mark Knight and Bob Tempesta, for their efforts in reporting game highlights.

Due to a shortage of players, regular play was suspended for the weekend. Instead, the teams were divided to form a Star Wars like battle of the Dark Side of the Force vs. the Light Side of the Force. In this case, the Empire struck back with the Dark Side defeating the Light Side 38-24.

The Light Side struck first with Elizabeth Yashnyk intercepting the ball on the Dark Side's 7 yard line. This set up a touchdown run by Kristin Morrison to give the Light Side an early lead. The Dark Side tied the score at 6-6 on TD Pass from Colleen Patterson to Jessica Pickett. They kept the momentum going with an interception and touchdown run by Julie Teller. The Light Side fought back with a long touchdown pass from Christina Lopilato to Elizabeth Yashnyk tying the score 12-12. The Dark took the lead 18-12 on a pass from Elizabeth Binckes to Sarah Hecht. The first half ended shortly after a Jenna Crawford interception for the Dark Side.

The Light Side got into scoring position on a triple reverse with Gina Ramos running the ball to mid-field. This set up a TD pass from Tina Mauro to Christina Lopilato to tie the game 18-18. A long run by Colleen Patterson put the Dark Side in scoring position. A strong run by Sarah Hecht gave the Dark Side another 6. The 2 point conversion pass from Colleen Patterson to Julie Teller made the score 26-18 Dark Side. A TD pass from Nicole Scimeca to Christina Lopilato put the Light Side within 2 points. The Darks Side scored on a Kali Morrison TD pass to Jessica Pickett. The Dark Side got the ball back one more time and got a first down on a pass from Elizabeth Binckes to Jenna Crawford, followed by a TD run with Kali Morrison getting the score, to end the game, 38-24.

A great game in the Pee Wee division Sunday between the Jets and the Patriots. The Jets won 26-21 in a back and forth game which went down to the wire. The Jets' Bryan Kaufman scored 2 touchdowns while Ryan Psinakis threw a TD pass, scored a TD and had an interception. The kids, coaches and parents on both sides really enjoyed this one.

The Pee Wee Vikings played hard to earn their first win of the season 24-10 over the Chiefs. The Chiefs took a quick 2 point lead when Jimmy Cavanaugh scored a safety on the Vikings opening drive. The teams traded possessions with the Vikings going ahead 6-2 on a pass and great catch by Kyle Hacker. The Vikings scored two unanswered TD's by Matt D'Antonio and John Cozzolino to go up 18-2. The Vikings defense led by Kyle, Marc Dittmaier and Tom Celenza held tough with numerous knockdowns and interceptions. But a 60 yard run and a safety by Jimmy Cavanaugh brought the Chiefs within 8. John sealed the game with a 60 yard run on a handoff up the middle to close out the scoring. Congratulations to the Vikings on the first win of the season.

The Steelers bounced back from a tough loss last week to defeat a very tough Chiefs team, 15-14. It was the Steelers 1st win of the season! On the Chiefs 1st possession, Prateek K grabbed the running back's flag in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead. Later in the 1st half, Prateek took a handoff inside the 10 yard line and ran 40 yards for a TD giving the Steelers an 8-0 lead. Both defenses were outstanding! To start the 2nd half, the Chiefs scored a TD and 2 point conversion to tie the game, but the Steelers fought right back. Brendan N. returning from injury dumped off a pass to TJ who ran 30 yards for the TD. With the score 15-8, the Chiefs' Jordan M scored on a pass play to make the score 15-14. The Chiefs went for the tie, but the tough Steelers D held them off! The Steelers got great D from Prateek (sack & safety), Brendan N, TJ (big pass deflection with the game on the line), Jack G, Gregory C, Michael A & Nico (5th Interception of the season).

For the Chiefs, key interceptions by Tyler, Jordan and James kept the game close. Anthony threw a perfect pass to a wide open Justin who ran the rest of the way for a big TD. The missed extra point pass was ruled incomplete on the goal line and kept the Chiefs from tying the game.

The Packers improved to 2 -2 Sunday by winning their second consecutive game, defeating the Patriots 34 -24. Missing three key players, the Packers' defense needed a strong performance, and without their deep pass threat, their offensive ground game would be pushed to the limit.

Defensively, Ray Webb and William Hassett had some key first half tackles with the first half ending with the Packers ahead by the slim margin 14 -12. Both Anthony Bonilla and Rob Tempesta had first half TDs, with a Patriots safety making the difference between the two squads.

Offensively, the Packers ground game was a dominant factor in the second half, including a 50-yard TD run by James Pich, and several long ground gains by Robert Bianco. Defensively, the Packers had three second half interceptions with Ray Webb's interception setting up Rob Tempesta's second touchdown of the day, while Sean Balsam's pass to Anthony Bonilla gave the Packers their fifth and final scoring drive of the day.

The JV Raiders improved to 3-1 after a tight defensive struggle with the Vikings on a wet day. The first half was filled with outstanding defense on both sides. Raider blitzes by Richie Sullivan in the first half and Andrew Presta in the second pressured the quarterback into interceptions by Jack Persampire, Ross Flanagan and a diving grab by Nick Panza. Paul McHugh really came through with numerous flag pulls and some fine work at the quarterback position. A really nice catch and run was made by Dominick Mayo. Ross Flanagan threw a long touchdown pass to Nick Panza and afterwards the Raiders added a key two-point conversion. The score was 14-6 with about two minutes to go when Richie Sullivan's "Statue of Liberty" play to Ross resulted in a touchdown. The Vikings came back after a fumbled snap for a safety which made the score 21-8. The Vikings quarterback Denis Donovan showed off his strong arm all day and connected on a touchdown bomb and an extra point to make the score 21-15 in what was an exciting finish. Coach John and Coach Zoli are so proud of the team's energy and enthusiasm and for the fact that everyone took a little piece of the field home with them on their uniforms.

The JV Jets beat the Browns 19-18 in a game that was decided in the final minute. Offensively for the Jets, Michael Castagnaro and Vincent Mavaro executed a perfect "stop and go" for the Jets' first score. Vincent hit Dominck Cotrone for another catch and run score. Mike Nicosia made a nice catch for an extra point and the Jets' final score came when Matt Santamaria faked the double reverse and rumbled the length of the field for a score. The final Jets highlight happened when Dominick Cotrone batted down a two point conversion pass that would have given the Browns the lead. Brett Davies and Aaron Powell were among several Browns who played well and almost pulled out a big win.