For the Columbus Day Holiday weekend, players were invited to compete in another Light Side vs. Dark Side battle of the Force. At the start, the Dark Side was strong with the Force as Melissa Kelly intercepted the ball, then Lauren Zelazny threw a TD pass to Tina Mauro. Andrea Lopilato then intercepted another pass and ran it back for another TD for the Dark Side. The Light Side answered back with Kali Morrison running a Statue of Liberty play for a TD and then throwing a pass to Marisa D'Abbraccio for two extra points. On the Light Side's next drive, Marisa D. threw a pass to Taylor Verdi who ran for a TD. In the second half, it was Kelly MaGuire, for the Light Side, throwing a pass to Katie Waszkiewicz, who ran the ball for a TD, and Marisa Vanasco who ran the ball in for two extra points. Taylor then made a flag pull in the Dark Side's end-zone for a safety and on the next drive, ran the ball back 70 yards for a TD. Kelly then threw a pass to Marisa V for two extra points. The Dark Side was not giving up, however, Melissa threw a pass to Alexa Beach, followed by Tina running for a first down, followed by Melissa throwing a pass to Andrea, only to be stopped by Katie. On the Light Side's next drive, Kelly then threw a TD pass to Kali. This time it was the Light Side of the Force that prevailed with a final score of 38-12.
The Browns took it on the chin today by the Giants! Nonetheless, Stephen Pantano played a very spirited game on offense and defense: he displayed his speed on numerous runs, including a long TD run on a pitch from Luke Morales and he caught many Giants from behind while on defense to save long TD runs. Nicholas Pierro and Steven Klaur also contributed grit and effort on both offense and defense throughout the game.
Despite the Giants giving 110 percent and executing their best plays with near perfection, they were defeated by the Browns 12-6. On offense, Tom ran in the team's only TD while Justin and Matthew had great long runs. The defense gave the Browns a run for their money with flags being pulled everywhere by Jake, Joe, Justin and Matthew.
The Jets had a great day against the Jaguars. Nicolas Luc scored two touchdowns with great plays by Jesse Nicolich, Antjony Bhasin, Ryan Macris, Vincent Milkovic, Sean McCann, Spencer Alger and Anthony Pizzarelli.
In a defensive struggle, the Saints pulled out a 6-0 win over a tough Ravens team. The only score of the game saw Tommy Donovan throwing a pass to Brendan Gallagher, who zig-zagged and wiggled his way through the defense the entire length of the field. Defensively, Eric Rennard intercepted a pass that was tipped by Lewis Case; Cameron Casiano wrecked havoc with his pass rushing; Brendan Gallagher and Tommy Donovan never missed a flag pull; and Sammy Croes and PJ Nealon played shut down pass coverage.
Christian Walz connected on touchdown passes to James Roth and Matt Taylor, and caught a pass from Vinnie Rubino for another score as the Giants got by the Browns 20-14.
The Saints overcame a tough Ravens team this week behind the running and passing of Paul DeSimone (two TDs), Chris Moloney (two TDs), Nick Bhashin (two-point conversion) and Kevin McHugh at QB. The stingy Saints defense led by Kyle McGuinness, Ryan Goldberg and Sean Kildare held the Raven offense in check all game.
The shorthanded Saints' five players played the entire game in an old school, two-way game in a tough loss to the Ravens. Anthony Pantano led the undermanned Saints with fantastic TD rushes and precision passing while Mark Morales contributed a sack on defense and two TD receptions on really tough catches. Bobby Browne passed for multiple TDs and played tough defense. Jimmy Vasiliou played a tough, gritty two-way game while Joe Napoli had two great INTs and contributed mightily on offense.
The Giants beat the Browns 42-24 in a hard fought game. In the very first play, Michael Smith tipped the ball, Nick Albarracin caught it and returned it for a TD. Later, Mike Smith had a few nice receptions. Both Bobby Matson and Aaron Tucker were very effective running the football. On the defensive side, Kyle Reda picked up two interceptions. Michael Smith and Matt Carlin both picked up a sack each. With the win, the Giants improved to 3-2.
The Cardinals got past the Giants 24-7 thanks mostly from great two-way play from James Haraden, who recorded a safety and two touchdowns. Also scoring were Patrick Lively and PJ Spadalik. The Cardinals had a balanced offensive and defensive attack that featured Nick Eustaquio, Richie Sullivan, Dominick Mayo, Matt Santamaria, Jack Garner, Andrew Hanc and Frank Zazzarino.
The Ravens continue to play awesome football as a unified team. T.J., Jordan, James and Gregory all scored off the incredible arm of Denis. The defense stayed strong and played hard. Great pulls by Denis and E.J. to save Colt touchdowns. Great running game for Joe and Tyler. Altogether, the Ravens hung in there with outstanding offense and defense.
The Colts had another tough loss, this time to the Ravens 34-31. It was a big day though for Jonathan Smalkin who hauled in three TD catches and a sack. Joe Valente threw another TD to Chris Witt giving Joe four TD passes on the day. Kevin Jackowski ran back an INT for a TD and also scored on an extra point.
The Seahawks beat the Saints in a tough battle that wasn't decided until late in the second half. Andrew Presta scored a key TD for the Seahawks while Joe McBane came up with a big interception.
Coming off a humbling loss, the Ravens bounced back with a 33-13 win over the Jets. The Ravens were led on "D" by John Mckeon who put constant pressure on the Jets QBs. John had one sack, three flag pulls and pressured Jet QBs into throwing several INTs. Other Ravens notables: Danny "I'm back" Gilmore two TD receptions and a 50-yard run, Chris Roth one TD reception and one TD pass, Brendan Nocella two TD passes and one INT, Nico Rivera one INT returned for a TD and PJ Waskiewicz two INTs one returned for a TD. Jets notables: Nick Panza two TD receptions.