Labor Day weekend felt more like Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day as V.I. teams joined seven Puerto Rico teams to participate in the Heads Up, Heads Together Flag Football Tournament in Junco, Puerto Rico.
Kevin Dowdy, President of the USVI Excalibur Flag Football League, expressed a desire to showcase the league outside the shores of territory at the Fourth Annual Tintawee Stop Gun Violence Flag Football Tournament held on St. Thomas earlier this year.
“The last time we held an event in St. Thomas, I spoke to my board about branching out to Puerto Rico to see how that would be, said Dowdy in a phone interview. “I reached out to one of my colleagues at Central High School’s Spanish Department, Mrs. Torres, who regularly organizes trips with the students to Puerto Rico. I asked her if she knew anyone who had access to a field in Puerto Rico. She put me in contact with Mrs. Jacqueline Santiago, one of the sports directors at the Department of Recreation and Sports Municipal of Junco.” This interaction gave birth to this event, he said.
The Heads Up, Heads Together Flag Football Tournament was broken into four divisions: 6-11, 12–14, 15-18, and 18 and older. In the 6-11 age group, Xceqters from St. Croix defeated Spartans from Puerto Rico two times to win this division. The same two clubs also were the only teams entered in the 12-14 division. The Spartans won both games to take home the belt in this age group. Championship belts similar to those given to boxing champions were awarded to the winning teams.
Five teams battled in the 15-18 pool. The Lil Rebels from St. Thomas were crowned champions with a 4-1 record. The Puerto Rico Dolphins were second with a 3-2 record. The Spartans and the Giants, teams based in Puerto Rico, ended the tournament with a 2-2 record. Vendetta, out of Sr Croix, lost all four games they played.
In the adult division, the Swordz, a team of players from St. Croix and St. Thomas, won all three of their games. The other two teams in this division were from Puerto Rico, the Giants and the Dolphins.
The league gave out five individual awards in each division. The first is the Bunny Award to the player who collected the most flag pulls. The players with the most touchdowns and interceptions were recognized. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player was also selected. The final award, the Excalibur Award, was the highest honor, and went to the athlete who best demonstrated respect and sportsmanship on and off the field.
The Pancake Award was only given in the adult division to the individual who blocks the most defenders to the ground.
Awardees were:
6-11 Division
Bunny Award: Juan Charles, Xceqters
Most Touchdowns: Jah’shy Francis, Xceqters
Most Interceptions: Jah’shy Francis, Xceqters
MVP: Jah’shy Francis, Xceqters
Excalibur Award: Soren Vohra, Spartans
12-14 Division
Bunny Award: Dereck Rosa’s Saez, Spartans
Most Touchdowns: Leonardo Poupolo, Sartans
Most Interceptions: Leonardo Poupolo, Spartans
MVP: Leonardo Poupolo, Spartans
Excalibur Award: Terrance Charles, Xceqters
15-18 Division
Bunny Award: Sammer Yusuf, Lil Rebels
Most Touchdowns: Jean-René Oriol, Lil Rebels
Most Interceptions: Bryce Richardson, Lil Rebels
MVP: Jean-René Oriol, Lil Rebels
Excalibur Award: Jeffrey Boschulte, Lil Rebels
18 and Over Division
Bunny Award: Colin Stevens, Swordz
Most Touchdowns: Trevor Patrick Jr., Swordz
Most Interceptions: Trevor Patrick Jr., Swordz
MVP: Trevor Patrick Jr., Swordz
Pancake Award: Garvin Douglas, Swordz
Excalibur Award: Alejandro Santiago, Giants
Excalibur Flag Football League thanks James Funeral Home; Justin Curtis Smith of Lion Haven; Calvert White of the USVI Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation; James Dental; and Director Jaqueline Santiago of the Puerto Rico Dpto. Recreacion y Deportes Municipal de Juncos, for their support of this event.
