During the inaugural season of the partnership between the Summer Dreamers Academy and the Pittsburgh Flag Football League (PFFL), hundreds of children participated in the day camp hosted by Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS).
After six weeks of regular season games in what will certainly go down as one of the most humid summers for the city of Pittsburgh in recent memory, teams from University Prep, Carmalt, and Pittsburgh King battled each other at Cupples Stadium over the last two days of camp.
Prior to the playoffs I felt that the JETS and RAIDERS from Carmalt both had excellent opportunities to contend for the Lower Division Championship. Moreover, I believed that either the TITANS and 49ERS would end up in a battle with U-Prep’s VIKINGS for the Upper Division trophy, who went 7-1 during the regular season.
Unfortunately for Camp Carmalt, the JETS and RAIDERS both lost in their first games of the Lower Division playoffs.
As the site coordinator at Camp Carmalt I saw first-hand the potential that my teams showed each week. In the Upper Division, the 49ERS and TITANS played three epic games including a thrilling 38-33 49ERS win in Game 2. While the TITANS were victorious two out of three times against the 49ERS, I felt that the 49ERS five-game winning streak prior to their season finale loss was sufficient evidence to predict that the NINERS would be able to score at will in the playoffs.
Unfortunately for the NINERS, the VIKINGS were simply too effective defensively for the red-and-gold to have any shot at advancing to the championship game.
Although the TITANS went on to annihilate the VIKINGS in the championship game 24-6, I still felt like the VIKES validated their 7-1 record by beating a very talented 49ERS team.
As far as the TITANS are concerned, I could not be more proud of the job that Coach Jim and his players did of “playing within the moment.” Instead of celebrating to the high heavens every time something positive occurred for the TITANS, the team simply regrouped and prepared for the next play.
Out of all of the memories that I will carry with me from the PFFL’s first stint with the Summer Dreamers, the one that will stand out for a long time will be the opportunity that I had to provide on-camera commentary of the Upper Division championship game. Quietest kept, I am an avid fan of ESPN First Take. Even though I’m not headed for stardom following my interview with the PPS media team, for one day I felt like I was Stephen A. Smith.
