GCYFL Playoff and Halloween Updates Plus All Sorts of Sports Related Information

Sunday, October 20, 2024

We need to do a little catching up on Saturday night's doings. 

I preferred to shine that day's spotlight solely on Jacob's Camarillo Stingers Blue team's Gold Coast Youth Football League's Junior American Conference Playoff Game.

Let's start with a recap of Saturday's GCYFL playoff results, remembering that the two last place teams from the higher rated, ten team Junior National Conference were relegated to the American Conference Playoffs as the #3 and #4 seeds.

Junior American Conference Playoffs

First Round Results

Saturday, October 19, 2024

#1 seed North Valley Bears (7-0) - BYE

#8 seed Camarillo Stingers Blue (6-2) - 10

#9 seed Camarillo Stingers Grey (4-4) - 0

#4 seed Fillmore Raiders (0-8 in JNC) - BYE

#5 seed Santa Clarita Aztecs (7-1) - 46

#12 seed Simi Valley Bulldogs Orange (2-6) - 6

#2 seed Simi Valley Bulldogs Black (6-1) - BYE

#7 seed Saugus Spartans White (6-2) - 40

#10 seed Oxnard Knights (4-4) - 8

#3 seed North Oxnard Warriors (0-8 in JNC) - BYE

#6 seed Santa Clarita Wildcats White (6-2) - 30

#11 seed Calabasas Rams Gold (3-5) - 0

No surprises in the GCYFL's opening salvo of playoff games as the higher seeds all won their games.

Junior American Conference Playoffs

Quarter-Final Playoff Schedule

Saturday, October 26, 2024

#8 seed Camarillo Stingers Blue (6-2) at

#1 seed North Valley Bears (7-0)

#5 Santa Clarita Aztecs (7-1) at

#4 seed Fillmore Raiders (0-8 in JNC)

#7 seed Saugus Spartans White (6-2) at

#2 seed Simi Valley Bulldogs Black (6-1)

#6 seed Santa Clarita Wildcats White (6-2) at

#3 seed North Oxnard Warriors (0-8 in JNC)

Jacob's Camarillo Stingers Blue crew will play their game against the North Valley Bears on the road at Sylmar's El Cariso Community Regional Park at 7:00 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs as their are no stands at this field.

For the Blue squad, it will be their eighth game away from their "home" field at Camarillo H.S. this season.

GO STINGERS!

Our friends Jeff and Grace Festerling's son Camden plays his Pop Warner football for the El Rio Spartans Midget Black team.

The Spartans are members of the Pacific Youth Football League.

What are the differences between the

GCYFL and the PYFL, you ask?

The three that come to mind are that: A. the PYFL plays 12 minute Quarters while the GCYFL plays 10 minute Quarters; B. the PYFL has higher weight limits than the GCYFL hence the Midget players were anything but midgets in size; and C. the PYFL has an annoying habit of having their teams actually play their scheduled home games at their designated home field at Rio Mesa H.S.

I had promised to come to the Spartans' last game of the regular season to take some photos for the Festerlings to enjoy.

Just as with our grandson Jacob's game today, this game was an intra-organization game as as the El Rio Spartans Midget Black team was taking on the El Rio Spartans Midget Red eleven on Rio Mesa H.S.'s John Reardon Field.

The Festerling boy, #96, was a Captain

The Blacks were bigger but the

Reds looked faster

This double team is opening a

huge hole for a positive run play

The Black team relied on its

size advantage to run the rock

The Reds' team speed meant

excellent Defensive pursuit

Open Field Tackles are HARD to execute!

"Sir, would you like some

maple syrup with your pancake?"

The Pit was not for the faint of heart

Is this legal?

The Black team was on the march

I opted to beat the traffic and left the game at Halftime with the Blacks team leading 8-0.

I missed a wild Second Half as the Blacks (6-1) beat the Reds (3-4), 36-22.

College football was big on Saturday . . .

I have become more and more enamored with my now two favorite non-NIL, non-Transfer Portal universities. Let's see how they performed this weekend.

We'll start with the Navy game.

DOMINANT!

Navy Midshipmen (6-0, 4-0 AAC) - 51

Charlotte 49ers (3-4, 2-1 AAC) - 17

Six wins earn you a Bowl Bid!

The #24 ranked Midshipmen have a huge game next Saturday when they travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium to play a non-conference game against the independent, #12 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1).

A HUGE game indeed with lots of College Football Playoff implications!

What about Army, you wonder?

Another solid W!

Army Black Knights (7-0, 6-0 AAC) - 45

East Carolina Pirates (3-4, 1-2 AAC) - 28

The #23 ranked Black Knights have a bye next week before their first Commander-in-Chief Trophy game of the season on November 2nd, a non-conference contest at West Point against their academy rival Air Force Falcons (1-6, 0-4 Mountain West Conference).

The Army QB is a BALLER!

QB Bryson Daily has tied Army's all-time single season record for rushing TDs and still has five more regular season games, a bowl game and a possible AAC Championship Game to add to his totals.

Getting your name mentioned in the

same sentence with Army Legend

Elmer Oliphant is quite an honor!

Looking at Elmer Oliphant's image reminded me of the Illinois Fighting Illini's throwback helmets for their game on Saturday vs. the Michigan Wolverines.

Absolutely LOVED the Illinois look!

But no, they were definitely not leather helmets.

The throwbacks were to honor Fighting Illini great Harold "Red" Grange, a.k.a., "The Wheaton Iceman," on the 100 year anniversary of Grange's legendary 1924 game against the Wolverines when he scored four TDs in the first 12 minutes of the game leading Illinois to a 39-13 win.

The complete throwback Illinois uniform

Red Grange in 1924

 

I think I'm loving Red's high tech helmet even more than the throwback one.

Sunday's newest AP Top 25 Poll

Our unrankedWashington Huskies  (4-3, 2-2 BIG-10) had a bye this week and now face the surprising #13 ranked Indiana Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 BIG-10) on the road next Saturday.

As for NFL Sunday . . .

The Los Angeles Rams (2-4) were

hosting the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4)

The Raiders' (2-5) five Field Goals

were not enough to beat the Rams (3-4)

GO RAMS!

We also got some feedback from the IFAF World Championship European Qualifying Tournament.

Team Hungary with a surprising

Overtime win

Team Ireland's win was a solid one

No fancy graphics, but Team Germany hammered Team Great Britain, 49-11, and Team Denmark beat Team Switzerland, 27-7.

MLB's American and National League Championships were decided over the weekend.

The New York Yankees won their

41st American League Title on Saturday

A well deserved ALCS MVP honor

for Yankee Giancarlo Stanton

The Yankees have won a record

27 World Series Championships

 

On Sunday, the Dodgers won their

25th National League Pennant

Late season acquisition, NLCS MVP

Tommy Edmon was EN FUEGO!

The Dodgers and the Yankees meet

in the World Series for the 12th time

The Yankees hold the World Series lead over the Dodgers, 8-3.

The Dodgers have won a total of seven World Series Championships in their storied history.

More Trivia for the consideration

of the Sabolić-D'Antuono Consortium

On Sunday the kids came over to help Laurie decorate the yard for Halloween.

Michael insisted that neither

Laurie or I climbed the ladder

Mary getting looked at by

our favorite tree

A ghostly Jacob

We were making serious progress

How many Halloween decorations

do we actually own?

I'm guessing not enough in

Laurie's opinion

Not finished but the "Grave Yard"

is on its way for sure

The Trick or Treat Season

is upon us

We all enjoyed another excellent weekend in sleepy Camarillo.

GCYFL Playoffs, Round One

Saturday, October 19, 2024

On a bright but windy day at Oxnard's Pacifica H.S., grandson Jacob's Camarillo Stingers Blue team started their 2024 GCYFL playoff run.

The Gold Coast Youth Football League's

Junior American Conference Playoffs

were our brackets of interest

The Stingers Blue Team was the #8

Seed in the 12 team playoff

This first playoff game would be an

all Camarillo Stingers' affair between

the organization's Blue and Grey squads

Camarillo Stingers Blue Team

5 Wins - 2 Losses

#8 Playoff Seed

Season Results/Schedule

Santa Barbara Saints Black - Won 34-0

Simi Valley Bulldogs Orange - Won 38-14

Ventura Packers White - Won 30-6

Oxnard Knights - Won 36-28 OT

Simi Valley Bulldogs Black - Lost 8-20

Santa Clarita Wildcats White - Lost 0-8

Saugus Spartans Grey - Won 30-0

Oct. 19 vs. Camarillo Stingers Grey

Camarillo Stingers Grey Team

4 Wins - 3 Losses

#9 Playoff Seed

Season Results/Schedule

Saugus Spartans Grey - Won 36-0

Santa Clarita Grizzlies - Won 14-6

Santa Clarita Aztecs - Lost 0-32

Saugus Spartans White - Lost 12-24

Newbury Park Steelers Gold - Won 16-12

Santa Barbara Saints Black - Won 32-6

Calabasas Rams Gold - Lost 6-12

Oct. 19 vs. Camarillo Stingers Blue

Even with these two Camarillo teams playing each other, we still could not get the game played at Camarillo H.S., the Stingers' "home" field.

Theses two Junior teams were now participating in their combined 16th game of the season. The Blues have played one game at Camarillo H.S. and the Grey squad but two.

So much for home field advantage.

These two teams scrimmaged a few times in the pre-season in what were highly competitive, emotional and even affairs.

With lots of bragging rights on the line, the intensity today promised to fierce.

And it was.

One last pow-wow before we . . .

. . . kicked off the playoffs

The Blue team wore their all blue uniforms while the Greys were in all white.

Of course, both clubs were adorned by splashes of pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

#99, DE Jacob with last second

pep talk with his DT

Let the Pass Rushing commence!

It was physical in The Pit

Tackle for Loss

The Grey team threw well in the First Quarter

with a strong wind at their back

Great get-off by Blue D-Line

Grey RB turning the corner

Tackle for Loss by old #99

Battling for the Ball

The Grey DB was able to jar the ball loose on this acrobatic play.

Grey Down!

This Blue running play looks

quite promising

Hand-to hand combat

REVERSE!

Jacob stayed home and had a

big tackle for loss on the potentially

explosive reverse by the Greys

Excellent pressure on the Grey QB

Going DOWN!

Lots of movement of the ball up and down the field by both teams, but no scoring. The strong winds in their face made passing accuracy a tricky thing for the Blues.

End of the First Quarter

Camarillo Stingers Blue - 0

Camarillo Stingers Grey - 0

The Blues would have the wind now

Ground and Pound

Good tackle by this Grey defender

This Punt was the tipping point

Jacob provided a perfect long snap, as he would on all of our punts today, and our Punter boomed it down the field over the Grey return man's head. It would roll dead at the Grey's five-yard line.

The Blue crew had flipped the field and the game with one glorious Punt!

The Grey team's first play was a good one

Team Pursuit was the answer

This QB Sack put the kibosh on the drive

Michael was working both the

Down Marker and the Referees

Throwing into the now gale force

wind hurt the Greys on this pass

The Grey's turn to punt into the

wind meant only a ten-yard punt

The Blues were in business.

"BLOCK SOMEBODY!"

Don't you just love it when someone in the stands yells out this particular pearl of wisdom?

This might be a block in the back

Grey Down!

Again.

Big Run!

Deep into the Red Zone

More Blue's Ground game

This Counter play . . .

. . . to our right looks GREAT!

Grey Down!

Again.

Third and Goal at the millimicron line

The call was a pass out of a Shotgun formation which this Grey pass rusher totally disrupted forcing the Blue QB to scramble.

GO!

Grey Down in the End Zone!

The Grey Defense rallied to sack the scrambling Blue QB for a two yard loss.

This Fourth and Goal pass fell

harmlessly to the turf

The Greys had pulled off a gutsy Goal Line Stand.

The combined Contreras and Perez

Clans were in the house!

"Hey, George, how did you like the

Goal Line play calls?"

What would Paul Sabolić say?

It should be mentioned here that all of today's game photos were taken by my young bride, Laurie.

The team needed game management help, so I volunteered to act as the Spotter in the Press Box for Jordan, our game announcer.

Jordan did an excellent job and I was happy to have worked with him, sheltered out of the cyclone winds.

Jacob coming off the Edge

Keep BATTLING and something

GOOD WILL HAPPEN!

Here we go!

Attack and disrupt leads to . . .

. . . A SAFETY!

The Blues led 2-0 with 50.8 seconds left in the Second Quarter.

The Greys had to kickoff into the hurricane from their own 20-yard line after giving up the Safety.

This bode well for the Blues.

Good field position . . .

. . . plus good pass blocking. . .

. . . equaled plenty of time . . .

. . . for this play . . .

. . . that led to . . .

. . . a Blues . . .

. . . TOUCHDOWN!

The two-point PAT pass was complete as well, with 41.2 seconds left in the First Half, the Blues had extended their lead to 10-0 in a span of just 9.6 seconds.

WOW!

Back on Defense to stop any and

all Grey's Offense to end the Half

The Blue Defense answered the call

Halftime Score

Camarillo Stingers Blue - 10

Camarillo Stingers Grey - 0

The Blue Offensive Line looked

good but the Greys recovered a

fumble on this first play

Could the Blue Defense put out the fire?

Jacob with a QB Sack helped a lot!

Flushing the Grey's QB out of the pocket

The Blue's #15 had a GREAT game!

#15 with a QB Strip-Sack . . .

. . . that was recovered by the Blues!

Grey Defense up to the task

Michael and others on the sideline were feeling ill at ease as the Greys would simply NOT GO AWAY!

Grey Defense still swarming

The Blue Offensive Line to the rescue

Grey Down!

Again.

Blues Punting one more time

This looks good for the Blues

Uh-Oh

The Grey team on a big run

PURSUIT is the answer!

Two blocking one does not seem at all fair

Ripping and Running!

Both Defenses played well in this stanza. The pace was fast and furious.

End of the Third Quarter

Camarillo Stingers Blue - 10

Camarillo Stingers Grey - 0

The Grey team would now have the wind at their backs for the final ten minutes of this high stakes game.

HUGE play to start the Fourth Quarter

Emboldened by the element finally being in their favor, the Grey team took to the air but the Blue squad's Free Safety intercepted an errant aerial and returned it to mid-field.

The finish of the Blue's interception return

Wisely, with the wind in their face,

the Blues opted to run the ball and

eat up the clock with a two score lead

Grey Down!

Again.

Turn the corner and

STAY IN BOUNDS!

The Grey Defense continued to

play at a high level

Blocking and Tackling are still the

two basic fundamentals of the game

Run, Run, Run, Run, Run!

Grey Down!

Again.

A Sweep eating up time

and gobbling up yardage

Jacob might being doing something

illegal in picking up the ball well

before his next long snap

Good snap followed by a 15 yard punt

which, into today's wind, was good

Greys back to the air

Sacking the QB is the best way to

defend the pass

PASS RUSHING EVERY DOWN

Jacob and Michael on the sidelines

after the Blues got the ball back

Keep blocking and running the rock!

Another Punt long snap for Jacob

It was a short but time consuming drive. Everyone in a blue jersey was OK with it.

Another into the wind Blues' punt

was downed by a Grey

Another loss of yardage play for

the Greys to effectively end the game

YAHOO!

FINAL SCORE

#8 Camarillo Blue (6-2) - 10

#9 Camarillo Grey (4-4) - 0

This playoff win will surely lead to bragging rights being flexed at several Camarillo middle schools on Monday. That's the fun of playing and, more importantly, winning an intra-program playoff game.

With this playoff loss, the Camarillo Stingers Grey (4-4) team's 2024 season comes to an end.

Next up for our #8 Seeded Camarillo Stingers Blue (6-2) team is, guess what, another road game.

Next Saturday, October 26th we will drive to Sylmar to play the #1 Seeded North Valley Bears (7-0) in a Quarter-Final Playoff Game at El Cariso Community Regional Park. The Kickoff time has not yet been announced. The Bears should be well rested as they, along with the other three top Seeded teams, all had byes today.

It should be another good one.

As for the post-game afterglow of victory . . .

The adoring fans, including Jacob's

Grandfather Tito, escorting him to his

awaiting VIP stretch limo

The Blue team and their parents met

at Topper's Pizza across the street

from Pacifica H.S. for a post-game meal

But where is Jacob?

There he is on the right with

the cap on his dome

Thank you, Vanessa for taking this photo with a much better angle than the one I had.

Mary was eating light today

I seriously doubt it!

What a great way to end a fun

game experience for the Blues!

As for Jacob, I thought that he played a GREAT game with good long snaps 100% of the time on all of the Blue team's Punts and several Tackles for Loss and a QB Sack from his Defensive End position.

GREAT JOB BLUE TEAM!