Sacred Heart Flag Football had a great showing at both exhibition games today!

 

The Crusader Blue Flag team played in the Lamar County Classic squaring off against a very talented Sumrall team. The format for the competition was a game simulation in which each team was allowed 10 consecutive offensive plays to score from their own 20 yard line. No first downs. 

 

Despite being down one older player who contracted a virus earlier in the week and facing one of the best Sumrall teams, the Crusader Blues performed very well. They kept things simple with handoffs and sweeps during their offensive possession and were able to score twice. When Sumrall took possession of the ball they boasted at least two offensive formations complete with fakes and passes. Sumrall's efforts resulted in four scores during the competition. But, not before the Crusaders had two tackles (flag pulls) for losses and broke up three pass plays. After the game, Coach Joe commented, "Our boys looked really good. They're all new to this, but they're their aggressive and they play hard. We have things to work on but for our first game we looked good. We're very proud of the boys. I think one of the reasons our kids did so well was the support from the cheerleaders. It's hard not to do your best when you have so many fans pulling for you. The Crusader Cheerleaders are a big reason for our fan support. We really appreciate everything the cheerleaders and their coaches do to keep us motivated. "

 

 

The Crusader White Flag team participated in the First Annual Hattiesburg Classic. Competition organizers setup the games to mimick regular season play with two 20 minute halves and an 8 minute halftime. The clock runs continuously and first down are enforced.  

 

The Crusader White team faced a new opponent in the Runnelstown squad. Like the Blue team, Sacred Heart White was missing two players who had prior obligations. Despite these personnel gaps and a 30 minute game delay, the Crusaders showed up ready to play! Runnelstown won the coin toss but elected to defer until the second half. The Crusaders gladly took possession of the ball on their own 20 yard line and went to work on a three play drive that would end in a touchdown with a successful two point conversion. Runnelstown answered back with a two play scoring drive. The Crusader defense were "shocked awake" by the long score and responded by stopping Runnelstown for a 6 yard loss on the point after attempt. Energized by the defensive stand, the Crusaders offense strung together another four plays that would end in a touchdown and successful extra point conversion. Heading into halftime, the Crusaders boasted a 14- 6 lead. The second half saw the Sacred Heart White defense become even more aggressive. The offense would tack on another touchdown with a 60yard misdirection play that was only intended to gain 5 yards and setup a pass. Runnelstown's enjoyed the last possession of the game and were able to convert a touchdown with only 30 seconds to play. The extra point try would have tied the game but the Crusader defense were not about to submit. Down 22-20, Runnelstown ran a QB sweep right that looked like it would be successful. That is, until a veteran Crusader "deflagged" the ball carrier on a diving grab. When asked what he thought about the game Coach Frank said, "Wow! Our guys were awesome. The offense was crisp and our defense became stronger as the game went on. We played together and would not give in. Sure we have room for improvement, but this is an outstanding start. And, I want you to know I can't say enough positive things about our cheer squad. They showed up here ready to motivate the fans and kept us going throughtout the game. You can imagine how much our players love the attention and support. Outstanding effort from our cheerleaders and their coaches! You gotta love Crusader Football!"