Waldorf, MD. (AP) April 15 -- If NFL scouts were on hand for the Opening Day of the Southern Maryland Youth Flag Football League in Charles County, they surely would have seen the future of the NFL when they watched the Semi-Pro Packers take the field. After countless weeks of practice (twice a week) and even more work at home behind the scenes, the players were chopping at the bit to take the field and put all their skills and plays to the test against someone other than their own teammates. The other team knew right away they were in trouble as Jonathan Campbell pumped up the team with a little �WHO ARE WE?!?!?�
The day got off to a great start when the Captains for the day, Chance Bikowski and Jalen Barnes, won the coin toss and chose to go on offense first. The Packers carried that momentum onto the field, where it only took 2 plays for Alexander Hodge to hook up with Jalen for a 15 yard gain. That was followed up by a perfect pass to Curtis Dockett for the day�s first touchdown. Curtis also converted on a 2-point conversion. Curtis wowed the crowd and the Chiefs with his sharp routes and sure hands. As Coach Chris put it, �nobody cuts sharper than Curtis and can catch so well on a dead sprint.�
Apparently the Packers don�t like to play defense. Because on the second offensive play for the Chiefs, Chance intercepted a long pass down the sidelines to give the ball right back to the Packers offense. Alex then hooked up right away with Jalen again for another score. The offense seemed to click all day long. Jonathon had several long runs with so many moves that he faked out Coach Chris!! When Alex wasn�t throwing TD passes, he was catching them and making long runs. Jalen also took control of the offense as the QB and spent some time on defense as a Safety. Aaron Garcia served most of his time on offense as the center, but when he wasn�t snapping the ball, he was calling the plays as QB. After a brief stint as QB, Aaron jumped over to help Coach Craig on defense. Aaron spent time as the defensive �rusher� and came close to several sacks as he pressured the opposing QB relentlessly all day.
The defense is anchored by Chance and Nathan Corsey. Nathan frustrated the Chiefs all day with his �blanket-like� coverage. He broke up several passes and helped pull countless flags. When he wasn�t shutting down the other teams� offense, Nathan was assisting the offense with a successful 2-point conversion. Chance also took an end-around hand off and ran in for a two point conversion. Evan Aragon decided he didn�t want Nathan to be the only �shut-down� defender the Packers have, so he put on a clinic with his coverage skills. �The ball was never thrown in his direction� Coach Craig said of Evan, �He listened to me in practice when I said that if you cover like glue off the line, you take that receiver out of the play, and that�s exactly what Evan did all day.� With the coverage provided by Evan, Nathan and Chance, it enabled James Brown to be an effective rusher. �James was able to put pressure on the Chiefs� QB all day and force them to basically throw �hail-mary passes� deep down the field. When James wasn�t rushing the QB, he was snapping to him. On offense, James set the standard in good snaps and allowed the Packers� QB�s to quickly get the ball and begin the play.
Vincent Brunson showed what hustle is all about. Leading the team in almost every defensive category, Vincent grabbed the most flags and batted down the most balls. �I have never seen a player be EVERYWHERE THE BALL WAS like Vincent was this weekend� said Coach Chris. �I was worried that he wouldn�t have enough energy left to help out on offense because he was going so hard on defense�, he added. Vincent showed that plays can be made with pure hustle. Don�t be surprised if by the end of the season, Vincent owns the world record for most flags grabbed in one season!