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CHAMPIONSHIP NOTEBOOK Championship Sunday was held for the first time at Howie Vogts Field at Bethpage High School. John Burns Park, the Massapequa facility which hosted the previous three Championship Sundays, was unavailable this year because the Massapequa Soccer Club’s annual tournament was being held the first weekend of December…The sunny but cold conditions (35 degrees with a biting wind) for Championship Sunday marked the first time since 2006—when the title games were held at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow—that it did not rain or snow…How do you put into perspective just how impressive it is that the Malverne Bills have won five straight Super Bowls? Try this: No other franchise in NCTFL history has even won as many as five championships. The Bills, of course, lead the way with 13 crowns while the Merrick Mavericks and Manhasset Steelers—the first two teams to win three in a row—each have four titles…The Bills, not surprisingly, also lead the way with 30 championship game appearances. No other team has even made as many as 10. The Mavericks and East Meadow Magics (who played under five different names in the 1970s and 1980s) each reached the championship game eight times. Three teams have played in the Super Bowl four times—the Steelers, Valley Stream Pioneers and Massapequa Stallions—while the Westbury Haulers just made their third appearance. Eight other teams have played for the Division I title twice apiece…Before this dynastic run, the Bills were synonymous with Super Bowl heartbreak, having lost consecutive Super Bowls five times, including four in a row from 1973-76. But the Bills are within shouting distance of evening their all-time Super Bowl record: These five wins have raised their record in the big game to 13-17…Bills QB Sean Sharkey was nearly perfect in the postseason. Sharkey was 59-of-79 for 757 yards, 11 TDs and no interceptions in the Bills’ three wins...Safety Connie Kazis, one of eight Bills to play on all five title-winning teams, said after Super Bowl XXXV that he may retire due to hip and shoulder injuries as well as a desire to spend more time with his family…The other five-time champion Bills: QB Pete Annarumma, DE Derek Broadnax, WR Bruno Gagliotta, center Rich Hofmann, QB Sharkey, K/P Christian Soto and LB/DE Anthony Zito…The Bills, who were seeded third in the six-team playoff field, are the first team to play on the opening weekend of the playoffs and win the Super Bowl since the Franklin Square Falcons won it all as the sixth seed in 2005…The Bethpage Chaos’ 7-0 win in the Touch Bowl was the lowest-scoring Touch Bowl since 1993, when the Bellmore Hurricanes beat the East Meadow Seasons 7-0. The Chaos’ shutout was also the first in the Touch Bowl since 2004, when the New Hyde Park Jaguars beat the Plainview Panthers, 14-0…Chaos WR/DB Vern Howard won his second straight Touch Bowl. He was a member of the Wantagh Regulators when they won it all last year…What the Valley Stream Bengals have accomplished in going from 2-27-1 in their first three years to the Touch Bowl in their fifth season also demands perspective and appreciation. The Bengals are one of six Division II teams to endure a season of two wins or less since 2006—and the only one still in the league…Congratulations to Barry Bekoff, who officiated his 33rd straight Super Bowl…Looking ahead to 2011: The Bills will surely be the favorites to win a sixth straight Super Bowl, but that bull’s-eye on their backs gets bigger every year. The Haulers seemed primed to finally break through this year and will be back for another shot, while the Levittown Lions will be just as hungry to be the ones to finally knock off the Bills…The Falcons won the Western Conference regular season championship in their first year back in Division I after a one-year sabbatical in D-II and seem ready to regain their status as a regular contender. The Mineola Colts have also established themselves as a perennially solid team and will attempt to take the next step with coach Jim Ambrosio calling the shots…Continued strides should be expected from the Plainview Panthers, who made their first D-I playoff appearance this year, and the Herricks Hellcats, who missed the playoffs but enjoyed a four-win improvement from last year. The Seasons, Regulators and Hempstead Tigers will all be regrouping after tough seasons…There may be room for a new champion in Division II if the Chaos makes the leap to D-I after winning two titles (one in Division III) in three years. The Bengals will be the favorite among the returning teams, followed by the Freeport Fire, who had their first winning season since 2006. The Valley Stream Wolverines, the most established of the D-II franchises, seemed to turn a corner by winning the South crown—their first since 2006—with a late surge while the Mineola Knights had a solid first year. The Hicksville Havoc will be in the mix for their first playoff spot since 2007 if they can fix their defense, which allowed a league-high 338 points…Thanks again to all team reps for being so prompt and attentive with sending me their highlights for usage in the NCTFL Report…And as always, we end the season by wishing you a happy holiday season and a safe, happy and healthy 2011. We’ll see you in the fall. |