East Coast March Madness Tournament

YOUNG PANTHERS WITH ANOTHER FINE SHOWING AT THE 12-14 LEVEL

Moving up to the 12-14 age bracket has been a smooth transition for the two-time NFL Flag 9-11 year old National Champion. In January’s NIT at the Meadowlands they finished second to the NFL Flag 12-14 national champion, MoSteel from Miami. Over this past weekend, in the March Madness Tournament run by Dave Styss of the NJFFA the Panthers had a third place finish. They finished third only because the team they played in the semi-final game was stacked with age max players all near or already fifteen years of age.

The March Madness Tournament was going very well for the New York Panthers until they faced the Broncos from New Jersey in their fourth game of the day. After winning their first three games, the Panthers met up with the Broncos in an action packed semi-final game. This group of much older, bigger, stronger, well-coached boys reminded the young Panthers that their first year in the 12-14 year old division will hit some speed bumps. Despite the size difference, the boys from New York played well enough to have a chance to win in the last minute of the game. With the ball on their opponent’s 12 yard line, the Panthers committed a couple of uncharacteristic errors that gave the game to the New Jersey squad. “This type of game will make our boys both better players and better people. It was a true test of their will to compete regardless of the odds being stacked against them”, says coach Jimmy Gavalas.

In the first three games the Panthers beat teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the fourth game, the boys lost to the Wayne Broncos from New Jersey in a close heated semi-final battle. In the 3rd place game, the Panthers beat a team from Syracuse.

"We will keep the boys focused at the task at hand which is to learn to play the game of football correctly, to develop their football skills and to let them have fun", says Panthers coach Eddie Roscigno.