The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Flag Football Finals is scheduled to get underway at the Winton Rugby Field starting at 2pm this Sunday.

The Fidelity/Money Maxx Phoenix Fire will battle against the Caro Contractors Lady Avengers in Sunday’s opening match in women’s division.

Meanwhile, the Oasis Team Red Dot will face the EDLC Lions. The four teams are competing for the 2023 Bahamas Flag Football League (BFFL) title honours. With last year’s defending champions for the women’s division Paradise Games Wildcats and men’s Avengers teams now gone from the postseason, there will be a new champion crowned this Sunday.

The Phoenix Fire are looking to capitalise on their semifinals momentum after stopping the Wildcats’ quest to four-peat.

The Fidelity team upset the defending champions, winning 8-6 over the 2023 BFFL pennant winners.

Ultimately, they booked their ticket to the finals against the Lady Avengers.

Jayson Clarke, head coach of Phoenix Fire, talked about the expectations of his team.

“I expect to win to be honest. I think it is going to be a very evenly matched game, they beat us the first time we played and we beat them the second time we played in the regular season, so it is really going to come down to managing the game, coaching and execution,” Clarke said.

Overall, the head coach said it was a good season for the league but despite the underperformance of his team in the regular season as the fourth seed, he felt they proved what they were made of after taking down the Wildcats.

The Lady Avengers solidified their spot in the finals after dropping the Sands Passion Fruit Hawks 7-6. Now with the Phoenix Fire being the only team separating them from the championship hardware, expectations are high.

Cordero Fernander, head coach of the Avengers, said he expects the team to bring it in the final game of the season.

“I expect the team to play this game like it’s the last game of the season, the girls put in work all season [long] so their fruits are going to bear into fruition after Sunday,” Fernander said.

He added that the team is preparing in all aspects and are not taking the Phoenix Fire lightly after they defeated the three-time champions. The Lady Avengers have watched film and refined their craft ahead of Sunday’s game.

For the men’s division, the Lions entered the finals after winning over the Predators 10-6. Despite it being a good win for the team, their quarterback Theran Evans got a hyperextended knee injury in the victory, leaving them shorthanded going up against Team Red Dot.

Evans said the team’s expectations are the same as any team to win the championship by any means.

He added that preparation has been a bit hard because they had to prepare now with the backup quarterback, but they will just have to stick to their game plan despite knowing the tendencies of Team Red Dot.

Meanwhile, Team Red Dot charged to the finals after sending home last year’s champions - the Avengers. They defeated the men’s team 29-0.

Edward Campbell, head coach of Team Red Dot, said preparation has been going good so far and the team has been as focused as they have been all year.

With it being the team’s first time in the flag football finals, the coach said they have been focusing and preparing for this moment for a while.

In addition, he said the things they did in the regular season games mean nothing if they do not come away with the championship.

Games begin at 2pm and tickets are $6 for fans and kids under 12 get in free.