BENICIA
– The Central Coast Barnstormers were defeated 14-7 in double
overtime of the AFC championship Saturday by the Capital City Fury.
The Fury advance to the Golden State Amateur Football League
championship on Aug. 2 and will face the Daly City Renegades at
Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. Game time i
s 2 p.m.
BENICIA – The Central Coast Barnstormers were defeated 14-7 in double overtime of the AFC championship Saturday by the Capital City Fury.
The Fury advance to the Golden State Amateur Football League championship on Aug. 2 and will face the Daly City Renegades at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. Game time is 2 p.m.
“It was a defensive battle more than anything else,” said Barnstormer coach Norm Kabbani. “Both defenses played quite well. It was very difficult to move the ball against them. It has been a journey. We had a great a run.”
In each of the four years, the Barnstormers, who finished with an 11-2 overall record, have improved on the previous season.
“The growth last year and this year has been phenomenal,” Kabbani said. “The individual and team development was at its best over the last two years, which we had winning records in.”
With the score tied at 7-7, the game went into overtime. NCAA tie breaker rules were used. Instead of the sudden death in the NFL, each team received a shot to score after starting on the 25-yard line.
Neither team was able to score in the first overtime. The Fury scored in the second overtime to put the pressure on. The Barnstormers couldn’t respond and were eliminated from the playoffs.
The Barnstormers were hurt by a pair of missed field goals in the game – one was blocked and the other was muffed.
The Fury got on the board first in the second quarter with a touchdown catch to take a 7-0 lead. And going into halftime, the Barnstormers were still down by a touchdown.
“We decided to open up the offense a little more and throw the foot ball instead of running it like we did in first half,” Kabbani said. “We continued with the passing game, which opened up the running game to give us a better balance.”
In the third quarter, the Barnstormers tied it up after David Gittens 52-yard punt return. He returned five punts on the day for 134 yards.
Quarterback Bryan Smith, a Hollister High alum, found Rigo Munoz, who made his lone reception in the game for the six-yard touchdown.
Smith had an off day as the head of the pack. He threw three interceptions and was 14-for-34 for 204 yards.
“His receivers were having a real tough time getting separation from their defenders,” Kabbani said.
Lance Goularte led the receivers with five catches for 66 yards, and Gittens had two catches for 63 yards.
Silvestre (three for 43 yards) and Raymond Cook (two for 35 yards) also contributed in the reception department.
Tommy Jimenez rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries, Arvin Silvestre gained 19 yards on 14 caries and Jamar Smith gained 16 yards on a pair of caries.
The Barnstormers were able to clean up the ten turnovers from the previous week. The team did not have any fumbles against the Fury.
On the other hand, the Central Coast defense forced four turnovers. Two were on interceptions by Tim Moran and George Plaza, and two were on fumble recoveries by Michael Misfud and Joseph King.
The Barnstormer mini camps begin on the first Saturday of October and runs through the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Anyone is welcome to try out. The camps resume on the first Saturday in January.
Beginning in February, preseason practices in full gear are held.
And the team begins playing exhibition games in March before the season begins in April.
Anyone interested in playing or sponsoring the team should call coach Kabbani at 238-7246. Details: eteamz.com/centralcoastbarnstormers or go to gsafl.com.
