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EMPOWERING OUR YOUTH THROUGH ACTION
YALD is committed to provide the advocacy, educational and physical development that will strengthen community’s future.
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SUMMARY
END OF SEASON - DECEMBER 13th, 2020
From the entire YALD community, we would like to give a special thank you to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Although difficult at times, we managed to give our community an outlet where for a brief period, they can take their mind off of the pandemic. Covid-19 has taken its toll on the education of our children and their mental and physical well-being. Being on the field, interacting with their peers and receiving tutelage from our coaches has benefited them immensely. With the safety measures we’ve implemented, we had a zero-positivity rate within YALD. Once again, Thank you for everything you have done for our community.
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success – Henry Ford. YALD would be nothing without it’s volunteers. We would like to take a moment and acknowledge our coaches. They’ve spent a tireless number of hours contributing to the organization and their time and effort is not going unnoticed. We would also like to thank the parents of the
participants. Week in and week out they came to cheer on their teams.
The 2020 YALD Season was nothing short of spectacular. It’s only fitting that such an extraordinary the season would have a finale worthy of its theme. With a limited number of spaces, the Falcons, Buccaneers and 49ers edged out the competition and partook in our newly formatted playoff system. Throughout the season, all teams exhibited skill and determination to advance this far and we congratulate them.
First playoff game pitted the Buccaneers versus the 49ers. Both organizations are very well coached and the discipline on the field shows. Joshua Hernandez struggled against a feisty 49ers defense. Despite throwing two interceptions and getting sacked, he managed to find a streaking Beelgin Nieves for a touchdown score. On the defensive side of the ball, Michael Lembert did the rest. He returned an interception for a touchdown score and had a total of 8 flags. The 49ers surged towards the end but it wasn’t enough as the Buccaneers won the first game by a score of 13 to 12.
Second game, the Buccaneers took on the Falcons. This was a defensive battle throughout. Both teams struggled to find the endzone until Michael Lembert took a handoff and scored the games only touchdown. The Falcons added a safety late. Buccaneers win this one by a score of 6 – 2. With this being the Buccaneers second win, they automatically advance to the championship game.
With both teams nodded and tied with one loss a piece, the ever so critical last game to see who advances to the championship game were played. Knowing what was at stake, the 49ers battled the Falcons. Colin Rodriguez needed to play with a sense of urgency and he did. He went 16 for 24 and threw 3 touchdowns. 2 of those touchdowns went to Jayden Pena. Devon Valley also played a critical role and had 7 receptions and 1 touchdown. Valiant effort by the Falcons but the 49ers won this game by a score of 20-13 punching their ticket to the championship game.
Buccaneers and 49ers were on deck to see who would be the 2020 Champions. In a prestigious and a milestone year, both teams were looking to climb mount YALD and carry the mantle as champions. Ironically, it also matched former standout turned coach Kevin Camilo against his former coach and Jason Cedeno. Quarterback Joshua Hernandez needed to play an outstanding game against a veteran defense to have a fighting chance and that he did. He completed 33 or 49 passes. Michael Lembert caught 10 passes and Beelgin Nieves caught 12 passes and a total of 3 touchdowns. The 49ers came on strong and managed to tie the game at 20-20. With under a minute left, the Buccaneers Michael Lembert gave them an ever so important first down. A few plays later with seconds remaining on the clock, Joshua Hernandez found Adonys Perez for the game winning score. The Buccaneers win the game 26-20 and make them your 2020 YFFL Champions.
Written By: Kelvin Valentin
HEAD REFEREE KELVIN VALENTIN (L)
ASSISTANT REF CARLOS CASTELLANOS (R)