6th, 8th Grade Framingham Youth Teams Win Bay State Superbowl

Sunday, the Bay State Division superbowl was held at Bowditch Field.

In addition to the superbowl, the Presidents Cup was hosted by Natick. Framingham's 5th grade and 7th grade teams qualified for their respective age brackets.

The 5th grade time earned the bye for the first round of their tournament.

The 7th grade Flyers extended their season with their 14-0 win over Natick in the opening round of the Presidents Cup on Saturday. For the first three quarters, the game was the battle of the defenses. Entering the final quarter of regulation, the score was knotted at 0-0.

With time winding down in the fourth quarter, quarterback Aaron Shapiro would find tight end Jose Morales for the go-ahead touchdown. Jayden Avila-Bailey would tack on the extra point(s) with his field goal, making the score 8-0 Framingham.

After fielding the ball on the kickoff, Natick would attempt to pass in order to move the ball quickly. It would be Morales once again with a touchdown after breaking into the backfield and swatting down a lateral pass. The ball bounced perfectly into his arms and he cradled it on the way to his second touchdown of the game. The extra point would not be converted, but it would not matter. Framingham walked away with the 14-0 win over Natick.

The 7th graders will play Lincoln-Sudbury next week at 2:30 p.m. in Needham.

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The 6th grade Flyers hosted Walpole at Bowditch for their superbowl matchup. In this game, the Flyers would utilize big play after big play after big play to control all three phases of the football game, offense, defense, and special teams. 

The Flyers scored twice in the first quarter. Derek Spindler had a 75-yard run and Johnsued Lanzo would run in the extra point to give the Flyers a quick 7-0 advantage.

After forcing Walpole to turn the ball over on downs, quarterback Evan Sleight tossed a screen to receiver David Benjamin-Reyes which quickly developed into a 70-yard touchdown pass. Devin Pascual-Francis would run in the extra point to give the Flyers a 14-0 lead at the end of the quarter.

Framingham would kick off to start the second quarter, but Walpole would not possess the ball. Lanzo would fly downfield before Sleight threw an interception in the red zone of Walpole territory. The turnover would not be costly however, as Walpole would turn the ball over on downs. Eager to do more for his team, Lanzo would sprint to a 47 yard touchdown, and Spindler would add the extra point. 21-0 Flyers going into halftime.

Framingham would receive the ball opening the third quarter, and the Flyers would waste no time scoring. Pascual-Francis would pick up the ball and proceed to the endzone with a kick return touchdown. The Flyers would miss their first extra point of the day, leaping out to the 27-0 lead.

That was not all for the Flyers. Not yet.

Sleight would run in a touchdown of his own and then kick the field goal for the extra point to make the score 35-0. Upon the kickoff, Jason Klein would recover the ball for the Flyers, sprinting down the field and beating the Walpole players to the ball.

With the Flyers pounding the ball up the middle in the fourth quarter, it was only a matter of time until the offensive line would spring somebody loose. Lanzo would have an 80-yard touchdown run straight up the middle due to the brilliant blocks by the offensive linemen. Bobby Manion would score the extra point and the Flyers would finish their scoring after laying 43 points on Walpole's defense.

The Rebels would add a late touchdown, but that would be all, as Framingham rolled to the 43-6 victory to advance to the State Championship in Leominster next weekend. The time is to be announced.

Later Sunday, Framingham's 8th grade team hosted Norwood in their superbowl. The flyers would strike first on a Charles Joiner-James 20-yard touchdown run. The Flyers continue to struggle with extra points though, as they did not convert a single on during the game. It did not however hurt them. After later receiving the ball back in their own territory, the Norwood defense would rally and score a safety, making the score 6-2 Flyers. Norwood would almost score again on an interception by quarterback Sean Coote, but Joshua Davis's huge hustle play paid off, catching the Norwood defender at the 10 yard line. The Flyer D would hold strong and put up a goal line stand to prevent Norwood from scoring before the half. At the half, it would be 6-2 Flyers.

The game would only be close for a little while longer before Joiner-James scored his second touchdown of the day, making it 12-2 Flyers at the end of the third quarter. With Norwood passing the ball to gain ground fast, Edrick Meuse had an interception to set up the Flyers in the Mustangs' red zone. The fullback, John Pine, would carry the ball repeatedly until finally scoring from a few yards out.

With only a minute to go, the Flyers led 18-2 and were kicking off. Norwood would only get off a few plays for negative yardage before the clock ran out.

For the second year in a row, this team of Flyers are Bay State Superbowl champions.

Next week the Flyers will play Charleton Dudley in Leominster at 6 p.m.

Congratulations and go Flyers!