CANTON -- July 21, 2024 -- In a game where every possession would matter, Staten Island Giants coach Michael Colt knew he couldn't afford to waste any opportunities.
So when his team went on offense with a minute and a half left before intermission, he was looking for momentum.
Staten Island found it, and the pivotal series propelled the Giants to a 28-7 victory over the APEX Predators Chargers in the Girls 18U title game at the NFL Flag Championships on Sunday in Canton, Ohio.
"I wanted to steal a possession at the end of the half, even if we had to use all three timeouts," Colt said. "I just wanted to steal that possession because I knew that they were coming out with the ball (for the second half), and I didn't want to have that momentum switch.
"We had a big play, got a few yards down the field, and I said, 'Hey, we're gonna go all in on this drive.' And you know, that's what we did."
The Giants completed four consecutive passes to move the ball to the Chargers' 6 with time for one more play before halftime. A defensive holding call in the end zone then gave Staten Island an untimed down from the 1.
Valentina Fanetti hit Olivia Rijo with a quick dart for a 14-7 lead, and the Giants never looked back.
Fanetti, who had misfired on her first three pass attempts, reeled off 14 consecutive completions with four touchdowns (plus four conversions) in earning game Most Valuable Player honors.
"I will owe it to the girls," she said afterward. "They told me what they saw out there; I told them what I saw out there. We gave it our all.
"We all agreed to just run our routes 100 percent no matter what. Decoy, getting the ball, extra second look, third look. We all ran our routes hard. and that's what a championship team does."
After her rough start, which included a sack on the first play from scrimmage, Fanetti got locked in and later found Jade Mazziotta from 15 yards out for the Giants' first score, tying the game at 7-7.
Allison Gandlin, who at NFL Honors early this year was named NFL Flag Player of the Year, caught two touchdown passes in the second half -- from 8 and 5 yards, the latter coming one play after APEX Predators turned the ball over on downs.
The Chargers looked sharp early, moving rapidly with their first possession.
Brooklyn Hill snagged a perfectly placed throw from Maci Joncich and snuck her foot into the back corner of the end zone to give APEX a 7-0 lead.
Joncich finished with only 58 yards passing, however, as the Giants constantly pressured her and covered well. Jaylani Palmer made four catches for 32 yards.
Rijo and Gandlin combined for 11 receptions for 94 yards for the Giants.
Fanetti finished 14-of-17 for 116 yards and no turnovers. She said her quiet postgame exterior belied her true feelings.
"I'm definitely feeling emotional. You can't see it now, but I'll probably cry about this later," she said. "These girls are really family. … We're together because we're the best 10 as a family. We really are there for each other, and I get teary when I say this, but I love every single one of these girls, always. And I'll always have their backs."
The win capped a long journey for the Giants.
"So this group of young women, we started this program in 2019," Colt said. "Some of these girls were part of our first team that we ever decided to travel with. In 2021, during COVID, we lost our co-founder, Coach James. Later that year, we came back at NFL Flag Nationals and won our first national championship in the 14U girls division. … To come back and win it where we first won our first summer nationals, to come back and finish the girl's story here, is just an amazing experience."
Stephanie Kwok, an NFL vice president in charge of Flag Football, deemed the weekend in Canton a success.
"It was everything we hoped for and more," she said of the 280-team tournament. "Being able to showcase all these teams, all of these boys, all of these girls. To make sure that they had a weekend where they were the focus, and they were spotlighted.
"And then having that broadcast, I think that the broadcast was amazing. ESPN did such a good job showcasing all of the teams. And just walking around the grounds, there was so much energy from all of the parents, coaches and players," she continued. "It was just a great experience here at the Hall of Fame."
Semifinals
APEX Predators Chargers 28, Bad Rabbits Raiders 7
In their semifinal, Joncich and Palmer connected on four scoring plays, including a length-of-the-field 45-yarder, as APEX beat the Bad Rabbits Raiders, 28-7.
APEX scored first on a safety following a Bad Rabbits fumble in the end zone. On the ensuing possession, Joncich found Palmer, who made a nifty toe-tap in the back corner of the end zone, for a 13-yard scoring play.
The Bad Rabbits scored on the final play of the first half -- Camila Urzua passing 4 yards to Sofia Ayala -- and converted to make it 9-7. The pair had connected on a 14-yard pass to set up the score.
That momentum carried over into the second half, with the Bad Rabbits taking the initial possession into scoring range, but a Sinai Carter interception for APEX stopped the drive.
Two plays later, Palmer made an over-the-shoulder catch and took the Joncich pass 45 yards. Another interception, by Hill, set up a short field moments later. Joncich and Palmer connected from the 2 to push the lead to 22-7.
In final minute, the tandem closed the scoring with a 3-yard TD play.
Joncich completed 11 of her 17 passes for 143 yards. Palmer had six receptions for 94 yards.
For the Bad Rabbits, Urzua completed 11 of 20 passes for 104 yards. Ayala had six receptions for 53 yards.
Staten Island Giants 7, Texas Fury Falcons 0
Fanetti found Janasia Wilson on a third-and-goal pass from the 7 for the game's only score as the Giants won a defensive battle. The winning play came with 2:06 left.
The Fury responded by driving to the 11 in the waning seconds, but an incompletion at the 2 ended the game.
Staten Island put together the only serious threat of the first half, but a pass break-up in the end zone by the Fury's Hannah Jayes ended the drive. The Giants also drove deep on their first possession of the second half, but a sack from Caroline Jayes of the Fury forced a turnover on downs.
Fanetti completed 16 passes for 142 yards. Allison Gandlin made seven catches for 67 yards. Rusher KyLee Caetano contributed a sack and provided constant pressure on the Fury's standout quarterback, Ava Wallace, who finished the game with 114 yards passing on 16 completions in 25 attempts. Mary Nell Thompson caught eight passes for a team-high 62 yards.
