Flag Football

It was a sunny Thanksgiving morning at Kaiser Elementary School, but mere inclement weather wouldn’t have kept Duncan Calegari from his annual Turkey Day tradition. Calegari and a handful of buddies — many of whom have known each other since their days at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High School in the early ’90s — made their yearly trek to the Kaiser athletic fields for an annual flag football game among close friends. The group has played its annual “Turkey Bowl” every year since 1993.

The final game in the best-in-three flag football series between the Newport Beach fire and police departments begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Corona del Mar High School. After a slow first half, police came back around and won last Saturday’s game, and the two teams battled to a 12-to-12 tie Aug. 4. The best the Fire Department can hope for now is a tie, as neither team plans on stretching the run into a fourth game. Unlike the Corona del Mar 5K run, no side bet has been made between Police Chief John Klein and Fire Chief Steve Lewis.

The light was running out on the Lincoln Elementary field on Thursday after 8 p.m. Still, the game was only getting more exciting. On a field with no lights, it was hard to even see the ball, let alone play flag football. But there was plenty of reason to keep playing. Pride was on the line. It was the Corona del Mar High class of 2007 flag football all-stars against the 2006 squad, Ford Noe's "The League" from this year versus last year's "NFFL" league spearheaded by Matt Burgner.

(For video of the semifinal game between the Bills and the Saints, click on the video link at www.dailypilot.com.) With the game on the line and the chance to play in the championship, Ford Noe didn't hesitate to go for two points instead of the tie on Sunday at Corona del Mar High. That's his style. When he makes up his mind, he goes at it and doesn't hold back, no matter the outcome. In this instance, the result didn't come the way he wanted, but back in January he made a choice to start a flag football league and what followed has been something satisfying and even memorable.

The first 14 years of his life, Nick Frazier, living as he did in the civilized world, denied his primal soul. There were hints of his aggression, which was sometimes vented toward his brothers in what passed as typical sibling roughhousing, as well as in junior high flag football games, when the capture of an opponent's flag seemed an insufficient ending to the escalating violence of the play. But that all changed the fall of his freshman year at Newport Harbor High, when the potential Ivy League science major tugged on his helmet, cinched up his pads, and began smashing into his fellow human beings with surprisingly positive consequences.

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UC Irvine junior Rick Merlo scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining to lift the U.S. men's water polo team past Russia, 7-6, at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, on Wednesday. Merlo's shot into the left corner of the cage capped the American's comeback from a 6-3 deficit with less than six minutes left in the game. Michael Hausmann scored with 5:27 left to cut the Russians' lead to 6-4, Will Quist scored an extra-man goal at 4:26, then Matt Flesher scored off a steal with 3:33 remaining to tie the game at 6-6, leading to Merlo's heroics.

The NFL and the San Diego Chargers host the NFL FLAG Football Festival Saturday, Oct. 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Crawford Field, adjacent to Crawford Hall, on the UC Irvine campus. The free event, open to all boys and girls of all ages, encourages youngsters to participate in NFL FLAG clinics and skills competition which provides them fundamental skill training and tips on how to play football like the pros. They will be a part of a national program emphasizing youth education, participation and sportsmanship.

Scott Knox made a 58-yard touchdown pass to Chris Earnest with 1:36 left in the game to lift the City of Costa Mesa Davis A youth flag football team over San Clemente, 15-12, in the championship game of the Orange County Tournament. Knox connected with Larry Puente Jr. early in the first quarter to give Davis a 6-0 lead. The game was tied, 6-6, at halftime. The Davis defense led by Miles Resnick and Hui Luu added a safety to put Davis ahead, 8-6, going into the fourth quarter.

NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Heights Titans defeated Laguna Hills, 29-14, to place first in the B Division for fifth- and sixth-graders at the Orange County Municipal Athletic Association youth flag football tournament at Bonita Creek Park Dec. 2. Newport's defense forced Laguna Hills' passing game into two interceptions, one by Preston Davey, and another recovered by Niko Hernandez who returned it for a touchdown....