In A League Called Elite

No matter the teams, there's a good chance that the Elite League is going to produce some high-scoring games in the Plant City Recreation and Parks Department/Optimist youth flag football program.

The season is in its second month, and the teams in the Elite League, for 13- to 15-year-olds, have consistently provided some wild final scores, such as the first weekend of October, when the Colts beat the Bucs 36-33.

Prior to that, the Bucs beat the Patriots 39-38, and the Colts hung 52 points on the Jets on Sept. 27.

Two weekends remain in the regular season, and the Colts and Bucs, tied for first place, will meet Saturday. Games are played at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex. In the Oct. 4 meeting, the Colts got four touchdowns from Travis Ciccarello, who also threw a pair of TD passes. The Bucs got a pair of touchdown runs from Austin Baxter.

Ciccarello scored a whopping five touchdowns, two on interception returns, in the 39-38 win over the Patriots. Trevor Villegas, Cleyton Morris and Alex Heysek scored the Patriots' touchdowns in that one.

The Premier League, for 10- to 12-year-olds, has been pretty wide open with the Vikings, Panthers and Saints all carrying winning records to lead the eight-team group. But recently the Cowboys, who started off 0-2, have been dangerous, too.

In Week 3, the Cowboys tied the Eagles, who were 2-0 at the time, 26-26 and followed that up with a 28-6 win over the previously 3-0 Panthers. In the latter game, J.J. Niekro caught a couple of touchdown passes from Will Hippler and threw for another to Ryan Bradley.

The Saints dealt the Vikings their first loss on Sept. 27 in a 25-24 decision. Both teams had four touchdowns but only one point-after was converted - a run by India Borbin - and that was the difference.

In the Senior League, for 8- and 9-year-olds, the Steelers have been the top team with the Broncos close behind, but even the fourth-place Bears have shown potential, making for an unpredictable postseason.

Playoffs in the Senior, Premier and Elite leagues will conclude with the championship games on Nov. 1.

There are no playoffs in the Munchkin League, for 4- and 5-year-olds and the Junior League for 6- and 7-year-olds. Their seasons conclude Oct. 25.