MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Suzuhara Fighting Roses took first place in a Marine Corps Community Services Youth Sports double-elimination flag football tournament in the 10-12 year old division at the Matthew C. Perry School soccer fields here Sunday.
The Roses’ first game was against the Bears with the Bears getting the ball at the start of the half.
The Roses were quick off the ball in their first defensive series, showing as the Roses’ staunch defense quickly forced the Bears to punt the ball.
The Roses meant business as they stepped onto the field. With a series of play-action passes and sweeps, the Roses quickly marched down the field. Natsuki Kawano, Roses running back, swept toward the sideline as several Bears defenders attempted to stop her before Amber M. McCarthy-Figueroa, Bears safety, came to make the stop.
“The sweep plays were my favorite to run because it’s something we worked on a lot,” said Miyuna Yamamoto, Roses quarterback.
The ground game continued to aid the Roses on the next play when Yamamoto scrambled out of the pocket for a touchdown. The Roses tacked on the onepoint conversion, making the score 7-0.
The Bears went to their short-passing game to get down field, but were denied a first down by the Roses.
The Roses set themselves up for good field position when the Bears elected to punt the ball to Yamamoto.
Yamamoto sped down the field, narrowly avoiding several defenders, before being stopped at the five yard line. The Roses scored two plays later on in a short, dump-off pass over the middle. The Roses went for the one point conversion. The score was now 14-0.
The Bears, wanting to put a stop to their offensive drought, went to the air. Braiden K. Chatigny, Bears quarterback, connected several times with Figueroa and Caleb V. Ricafrente, Bears wide receivers, on a series of midfield passes before connecting with Ricafrente in the end zone. The Bears went for a two-point conversion but were denied by the Roses.
The Roses once again marched down the field, but were stopped just short of the goal line before the half. The score was 14-6.
The Roses received the ball to start the second half. The Roses made a statement by going to the air again. Forced out of the pocket, Yamamoto threw down the field to China Kumaki, Roses wide receiver, for a touchdown. The Roses continued to pour on the touchdowns and disrupt the Bears’ attempts at scoring before the referees enacted the mercy rule with two minutes left to play. The Roses finished the game with a final score of 34-6.
Though the Bears lost, the final score did not weigh heavily on the players shoulders.
“We all like to win, but we were told from the beginning to just have fun,” said Figueroa.
The Roses did more of the same against their next opponent, the Packers. The Roses allowed only one touchdown and racked up several of their own, making the final score 43-6.
The Roses showed humility during their victories, grateful for the opportunity to play against American players.
“I wanted my players to have an opportunity to interact with American children and have a cultural exchange, but also see the difference between American-style and Japanese-style of flag football,” said Tatsuyuki Asai, Roses head coach. “We play five-onfive and American-style is seven-onseven.”
The need for Japanese and American children to interact and experience different cultural aspects was also something important in the tournament.
“When we do things like that, it makes it easier for all players to interact in the future and do more events like this,” said Asai.
Finishing behind the Roses, the Bears took second place while the Packers placed third; the Saints and Steelers finished fourth and fifth, respectively.