The season-opener for the San Quentin All-Madden’s Flag Football Team was a defensive battle in which they overcame the outside team, The Chosen, 14-12.
Both defenses forced turnovers, knocked down passes and added relentless pressure on each other’s quarterbacks.
The Chosen’s quarterback, A.R.P., zipped passes to his receivers, but they dropped too many of them. They entered the red zone and threatened to score, but Mario Ellis batted down their fourth and goal pass.
The All-Maddens struck first as they began the run the football. Dwight “Sleepy” Kennedy set them up for first and goal as he caught a 20-yard pass from Q.B. Kevin “Bilal” Chattman. Kevin Carr scored the first touchdown on a five-yard pass. Chattman ran the two-point conversion in for an eight-point lead.
The Chosen struck back as A.R.P. completed consecutive passes to move them down the field, and then threw a 10-yard pass to Andre Jackson. However, they failed the two-point conversion as they went into halftime down 8-6.
During the second half, the Al- Maddens’ defense continued to make plays. Marcus Crumb had a key interception in the end zone to keep The Chosen from scoring.
The All-Maddens struck again as Kennedy caught a 50-yard pass that set up a five-yard touchdown pass to Carr.
With seconds left in the game, The Chosen executed a desperate hook and ladder pass for a touchdown that wowed the crowd. Unfortunately, they could not tie the game as they failed their two-point conversion.
The officials failed to call pass interference on the play, which allowed allowed the All-Maddens to win the game.
Marcus Crumb, the starting cornerback for All-Madden, said, “We were anxious, not knowing what to expect. We played it safe. We played zone coverage, which was very effective. We had to clamp down.”
During halftime, the Rev. Joel Moore quoted from Psalms 1:1-3. He said, “You are trees if you are in God’s presence. You are trees no matter where you are. You can still export fruit to your friends and family, and you may be able to plant seeds in others.”