Marauders Crush Mets 14-5 to snap two game losing streak
April 18, 2010
(Bradenton, FL) The Bradenton Marauders ended its two game losing streak with a dominating 14-5 victory over the St. Lucie Mets Friday night at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, FL.
Quincy Latimore and Brock Holt drove in four runs each as the Marauders (6-2) pounded out 14 hits off Mets pitching to remain tied for first place in the Florida State League South Division with the Jupiter Hammerheads who defeated the Charlotte Stone Crabs 2-1 tonight.
Latimore hit a grand slam homerun in the fourth inning on an 0-1 pitch from losing pitcher Scott Moviel (0-1) who lasted just four innings, giving up 9 runs on 9 hits.
Brock Holt had a 2 run single in the second inning and 2 run double in the 7th inning for Bradenton. Tony Sanchez chipped in with 3 RBI’s with a double and 2 run homerun.
Tyler Cox gets his third win of the season against no losses in relief of starting pitcher Aaron Pribanic who struck out two giving up just 3 runs on 5 hits in four and two-thirds innings for the Marauders.
Jeremy Farrell’s double in the third inning gave him his league leading 13th RBI of the season.
Extra Innings
Bradenton’s Quincy Latimore came into tonight’s game tied for third in batting average in the FSL at .375 with St. Lucie’s Brahiam Maldonado, Joshua Satin and Clearwater’s Matthew Rizzotti. Lattimore’s 4 RBI’s puts him second behind teammate Jeremy Farrell with 12. Farrell leads the league with 13.
Marauders 3B Jeremy Farrell is tied for the FSL homerun lead with the Charlotte Stone Crabs Matthew Sweeney with 3 and is third in slugging pct. at .708.
The Marauders transferred infielder Gift Ngoepe to State College (formerly MCC in Bradenton, FL) and added infielder Brock Holt from State College....
Marauders Maul Miracle 18-3 in Inaugural Game in Bradenton
April 18, 2010
(Bradenton, FL) The Bradenton Marauders spotted Ft. Myers two runs in the second inning then came back to win its first ever game in the Florida State League 18-3 Thursday night at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, FL.
Third baseman Jeremy Farrell hit two homeruns including a grand slam and drove in seven runs as the Marauders batted around in the fourth and seventh innings. Left fielder Quincy Latimore homered, singled, drove in two runs and threw out a runner at the plate. Right fielder Robbie Grossman also hit a two run shot as the Marauders pounded out sixteen hits off Miracle pitching.
Bryan Morris went four and two-thirds innings and struck out five for the win. Kyle Gibson took the loss for Ft. Myers, the Minnesota Twins Florida State League affiliate.
Morris threw the Marauders first pitch to Ft. Myers Miracle Drew Thompson in the Pittsburgh Pirates A league affiliate’s inaugural game in the Florida State League for a ball which was taken out of the game for the archives. Shortstop Greg Picart beat out ground ball to short for the Marauders first ever base hit with no outs in the bottom of the first inning.
The Marauders were formed when the Cincinnati Reds moved to Arizona after last year’s spring training and the team decided not to keep its Florida State League team the Sarasota Reds in Florida. The Pittsburgh Pirates purchased the right to keep a local team in the area and moved it’s A league team down from West Virginia. Former Sarasota Reds GM Dan Wolfert is the general manager of the Marauders.
Bradenton will travel to Ft. Myers to play the next two games in the series against the Miracle on the road and will complete the four game set back at McKechnie field on Monday...
Miami Bulls defeat Millionaires 21-0 in AFC Divisional Playoff Game
April 18, 2010
(Miami, FL) The Miami Bulls played a near perfect game as they shutout the Sarasota Millionaires 21-0 in the AFC Divisional Playoff game in Miami, FL Saturday night. The Bulls advance to the AFC Conference Championship game next Saturday against its cross-town rival Miami Spartans who beat the Bradenton Gladiators 22-9 in the other AFC Divisional playoff game.
Julio “Chico” Martinez connected with Alden “Shade” Brown on a 16 yard touchdown pass with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter to give the Bulls the only score it would need, ending the Millionaires season in the city where it began in week one.
“The loss leaves a bitter taste in our mouths, but I am proud of the way we played this year”, said Millionaires owner Calvin Willams. “It was a roller coaster season but I want to thank all of the players and staff for their dedication and hard work.”
The Millionaires offense was unable to get on track as the Bulls defense kept the pressure on Sarasota’s quarterback Mike Peterson the entire game sacking him six times. One of those sacks resulted in a safety late in the second quarter to give the Bulls a 9-0 lead at halftime.
Martinez lead Miami on an 80 yard scoring drive to start the third quarter capping it off with a 49 yard touchdown pass to Johnny “The Show” Johnson making it 15-0 Bulls.
Leroy Bohorn ran it in from 1 yard out early in the fourth quarter for the Bulls final touchdown of the game, sending Miami (10-1) to the AFC Conference Championship game against the Miami Spartans. The game will be played at Curtis Park in Miami on Saturday April 24th.
The Millionaires finish the 2010 season with a record of 6-6 and its fourth consecutive playoff appearance....
Millionaires Defeat Reapers 14-8 in AFC West Wildcard Game
April 18, 2010
(Sarasota, FL) The Sarasota Millionaires used its trademark “blackout” defense to beat the East Coast Reapers 14-8 Saturday night in the AFC West Wildcard Game at Booker High School in Sarasota. The Millionaires will travel to Miami next Saturday to face the Magic City Bulls in the AFC Divisional Playoff Round.
Quarterback Mike Peterson connected with wide receiver Bruce Singleton on a 59 yard touchdown pass with 6:24 left in the first quarter to give Sarasota a 7-0 lead. Singleton streaked down the near sideline and caught Peterson’s pass in stride taking it into the end zone and capping off a 71 yard Millionaire scoring drive.
The Millionaires defense played its best game of the season shutting down the Reapers offense who had a first and goal inside the Sarasota ten yard line early in the second quarter. Defensive Back Brandon Johnson thwarted another Reaper possession when he intercepted Quarterback Variance Edgecombe with 4:24 left in the first half.
Sarasota scored it’s second touchdown by blocking Dominic Fair’s punt in the end zone and Rosson “Pick 6” Allen ran it in from 3 yards out to give the Millionaires a 14-0 lead with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
East Coast scored a late touchdown with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Variance Edgecombe hit Cal Buchanan on a 63 yard touchdown pass. Edgecombe then ran for the 2 point conversion to pull the Reapers within 14-8. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Jerome Higdon and the Millionaires held on for the victory.
“We are looking forward to playing the Bulls”, said Millionaires owner Calvin Williams. “They are a team we’ve never beaten. We want to get over there and play some good football.”
Extra Points
Saturday’s win was the second time the Millionaires beat the Reapers....
Millionaires Clinch Home Playoff Game with 28-13 win over Muck City
April 18, 2010
(Sarasota, FL) Dominick Grable’s 91 yard touchdown run with ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter broke a 13-13 tie and gave the Sarasota Millionaires (5-5) the win it needed over the Muck City Starrs to assure a home playoff game next Saturday against the East Coast Reapers.
Muck City (3-7) gave Sarasota all it could handle despite being out of the playoffs and playing with a shortened roster. “I tip my hat to Muck City. They came here to win”, said Millionaires owner Calvin Williams.
Sarasota opened the scoring when quarterback Justin Brienich connected with Gus Blanc on a 51 yard touchdown pass at 5:51 of the first quarter.
Muck City answered back after blocking a punt inside the Millionaires 10 yard line and scoring on Jenkins two yard touchdown run with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter.
The Starrs took the lead early in the third quarter when Burke recovered a fumble and returned it 42 yards for the score.
Troy “Ft. Myers” Green tied the game at 13 early in the fourth quarter with a two yard touchdown run. Less than four minutes later, Dominick Grable took a handoff from quarterback Mike Peterson, scampered to his left and took it 91 yards down the sideline for the eventual winning touchdown.
Interceptions by Brandon Johnson and Dexter Watson kept the Starrs from getting past midfield the rest of the game.
The Millionaires will face the East Coast Reapers on Saturday April 10th in the AFC Wildcard Game at Booker High School’s “Tornado Alley”. Kickoff is scheduled for 7PM.
Extra Points
The Millionaires have made the playoffs every year in its four year existence.
DB Rosson “Pick 6” Allen had two more interceptions in Saturday’s game for the Millionaires.
Dominick Grable’s 91 yard touchdown run is a new...
Bradenton Gladiators comeback to defeat Millionaires 33-20
March 21, 2010
(Bradenton, FL) The Bradenton Gladiators scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to mount a 33-20 comeback victory over the Sarasota Millionaires Saturday night at PAL Stadium in Bradenton, FL.
Quarterback Nick Kirby threw four touchdown passes, three of them to former Manatee High School standout wide receiver Jeff Charlton and one to Frankie Romo as the Gladiators came back from a 14-7 deficit to sweep the season series from the Millionaires.
Former Sarasota High School and USF running back Mike Ford recently signed by the Gladiators played in the game at tailback alternating with former Riverview running back Glen Woods.
Bradenton jumped out to the early 7-0 lead 1:15 into the game when Edrick Sweeting recovered a fumble in the Millionaires end zone.
Sarasota answered back on its next series on a 59 yard scoring drive capped off by an acrobatic one-handed catch by Bruce Singleton for a touchdown.
The Millionaires took a 14-7 lead four minutes into the second quarter when Mike Peterson connected with Kelvin McCall on a 15 yard touchdown pass.
The Gladiators pulled to within one point at halftime on Nick Kirby’s first of three touchdown passes to Jeff Charlton late in the second quarter.
The third quarter belonged to the Gladiators as Kirby tossed touchdown passes to Frankie Romo and Jeff Charlton to extend its lead to 26-14.
The Millionaires pulled to within six points when they blocked a Gladiator punt and recovered it in the end zone with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Nick Kirby drove his team down the field and put the game away with his fourth TD pass of the game and third to Jeff Charlton from 12 yards out.
Bradenton remains atop the AFC West division with a 6-2 record. The Millionaires record falls to 4-5.
Sarasota Millionaires Dominate Ft. Myers Spartans 30-0
March 21, 2010
(Sarasota, FL) The Sarasota Millionaires struck early and never looked back as they defeated the Ft. Myers Spartans 30-0 Saturday night at Booker High School’s Tornado Alley to even their record at 4-4.
Despite the delay in starting the game due to the officials not arriving until 6:15 PM (the scheduled kickoff was 3:30 PM), the Millionaires jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on its first series on offense when Dominick Grable scored on a 6 yard touchdown run capping off a 31 yard scoring drive.
Josh Evans carried the ball in from 1 yard out on the Millionaires next possession to give Sarasota a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. “We really needed to execute our running game”, said Millionaires Head Coach Gerald Benton. “ Our guys played extremely well. Our offense put the ball in the end zone on our first series, something we haven’t done all year.”
Due to the late start of the game and a small roster of players that made the trip for the Spartans, the officials used a running clock and twelve minute quarters instead of the usual fifteen.
Quarterback Justin Breinich threw his first touchdown pass as a Millionaire as time ran out in the second quarter connecting on a 29 yard strike to Bruce Singleton to give Sarasota a 20-0 lead at halftime.
Ian Kitchell added a 35 yard field goal and Tony “Bo” Johnson scored a defensive touchdown when he returned a fumble 52 yards with 1:11 left in the game. Meanwhile the Millionaires defense completely shutdown the Spartans offense, not allowing any completed passes and only one first down the entire game.
Sarasota will face the Bradenton Gladiators next Saturday night in Bradenton looking to avenge it’s 42-6 loss on February 6th at home and tighten up...
Millionaires use last minute comeback to defeat Sharks 7-2
March 7, 2010
(St. Petersburg, FL) Putting together a last minute drive, the Sarasota Millionaires came back to defeat the Sharks 7-2 Saturday night on a chilly night in St. Petersburg to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive and well.
Trailing by the unlikely score of 2-0 for most of the game, quarterback Mike Peterson lead the Millionaires on a 67 yard drive with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter capped off by a 24 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson in the corner of the end zone to give Sarasota the only touchdown it would need to win the game.
The Sharks scored its safety when William Jones blocked a punt out of the end zone six minutes into the second quarter.
The game was a defensive battle, as they always are between these two division rivals. A total of nine turnovers in the game kept both offenses out of the end zone. Rosson “Pick 6” Allen had three interceptions for the Millionaires, a blocked field goal and prevented St. Petersburg’s go-to receiver Deangelo Woodie from getting open most of the game.
“What can I say about the way Rosson played. He had a great game tonight as the team really pulled together,” said owner and player in the game Calvin Williams. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity the past two weeks with the suspensions, but we’ve gotten back on the winning track.”
The Millionaires played with a shortened roster as nine players were given additional one game suspensions by the FFA due to the situation that happened in the Florida Falcons game in Middleburg two weeks ago. The Falcons served it’s team suspension Saturday night forfeiting its game to the Duval Panthers.
The win gives the Millionaires a record of 3-4 as they sweep the season series from St. Petersburg...
(Middleburg, FL) The Sarasota Millionaires traveled to Middleburg, FL looking to get back on the winning track after a tough loss to Bradenton two weeks ago at home, but came away with a bitter 21-8 loss to the Florida Falcons.
The game was shortened and called off by the referees when several skirmishes broke out late in the fourth quarter. After the game, it was still unclear what caused the fight to break out near the Millionaires sideline. With five minutes remaining in the game, after a Falcons short yardage running play, both sidelines emptied and after a ten minute discussion, the referees decided to end the game with the Falcons leading 21-8.
Falcons quarterback Josh Fletcher ran for two touchdowns of 1 yard and 7 yards and threw for another on a 27 yard pass to Ricky Fletcher to give Florida a 21-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Sarasota got on the scoreboard when quarterback Mike Peterson connected with Bruce Singleton on a 35 yard touchdown pass and added a 2 point conversion to pull the Millionaires within 21-8.
The Millionaires record falls to 2-3 while the Falcons improve to 3-2.
Reporters Note: The conditions of the field, facilities and press box were by far the worst this reporter has ever seen in the four seasons of covering minor league football. The field was in terrible shape with large divots. The scoreboard was inoperable. The facilities looked they had not been cleaned or attended to in years. The press box windows were barely clear enough to see through. The FFA needs to insure that game facilities are up to standards of professionalism and more importantly safety of its players and staff.
Extra Points
The Millionaires return home next Saturday Feb. 27th vs. the Miami Bulls at Booker High...
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(Sarasota) Dave Rice, Commissioner of the now defunct Southern States Football League, continues to disparage many of the former teams that have left the SSFL to join other leagues. In particular, Mr. Rice seems to have the harshest criticism of two teams, the Sarasota Millionaires and Ft. Myers Spartans that played recently in their new league, the Florida Football Alliance (FFA). The following diatribe was posted on the SSFL website www.southernstatesfootball.com:
“The best and worst of former SSFL teams prevailed in opening games, proving once again that players win games in spite of organizational problems.
Representing the best category was former SSFL champions, the Orlando Rage, defeating the Pt. St. Lucie Bobcats, FFA Champions and previously undefeated since their inception. Last year, SSFL Commissioner contacted the leadership of all Florida leagues as well as posted a plan on the internet inviting all league leaders to meet and create a Florida State Tournament. Unfortunately, as expected, league leaders in the FFA, SEFL and FSL never communicated, showing once again their preference to choose to criticize the successful teams in other leagues, but not willing to lay it on the line and decide the best of the best on the field of play. The players in Florida deserve that opportunity instead of the bogus so called National Championship Games that have no basis or credibility.
The Rage, representing a team considered in the BEST category during their tenure in the SSFL had been maligned both as a team and individual players and staff in the FFA by league leaders and reporters, responded with the win over the Bobcats which should silence those detractors for at least a week. The Bobcats, a team laden with outstanding former players from the once powerful Fire organization, represent Minor League Football with class.
