Football: Outreach Tackle Football League

The Outreach Tackle Football League in Naples, Florida has expanded this year. Last year the First Baptist Church of Naples team "The Beacons" had one opponent in three divisions. They faced Pee Wee, Junior, and Senior teams from the Marco Island Eagles. This year there are also teams in two divisions from Community School of Naples, where Junior and Senior division teams have been fielded. Community School has also adapted their soccer field for Football games, including this past week's installation of Goal Posts.

Coach (and youth Pastor) Kevin VanDuser of FBCN said that the league is very likely to expand again next year. He said he had to turn away 50 players this season, and is already planning on ordering equipment for at least that many more players next year. He also has had serious interest expressed from other existing youth teams in the area to join the Outreach league.

The teams play their games on Saturday mornings, and this week I took photos of some Junior Division games at the Community School field. I hope to get to some Pee Wee and Senior Division games on future visits.

Take a look at the gallery of pix from this week, and check back for more in the future at www.naplespix.com/football

Football: FBA hosts Princeton Christian

Well, Friday night was exciting for First Baptist Academy, as they were holding their first ever night game at their new field. The new lights had only been installed on Wednesday, and there was a new scoreboard as well.

The sky was ominous, with flashes of lightning in the East, dark swirling clouds overhead, and thunder in the background. But the game started at 7:30 as planned, with FBA hosting a young and fledgling Princeton Christian School team from Princeton, Florida.

Now Princeton (I digress), is a small town in Miami-Dade County, formerly a depot along the old Florida East Coast Railroad. As you may have by now wondered, it was actually named after Princeton University, and according to an entry in Wikipeedia, many of the original buildings were painted with University's Black and Gold colors.

I was told that Friday was PCS's first Varsity football game, and while FBA is in its first season, the PCS team was clearly over-matched. FBA came out and scored quickly and often. By the time the rain started, FBA already held a commanding lead.

As for pictures, I was watching the sky more than the field in the first quarter and was reluctant to bring out the equipment with what I expected as an imminent deluge (having been through this before - only to have micro-processors fail when soaked). By the time the game resumed, and I got the cameras on the field, the clock was running continuously under the FHSAA "mercy rule", consequently I did not have as much time to shoot as usual. The final score was FBA 56 and PCS 8.

Please enjoy what photos I did get at http://naplespix.com/football/2009-High-School-Gam and tell your friends.

Football: First Baptist - First Home Game Ever!

Well, a brand new Football program at First Baptist Academy of Naples holds it's first home game at it's brand new field on Orange Blossom Drive in Naples. The Lions hosted the Knights from Highlands Christian School of Pompano Beach. Neither team had the other on the schedule a few days ago, but FBA lost it's scheduled competitor, Sarasota Out Of Door because of Rosh Hashana, and Highlands scheduled competitor could not field a team.

FBA came into the match after two large defeats on the road, and having never scored an offensive touchdown. In this game, the Lions offense was much improved, scoring 3 touchdowns, and twice making successful 2-point conversions. The Knights scored 4 touchdowns and a field goal to win 31 to 22.

FBA's improvement in just it's third game gave great enjoyment to a large crowd in an entertaining match, and creates a hopeful atmosphere as the school readies for it's "homecoming" game next Friday.

Here are some shots from a middle school soccer match at First Baptist Academy on Tuesday September 15, 2009. I stopped by briefly, and took a few shots as I calibrated some settings on a new telephoto lens.

You can see all the shots at www.naplespix.com/soccer

FBA Middle School Volleyball

I stopped by FBA yesterday afternoon and watched some of the middle school girls volleyball match. Frankly I was limited in time, so I did not take any pictures of the opposing team, and I was testing settings with a new telephoto lens. The result, a handful of close-ups of some of the FBA girls. Enjoy. www.naplespix.com/volleyball

High School Football is Back!

Well, First Baptist Academy opened their Inaugural Football Season, with their first official game, Friday night in Moore Haven, Florida. The Moore Haven Terriers played host to the FBA Lions. The Terriers had little difficulty with the young FBA team, which includes a substantial number of players who would be on a Freshman squad if attending a larger High School.

Nevertheless, First Baptist was cheered on by a large and vocal crowd of fans who travelled from Naples to witness the first-ever game for the Christian High School. The loudest cheer of the night came when Senior Running Back Michael Rodriguez picked up a kickoff, and ran it back 100 yards for The Lions first, one, and only touchdown of the game.

While the game was lost 56 to 6, most of the FBA fans left pleased, knowing this team will improve under the experienced leadership of Head Coach Billy Sparacio. Moore Haven fans were also treated to some exciting play, including running back Fred Hall's 5 touchdowns.

Look for the pictures on www.naplespix.com/football