The Tabu Trojans took the top prize last weekend at the championship matchup of the Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League’s spring season.
The Trojans beat out Say Uncles 41-0 Saturday at Columbus Field, with the ICandy Jawbreakers dominating the Tavern Barbacks in the consolation game. In the semifinal games played earlier in the day, the Trojans bested the Barbacks in a 41-7 win.
The four teams began play in early April, with the undefeated Trojans boasting the best record of the season with nine wins, one tied game and no losses.
The Trojans were led in the championship game by quarterback and league MVP Andre Dionne, who threw five passing touchdowns, one rush touchdown and just one interception.
The Trojans were also home to the league’s touchdown leader, Paul Glaser, along with longtime players Mike Gagliardi and Matt Pitucco, who led the team in interceptions and tackles, respectively, and receiver Marlow Hicks, who was named the Trojans’ Top Rookie at an awards ceremony at ICandy last weekend.
Other awards included league Rookie of the Year Rob Miller of the Jawbreakers, Say Uncles MVP David Clarke and Top Rookie Adam Telem, Trojans MVP Dionne, Jawbreakers MVP Morgan Sampson, Top Rookie Miller and Barbacks MVP Zeke Joubert.
The spring season included 56 players on the roster — its largest yet and a far cry from the 11 players who turned out for the league’s first meeting three years ago.
League assistant commissioner Justin Dolci noted that in past years, the spring season brought a decline of 10-15 players from the fall, which didn’t hold true this year.
“This year we increased our numbers from the fall by nearly 15 members,” Dolci said. “Our new members jumped right in and became an integral part of what we are growing here.”
GPFFL commissioner Wayne Knaub said this season bucked the trend other LGBT football leagues have seen.
“From the leagues I’ve spoken with in a lot of the other cities, the spring season typically is smaller and more people come out in the fall, but we actually had more people this spring season than we did in the fall, because we’re still in major growth mode,” he said. “We had four teams this season but there were people who couldn’t play due to work or other commitments, so we anticipate we should have at least six teams in the fall. So I think we’re definitely going to continue to grow.”
This spring, the league launched its first-ever Friday Night Lights league games at Columbus Square Park, and also participated in many off-the-field events like its Jocks parties the third Friday of every month at Tabu, which last month celebrated the launch of the book “It Gets Better,” which includes Knaub’s coming-out story from GPFFL’s popular “It Gets Better” video.
The league’s competitive arm, the Revolution, will next head to Chicago to compete in a Pride Tournament June 24-26, while GPFFL will participate in Philly’s Pride parade and festival June 12 and recruit new players for its fall season, which starts in September.
For more information, visit www.phillyflagfootball.com.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].