Central Coast falls short as offense sputters in GSAFL
conference finals
SANTA CLARA –– Despite a valiant effort against a favored opponent, the Central Coast Barnstormers fell to the South Bay Buccaneers 21-0 in the Golden State Amateur Football League conference finals on Saturday.
The Barnstormers, a semipro football team based in Gilroy, turned in an inspired defensive effort but couldn’t manage any points against the undefeated Buccaneers, according to Central Coast
“(South Bay is) a great football team,” said owner Eric Snyder. “They’re probably one of the best teams in the country, but our defense did pretty well holding them to 21 points. Offensively, we drove the ball on them but we just couldn’t get the ball in (the end zone). We’re really happy with our season – we’ve won 20 games the last two years – but not everybody can be champions. Not yet anyway.”
South Bay (12-0 overall) took a 14-0 halftime lead then added its final touchdown late in the fourth quarter despite a tough Barnstormers defensive effort led by defensive back David Flores that produced seven interceptions.
“They were averaging 40 points per game so to hold them to 21 points was pretty good,” Snyder said.
The Barnstormers piled up yardage against the Buccaneers but fell several key first downs short of cashing in with a score.
Central Coast, which lost to the Buccaneers 42-14 earlier in the year, finished its season at 8-4 overall.
The Barnstormers defeated the Oakland Vipers 34-0 to advance to the conference finale.
As National Football Conference champions, South Bay advances to play the American Football Conference champion Sacramento Wolverines in Golden State Bowl III at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco on Saturday, July 10.
The winner of that game will play the Southern California semipro champions in a newly inaugurated matchup for the state title at Kezar Stadium in November.
Meanwhile, the Barnstormers will take a month off after a long season then will look into traveling to Hawaii to play, Snyder said.
The local team is also organizing the area Punt, Pass and Kick competition for local youth this summer.
By virtue of finishing second in its conference, Central Coast qualified for the North American Football League national championship tournament in October.
Snyder said the Barnstormers will likely play either the Ogden (Utah) Rhino Raiders or the Eastside Hawks (Washington state).
In addition, several Barnstormer players will likely be chosen to represent the GSAFL at the East-West All-Star game at the national semipro football championships in Florida this fall.
Last year, Barnstormers Joe King, Joffre Longoria and Bryan Smith all played in the All-Star game.
Snyder said he’s hoping to send as many as five players this year.
