Monroe Police hold on to Boys & Girls title

After about two hours of touchdowns, penalties, interceptions and even a few bumps and scrapes, the Monroe Police Department walked away from the Monroe Boys & Girls Club Police versus Fire charity flag football game as the 2015 Flag Football Champions.

The second annual charity flag football game took place at noon on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Monroe High School football field. The Monroe Police team took the lead early on, and managed to reclaim that lead after the game tied in the second half. A final touchdown in the last few seconds of play by Officer Adam Wolf led to an ending score of 18-6. All proceeds from the game will go to support youth programming at the Monroe Boys & Girls Club.

Preliminary numbers indicate the event earned nearly $4,000, enough for 20 teens to participate in one of the club's enrichment programs.

The win made the Monroe Police Department two-time champions. They took the win with a final score of 20-15 last year.

The game was made possible thanks to sponsorships from several Monroe organizations, including the Man Cave Barbershop, which sponsored Team Fire, Big Dog's Hotdog Joint, which sponsored Team Police, the Monroe Rotary Club and Power Breaker Seattle.

The game was emceed by Jerry "Big DogGÇ¥ Dixon, local DJ and owner of Big Dog's Hotdog Joint.

The game opened with the Star Spangled Banner, performed by Eighth-grade Park Place Middle School student Madeleine Gamble. The event featured concessions and a halftime show, which included numerous young Boys & Girls Club members playing their own game of flag football. The halftime show also included a brief awards ceremony, during which Monroe Boys & Girls Club Athletic Director Andre Graham recognized Jamison Garcia as Volunteer of the Year.

Garcia owns Power Breaker Seattle, and has been involved with the Boys & Girls Club for several years. Garcia refereed the game, along with Fred Meyer Manager Jay Jones and Monroe Boys & Girls Club volunteer coach Gabriel Brionez. Graham oversaw the event, assisting the refs and helping to answer questions.

Flag football is similar to regular football, except that there is no tackling. When an offensive player is running with the ball, the defensive team must remove one of the two flags hanging from the player's belt to end the down, rather than jumping on top of them in a tackle maneuver.

The official game rules allowed for some contact. The game was played seven-on-seven, blocks were permitted, players were allowed to contact opponents during plays and blockers were permitted to both work for and maintain their position on the field. The game was divided into two 30-minute halves, with a 10-minute halftime.

Officer Jason Southard was the quarterback for Team Police and Battalion Chief Derik Millich was the quarterback for Team Fire. Team Police was made up of 13 officers, while 12 firefighters made up Team Fire. -á -á

Monroe Police Officer Derrick Lether scored the first touchdown of the game, catching quarterback Jason Southard's well-executed pass inside the end zone. They attempted a three-point conversion but didn't make it, leaving the score at 6-0.

There are no field goals in flag football, so the ball must be run back into the end zone in order to get the extra point. The number of points depends on how far back the play starts ' the MPD's 30-yard attempt would have been worth three points, had it been successful.

At halftime, the score remained 6-0, despite a valiant interception and run attempt made by firefighter Curtis Greiner. -á -á

The Team Police defensive line was solid, not allowing a single score to get through. When Team Fire scored during the second half, it was on an intercepted pass caught by firefighter Darrell Oswald. Oswald ran it all the way back, which brought the score to 6-6.

Team Police answered Team Fire's extra point attempt with an interception by Officer Trevor Larson, who ran the ball all the way back to Team Fire's end zone. Pandemonium broke out briefly, as players waited for the refs to complete their review of the play. Upon further analysis, it was determined that the play would not count. The score remained at 6-6.

Throughout the game, players were sent out on emergency calls, including Detective Spencer Robinson and at least one member of Team Fire. Both departments were fully staffed on the back end, and all officers and firefighters participated in the game on a volunteer basis. Enough players were able to remain at the game so that play could continue the entire time, although some players had to play both offense and defense.

Officer Paul Henderson scored the next touchdown for Team Police, with about 7:30 left in the second half. Henderson was out last year due to an injury he sustained while practicing for the game, so he served as the event photographer. He said he was really excited to play in this year's game rather than participate from the sidelines.

No extra point was scored, setting the game score at 12-6.

Both teams fought hard for the remainder of the game, but neither team was able to get the ball inside the end zone until the final few seconds when Wolf ran the ball in for one last touchdown for Team Police. The clock ran out, with the official score at 18 for Team Police and Team Fire at 6.

"I love to watch them play and see the healthy competition that comes with the police versus fire,GÇ¥ said Chrissy Carswell, wife of Officer Jake Carswell. "It is amazing and refreshing to see the community come together to support the local Boys & Girls Club. I only hope to see more people there next year because it is truly a fun event for all ages!GÇ¥

For more information about the Monroe Boys & Girls Club, visit www.facebook.com/MonroeBoysGirlsClub?fref=ts.

View more game pictures here.