Shell Chiefs are CFL champs

The Shell Chiefs marched onto the CPA Airport football field on Saturday to finish what they started some 11 weeks ago, and after about three hours of splashing around the thoroughly saturated gridiron, they accomplished their goal by disconnecting the Verizon Nitro to win the championship of the 2004 Commonwealth Football League by a score of 16-2.

Led by a dominating performance by running back Stanley Iakopo, the Chiefs pounded away at the Nitro defensive line until they finally broke midway through the fourth quarter. Iakopo racked up 115 yards on 19 carries upon the sloppy field to lead all ball carriers on the day.

“I want to give all of the credit for this to my offensive line. You made this possible,” said Iakopo.

Iakopo made the difficult running through the driving rain look easy, and during a post-game awards presentation, he was later named the championship’s most valuable player for his efforts. Fellow running back Jeff Boyer came in to get some of the hard yards, as the bruising back ran the ball 11 times for 46 yards.

With the game tied at a safety apiece with about seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs moved the ball down field until Iakopo broke free to score the game’s first touchdown from seven yards out. Boyer charged ahead to pick up the two-point conversion to make the score 10-2.

After the Chiefs’ ferocious defense halted the Nitro again, the coaches once again called in Iakopo’s number from the sideline. Three and a half quarters worth of Stanley proved too much for the Nitro, as Iakopo put the finishing touches on Verizon when he leapt over players and puddles to go 22 yards for his second score of the day.

Nitro quarterback Carmen Cabrera and wide receiver George Lieto provided a little excitement toward the end of the game, as Cabrera completed the only pass of the day when he hooked up with Lieto for a 46-yarder.

As in all of the previous Verizon drives, this one was foiled by the tenacious Chiefs defense. Cabrera tried to create some late game heroics when he tried for the Hail Mary play in the end zone, but Jerome Ierome was there to make the interception that put an end to the game.

The Chiefs turned to another pair of backs to get the job done as well, as Tony Sonoda and Paul Guerrero combined for 39 yards on 12 carries. The red and yellow clad warriors were fortunate that their running game was so successful because there was no sign of their vaunted aerial attack.

“With the field the way it was, you’ve got to keep it on the ground and keep the defense attacking. We couldn’t pass, so we kept the ball on the ground, and in the fourth quarter it finally worked. We needed clean tackles and no mistakes today,” said Chiefs head coach Pete Le’au.

Le’au has gained plenty of experience as a coach in the CFL since the inception of the league, and in the championship game, he went to a player with a lengthy football resume to throw the ball with former semi-professional Oscar Sablan.

“Today’s game was won in the trenches. All of the credit goes to the offensive line and the running backs because there was no way that we were going to be able to pass today,” said Sablan.

Sablan was the fourth signal caller that the Chiefs have had at the helm of their high-scoring offense in the past four games, and was notified of his start last week when Bryant Moors was injured in the season finale.

Prior to taking snaps under center, Sablan has spent time as a member of the offensive line, at tight end, and on the defense.

“It was hard losing three quarterbacks, but it’s all about doing whatever it takes to get the team the win.”

Clasley Ngeskebei started the season for the Chiefs at quarterback, but was sidelined due to a broken clavicle three games into the season. Following the season finale with the Nitro, Ngeskebei vowed to “come back as a janitor” if it would have helped his team get the win, but as it turned out, he made his way onto the field for a couple of plays.

“It feels damn good to win after struggling all these years. Woo yeah, we did it!,” said Ngeskebei.
Ironically, Ngeskebei and Sablan are former members of the Verizon team that jumped ship during the off-season amidst rumors that the red and white would not field a team for the 2004 season.

In all, there were seven former Blaze players on the Shell sideline throughout the season, to include Juan Kapileo, Jeff Norita, Tony Sonoda, David Ada, and Clint Quitigua.

“It feels good. I’ve played my first three years with [the Nitro] and all I wanted to do was win a championship—now I’ve got it,” said Quitigua.

“I remember that we had a hard time getting things to click over there, but now it just feels great to play for a winning team. I give them a lot of credit. They played their hearts out. ” said Ada.

While the depleted Verizon squad walked off the field on the losing side of the stick, coach Andre Winston said that his team has no reason to hang their heads, and he believes that the Nitro have gained a lot from just making it to the championship game.

“Our players believe, and now when the other teams come out next year they’re going to know that the Verizon Nitro team isn’t going to be a push over. We just wanted our guys to earn respect from the other teams in the league, and I think we have that.

The players weren’t the only individuals who earned respect throughout the league, as CFL commissioner Jesse Stein took some time after the game to express his appreciation.

“I want to commend the CFL chairman of the board John Blanco for all of his hard work. He really brought it back to being a players’ league. Every week he was here, and were it not for his commitment, I don’t think that things would have gone as smoothly as they did,” said Stein.

Blanco said that the league is not done yet, as they still have to attend to the pertaining to the upcoming game against the Guam football team. During tomorrow’s CFL board meeting, league organizers will be discussing the inter-island game, the possibility of a player draft, and the awarding of the Hard Rock award for the best defensive player, the regular season offensive MVP, and the individual offensive lineman.

“It’s been a great year, but as always we will be continuing to look for ways to make next year even more exciting for the payers and the fans,” said Blanco.

The commissioner also offered thanks to William Hunter for his efforts behind the lens as the league’s cameraman, and Tom Cruz for operating the scoreboard.