Late TD lifts Lightning past Thunder

The Eastern Lighting won its first game in the CFLA Youth Football Warrior/Midget League after surviving the Southern Thunder, 40-34, last Saturday at the Airport Field.

Runningback Kobe Tomokane had a touchdown on the fourth down in the last 10 seconds of the match to help the Lightning withstand the Thunder’s second half rally and pull off the close victory, according to the CFLA website. Tomokane’s TD was the only score of the Lightning in the fourth. They built a 20-0 lead after the first quarter before the Thunder mounted a comeback in the next three periods.

Tight end Kimo Angailen gave the Lightning its first TD off a feed from quarterback Donavin Ada, while Tomokane ran for the second TD for their 12-0 lead. Another running back, Jose Camacho, also recorded a TD, while wide receiver Quinton Dela Cruz made the 2-point conversion for the Lightning’s big advantage.

Then in the second quarter, the Lightning opened up its offense with another 2-point conversion before the Thunder ended its silence with wide receiver Scottson Suda running for an 87-yard TD off a pass from fellow wide receiver Norman Cabrera.

It was the Lightning anew that attacked first in the third period with Ada making a 12-yard pass to Angailen for their fourth TD in the game and a 34-6 lead. However, the Thunder managed to trim the deficit to 16 after making back-to-back TDs to end the third. Again, Cabrera anchored the Thunder’s offense, passing to defensive tackle Franco Bondoc for the team’s second touchdown. The third TD came from Suda off Cabrera’s 9-yard pass.

The Thunder went on to continue its uphill climb in the fourth quarter, launching a 16-0 run to force the first deadlock in the game, 34-all. The Thunder first got 2 points off a safety and two more TDs with the second one involving the tandem of Cabrera and Suda anew and the team completing a 2-point conversion to tie the match.

With its 28-point lead suddenly gone, the Lightning was pressured to deliver in the closing seconds to avoid a major collapse and Tomokane came to the rescue with the late touchdown.
The close loss was the second in as many games for the Thunder, which played the Northern Saints in the league opener last Nov. 23.

Saints 24, Thunder 14
The Saints held the Thunder scoreless in the second and third quarter to win the opener.

The Thunder made it to the board first in the opening game, courtesy of Cabrera’s touchdown. However, the Saints countered quickly with Nikolai Balbin running for a 66-yard touchdown and the team having a 2-point conversion to grab the lead, 8-6. The Saints stretched the advantage to 8, 14-6, off two big plays from Troy Ngirarois, who picked up a fumble and went for the touchdown.
Neither team scored in the second quarter, helping the Saints keep its advantage, which went up to double digits, 16-6, after a safety. The Saints then pulled away further as Balbin had another touchdown after a kick-off return.

In the fourth quarter, the Saints got 2 more points off another bad snap from the Thunder, which finally ended the drought late in the final canto with Suda scoring the touchdown off a 70-yard pass from quarterback Donovan Rebuenog. Jimmy Laniyo had a 2-point conversion for the Thunder to peg the final score.