Freezing flag football finale played under the lights at ORR

Nov 13, 2019

MATTAPOISETT — Dozens of players toughed out freezing temperatures to participate in Mattapoisett Recreation’s flag football season finale on the game field at Old Rochester Regional High School on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

Organizer Carter Hunt said that the league hosts kids from tri-town, Acushnet, and Fairhaven, and normally plays every Sunday morning at Tabor Academy. The first half of their weekly sessions focuses on drills and developing skills, and the second half is dedicated to scrimmage games. 

At the end of each season, players get a chance to compete in a finale under the stadium lights at ORR.  Games are played with five members from each team on the field. In addition to having to strip flags instead of tackling, the games are played on smaller sections of the field measuring 80 by 40 yards. Each game is played for 35 minutes.

There are four divisions in the league, seperated by age group. The first is for kindergarten and first grade students, then second and third graders, fourth and fifth graders, and finally sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in the oldest division.

The oldest age group also competes in a three week playoff season, and held its championship at the end of Wednesday night’s finale. Steven Comeau coached the winning group, and attributed his teams’s victory to “just hustle and good defense.”

After playing in the cold, players were treated to pizza, and earned medals for competing in the flag football league.