Suns Take Inaugural NorCal Championship

The Sacramento Suns defeated the San Francisco Knights in the first ever NorCal Championship game in Concord on March 23. The game will be an ongoing preseason exhibition match between the two leagues (GGAFL & SAFL) in order to provide more pre-season exposure to the game.

The San Francisco Knights are the reigning Golden Gate Australian Football League (GGAFL) Premiers and long-time Knight, Christian Chynoweth (Chyna) conceived the idea of the champion GGAFL team playing the Sacramento Suns at the start of the following year. And from this idea the NorCal Championship game was born.

Surprisingly the Suns were able to muster a team of 15 players despite their season not having started yet and several regulars were not able to make the game. The Knights were also able to gather a good crew of guys, including several new players, which was a solid effort based on the fact that several past Knight's players are now a part of the newly formed Seals, a 5th team entering the GGAFL.

The game was played in tremendous spirits with several GGAFL and USA Revolution players taking the opportunity to work on their umpiring skills, as well as playing where possible. Sun's Coach, Matt Bishop, took the opportunity to play many of the Suns in different positions from those they were used to playing.

In the end it was the Suns who were victorious winning the game 7.9.51 to 6.2.38. The game was incredibly close most of the way through with only 4 points separating the teams at half time and scores were level at three-quarter time. Sacramento Sun Casey Allen was named Best On Ground for his tireless efforts throughout the entire game. We wish him well on his move to Santa Barbara, which he undertook straight after the game!

Final Scores
                   Suns            Knights
Q1              2.2.14          2.0.12
Q2              3.4.22          3.0.18
Q3              4.7.31          5.1.31
Q4              7.9.51          6.2.38

Sun's Goals: M. Lege (3), M. Bishop (2), T. Kellom, S. Tyebjee
Knight's Goals: R. Sears, M. Chen, J. Bekiaris, Spider, Jake

Following the men’s competition, the San Francisco Iron Maidens and Sacramento Lady Suns had a mixed team scratch match. Both women’s clubs are demonstrating a great commitment to recruiting and developing new players with new players on both teams participating. New players from both sides combined to put points on the board. San Francisco representatives Brette Brower and Sara Yvette Magallón showed the level of talent that exists in the Bay Area while Helen Mondia and Amy Bishop were consistently good for Sacramento. After 40 minutes, the San Francisco Iron Maidens reigned supreme in this Northern California Women’s match.

The Sacramento Suns would like to thank the Lady Suns for their assistance and support, and the San Francisco Knights and the GGAFL for the game. We look forward to continuing the tradition in 2014.

Source: www.sacfooty.com & www.ggafl.com