FDNY Bravest

2008 National Champs

     The 2008 National Public Safety Football League Championship Game was a great one that didn't end until after the final seconds had ticked off the clock. Saturday, June 14th, the Bravest took on the Phoenix Thunder at Cortez High School , Phoenix , Arizona . Temperatures during the day reached 116, with it hovering around 100 at kickoff. The Thunder are a combination of police and firefighters from the Phoenix area in Arizona.

     The bravest jumped out to a 6 - 0 lead when Ryan Davan connected with Tom Cozzi in the first quarter. The extra-point attempt by George Oostmeijer was no good from a guy who is almost always automatic. But, George got back on track with a 19 yard field goal a little later.

     Sean Watson of Phoenix , who had the game of anyone's life, ran one in shortly before the half to cut the lead to 9 - 7 and that's how it remained well into the third quarter. Watson started out as the Thunder's running back, and then moved to quarterback, and he was also the kicker. Watson made the score 10 - 9 in the third quarter with a 20 yard field goal.

     The teams traded punts with the Bravest getting the better of ball movement, but going nowhere. Then midway through the 4th quarter, Davan threw an interception to Gabriel Barreras that didn't end until he was in the end zone. Watson added the extra-point and that put the FDNY team in a 17 - 9 hole.

     The Bravest were able to march the ball down the field and Davan once again found Cozzi with a 6 yard touchdown pass to bring the Bravest within 17 - 15. FDNY tried a 2-point conversion to tie the game but Davan lost the handle and it was scooped up by a Thunder player who looked like he was going to take it all the way back, but he was caught from behind by Gordon Tunison 12 yards shy of the end-zone.

    The Bravest weren't done...and neither were the Thunder. With less than six minutes to go, the Bravest kicked the ball to the Thunder who started the possession at their own 22 yard line. Watson dropped back to pass and hit the FDNY's Matt "smart" Quinn in stride, who took it to the house. This put the Bravest up 21- 17 and left a lot of time on the clock...three and a half minutes.

     Sean Watson and the Thunder took over at their own 30. During this drive Watson ran just as far sideline to sideline as he did toward the Bravest end-zone. Slowly but surely he got the Phoenix team down to the Bravest 1 yard line and 23 ticks on the clock. Phoenix took a timeout and put starting quarterback Art Gonzalez back into the game to let Watson get a full head of steam from his normal running back position. The bravest D-Line held true, stopping Watson on the first attempt, but getting a delay of game penalty with 16 ticks left. Watson was given the ball again, but stopped and the Thunder were able to line it up and get off one last play as the clock expired. The ball was sent up the middle, both teams pushing from their respective side, whistles were blown, but no signal given. The crowd was silent while waiting for the referees to make their call. After some discussion the head referee signaled no touchdown, saying the runners knee had touched the ground before he extended the ball over the goal-line...the FDNY Bravest were National Champions.

     This makes the Bravest only the second team to have more then one NPSFL Championship under their belt, joining the NYPD Finest in that category. Matt Quinn of the FDNY also had another interception earlier in the game, but his touchdown proved to be the deciding factor for the FDNY and he was named the games Steven McAllister Most Valuable Player. Both teams played incredibly and exemplified what this league is all about. Playing a game you love to raise money for charity. Congratulations to both teams on a job well done!!!

See pictures from the game...CLICK HERE!!!

 

Bravest Beat Cops...

The FDNY football team  were victorious over the NYPD 17 - 15 in the 36th Annual Fun Ciity Bowl at Hofstra University. The Bravest jumped out to a quick 14 - 0 lead with a 79 yard touchdown pass from Ryan Davan to Brian Vomero and a 36 yarder from Joe Metress to Vomero. But, that would be all their scoring until the final minute and a half of the game.

     The Finest got on the board in the first quarter after the Bravest fumbled a toss into their own end-zone for a NYPD safety making it 14 - 2. The NYPD made it 14 - 9 in the second quarter with a 15 yard pass and closed to 14 - 12 at halftime with a 13 yard field goal.

     The NYPD took the lead in the early in the fourth quarter with another field goal, but the Bravest weren't done. With only a couple minutes remaining on the clock, Davan found Vomero to get to theFinest 35 yard line. A Paul Neuman run got the FDNY into range for a field goal attempt which was connected by George Oostmeyer from the 17.

     The Bravest now advance to the NPSFL Championship in Phoenix, Arizona against the Phoenix Thunder, a combination team of police and fire from the Phoenix area. That game will be played on Saturday, June 14th at Cortez High School, Phoenix, Arizona.. The Bravest were last in Arizona for the 2006 title game against Phoenix, losing the 31 - 26.

                                                                           

Welcome to the FDNY Bravest Football Club

The FDNY Football Team is a member of the National Public Safety Football League (NPSFL) which is a union of public safety agency football teams from throughout the United States, united to promote a positive self image to the public by raising funds for charity through spirited competition. The Bravest Football Club is incorporated in New York State and recognized as a not for profit organization by the Internal Revenue Service under the 501c3 statute. Our Federal ID # is 30-0057526.