by Merrick Parnell

Special to the Sounder

The Orcas Christian School Saints Flag Football team ended its season on a winning note after beating Milo Adventist Academy from Oregon 38-30 and claiming a championship n Billings, Mont. over the weekend.  The tournament boosted their overall win-loss record to 18-3.

The tournament started on Saturday night as the Saints took on Billings West High School at the Billings Sportsplex. The Saints jumped out of the gates with speed and force to earn a commanding lead. Quarterback Ryan Flint found his receiving corps made up of Corry Aragon and Mike Harris with surgeon-like precession, while Harris also broke off several huge gains on the ground from sweeps.

Meanwhile, on defense, the speedy and devastating pass rush of Peter Miller and Caitlyn Fowler wreaked havoc on Billings West, causing their all-star quarterback to throw several interceptions to stand out cornerback Joey Fowler.

“The pass rush helped immensely because when we got a sack, it got the rest of the team back to thinking that we could make a stop in that series. Sacks were a morale boost, if you will, so very beneficial to us, even beyond just negative yardage for the opposing teams,” said defensive end Peter Miller.

The Saints would storm to a 38-28 upset against the favored Billings West Squad.

In the next round the Saints would play to a win over Billings Skyline High School, which put them into the championship game, facing off against the Billings Panthers, a select flag football team made up of  the best players from the area.

Rising up to the challenge, the Saints’ offense struck swiftly and struck often. Aside from Aragon and Harris, Maelle Comrie and Lucien Anderson opened up the game with several big catches that kept the defense on their toes.

On the Panthers’ final drive, Joey made a Richard Sherman-like play on the ball, knocking it away from the Panthers’ star receiver.

After the final whistle sounded, the final score was 38-25.

This season proved to be one of the most successful Saints’ seasons. The Saints went undefeated in 2007 and finished 10-1 in 2008 on their way to winning a championship at the playoffs at Milo Academy.

Aside from their Montana Championship, the Saints finished second in the Northwest Can-Am League playoffs after losing to Fraser Valley academy in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

In regular season league play, in the Northwest Can-Am League, the Saints swept Skagit Adventist and took two out of three from Cornerstone-Lynden.