�鶹ӳ����ý’s Tatianne DeAraujo won her third consecutive tournament Most Valuable Player award and was the defensive star of the women’s bracket. DeAraujo and teammate Megan O’Hara both took home All-Tournament Team honors. O’Hara threw for a 28-yard score to her sister Kaitlin and DeAraujo added a 16-yard touchdown in the championship game. �鶹ӳ����ý Men’s, Women’s and CoRec flag football teams have now won 14 national titles since the first tournament in 1979, the most flag football titles of any school.

Rainy and cold weather made pool play tougher than in years past. �鶹ӳ����ý, known for big plays in the passing game, instead used a heavy dose of the run and shorter passes to go undefeated throughout pool and championship play. Check on It head coach Brandon Baroody says the adjustments were the key to winning early in the tournament, “One of the games (in pool play against Texas State) it was really windy and rainy and our girls were noticeably shaking. We couldn’t throw or catch the ball, so we really had to fight to win that game in overtime.”

Baroody is a �鶹ӳ����ý alumnus and a member of the National Collegiate Flag Football Championships Hall of Fame. He has now won 11 national championships as a player or coach with �鶹ӳ����ý. He says the players deserve all the credit, “I started playing flag football for fun. I built relationship with friends and that transitioned me into coaching. If I didn’t have dedicated girls who want to compete, I probably wouldn’t still be coaching.”

DeAraujo, is the third �鶹ӳ����ý student to win multiple MVP awards and the first woman to accomplish that feat. She credits the �鶹ӳ����ý Intramural Sports experience with giving her the opportunity to compete. “My particular �鶹ӳ����ý intramural sports experience allowed me to learn key skills like working together in a group, executing under pressure, and being patient and not giving up no matter the circumstances,” she said. She is the 19th Knight to win the MVP award at the national tournament. Her all-tournament honors along with O’Hara’s means �鶹ӳ����ý has now had 47 All-Americans in the tournament’s history.

�鶹ӳ����ý Intramural Sports are part of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Recreation and Wellness Center, funded and supported by the Student Government Association.

In other flag football news, the National Collegiate Flag Football Championships Hall of Fame enshrined �鶹ӳ����ý alumna Leisha Cavallaro ‘11 into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony last month in Pensacola. She joins Nick Brigati, a former �鶹ӳ����ý IM Sports graduate assistant, as the only two �鶹ӳ����ý Knights in the Hall of Fame for officiating. Two other Knights, Brandon Baroody ‘12 and Drew Hill ’11, are in the NCFFC Hall of Fame as players.

Quick thinking, strategically based decision making and confidence and humility are all attributes Cavallaro said she learned while playing flag football and working at the Recreation and Wellness Center.

“I gained the ability to logically and strategically think through situations to respond in a more efficient manner especially in stressful situations. Everything I learned (as an �鶹ӳ����ý RWC staff member and official) has rolled over into my personal and professional life even now, six years after I graduated,” said Cavallaro.

Cavallaro was a successful flag football official and player during her time at �鶹ӳ����ý. Her accomplishments on the flag football field include:

Cavallaro, Steve Anderson (2002 and 2003) and Brandon Schwab (2012 and 2013) are the only �鶹ӳ����ý Knights to receive All-American Official honors in consecutive years in Flag Football. Anderson and Schwab are now enjoying success as basketball officials. Anderson is a fulltime NBA referee and Schwab is in the NBA Development league.

�鶹ӳ����ý’s team “Check On It” used a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Florida A&M University 7-6 to successfully defend last year’s national championship.

�鶹ӳ����ý’s suffocating defense was the story of the tournament. The team started with back-to-back shutouts, combining for 80 points, in preliminary action with wins over Campbell University and Ferris State. In the tournament round, �鶹ӳ����ý continued the tough defense with shutout wins over North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals and Howard University in the semifinals. 

�鶹ӳ����ý outscored opponents 119-6 during the three-day event, giving up its first and only score in the championship game when FAMU took a 6-0 lead late in the first half.

Senior center and corner, Dannica Mosher, said �鶹ӳ����ý’s defense set the tone for this year’s title.

“Giving up only 6 points is quite the accomplishment and I thank our incredible defense for that,” she said.

Late in the fourth quarter, tournament MVP Tatianne Dearaujo, reached the end zone to tie the game at 6-6. �鶹ӳ����ý quarterback Keimy Milanes then completed a pass to Amanda Hall for a successful point after touchdown and the lead.

FAMU did get the ball back with time on the clock, but Hall intercepted a pass to stop the Rattlers’ threat with less than 2 minutes to go.
Check On It was led by Milanes, who suffered a serious knee injury on the first day of last year’s tournament, Dearaujo and Charlene Thome. NIRSA honored all three women as part of the All-Tournament team. The team is coached by �鶹ӳ����ý graduate Brandon Baroody, a NIRSA Championship Series Flag Football Hall of Famer. 

�鶹ӳ����ý now has 42 All-Americans in the tournament’s history and Dearaujo is the 17th �鶹ӳ����ý student to be named tournament MVP.  

“What’s so special about this team is we’re much more than that, these girls and Brandon are family,” she said.

Shane Land, assistant director of Intramural Sports at the �鶹ӳ����ý Recreation and Wellness Center, credits the team’s hard work ethic for the sustained success.

“They practice and play in tournaments year round in preparation for the national tournament and that work ethic is what has led to their success,” he said.

�鶹ӳ����ý men’s, women’s and co-rec flag football teams have now won 12 national titles since the first tournament in 1979, the most flag football titles of any school in North America.

Baroody has been a part of nine of �鶹ӳ����ý’s 12 titles as a player or coach.

�鶹ӳ����ý’s Co-Rec Team also made the final four of the tournament which also features student officials, including three from �鶹ӳ����ý: Kelsey Jones, Randy Korn and Sammie Fitzell.