SportsBlog Championship Series, first round

OK, campers, as promised, a real trick or treat, as SportsBlog Nation begins its own 12-team all-inclusive football SportsBlog Championship Series on Halloween night. First-round games:

Game 1 -- No. 12 Singapore Falcons at No. 5 Zama American.
Game 2 -- No. 9 John F. Kennedy at No. 8 Yokota.
Game 3 -- No. 10 Robert D. Edgren at No. 7 Father Duenas Memorial.
Game 4 -- No. 11 Simon Sanchez at No. 6 Guam High.

And awayyyyyyyyy we go:

Game 1 -- Danny Albanese returns opening kick for touchdown, runs for two more and catches a TD pass as Singapore's diversity matches Zama's Wing-T score for score in the first half.

Zama, Daegu football: Trying to erase long Far East title droughts

To correct a bit of history that I kept getting wrong ...

Zama American's football team next Saturday will try to become the first Trojans boys sports team to win a Far East team title of any kind since the 1978-79 Zama wrestling team. A search of the archive revealed this; up until now, I'd thought it was the 1962-63 boys basketball team.

Daegu American is attempting to erase a long title drought of its own. Not since the 1989-90 Warriors basketball team has Daegu won a Far East boys team title.

First blush at Pacific high school football Week 10.0

UPDATED AT 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31:

-- Daegu American 30, Osan American 28, OT: Antoine "Flash" Feagin three TD runs, three two-point runs, including the game-winners. Warriors coach Ken Walter called it the greatest game he's ever seen. Certainly the greatest game in DODEA Korea league's seven-season history.

-- Zama American 21, Nile C. Kinnick 14: Trojans' running game continues to struggle, but Mike Jorgenson's QB play, Ashton Norwood's takeaways enough to give Zama its first regular-season league title in school history.

-- American School In Japan 39, Yokota 6: The bad news for the rest of Japan is, QB Hayden Jardine ain't going anywhere.

Osan at Daegu: 'Do or die' time in bid to host Class A grid title clash

Big and physical vs. small and fleet. Those contrasting styles will line up across the line of scrimmage at 6 p.m. Friday as Osan American battles Daegu American with host rights to the Far East Class A title game on the line. Click here to preview the coming weekend in Pacific high school football.

Hail to the league champs: Kinnick spikers earn first Kanto title; Kadena's Cordova, Sprow, Mason repeat OAC crowns

Hearty congratulations bestowed by SportsBlog Nation as the parade of league champions marches on in late October:

-- A "breakout" match is how coach Al Garrido described Nile C. Kinnick setter Marina Nakayama's night Wednesday. She recorded 23 set assists to boost the Red Devils past Christian Academy In Japan in straight sets. Kinnick is 22-0 overall, 11-0 in league, but more importantly captured its first Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools league title in school history.

Catching up with former Seoul American spiker Gabby Matautia, Kadena cager Terrone Sheffey, four ex-Kinnick athletes

UPDATED at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 and 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29.

Former Seoul American girls volleyball middle blocker Gabriella Matautia and her Moanalua volleyball team are headed to the Hawaii state playoffs. Photograph of her can be found here, although I'm sure she'd have wanted it to be associated with a story about her team winning.

Terrone Sheffey, a former basketball standout at Kadena, left Okinawa for the States for his senior year of high school along with Jamil Barney, and is now at Belmont Abbey College, a Division II school in North Carolina.

Oct. 29 Home Team -- Yokota freshman tennis star Erika Youngdahl playing big, dreaming big

Two years ago, she could have easily given up on tennis. Her father handed her a tennis racquet and gave her the toughest of introductions to the sport. But one day, something clicked and she fell in love with the game. And Yokota Panthers freshman singles star Erika Youngdahl has the record to prove it, and is taking dead aim at a berth in the Far East Tournament finals next month. Click here to read her story.

ASIJ-Yokota-Zama: Kanto Plain football championship possibilities, scenarios

Since Ornauer messed up and prematurely crowned a Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools football champion, it's only fair that we examine the possibilities of winning the league title for American School In Japan (4-1) and Zama American and Yokota (each 3-2).

Although in 1995 the KPASSP constitution was changed to include a point-differential tiebreaker to prevent ties for the league title from happening, that provision appears to no longer be in the league constitution. I do not know when that changed.

Hail to the Asia-Pacific Invitational Cross-Country meet winners, ASIJ's Krauth, HKIS' Strandemo

Congratulations to Sam Krauth of American School In Japan and Madeline Strandemo of Hong Kong International for their victories in the boys and girls 3.1-mile individual races in the Asia-Pacific Invitational Cross-Country Meet on Friday at Asan Memorial Park on Guam. Krauth ran the course in 17 minutes, 34.4 seconds. Last year's winner, Kelly Langley of St. Mary's International, was second. Strandemo won in 20:39.3; runner-up Bessie Noll of ASIJ trailed by 31.4 seconds.

Poll: Which team will win the SBS, SportsBlog Championship Series 12-team all-inclusive football playoff?

Kadena: Shariff Coleman, Thomas McDonald, Stan Schrock, diverse offense, relentless defense.
18% (5 votes)
George Washington: Santos & Santos & Co. simply too much to handle on both sides of the ball
7% (2 votes)
American School In Japan: Hayden to Tom Jardine easily the Pacific's best pass combo; Busam hard to stop.
36% (10 votes)
Daegu American: Opponents need to slow spread, find ways to stop "Flash" Feagin
7% (2 votes)
Zama American: Trojans already have solid running attack, but now developing a passing game.
29% (8 votes)
Guam High: "Three Caballeros" Cosey, Brunson and Jacobs will give opponents fits.
0% (0 votes)
Father Duenas Memorial: Whether running or throwing, Friars QB Will Williams is a force.
0% (0 votes)
Yokota: Lot of pride left in that program; Harvin, Daley are two of those "refuse to lose" kind of guys.
4% (1 vote)
John F. Kennedy: Borja, Beam, Mata and Islanders defense tough for an offense to handle.
0% (0 votes)
Robert D. Edgren: Ja'Maal Dennis the type of player who can carry a team, strong-armed QB Davis a worry for foes.
0% (0 votes)
Simon Sanchez: Flores, Quenga and Sharks capable of surprising anybody.
0% (0 votes)
Singapore Falcons: Albanese dangerous on either side of the ball, Roberts a sure-armed QB.
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 28