Barrington Pop Warner sent three teams to the NFL Flag Regional Championship, held earlier this month in Taunton, Mass. 

The winners of the regional tournament automatically qualify for the nationals, which are held at NFL Pro Bowl at the conclusion of the NFL season. 

All three Barrington Pop Warner teams celebrated numerous victories at the regional tournament. 

12U Eagles

Barrington sent a 12U girls team to regionals. The team consisted of seven players: MJ Evans, Piper Morrissey, Lucy LoVerme, Emma LoVerme, Skyler LoVerme, Teagan Martin and Avery Martin, and was coached by Will LoVerme.

In the opening game, the Eagles won 31-0, utilizing the mercy rule quickly against a town team from Narragansett. Unfortunately, that was the only town team the girls played. For the next two games, the random pool play bracket matched Barrington against very tough, year-round travel teams. In the second game, the girls played CK Divas from Woburn, Mass. 

“It was an evenly matched game, but the Eagles lost 19-6 in a game ultimately decided by two big plays where we couldn't quite pull the flag on long sideline runs,” wrote Coach LoVerme in a message to the Barrington Times.

In the third game, the Eagles faced the toughest matchup of the tournament. The Long Island Venom team was ranked number six in the country and had just easily defeated the CK Divas, Barrington’s previous opponent. 

“The girls knew the only path to playoffs was to pull off a major upset,” Coach LoVerme wrote. “Instead of being intimidated by a clear size and experience advantage, the Eagles stepped up to the challenge and had by far their best game of the tournament.”

On offense, the Eagles played clean, methodical football and were able to score twice without a turnover. But the real story of this game was defense. Borrowing from basketball strategy, they shut down Venom's top player using a box and one defense. 

“The Venom girls clearly became frustrated and surprised as the game progressed,” Coach LoVerme wrote. 

As the final whistle blew, Venom could only manage one score. “Hopefully early ferries were available back to Long Island, because the Eagles sent Venom packing with a huge 14-6 upset.”

In the semi-finals, the girls had a rematch with the CK Divas. The first half was a defensive battle — neither team crossed the 50-yard line and the score remained 0-0. 

In the second half, the Eagles had two opportunities to pull ahead with deep passes, but the wide receiver could not quite pull in the first pass and then tripped in the end zone on the second chance resulting in an interception. 

Still tied 0-0, there was a questionable pass interference call as the Eagles safety just missed an interception. The Divas finally entered Eagles territory and capitalized with a score, pulling ahead 6-0. With only a few minutes remaining, the Eagles went no huddle and dove deep into the playbook. 

“There was another unfortunate penalty, a questionable ‘jump-cut,’ which called back a huge run and resulted in a loss of down. This eliminated our last chance,” Coach LoVerme wrote.

8U Eagles

The Barrington Eagles 8U “Elite 8” faced off against a tough regional bracket of 12 teams. 

The Eagles, coached by Josh Glass and Nick Guerriero, won two out of three pool games and advanced to the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Eagles’ hopes of a trip to the Pro Bowl were cut short.

“The team was the ultimate ensemble of two way players, with every player contributing on both sides of the ball,” wrote Coach Glass. 

• Michael Blaney (WR/CB) ripped off two Pick-6s to fight off a strong opponent in Game 2 and advanced the ball on offense all day long and every time he was targeted. 

• Cassius Hychko (QB/DL) was nearly untouchable in his debut at QB, hitting receivers up and down the field all day long for multiple touchdowns; his offense was complimented by a shut down performance on the defensive line. 

• Finley Genetti (RB/FS) scored twice on offense, including during the playoffs, and stopped opponents in their tracks with multiple sacks and a timely safety. 

• William Glass (RB/FS) opened up the day with three touchdowns in Game 1 to let the tournament know Barrington meant business, and on defense played with a speed that had him covering multiple levels all day long. 

• Thomas Grossman (WR/CB) scored two tough touchdowns, but most impressively shut down half the field on defense, with multiple broken up passes and an interception. 

• Rocco Guerriero (WR/CB) was the team’s leading receiver, with a day highlighted by an acrobatic touchdown in the playoffs that kept the Eagles’ hopes alive; on defense he turned his part of the field into a “no run” zone for the other teams. 

• David Lea (RB/CB) scored on a critical play in Game 2 that gave the Eagles a lead they wouldn’t give back, and on defense he was a menace, using his speed to shut down plays in every game. 

• Terry Nickell (WR/DL) had multiple big chunk plays on offense and set the tone on defense all day long, playing with a toughness that drew compliments from other teams and was punctuated by multiple interceptions and the rare Pick-2.

10U Eagles

The Barrington Eagles 10U team opened the tournament with a 20-6 victory over Gansett, and then faced off against a tough New England Hemmy team. The Eagles battled hard but lost 20-0. 

Barrington bounced back with a 24-0 win over Out of Bounds Athletics in the third game. That victory propelled Barrington into the first round of the single elimination tournament. 

Barrington lost to Leominster Blue Devils, 28-0, in the single-elimination play. 

The 10U Eagles team featured Jacob Nasuti, Roman Figliola, Grady Lubelczyk, Fionn Zierak, Gabe White, Crosby Blanco, Ben Carter, Noah Robbins, Wes Beatty and Peter Berard.