Match report: Central Regionals
The Blues face strong competition and familiar faces, as they enter the halfway point of the season.
The USAFL adds to the already heated summer with Central Regionals being hosted in Olathe, KS. No strangers to the great Kansas City area, the Blues come in with a determined side of both seasoned vets and hungry rookies, ready to play against a few league’s best sides that the STL boys know all too well. The first match-up had the Blues facing off against our neighbors in the north, the Chicago Swans. The Blues last saw Chicago at the Midwest Cup in late May, which resulted in a tough 36-19 loss. Not wanting a repeat of the past, the Blues were able to bag an early major from Stephen Zenishek, within the first 2 minutes of the game. Po had what seemed an impossible angle on the goal, but was able to work the bounce for his first of the weekend. The Swans, not taking kindly to the early pressure from St. Louis, were able to slot in a major and a couple of behinds just before the 10-minute mark. Still showing a true fighting spirit, the Blues came soaring back with two behinds from Ethan Bradley, as well as a major and behind from Troy Kirk, with a few minutes left in the half. The Swans were able to complete a mark just as the half expired. The kick would lead to a major for Chicago, as St. Louis entered the halftime break up 15 to 13.
St. Louis would face challenges in the second half, the first of which would be a quick major from Chicago claiming an early second-half lead. The Blues looked to fire back, resulting in a behind near the halfway point. The next major challenge the Blues would face would be an injury to new recruit Malik Mehmedspahic. A three-man collision would see Mehmedspahic leave the field with the tournament's medical crew. Although cleared to play, Malik decided to air on the side of caution and would not return to the field for the day. Back to the ball game, Chicago would find the center of the sticks twice more, with St. Louis unable to return the favor. Full-time would see the Blues fall 17 to 34.
Game two would see St. Louis face the North Texas Devils. St Louis had faced the Devils’ reserve team in the 2024 USAFL Nationals, resulting in a win for the boys in blue. The Blues entered the game rested and ready to give it their all, as spectators faced a back-and-forth play as if they were attending Wimbledon. When the Devils thought they had secured a lead, St. Louis came roaring back with an equalizer. Majors from Zenishek and Kirk would cancel out each of North Texas’. The Devils would find a third with only minutes to play, but a great build-up from the Blues would see Zenishek slot his second of the game and third on the day, approaching a major career milestone in the process. Halftime would see the Blues and Devils tied at 18.
The second half would see North Texas flex their numbers a bit, as key substitutions of fresh legs would help the Devils begin to chisel out a lead. Two majors and a few behinds would help establish that lead and some control of the second half. St. Louis would answer back with a major of their own, as Ethan Bradley managed to find his first major of the day. Wanting to seal the deal, North Texas was able to find their 6th major of the game, giving them a 15-point cushion. One final push from the Blues would see Zenishek put in a behind resulting in a final score of 39-25 in favor of the Devils.
Rounding out the day, the Blues would face the Minnesota Freeze. The third game of the day would see big starts from Blues rookies Omar Moubarek and Oswaldo Hernandez. The Blues began to feel the heat from the day, whereas the Freeze were able to keep their cool. Although St. Louis was able to compete physically with Minnesota in the first half, chances on goal were limited. The Freeze were able to bang home 3 majors and 2 behind within the first 20 minutes of play. St Louis, seemingly grinding for every chance they could, would see behinds from Zenishek, Alex Tajkowski, and Peter Witcomb (another newcomer to the St. Louis side).
The second half would prove to be another grind, as Minnesota continued to lay on continuous pressure. Although both teams played a very physical game, the Freeze were able to turn that physicality into scoring, coming away with 4 additional majors and 2 more behinds for the half. The effort from the Blues would shine in the final minutes of the half, as Zenishek was able to snag a contested mark in the forward 50. Fans were on pins and needles as Zenishek put away his 4th major of the day, resulting in his 100th major of his career. Blues fans, as well as former Tulsa Buffalo teammates, cheered from the sidelines as Zenishek reached this Centurion milestone. In the end, the Freeze would take the win at full-time 46 to 9.
With the weekend wrapping, we also see June begin to wrap up. July will bring a break in USAFL competition for St. Louis. The Blues will have metros on Monday, July 21st at 6 pm and Saturday, August 2nd at 11 am. The club will return to USAFL action on August 16th when they will host Minnesota, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.
ST. LOUIS 2.3 2.5 (17)
CHICAGO 2.1 5.4 (34)
ST. LOUIS 3.0 4.1 (25)
NORTH TEXAS 3.0 6.3 (39)
ST. LOUIS 0.3 1.3 (9)
MINNESOTA 3.2 7.4 (46)
Goals
St. Louis Zenishek (4), Kirk (2), Bradley
Best
Game 1: Bevan Charlton-White (CHI), Marc Edwards (CHI), Alex Tajkowski (STL)
Game 2: Chris Willis (NTX), Nathan Hatton (NTX), Stephen Zenishek (STL)
Game 3: Alex Tajkowski (STL), Josh Friday (MN)
St. Louis (Club Voted): Tajkowski, Bradley, Zenishek