By Ashley Ferraro
Parkland Flag Football has wrapped up another phenomenal season with over a thousand players under the leadership of President Matt Kauffman. Matt has been a board member for eight years and president for the last three years. He led the league through the pandemic, ensuring flag football continued safely despite the many challenges that came with that task.
Matt has recently passed the torch to Todd Link, who will assume the role of president moving forward. Todd has volunteered as a coach for Parkland Flag for the past six years and has two children participating.
This past season, Todd coached his son and daughter’s teams to the Super Bowl, with his daughter’s team, the Seahawks, coming out as champions. Friday, November 4th, marked one of the most historic Super Bowl nights in Parkland Flag history.
In the Girls 7/9 division, the Cowboys defeated the Chiefs in a high-scoring game to mark an undefeated season. The Cowboys were led by coach Laurent Robinson. In the Girls 10/11 division, Todd’s team, the Seahawks, defeated the Dolphins for another undefeated season.
The Girls 12/14 Super Bowl championship went to the Chargers. The Chargers, led by coach Scott Backman, defeated the Steelers after an undefeated season. That marks three undefeated seasons, a scenario that’s typically unheard of.
Finally, in Parkland Flag’s newest division, Girls High School, the Panthers were named Super Bowl champions after a win against the Steelers. Adam Goldman and Bryan Krul coached the Panthers to their victory. “This was our second season of Girls High School, and we hope it continues to grow,” adds Todd.
In the CoEd 6/7 division, led by coach Laurent Robinson, the Cowboys took the win against the Chargers in overtime. In CoEd 8/9, the Buccaneers, led by Coach Scott Owens, secured a win against the Dolphins by one point after a very competitive season by both teams. In CoED 10/11, the Falcons, coached by Dan Hanes, defeated the Dolphins in another very close game.
In the CoEd 12/13 division, the Vikings secured a win against the Broncos in the Super Bowl. The Vikings were coached by Evan Golden, who grew up playing Parkland Flag as a kid. Evan secured his first Super Bowl win in all his years playing and coaching, marking a massive achievement for himself and his players.
Finally, the CoED High School division saw a face-off between the Titans and the Dolphins. Another nail-biter, the game went into overtime as the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. However, the Titans, led by Matt Kauffman in his last game, finally won.
Matt gave a speech while the parents shined their flashlights through the rain. And since it was past 11 PM, the park rangers had already turned off the lights at Pine Trails. “It was like a Disney movie,” said Todd.
During Parkland Flag’s end-of-season celebration, the league distributed $12,000 in college scholarships to twelve players in honor of the late Coach Drew Wiener. After closing out another successful year, Parkland Flag is looking forward to registration in April for its 2023 season.
For more information, visit parklandflag.com.
