Lightning coming back next year

After completing their first season with a 5-1 record and a championship title, the Shell Lightning vowed to return for another go round in the Commonwealth Football League next year as the pigskin players press on for the sixth season of action.

When the final whistle sounded to cement their 16-8 victory over the Express Electronics Eagles on Saturday, the Lightning players poured onto the CPA Airport Field from the sidelines to congratulate each other for a game well-played and a common goal achieved.

Perhaps none was happier than quarterback Clas Ngeskebei, who beamed from ear to ear thanking everyone who had a part in helping him win his second championship in as many seasons.

“I’m ecstatic, I’m hyped, there’s no other feeling like it in the world—we won as a team together. It feels so great with a bunch of great guys I call my brothers. We’re going to take this to the house. We did put a whoopin’ on them. Great game, great outcome. I love the fans, they came out here and supported us, and they helped us out a lot too. They kept us in the game. It was the fans too, so a lot of props to them too,” he said.

Ngeskebei didn’t stop there as he honored the big men in front of him that kept him relatively free to make plays and give the Lightning offense a chance to put points on the board.

“Like I’ve been saying all season long, my line is great. I could never ask for a better line than this one. This is the greatest line I’ve ever had. They did their jobs and the running backs pulled through. What more can I say?”

One member of the line that didn’t see any action had plenty to do with the outcome, as player-coach John Blanco manned the sidelines in favor of the next generation of gridiron warriors. His team awarded him with the game ball for his efforts putting the team together and keeping them focused on the prize.

The veteran of many trench battles said that he was extremely happy to win the championship and relieved to express himself openly about the season.

“It feels great man. Honestly I’ve been holding a lot back and I’ve been diplomatic, but it feels good to win. The best team won today. Though it was a close score, I feel that we could have scored a little more, we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but overall I’m happy with the outcome,” he said.

Brian Hahn led his team to four wins during the season as the quarterback, but in the last few games he took a back seat to allow Ngeskebei to run the offense. Rather than call plays from the sidelines, Hahn opted to contribute on the field on the defensive side of the ball.

“I was trying to help the team by doing my best to try and win the championship—try to finish what we started. Clas is coming around. He’s the future, he’s a good quarterback, and we’ve got to let him learn the position, feel comfortable, and gain some confidence. He did a good job today,” he said.

Despite winning the title, Blanco said that the game was marred by the shenanigans during the game that involved a pair of Eagles being ejected.

“I’m not going to say that we underestimated these guys but [the Eagles] obviously came here to fight and we came here to win. They played dirty and I think that one aspect kind of soured the whole thing for me today. Why? Why do you have to go that route? We’re going to see each other around after the game. They didn’t need to go that way,” he said.

All negativity aside, Blanco said that he is excited for the return of the blue and gold in 2006, and that he will most likely be sporting a clipboard and visor instead of pads and a helmet.

“We’re happy. Our team is coming back next year. We have every intention of coming back. I’m coming back—all these guys are coming back. I doubt [I’ll be playing next year]. I didn’t play at all today. I was standing on the sidelines and did what I said on my roster I was supposed to do—to coach. I suited up today just in case, but I think my playing days are over,” he said.

After the team posed for a picture with the CFL trophy and lauded the individual award winners, they moved their celebration to the Civic Center Beach in favor of a different type of waves.