Sunshine Bowl 2023...The good, the bad, the ugly.

Brien Mitchum

Press Box Report

Sunny Miami, Florida teams from all over the country converged on Tropical Park field for the 2023 Sunshine Bowl for 3A & 2.A national championships and national bowl games.

Saturday Games

Game 1

North South Bowl

Virginia Mustangs 6 vs Cin City Bucs 0

This was a tight game all the way to the end, the Cin City Bucs more total yard than the Mustang’s but the key to this game was the one turnover that the Bucs gave up and the Mustangs were able to capitalize on that mistake, otherwise the Cin City Bucs would have probably won.

Game 2

Hall Of Fame Bowl

Capitol City Seahawks 35 vs Indy Firehawk’s 6

Well, everyone has a bad day, that may not go the way they thought or said it would, the road for both of these teams to get to Miami went through winning the Dirty Bowl in January. Leading up to the week of the game, you had not heard much from the Seahawk’s, the Indy Firehawks were coming into the game with all the confidence in the world that they were going to show their skills and get the victory. Unfortunately, that is not what happened in the Hall of Fame bowl game, the Firehawks never really got into the game getting out played in every aspect of the game, Seahawks had an answer to everything the coaching staff could put out there. Seahawks out rushed, out passed and got more turnovers and dropped 35 points on them. The one highlight of the game for the Firehawks was RB Corey Bridges who took a kickoff back for a TD, only getting a few carries, had he got in the game more it the score might have been different.

The Firehawks go back to Indy and will now be the Bison red and kickoff there 2023 season in the BCFL. And the Capitol City Seahawks will kick their season off in the GDFL.

Game 3

3A National Championship

Motor City Outlaws 32 vs Akron-Canton Pitbulls 6

If you look at the stats and compare this game should have been a lot closer, with game of undefeated league champions. The crazy thing is the number of penalties that were thrown and that was probably the difference and why the game stats are so close.

This game was the battle of league champs, you had the Motor-City Outlaws (UFL) 13-0 who rolled through the UFL schedule with ease, really had not competition, won the championship in convincing fashion. The Pitbulls who were 12-0 in the (PFA) winning their championship in triple OT over the 82 Chargers, so this game was highly anticipated. But like I have said before some days just don’t go the way you would hope, and for both teams time to focus on the 2023 season and getting back to Miami in 2024.

Game 4

3A AFNT National Championship

Brooklyn Seminoles 20 vs Texas Red Raider 36

This game was ended due to a fight, not sure who started it or if there will be a winner, Red Raiders were up in the game with 9 minutes left when the fight broke out so, I would guess that they are the winners, but really do you want to win a National Championship game that way, after working this hard to get to this point.?

Sunday Games

Game 1

Sunshine Bowl National Bowl Game

82 Chargers vs Overbrook Ducks

What should have been another good game ended again when a fight broke out don’t have many details of this event, but Ducks were leading 8-6 with not much time left in the game so I am going to guess that the Overbrook Ducks got the victory. It is just a bad light on the Sunshine Bowl and Minor League football in general when grown men can’t play a game for 60 minutes and manage to screw the game by fighting sad for the players who worked hard and paid hard earned money to go to Miami to try to get there name out there, regardless of what happened who started it we have seen it so many times, and until that changes it will always be looked at as “Semi Pro” and not taken seriously.

Game 2

2A National Championship

Catawba County Hornets vs Albian Warriors

This was another one-sided game in the favor of Catawba, the Hornets came out quick and fast on the Warriors and it would be just too much for the Warriors to gain any ground to come back. Hornets take the victory in overwhelming fashion.

Game 3

2A AFNT National Championship

Western Mass Blitzin Bears vs Baltimore Broncos

As of the time of this article was published the Broncos were up 22-14 over the Bears starting the 4th Quarter.

Will update the final score when that comes through.