Football for the Future!
By Chris Murphy
Here we are, nearing the end of one of the weirdest NFL football seasons ever. ModestoView readers know that many of the local restaurants and bars featured in ModestoView are also great please to watch your favorite teams. Are you in the playoffs? Will you be a national champion? Can you stay healthy? Can you play into the future? Could you imagine being a quarterback at the age of 50 or even 60? Would’t it be cool if you could get out there any play?
There is hope and it just may be the future of football.
In 2022, the NFL switched the annual Pro Bowl to flag football. After years of avoiding injury to star players, this new format has excited football fans and the sport of flag football is spreading across the USA, and it’s not just for youth anymore. And, did you know there is a world champion and national champion flag football team, right here in Modesto.
Meet 56-year-old Trevor Tucker and 60 year old Randy Scacuto, both from Modesto. They both played high-school football back in the day, both quarterbacks. They love football today as much as they did then. The reason they can still play and win, is flag football.
In 1996 they connected and put a competitive flag football team together. Randy is in construction and Trevor is in the fire sprinkler business, so they had some flexibility of time and they rallied players from all over California, even some college and former pro players to field a team.
Trevor Tucker, grew up on Modesto’s west side near the old Early Dawn went to Davis High, moving to Idaho. He later hitch hiked back to Garden Grove then back home to Modesto as a professional fire sprinkler system contractor. He never lost the football bug and after recovering from ACL replacements, he wanted to put a team together with Randy. In 2001, they went through three 25-team divisions for a national win. Randy also went to the National Championships in 4 x 4 Air it Out series and played against Brett Favre. In 2012, Trevor and Randy were really fired up to compete and had put together s stellar team that included some college and ex-NFL athletes and went to the Pro level for 2012, playing against much younger players.
“Trevor is a motivator, a teacher and brings the best out of people”, explains Randy, the intrepid quarterback. “We have a diverse group every year and we all get together to win”.
And win they have. Playing at the “Comp” level, they built a WestMark championship team in 2001. In 2010, the Source One team was built and went on to win a national championship. In 2012, Source One went to the Pro division and won all 8 of their series games in 2012. In 2013, they repeated with a back-to-back national championship. They took that victory and went on to win the World Championships in March 2013.
Fast forward TEN more years, Trevor and Randy put a new team of both older and younger athletes together and as Bishop Sycamore team, they won the National Championship in 2022. In 2023, they came back again as the King Apes and went 28-0 to win in Las Vegas. Trevor explains, “we weren’t the BEST team, but we were the best when it mattered most”.
This is an amazing accomplishment, to win back to back National Championships, ten years apart with athletes in their 50s. The team will be at the national championships this year as a defending champion, but at a different level. We will keep you posted how it turns out.
But wait, there’s more. In 2028, Flag Football will be an Olympic sport and the sport of flag football is growing rapidly, at all ages and is exploding as a women’s sport.
Flag football was approved by the CIF as an approved high school sport in February of 2023. There were seven schools that fielded a team on fairly short notice for the 23/24 school year. Over 70 teams were fielded and more are expected next season.
Will DeBoard, Assistant San Joaquin/Sac CIF Commissioner explains further, “Right now, and in the near future, flag football is girls-only in the CIF. It was wildly successful in its first year; we had about 70 schools play out of our 175 full-member schools. Modesto City Schools is definitely planning on having flag football in 2024 (it’s a fall sport), as are the Turlock Schools. We had championships in two divisions this year and I’m guessing there will be at least three divisions next year”.
Could this be the next big thing? Football, without the impact, for all ages and all people. One thing we all know, to live a long healthy life, you need to keep moving and stay active and there are so many ways do this and create new friendships. Maybe you will go to the nationals and win back-to-back, or just have fun here in town, but either way, it looks like fun. But as Trevor says, “It’s not as much risk but just as much fun”.
Trevor and Randy’s advice: “All youth should be playing flag football and work on their skills before you ever put pads on. If you aren’t that good, you can get good as it is not so much about size it’s about skills, moves and finesse.”
Here are just a few of the leagues happening in our region.
Thomas Downey Flag Football
These are a Next Level Sports project with teams for youth. There are leagues for Kindergarten & 1st grade through 6th and 7th grade. Week 1 begins January 14 and runs through March 10. All ages and leaves practice and play on same day beginning at 9 am.
Registration closes January 22. Registration is $275
▪ Kindergarten/1st Grade – 9:00 AM Practice/10:00 AM Game
▪ 2nd Grade – 10:00 AM Practice/11:00 AM Game
▪ 3rd Grade – 11:00 AM Practice/12:00 PM Game
▪ 4th Grade – 12:00 PM Practice/1:00 PM Game
▪ 5th Grade – 1:00 AM Practice/2:00 PM Game
▪ 6th/7th Grade – 2:00 PM Practice/3:00 PM Game
www.nextlevelsports.com/Default.aspx?tabid=995590
Central Catholic Flag Football
Open to all players in age ranges. Practice and games are played on Saturdays by age range, beginning at 9 am
Kindergarten/1st Grade – 9:00 AM Practice/10:00 AM Game Registration is $275
2nd/3rd Grade – 10:00 AM Practice/11:00 AM Game
4th/5th Grade – 10:00 AM Practice/11:00 AM Game
6th/7th Grade – 11:00 AM Practice/12:00 PM Game
www.nextlevelsports.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1027471
Modesto Flag Football
Spring 2024: Modesto Flag Football @ Modesto Christian School
Season: Sundays – April 7 – May 19 1-7 pm
This is an age based league from 6 years and up.
Athletes will receive a Gridiron-branded jersey, Gridiron-branded shorts, and flags with registration.
Registration fee: $195 per player
www.modestoflagfootball.com/<www.modestoflagfootball.com/>
Ceres Men’s and Women’s Adult Flag Football
This is an adult flag football league for women 18 and over with men’s and women’s teams. You can sign up as a free agent or a team. Games and practice and are played Ceres River Bluff Regional Park. This is a 6-week regular season from February 18-April 7 Registration is $75 for players and $500 for team.
Games are Sunday morning.
3761 Hatch Rd, Modesto
Registration open now:
www.turlocksportspark.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1436509<www.turlocksportspark.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1436509>
Ceres CoEd Youth and Up Flag Football
Age based league with teams from 6 years and up.
Registration closes on March 22nd. Uniform distribution is April 12.
Season Dates: April 20 to June 1
Regular season fees $149
City of Modesto
Planning on Flag Football leagues beginning fall 2024
Joker’s Flag Football League
Spring season begins March 12 for teams and free agents.
www.jokersfootball.com<www.jokersfootball.com>
Stanislaus County PAL
Leave will start in the fall
www.stancopal.org<www.stancopal.org>
City of Ripon
2024 season is closed. Games in March and April 2025 opens in fall
If you have information on more team and league information. Please update me at info@modestoview.com<mailto:info@modestoview.com> so we can add to this article and our event calendar.
