Community sports | Sarasota rugby club wins first state championship
SARASOTA -- The Sarasota Surge rugby club has spent the past three seasons building from upstart program to Florida power.
Last month, the fledgling Sarasota Surge broke through.
The Surge, which includes players from Sarasota and Manatee counties, completed its sixth season April 21 with its first USA Rugby Division 3 Florida men's state championship.
When Sarasota was founded back in 2010 by a small group of international rugby players and Floridians, it was simply to fill a gap.
After the 29-20 win against the Gainesville Hogs in Wellington, the Surge has become much more than that.
"It was a great moment for both our youth program and our men's team," Sarasota player and president Troy Nealey said. "We want to thank the Sarasota-Bradenton community for their ongoing support. I'm so proud to see how far our club has gone."
The Surge now boasts U10, U12 and U14 clubs to go along with its state-champion men's team.
The men's team made its first playoff appearance four years ago and completed an undefeated regular season in 2013.
In 2014, Sarasota reached the state semifinals before finally getting over the hump this season.
Gym Ratz opens season
Darryl Johnson's vision will come to fruition Saturday when his Bradenton Gym Ratz finally begin their inaugural season in Holmes Beach with two games in two days against the Music City Kings from Nashville. The head coach founded the club this winter and got the Gym Ratz into the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues.
Bradenton, which plays home games at The Center of Anna Maria Island, boasts a 12-player roster with six from Manatee County.
Point guard Jalen Seel played at Southeast High
School, power forward Austin Gordon attended Manatee High School, shooting guard Fadi Samad played at Bayshore High School, wing Aaron Van Buren went to the now-defunct Prep Learning Academy, and center Jeff Casseus and wing Jason Caller played for Braden River High School. The Gym Ratz inaugural game tips off at 4 p.m. Saturdaym.
Game film will be broadcast to the NBA Development League and European teams.
Gladiators exit FFA playoffs
The Southwest Florida Gladiators' Florida Football Alliance title defense ended Saturday, one game short of the Alliance Bowl championship game.
The Gladiators, who play home games at Lakewood Ranch Park, suffered a 74-30 thumping at the hands of the Miami Magic City Bulls in Miami.
Southwest Florida finished the season 8-4.
The Magic City Bulls take a perfect 12-0 record into the FFA final May 14 against the Tamp Bay Patriots.
The Gladiators finished the regular season tied for the third-best record in the league and toppled the South Florida Wolverines in the first round to reach Saturday's semifinal, where Southwest Florida suffered a rare defensive setback.
The Gladiators entered the game allowing 11.3 points per game and had allowed more than 23 points in a game only once.
Defensive back Gus Blanc, who played at Riverview High School in Sarasota, anchored Southwest Florida's defense this year with seven regular-season interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.
Quarterback Joshua Shannon, who is from Parrish and played at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, led the Gladiators' run-heavy offense with 375 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
He also threw for 746 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions, and caught seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Travel ball in Bradenton
Suncoast Travel Ball will play its Summer World Series in Bradenton in July, and another Suncaost Travel Ball Tournament is coming to the area this weekend.
The STB Westcoast Regional Championship -- the Battle 4 The Belt -- begins Friday in Bradenton and concludes Sunday. Ages range from 8U kid and machine pitch to 13U.
This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 11:44 PM with the headline "Community sports | Sarasota rugby club wins first state championship ."