A Star is born

Well it's March and the snow is melting and camps have opened !!!!! Yes that's right camps , as in semi-pro football camps have opened . With all the movement of teams this off season Boy oh Boy it should make for some great football this season in the Metro area . A new league was created and sent shock waves through the semi pro world ! The idea that an owner or coach that runs a team and never asks the league where the money is going is just good business ? Being as it may the business of semi pro football and the landscape has and will be changed forever with the emergence of the F.S.F.L or Five Star Football League A group of owners that all approach the business of semi-pro football the same way . with this collection of 12 owners all on the same page the sky is the limit for this new league ! Progressive thinking owners like Shawn Spencer esdk , Matt schrech l.i. tribe , and Bill Badson of the n.y. bandits and Jim Simpson of the punishers, the league is trying to blaze a new path and make it the norm in the landscape to know that your team is the product ! that these leagues are using to gain sponsor's and get apparel deals for the league . As an owner of a team or Gm ask yourself one question Where does my league dues , that my team pays to the league , where does it go ? I for one would love to Know and that's the beauty of the fsfl total and complete transparency all funds allocated and accounted for . With most leagues waiting until mid season to release where and when the championship game is played Fsfl has as of march 12th secured aviator field for the championship game . The league being led by john shishkowsky or Jp as he is known throughout the football world is the 1st commissioner in league history . In all my dealings with team reps and league reps one thing always stood out about Jp his honesty and integrity 2 major pillars in the league ! Jp will lead the league down the path and hopefully overtime do a great job
And on feb. 20th 2010 A Star was truly Born ....Www.fivestarfootballleague.com

Cold and To Close For Comfort

Nassau County , on sun The Punishers took on The Nj Longhorns , Being led by there M.V.P. candidate Quinton Dupree and the darkside defense . The game had all the thrills chills and bonecrushing big hit by both teams ! The 9Th wonder of the world and his tag team partner The silent assassin Alex Azure were ready willing and very very able to carry the team . The game started of slow both teams going 3 and out on there first few drives but it was the longhorns being able in the 1st half to get within scoring range and twice the wind and field conditions in the Black hole that's why we play the regular season for the this advantage said President Tyrone beatty . the 1st half ended with no scores by either team the defences were ready and proving why they were ranked 1 and 2 in the empire conference .The Nassau Punishers finished the BNEFF regular season at 10-0 and won the first seed in the Empire Conference. Someone must have forgot to tell the 5Th seeded NJ Longhorns that. Fresh off a win against the 4th seed NE Knights the Longhorns entered the Black hole with a game plan that they executed to damn near perfection as there defense dominated the Punishers offense all day. The offense couldn't get going as they only managed 2 first downs in the game and well under 70 yards total. The cold weather and crappy field conditions played a major factor. The good thing about that is the Punishers defense as usual was well up for the task as they bent but didn't break all day and made sure the Punishers stayed in the game.the Punishers like much of the game came out flat after the half with a quick 3 and out and Longhorns came down the field once again and got into field goal range as the quarterback continued to deliver darts to his receivers. There kicker pulled it right yet again and missed his second field goal of the day. "They moved the ball on us to well. Showed some glaring weaknesses in our defense." said a Punisher. But if you put the ball up to much eventually the other team will get a chance to make a play and safety and savior Alex Arzu made a great play on a pass and returned it 60 yards and add a 15 yard personal foul penalty and the Punishers offense was in business. The offense tried to runs of tackle and gained no yards and then QB Quinton Dupree takes the snap on 4th down falls down and gets up scrambles for a good 5 seconds and finds TE Dennis Levinson in the corner of the end zone, kicker BOOTZ added the extra point and with under 3 minutes left in the game the Punishers were in business or so they thought. The Punishers covered the kick well and the defense came on to the field fired up. They played great on the first two downs but on third and long they gave up a big 40+ pass play on the left side of the field and put the Longhorns in good position. The Punisher once again came out and played defense on the first two downs but on third down Coach Jim called for a late switch and the player couldn't come over quick enough and they were able to connect with a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone! The Punisher held there breath as they were unsure whether or not the Longhorns would go for the win or kick the extra point. The extra point was blocked by Grid Iron All Star Travis Jinks. With under a minute an a half left the Punishers only had to cover the on side kick an they would be in business. After an extremely well placed on side kick, it bounced right into the hands of Travis Jinks. QB Quinton Dupree took the knees and the game was over. This was the true essence of BNEFF play off football it doesn't matter where you finish but the play offs is a new season. The Longhorns gave the Punishers all they could handle in both games but the defense and heart of the Punishers out stood the Longhorn onslaught. The Punishers will take the win and understand that focus is needed to finish this thing strong, its going to be cold, its going to be wet, but its not going to stop the game! The Punishers take this win and are set to face the NJ Hawks the number 2 seed of the Empire as the final four in the league has been set! Hawks @ Punishers and Giants @ Eagles...... Only one team can hold up the trophy at the end!

Under the lights in harlem , Great way to finish a great season

Well with the season winding down and season awards soon to be handed out Quinton Dupree for M.V.P . he had a stellar season td's 15 3 int's passer rtng of 115 and was the true leader of the offense , the offense with q at the helm scored over 215 pts in the regular season and 324 for the the whole season.I watched him turn in one of the great leadership seasons of his career and am so proud of the decisions he has made this yr on and off the field ! Great job Q now if he can win 2 more games !



With the Punishers already with the Empire Conference rapped up, they headed to Harlem on Saturday night, to have a make up game with the NY Venom. The game was useless to the Punishers but it was a must that the Punishers continued there dominance and finish strong. The defense came out in its normal fashion and shut the Venom out with a quick 3 and out! The punt was then botched by returned Javon Finch and placed the Venom inside the 10 yard line. The defense shut the Venom down and the offense came back out and on the first play from scrimmage RB Dennis Woody broke out for a nice 40+ yard run! The next play QB Quinton Dupree hit Jamaal Salah for one of his two touchdown catches on the evening. Without going to far into detail the offense was dominant scoring 5 times and winning by a whopping score of 35-0!

This game clinched the 10-0 season for the Punishers and the defense is the star of the regular season in the BNEFF only allowing 25 points in 10 games that is an average of less then a field goal a game. As the Punishers enter there second season its understood the defense and offense and special teams have to be on the same page to make it to the championship game! Only time will tell! Punishers have there first play off game at Roosevelt High School on Sunday, Dec 6 at 12:00 p.m. Opponent TBA!

A long drive for the punishers !!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this is what it's all about , this is for the division and the conference and home field throughout the playoffs The B.N.E.F.F #1 OFFENSE VS THE #1 IN THE NYC AREA ....




On a nice warm fall afternoon the Punishers travelled the 134 miles up to Poughkeepsie, NY to challenge the HV Cowboys. The battle for the Empire North was what it was touted to be. The Punishers vs Cowboys have had history in the past when the Ravens (old team name) faced off against the cowboys 3 other times in the past with the Ravens (Punishers) winning all 3 of those contest. The HV Cowboys came into the game with the best offense in the league yards wise and the Punishers defense was as stingy as they come allowing 17 points all season. Funny thing is 14 of those points were given up by the special teams units of the Punishers. No touchdowns had been allowed up til this game. The Punishers opted to go on defense first as the field conditions were horrible and the staff opted to put the Cowboys in the Clay baseball field that covered half the field to open the game. It worked to perfection as the high powered Cowboys offense struggled with there own field conditions. Both teams exchanged quick 3 and outs as both staffs began to feel each other out. On the second drive though for the Punishers it seemed bleak as safety/pr Alex Azure let a punt go over his head and leave the Punishers on there own 5 yard line. Quarterback Quinton Dupree then began to orchestrate a beautiful 95 yard drive that took up most of the quarter. The drive was filled with passes and runs and the Cowboys defense was off balance, the drive was capped with a 4 yard touchdown by Durrell Bradley! That was just the beginning of the scoring as the Punishers defense came out after that drive and had a quick 3 and out and the Punishers offense began to cut up the Cowboys defense yet again. After a hard 7 yard run by running back Jerry Edwards left he Punishers at 3 and inches, Quinton Dupree hit outstanding Punishers receiver Kelvin Lett for a 49 yard strike to give the Punishers a 15-0 lead after a successful 2 point conversion pass to RB Dennis Woody. The PUnishers defense continued to play great as the field became the Cowboys ultimate nemesis as there style of offense was greatly hindered by the wet and slippery conditions. The Cowboys threatened at the end of the half but the pass at the end of the half was picked off by Travis Jynx. In the second half the Punishers received the kick and due to a decent kick return from Travis Jynx were not left in the clay infield and were into the grass where the offense continued its dominance as the drive ended with a 9 yard touchdown pass to WR Jamaal Salah. The Cowboys offense came out and got a few first downs but a fumble by the running back gave the Punisher offense great field position yet again and yet again the Punishers QB Quinton Dupree led the team down and on 3rd and 6 hit H-back Rodney Myricks on a 24 yard td strike for his 3rd touchdown pass of the day. This gave the Punishers a whopping 28-0 lead into the mid 4th quarter. The Cowboys then came down and with the help of some bonehead Punisher penalties were able to score a touchdown to #1 Ragille Simms in the back of the end zone. Punishers defense had finally given up there first score of the season in week 10 of the season. The Punishers offense then ran the clock out and won the game and won the Empire North Division and Empire Conference championships!

"This game is a game of ups and downs. We have struggled in some games but always stuck together that's the difference in this team from teams in the past. Its good to see the success and I'm happy these guys are enjoying it. We play for the love, but now we are playing to be Champions." Said Captain Jamaal Salah.

National exposure Ranked among the top 50 in the country !

Well fans your very own Nassau punisher are ranked Nationally for the 1st time
#46 nationally in the http://www.minorleaguefootballnews.com in the summer fall rankings ,and 16th in the semiprobcs.com ,November rankings all in all it's a
great honor to have your team mentioned with the elite of the country !!!!!!


and now to this weeks game and it was an ambush punishers vs the Brooklyn storm

punishers 54
storm 00

When your the better team you have to prove it from the first snap. After a 45 minute wait for officials to arrive the Punishers in there all black, showed the Storm they were not on the same level as them. The Punishers defense only allowed 2 first downs the entire game and they themselves outscored the Storm as they scored 3 touchdowns. Defensive end Shawn McLain had his second td on a scoop and score in the end zone after a caused fumble by Pop English, Pop English then had his own scoop and score after DE/OLB Brad McKoy caused havoc in the backfield and caused a fumble and then on the next drive FS/OLB Mitchell "All" Green intercepted a pass and returned it for the school at that point the officials had seen enough and said THATS THE GAME! Oh the Punishers offense did play as well but rarely saw the field as they continuosly had great field position because the Storm would not or could not punt. The turnovers by the Storm also left the Punishers in great field position. The combination of Quarterback Q and Mr. TD, Kelvin Lett, continue to throw up big numbers as Lett was hit on a 73 yard bomb for his 7th TD of the season. The big time star this week was TE Dennis Levinson who had 3 catches and a TD this week. "He has been begging me to get involved but we arent really a TE passing team, but this week he was open and Q found him. Maybe this will build Q confindence in him and down the stretch he will be more involved."said Coach Jim. Jerry Edwards scored two touchdowns as well but the field was horrible so he took himself out due to a sore hamstring. "I know Coach needs me more next week, no need me to risk possible injury on this bad field and my team got this one in the bag anyways." said rookie RB Jerry Edwards. Blocking machine Rason Burnett also got thrown a bone as Quarterback Q checked coach Jims play and allowed him to take the dive into the end zone!

Punishers are headed to Hudson Valley to face the 2nd place Hudson Valley Cowboys. This will be a showdown of the Cowboys explosive offense who have scored 207 points vs the Punishers defense who have only allowed 3 points against them. Though the score may say 17 14 points have been given up by special teams on a botched punt return and a kick off return for a touchdown. This should be showdown and at 1pm on Sunday in Poughkeepsie the loser of this game falls to third place. Punishers win this game they clinch first place and home field throughout the play offs. Punishers lose they fall to 3rd place and road warriors for the play offs! A lot on the line Punishers can win the Empire North title and Empire Conference crown all in one game. This one as they say is for all the marbles!



and as you can see from the score they have a lot of work to do , but the punishers defense pitched it's 8th shutout of the season and has given up 25 pts in the regular season and 54 pts total starting in march up to now ! coach Dave said "when we started this team in jan i felt we could do something great the way myself Jim and Marv set it up along with the pres. and shorter we set out to look for the best of the best and some off season pickups and free agent signings lead to not a good defense but great " i will take my guys against any team in the country ..... The hard work of the punisher players and coaches is really starting to pay off and the run for the ring starts in 3 weeks and a win in Hudson valley next week will give the punishers home field throughout the playoffs !!!!!!!!!!

Road Trip To Newark ?

Road Trip to Newark , after a long 2 hr drive being stuck in traffic on a cold sun afternoon light in players , by all accounts the punishers top defensive weapon dt Thomas grubbs ,lb/de brad McCoy , lb and bash brother tyrell Wilson , ss pat Eustace , and mlb Todd Jackson that's 5 off the Bneff top rated defense , not to mention one of our best offensive weapon Wr Corey lett #25 showed up in the second quarter ! taking all the factors in and tell me we win by 4 and i will tell you i will take it , and we did ! Newcomer and rookie Mlb#1 Travis Jones was huge he had 9 tackles and seemed to be the only lb that could run with the scrambling qb #3 from the longhorns he is a different animal big and strong and managed to elude the d linemen all day but Travis was huge spying him and laying huge hit after hit on him !
but the d-line did a great job of flushing him and just could not wrap up to bring him down , also there were a few missed calls by the officials not to mention when we arrived for the game one of the officials got out of a car with the long horn players ! never seen that before ......but back to the game a great game it was the NJ Longhorns a well balanced and coached team. The Longhorns came out and drove the field quite well on there opening drive taking the ball inside the 10 yard line but were only to tack on a field goal the first points surrendered by the Punishers defense all season. The Punishers offense was stagnant and couldn't find there rhythm, a fumble and a interception were the bad highlights of the first half as the car ride to Newark seemed to be riding with them on the field in the first half as the offense never got a single first down. The Punisher defense did rise to the task in the first half as they Longhorns offense continued to execute and give Coach Dave and his defense fits, the defense made great plays all game but the standout of the game was Travis Jones who led the team with 9 tackles and 2 sacks. His play was huge as he seemed to be the only one who could break down and tackle the Longhorns shifty quarterback. When the half ended it was 3-0 with the Longhorns in full control of the game as the Punishers defense took every punch and returned one of there own.

With an hour long half time due to the lights timer not being change to day light savings time, both teams should have come out a little stiff but that wasn't the case. The Punishers RB Jerry Edwards took a 96 yard kick return to the house giving the Punishers a very short lived lead as on the next kick off it was returned for a 80 yard return for the Longhorns. On the ensuing drive though Coach Jim and QB Quinton Dupree settled the troops and decided to put the work on the back of the offensive line who worked brilliantly in the second half as the line executed well and helped a 81 yard drive end i 11 yard touchdown toss to Jamal Salah in the back of the end zone. "Q was a lil out of it today. I had that feeling riding in as he slept in the car. I take the teams sluggish play on my shoulders as my sickness all week and inability to practice didn't have the troops really ready." said Coach Jim. The defense continued to hold it down and even though the Longhorns gave a scare at the end of the game as they drove to the 11 yard line. No timeouts turned out to be what killed them as they through there last great effort into the end zone that fell incomplete. At the end of the game Coach Jim had this to say: This game is played for the love and today my guys loved it and each other as no one ever held there head down. The Longhorns are a great team and we have a feeling in one of these play off rounds they will be right there again. Its good to have a good clean game and not worry about the bull. They had outstanding coaching and were well prepared for what we do and though we got out of Newark with the win, it was another test to the heart of this team. Heart of this team is strong and when your united like this team is, I don't see who can stop a train moving full speed!

Punishers will next face the Boyz from Brooklyn, the BK Storm at Marine Park in Brooklyn, New York Sunday at 2pm! Remember hard work pays!

And now there is 1 !

Congrats to all the long island Teams on great season's And Good Luck in the 1st winter Classic Being Brought to you by the Grid Iron Elite .......



In What was billed as the battle of the undeafeated the Nassau Punishers took on the undefeated bergen hawks ........And did this game lived up to the billing The weather didnt agree with the Punishers this weekend as the admin had to make a crucial decision whether or not to risk bad weather or moving the game to Jersey. The decision made by President Tyrone Beatty and GM Kaheen Shorter was the right one as they opted to move the game to Jersey to insure the game plays! It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Palisades Park, NJ and the tone was set. From the moment the Punishers entered the field they felt the football gods staring down on them. As they warmed up they heard the screeches of Hawks over the loud speaker but those of us from the old school took those screaches as those of Ravens and took that into the game as momentum as the Hawks entered there home stadium pumped and ready to go. From the opening kick the game was intense with the Hawks and the pressure was on! The Hawks defense was stout and ready for the challenge of the Punishers offense but the offensive line missing, veteran Willie Saunders, outstanding Rookie Mike Graham, and Tight End Chris Robinson the cards seemed to be stacked against Coach Jim and his running backs. Rookie Jerry Edwards an quarterback Quinton Dupree are working well together as Jerry has stepped into the feature back role quite well. False starts and bad snaps kept the Punisher offense from fully being as good as it could have been but the game plan worked to perfection in the second half as quarterback Dupree was able to hit #21 Kelvin Lett on a bomb that brought them to the 12 yard line and and after a short run, QB found Jamaal Salah in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown in two games. "We struggled on offense a little, but our quarterback is our leader and he didnt get down on his teammates, every week we try to get better. We only managed 7 points this week but we will fix some of the things we did wrong and hopefully get back on track next week!" said Jim.

Now the defense played yet another great game not allowing a touchdown as the only touchdown relinquished was by a muffed punt due to bad communication. A new guy stood out this week as #1- Travis Jones stepped up and made big plays in the middle, along with fellow Freeport Alum Thomas Grubbs. The defense was on the field longer this game then any other as the Hawks had a great game plan. The defense bent but did not break. The game was won on a fumble recovery and touchdown run by Thomas Grubbs who continues to wreck havoc in the BNEFF. Kyle Anderson on the next drive came in untouched and nearly took the hand off from the quarterback that led to a game winning turnover as the Punishers ran out the clock from there.

The Punishers are now in the teeth of there schedule with the Longhorns and Cowboys soon approaching its going to be a battle to the finish. Right now they sit a top of the BNEFF Empire Conference with a magnificent 6-0 record. If they finish strong this season off with no losses they will hold the key to there championship aspirations as the entire Empire Conference Play Off would roll through the Island. Unfortunatley, the Punishers once again have become road warriors as they will finish the remainder of the season on the road. Due to there league change they were unable to secure there field for every game and this weeks game will be played back at Lombardi Field in NJ! The play off field has been locked in though and as long as they finish strong the most important games left will be played on the Island!

punishers 6-0 and travel back to jersey next week !