The American Youth Football of Samoa (AYFS) has concluded Week 5 at the Kanana Fou field Saturday.

Chargers beat the Raiders 12–6 and the Steelers edged the Saints 13–12 in AYFS Week 5.

The day started off with the Chargers/Raiders match-up followed by the Steelers against the Saints. Teams are showing huge improvements in Week 5.

The Saints are still seeking a victory but last Saturday they defeated the powerful Steelers who in the last minute were able to stop the Saints from scoring a touchdown.

CHARGERS 12, RAIDERS 6

 In game one, Chargers’ Geno O’Brien kicked off to the Raiders to start off the match. It was Raiders offensive leader Jeremiah Pritchard of the Raiders who returned that kick, and marked off their first down possession on their won 37 yard line.

 The  Raiders offense started off their first down possession plays with a great counter hand off to Scott Manning who rammed his way up the middle, and then bounced out to the side lines to mark off another Raiders first down possession on the Chargers 36 yard line.

On their first down possession, Pritchard swept the ball out to Rhine Haleck who gained a total of 5 yards before he was brought down by Chargers’ Ikaika Mahuka.

The Raiders turned the ball over after going on a fourth down possession at the Chargers 23 yard line. The Chargers offensive unit, led by Uluao Letuli started off their first offensive possession on their own 23 yard line.

Their first down reception was a sweep out to Geno O’Brien who managed to squeeze through some small gaps to gain a few yards for a second down reception. It was Frankie Luvu of the Chargers who managed to escape toward the Raiders side of the field, for another Chargers first down on their 37 yard line.

When Letuli tried to drop back for a long pass on third down, he was sacked immediately by the Raiders Elu Ayden for a loss of 3 yards. The Chargers decided to swing the ball towards O’Brien again to seek another first down possession, but Geno was met immediately by Scott Manning of the Raiders on the line of scrimmage for a no gain.

Later in the first quarter, Raiders third down, Pritchard handed a quick dive hand off to Scott Manning again, who managed to bounce his way in and out of the Chargers defensive unit, and made his way into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Their extra point conversion was no good when Michael Manning was held short of the first down marker by Jonah Uiagalelei of the Chargers.

The Raiders were in the lead, 6–0.

In the second quarter, with 4:24 remaining in the half, the Chargers managed to spot their first down possession on the Raiders 23 yard line, after a great quarterback keep by Letuli.

 On their first down possession, Letuli swept the ball out to O’Brien, who managed to pick his gap through the side line, and stormed his way down the field for the first Chargers touchdown. Their extra point conversion was no good on an incomplete pass as they went into halftime, the game tied 6–6.

In the second half, Raiders’ Elu Ayden kicked off. The Chargers’ first down possession was spotted on their own 28 yard line after a good return by Helg. The Chargers offensive possession from first down to their fourth down reception was held short of the first down marker as the Raiders defensive unit performed a stunning defensive stop against the Chargers on two quarterback sacks, and deflected passes.

When the Raiders offensive unit came onto the field, their first down possession was a bad snap by the center to Pritchard, and the fumbled ball was recovered by the Chargers to bring out their offensive unit again.

On the Chargers first down, Letuli handed off a counter play to O’Brien again, and he stayed in the pocket for a good 3 seconds, until his running gap was opened, and he took off running, and burning the Raiders defensive unit for another Charger touchdown. Their extra point conversion was no good when Letuli was brought down immediately by a host of Raider defense.

 In the final quarter of the match, neither side scored due to great defense from both sides.

Chargers took the game 12–6.

STEELERS 13, SAINTS 12

In the beginning of the second match, Steelers’ AJ Filoialii kicked off to the Saints to open up their game, and it was D’Angelo Tuatagaloa who returned that kick off all the way back to the Steelers 20 yard line. Tuatagaloa was almost gone for a touchdown return, but it was George Tyrell of the Steelers who came up with the saving tackle.

The Saints offensive unit came onto the field to start their first down possession on the Steelers 20 yard line. Leading the Saints offensive unit was Von Autele. Their first down possession was a hand off to Pu’apu’a Selesitino who was stopped immediately in the back by Chaun Maiava of the Steelers.

On second down, Autele was chased behind the line of scrimmage by Danny Siaumau of the Steelers, and he was sacked for a loss of 4 yards. The Saints did not advance onto another first down possession after a great defensive stop set on by the Steelers to force the turn over on their fourth down.

The Steelers came onto the field, on their own 27 yard line. The Steelers offensive squad was lead by Nephi Sewell, who started their first down possession play with a quick hand off to Ruben Luvu, but he was stopped by John Cramer of the Saints.

 Then on second down, Sewell handed off to Danny Siaumau who sped through the Saints defensive unit, and bounced on out to the side lines to mark off their first down possession on the Saints 5 yard line. The saving tackle was by Moemoe Selesitino.

On their first down possession, Sewell was sacked  by John Manaima of the Saints for a loss of 1 yard. Then on second down, the Steelers offensive line pounded the middle open, as Sewell rammed his way through the middle for a quarterback sneak for the first touchdown of the match. Their two point conversion to Luvu was no good as they take an early lead of 6–0.

 The Saints struggled to come back offensively when they had possession of the ball on the Steelers 27 yard line, but on one bad snap, Steelers’ Maiava recovered the ball to bring out the Steelers offensive unit. Their first down possession was a pitch out to Danny Siaumau who found a gap and stormed down the field for a 70 yard touchdown. Ruben Luvu took in the extra point conversion to extend their lead 13–0.

Just before the half concluded, the Steelers managed to gain the ball on a fumble. On the Steelers’ first down possession, Nephi Sewell pitched out the ball to Darius Tupuola, but the ball was padded down by Iafeta Vou. John Cramer of the Saints fell on the ball in the end zone to mark off the first Saints touchdown of the game. Their extra point conversion was no good. Steelers still held the lead 13-6.

In the second half, it was Nicholas Fa’aea of the Saints who kicked off. Steelers’ Luvu returned the kick off to their own 24 yard line, after he was brought down by a host of Saints lead by Ayden. It was a tough defensive series shown by both sides of the ball to hold back any scores.

In the fourth quarter, 4:35 left in the game, the Saints managed to drive the ball hard down the Steelers defense with great passing by Autele. When the Saints were on the Steelers 15 yard line, Autele aired out the ball to D’Angelo Tuatagaloa who caught the ball, and shook his opponent to end up in the end zone for another Saints touchdown. Their two point conversion was a hand off to Tuatagaloa again, but he was stopped by Siaumau and Maiava of the Steelers.

The Saints then kicked off the ball to the Steelers, but the ball bounced off a Steelers player and the Saints managed to recover the ball for another offensive reception. The Saints first down possession on the Steelers 38 yard line was a pass out to Tuatagaloa again, but the pass was picked off by Siaumau of the Steelers.

The Steelers offensive unit came onto the field, and Sewell played out a quarterback kneel to kill out the time, and end off the match with a Steelers victory of 13–12.