Houston – Do you remember when you were younger playing a game of tag at school? And there were always those couple of kids you just didn’t run after because they were too fast to catch. That is what over 6,500 fans in attendance got a chance to witness at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. The American Flag Football Championship was played in front of a crowd that included Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, Texans defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, and a host of other current and former NFL players who perused up and down the sidelines during the game. Yes, they were all pretty fast to catch.

“To have an event of this magnitude in the city is a great thing for Houston. My teammate (Deshaun Watson) is doing an awesome job teaming up with the American Flag Football League to help support Houston Habitat for Humanity. Oh, and it’s always good to see people from my hometown (New Orleans) in the stands and on the field,” said Mathieu, who is headed to his first training camp with the Houston Texans after signing with the team this offseason.

That team the Honey Badger (Mathieu) was speaking of was the champions of the America’s bracket, Fighting Cancer who defeated the professional league winners Godspeed by a score of 26 - 6. This was the ultimate game of amateur’s vs professionals, but not in the sense in which you are thinking of. Yes, the Godspeed professional team is made up of former NFL players such as Houston Texans and Baltimore Raven WR Jacoby Jones, Philadelphia Eagles WR Jason Avant, Seattle Seahawks QB Seneca Wallace, Texans RB Justin Forsett and others.

But the actual professionals were the Fighting Cancer team led by Darrell “Housh” Doucette who has not lost a flag football game in over 5 years. Doucette was the game’s MVP passing for 242 yards, rushing for 88, and throwing 2 touchdowns to take home the grand prize of one million dollars.

“Housh has always played the game the right way and he is a very humble kid. Never in my lifetime did I think I would have the opportunity to see my son play for a million dollars,” said Darrell Doucette Jr. before the game. “Darrell gives all the credit in the world to his teammates because he knows he is nothing without them.”

The play of the night came at the 9:00 mark of the 2nd half with the Fighting Cancer team leading 19-0. Former two-time Canadian Football League champion Andrew Hawkins took a pass from QB Seneca Wallace and was off to the races in the open field that was for sure 7 points. Until Doucette kicked in the afterburners and caught Hawkins as he was preparing to jump into the end zone for the score sending the crowd into a frantic frenzy. It even made Michael Vick say out loud, “I told yall he was fast.”

On the very next play, Wallace threw an interception to former LSU defensive back Harry Coleman, who ran it out of the end zone 15 yards before lateralling the ball to Robert “Hollywood” Myers. Following that, Myers took it all the way to the one-yard line before doing a backflip into the end zone for the score.

The large group of Fighting Cancer supporters who had made the trip from New Orleans began their celebratory “2nd Line Dance” in the stands because they knew the game was over. Congratulations to the Fighting Cancer team on winning the inaugural American Flag Football Championship. Some of the proceeds from their winnings will go to the American Cancer Society.