PNJ sports reporter Ben Grieco goes head-to-head with Pace flag football team. See how he did

The New Breed travel flag football team was practicing at Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze over the summer, and I stopped by to do a feature story on the team and its upcoming schedule.

After speaking with head coach Jason Kisor – who also coaches the Navarre flag football team during the spring – one of New Breed’s assistant coaches, James Pablo, came up and introduced himself to me.

If that last name sounds familiar in the flag football world, it should. He’s the father of Pace flag football’s star, Amaya Pablo, who was the PNJ Co-Player of the Year (along with Navarre’s Natalie Busch, who also plays for New Breed) and most recently an honorary captain at a Jacksonville Jaguars preseason game.

This was not too long after I reached out to Pace flag football head coach Chris Raggard about joining the team for a practice for the summer – similar to what I did in my not-so-brightest moments against Pace softball ace pitcher Jayden Heavener and Gulf Breeze faceoff specialist Jake Keegan – as the players were preparing for an upcoming tournament.

And just as I finished talking with James, Amaya – as if she had a sixth sense that I brought up what I was planning on doing – came running up to ask her dad a question. “I can’t wait to juke you out,” Amaya said to me.

Truth be told, it wasn’t going to be that hard.

Hi, my name is Ben Grieco, and I am still unathletic and need to get back in the gym.

Going up against one of the area’s top flag football teams wasn’t my best decision. It was an even worse decision to decide to take part in a whole practice, rather than focus on one specific thing (such as, impossibly, trying to get a hit off of Heavener).

But, I – barely – made it through, and learned some unique aspects of flag football. I had trouble not flag-guarding, I can admit that. And let’s just say I’m not one to throw a football well (or catch it either, but that’s another story).

And yes, Amaya juked me out – a couple times. A quick slide in the muddy ground at Benny Russell Park in Pace proved just that. A phone call to my parents afterward with a picture of me face down in the mud was met with immediate laughter.

“At least you didn’t need an EMT,” my dad said.

Thanks for that. Enjoy the video.

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: PNJ sports reporter Ben Grieco goes head-to-head with Pace flag football team. See how he did