- November 25, 2024
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When Sandcrabs quarterback Bailey McQuarrie dropped back to pass in the final moments of the first half in Seabreeze flag football’s game against Matanzas, she had a Pirates defender barreling toward her.
McQuarrie faked left, spun around and sprinted to her right, eagerly scanning the field for an open receiver.
She found one.
Still on the run, McQuarrie launched the ball high toward the right corner of the end zone. Seabreeze receiver Kara Haas leapt into the air and caught the ball over the outstretched arms of a Pirates defensive back.
The touchdown — which helped propel Seabreeze to a 35-0 win over Matanzas on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 26 — is one of many between Haas and McQuarrie, who have formed a special connection over their past three seasons on the team.
The two have been dynamic on both sides of the ball in Seabreeze’s 4-0 start to the 2019 season.
Against the Pirates, McQuarrie got things going with a 20-yard touchdown run. She opened the second half with a 60-yard sprint down the sideline for a touchdown and also recorded an interception.
Haas had a second touchdown reception with six minutes to play in the third quarter, and midway through the fourth period, Haas picked off the Pirates’ quarterback and returned it nearly 40 yards for a score.
“They’re animals,” Seabreeze head coach Mike Fries said. “They’re all over the field, and they make the big plays.”
Fries likes to compare the duo to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, the legendary NFL quarterback-receiver tandem that spanned eight seasons in San Francisco.
“They just got better and better year after year,” Fries said. “Bailey is a phenomenal quarterback. Kara is a phenomenal receiver.
But together, it’s just silly.”
Their production on the field is the result of their relationship off of it.
Haas and McQuarrie have known each other since the sixth grade. They eat lunch together, they do homework together, they hangout outside of school. The football field is where their friendship combines with athletics.
They’ve formed a deep bond, and they know they can rely on each other.
“I just know I can throw it in Kara’s general direction and something good will happen,” McQuarrie said. “I know she’ll always have my back.”
And when she sees McQuarrie scramble out of the pocket, Haas instinctively knows what to do.
“I know that I’ve got to get open for her,” Haas said. “I trust that she’ll be able to make a good pass, and I’ll be there to catch it.”
In addition to the Montana-Rice comparison, Fries likes to compare Haas and McQuarrie to another twosome: comic book superheroes Batman and Robin.
After their win over the Pirates, Haas and McQuarrie were asked who’s Batman and who’s Robin? They both looked at each other, smiled and laughed.
“We’re both Batman,” they said.