The Tri-State Shields Continue Their Winning Ways

by Clark Thompson and Warren Rosenberg - MetroSports Magazine - May 17, 2021

In only their second year of playing in the National Public Safety Football League (NPSFL), the New York metropolitan region’s Tri-State Shields are continuing their winning ways and establishing themselves as a regional powerhouse.

This past Saturday, May 15, 2021, the Tri-State Shields took to the field against the FDNY Bravest football team in a contest billed as the First Responders Bowl. A pre-game ceremony was held honoring the fallen Spring Valley NY fire fighter, Jared Lloyd, with his two young sons and other family members present. Watching the game from the sidelines were two residents of the nursing home that Jared gave his life to help save.

With a perfect 4-0 record, the Shields are currently tied for the NPSFL’s 2021 season's best record to date among the 19 teams comprising the NPSFL. The Shields opened their season with three consecutive shutout wins against the Philadelphia Blue Flames (20-0), the Dallas Defenders (23-0) and the Washington D.C. Generals (30-0) before facing the FDNY Bravest in the First Responders Bowl.

It wasn’t until the Shields squared-off against local metro-area rivals, the FDNY’s Bravest, that the Shields’ defense was put to the test. Held scoreless in a 19-0 first half, the FDNY Bravest made some half-time adjustments and came back to actually outscore the Shields 28-14, but coming up short in the final tally 33-28.

Thankfully for the Shields, their offense continued to deliver and, once again, showed a game-by-game improvement in their offensive production with 20 points against Philly on March 27th, then 23 points against Dallas on April 24th, improving further to 30 points against Washington D.C. on May 8th, and culminating this past weekend with 33 points against the FDNY Bravest.

Tri-State Shields head coach Jeff Pastore told MetroSports Magazine that, “as a first year team in the NPSFL, I couldn’t be happier with the start, I knew we had the talent to win but football is about more than just individual talent, it’s about coming together and playing as a cohesive unit. I still think we have yet to play a complete game. The defense has been outstanding getting pressure on the quarterback and forcing multiple turnovers every week. The offense has continued to improve with each game and I believe we are hitting our stride at the perfect time. It makes it very easy for us as coaches when you have a group of players who buy in and love to compete for each other.”

With respect to this past Saturday’s game against the FDNY Bravest, coach Pastore went on to say that, ”as for this past game boy did that come down to the wire. I expected nothing less from FDNY, they’re an established powerhouse in this league. They’re a well-coached, extremely disciplined team, so we knew at halftime 19-0 was not going to do it. Their coaches made all the right adjustments at halftime and they came out firing. This was the first time our team had to face real adversity and I’m very happy with how we responded. We hung in there and we’re able to put a few drives together to hold off their comeback. Overall couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining game.”

Representing the NPSFL in the New York Metro area are the NYPD’s New York’s Finest, the NYC Department of Correction’s New York’s Boldest, the FDNY’s New York’s Bravest, and the Tri-State Shields. Chartered as a “a team comprised of Police, Fire, Corrections, Courts, Federal Agents, Military and E.M.S. personnel, the team’s members represent the NYPD, Clarkstown P.D., New Rochelle P.D., Darien P.D., Bridgeport P.D., Westport P.D., Suffolk P.D., Connecticut Dept. of Correction, NYC and New York State Departments of Correction, NYC Hospital Police, NYC Homeless Police, Federal Police, the FDNY, Norwalk Fire Department and the NYC Dept. of Sanitation.

Next up for the Shields are the New York City Department of Correction NYCD Boldest Football on May 28th and the regular season’s finale against the NYPD Finest Football on June 12th