Champs again! Jacksonville Sharks surge back, top Carolina for NAL crown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sharks are champions once again.

The Sharks overcame a 17-point deficit and roared back to beat the Carolina Cobras 54-45 on Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena to win their third National Arena League title. It is the third NAL crown for Jacksonville and first since 2019. It’s also the first in Jacksonville for coach Jason Gibson.

Sam Castronova rushed for a pair of short yardage touchdowns and threw for four more scores to lead the comeback. Castronova found Anthony Johnson for a swing pass touchdown late in the third quarter to give Jacksonville a 39-38 lead, its first of the game. He fired a touchdown strike to Kamrin Solomon, a Mandarin High School graduate, in the fourth quarter, then hit another local star for the play of the game not long after.

Facing a fourth-and-19, Castronova was flushed to his right and then launched a pass down the left sideline. Jackson High grad Marquel Wade pulled it in and scored on the play for the final margin. Had that pass not connected, Carolina would have had the ball back with more than a minute to go.

Solomon and Wade both had two touchdowns.