Albany, New York, June 1, 2002
It was a very pleasant evening in the Capital District area as the New York Sharks (5-0) took on the Albany Night-Mares (0-4) at Bleeker Stadium. The Sharks were the heavy favorites taking on a win-less Albany team. The Night-Mares have played a few close games but have not put one in the win column yet. The Night-Mares are owned by former Sharks player, Andrea Barnard.

Things started off well for the Sharks despite Albany winning the coin toss. Surprisingly the Night-Mares elected to kick the ball. This meant that the Sharks would not only receive the ball on the opening kickoff but on the second-half kickoff as well.

The Sharks got on the board first, taking advantage of an Albany miscue. Punting from their own 28 yard line, the Night-Mares had a bad snap with the Sharks getting the ball on Albany’s 25 yard line. 5 plays later, quarterback Val Halesworth connected in the back of the end zone with Patti Height for a 13 yard touchdown pass at the 6:59 mark of the first quarter. The 2 point conversion failed, making the score 6-0.

The Sharks took advantage of another Albany punting situation in the second quarter. New York’s defense had pushed the Night-Mares back to their own 13 yard line forcing them to punt. A low snap allowed linebacker Missy Marmorale to tackle punter Kim Weinhofer before she could get a good kick off. Shark’s Beth Nugent recovered the ball on Albany’s 6 yard line. Two carries by Courtney Eaton moved the ball to less than 6 inches from the goal line. From there, Halesworth punched the ball in on a quarterback sneak. The two point conversion was good on a pass from Halesworth to Monica Marsh pushing New York’s lead to 14-0 at 8:09 in the second quarter.

Going into the locker room at halftime, the Sharks had a 2 touchdown lead, but that was the smallest lead they have had at this junction all season. The team appeared to be playing a bit flat, getting called for off-sides and holding penalties, and Albany was getting a lot of penetration from their defensive line, giving the Shark’s quarterback little time to set herself for passes. Defensively, New York was shutting out Albany, but it was not as dominating as usual.

The Sharks received the ball on the kickoff to begin the second half. But New York’s offense seemed to be sputtering. On the first series, they could not get a first down and on the third down and long situation, Halesworth was sacked for a 13 yard loss. The Sharks punted to the Night-Mares but they could not do anything against the New York defense and were forced to punt. On the next series, the Sharks again had trouble moving the ball. In another third down and long situation, Halesworth was sacked again for a 10 yard loss.

Punting from their own 38 yard line, Aurora Lighthart received a low snap and Night-Mare’s Connie Neal busted through the line to block the punt. The ball bounced back towards the Shark’s goal and was finally recovered by Lighthart at the 18 yard line.

Albany handed the ball off twice to running back Talisha Hargis who picked up 4 yards each time to move the ball to New York’s 10 yard line. On the crucial third down play, the Sharks were called for off-sides giving Albany a first down with the ball at the 5 yard line. Three plays late, Hargis was able to punch it in from the 1 foot line to put Albany on the board. The Night-Mares lined up to kick for the extra point, but it turned out to be a trick play. The Shark’s were not tricked and the pass by Hargis fell incomplete. This made the score 14-6 in favor of the Sharks.

This was only the second touchdown that New York has given up all season and Shark fans were starting to get a bit nervous. Albany possibly sensing a turn in momentum tried to force the issue by going for an on-side kick. The short kick was easily handled by Lynn Lewis and now New York had the ball on the 50 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, the Sharks still looked to be a bit ragged as they were quickly called for illegal motion. New York was moving backwards again, looking at a long first down and 15 yards to go.

The Sharks needed to stem the tide and started to go back to the basics, give the ball to Eaton. 6 straight handoffs to Eaton running on the inside resulted in the ball being moved to Albany’s 21 yard line. Then to change the pace, New York ran a pitchout to the left side tossing the ball to Virginia “Cha Chi” Leon. She broke one tackle but was heading into a wall of 3 Night-Mare defenders. Nikki Cerrato came to the rescue taking out the 3 would-be tacklers on a hit that looked like a bowling ball knocking down pins. This left Leon to run free down the left side line to score the Shark’s third touchdown of the game. The extra point attempt was blocked but the score was now 20-6 at the 0:23 mark of the third quarter.

With the game in the fourth quarter, the Shark’s seemed to be back in control. After kicking off to the Night-Mares, the defense held and was able to give the ball back to the offense on Albany’s 43 yard line. The Sharks stayed with the basics and kept the ball on the ground. Runs by Eaton, Leon, and Halesworth moved the ball down to the Night-Mare’s 2 yard line. From there, Eaton punched it in for the touchdown and New York was able to convert the 2 point conversion on a pass from Halesworth to Valerie Monaco. With 8:53 remaining in the game, the score was 28-6 and New York was back in cruise control.

The final score by the Sharks came after another botched punt play by Albany. Beth Nugent was able to recover the ball on Night-Mares 35 yard line. Again New York kept it on the ground with runs by Eaton and Leon. The Shark’s fifth and final touchdown being scored by Eaton on an 8 yard run up the middle at 3:27. The 2 point conversion failed but the game was well in hand for New York, 34-6.

It was an ugly win for New York as they appeared to play flat for most of the game. But when things got close, the team seemed to rise to the occassion and put the Night-Mares away. The Sharks were happy to come away with the not so pretty win with only a few “dinged up” players (nothing serious). The victory keeps the New Yorkers undefeated and more importantly on top of the IWFL eastern division.

The star of the game was announced to be Courtney Eaton for her 201 rushing yards on 36 carries and for scoring 2 touchdowns. Talisha Hargis of the Albany Night-Mares was the star for her team as she rushed for 60 yards on 15 carries and scored only the second touchdown against the Sharks this year. The game ball was given to Virginia “Cha Chi” Leon for her giving the Sharks a lift when they needed it with some spectacular running plays and also for a nice interception in the second quarter.

Next week, the Sharks remain on the road to play their arch-rivals, the Bay State Warriors in Revere, Massachusetts. It is a very important game as a victory by New York could clinch them a playoff berth.