Staten Island, New York, August 23, 2005
This was to be a battle of the titans as the only 2 undefeated teams in the IWFL Eastern Conference were squaring up for the title. Both teams came in to the game with a perfect 10-0 regular season record while dispatched their first round playoff opponents and both teams sporting the best defense in all of the IWFL.
It was a nice warm summer evening in New York as the two teams went to battle. On paper it looked like an evenly match and the game should be one of the best this season. Many a time games that look good on paper don’t match up on the field. Well, this wasn’t one of them as the paper was right. The game was a terrific defense battle with both teams stopping the other’s offense.
The game started with the Atlanta Xplosion winning the coin toss and electing to receive. Atlanta is one of the few teams in the league that feature a balanced attack. They have a strong running game led by running backs Charmain Chin and Tekela Corbitt but can also beat you with the pass on the arm of quarterback Sue Cackowski. During their first drive, the Xplosion mixed up their plays and was able to move the ball down to the New York 14-yard line.
The Sharks’ defense was moving backwards but they then made their stand. Cackowski handed the ball off to Angela Rowe who was initially met in the backfield by defensive end Rose Addison. Rowe broke the tackle by bouncing backwards but that just gave linebacker Mandy Oppel enough time to finish the play off for a 4-yard loss. Atlanta got 5 of those yards back on a Corbitt run but an incomplete third down pass put the ball on the New York 13-yard line and a fourth down.
It was early in the game and Atlanta decided to try and get at least 3 points from their first drive of the game. Kicker Jess Martin came in and booted a 30-yard field goal to put Atlanta ahead 3-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.
Now it was New York’s turn to see what their offense could do. Their drive started on their own 39-yard line. Their first play was a handoff to running back Shauntay Stewart who picked up 4 yards. A handoff to Teresa Schirrippa on the next play was stopped for no gain, but then the top passer in the IWFL Val Halesworth connected with her favorite receiver Jen Blum for a 16 yard pickup.
Atlanta’s defense then stepped it up a notch as they stopped Schirrippa for a 3 yard loss and then sacked Halesworth for another loss of 6 yards. Halesworth was then able to throw a dump pass to running back Missy Marmorale for a gain of 10 yards which put the ball on the Xplosion 35-yard line but it was fourth down. New York went for it but Halesworth was intercepted to end the Sharks drive. It was the first of two interceptions by Atlanta.
Atlanta started their next possession on their own 23-yard line but the Sharks defense and some Xplosion penalties quickly had the ball moving towards the Atlanta endzone. After only 3 plays the Xplosion were forced to punt from their own 11-yard line and the Sharks were in excellent field position from the Atlanta 32-yard line.
With the short field, the Sharks tried to get on the board but after 2 runs were stopped, Halesworth went to the air. On third down Blum almost came down with a pass despite being double teamed but she could not tuck the ball away before she came down. With the Sharks on the Xplosion 29-yard line and fourth down, they gambled and Halesworth went deep. She saw receiver Courteny Eaton with a step on her defender and no one in front of her, but the ball glanced off Eaton’s hands for an incomplete pass. The ball then went back to the visitors and that was the last real threat that New York could muster.
While Atlanta’s defense was shutting down the Sharks, New York’s defense was doing the same to the Xplosion. Atlanta was able to move the ball down the field, but when they got near the Red Zone, the Sharks’ defense clamped down on the Xplosion and prevented another score. New York rookie Vervell Hale played exceptionally well in her very first start at cornerback. She was an emergency replacement for Toni Salvatore who was out due to a broken hand.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, the Xplosion were able to nurse their 3 point lead with some time consuming drives. While they did not score, they were able to eat valuable time off of the clock and twice the Sharks helped the Atlanta cause with 2 turnovers.
At the end, Atlanta was able to make their field goal stand-up for the whole game to win not only the game but also the IWFL Eastern Conference title. The Sharks had held the title for 3 years straight but came up just shy for a fourth title. The Xplosion will now move on to the IWFL Championship Game in Manchester, New Hampshire where they will face the 2-time IWFL Champion Sacramento Sirens. The game will be played on August 6th starting at 7pm (EDT). Even the Sharks will not be playing in the game, their broadcasting team will be at the Granite State to call the IWFL Championship Game live on www.kedu.us.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Xplosion | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| New York Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
AT – (07:23) Martin 30-yard field goal