Brooklyn, New York, April 19, 2008
The New York Sharks were opening up their 10th season of women’s tackle football. To commemorate their long storied history, it was Sharks Old-Timer’s Day where many former Sharks were honored at halftime.
Unlike many home openers in the past, there was no rain in the forecast and the weather was nice and sunny for a late April game. Game time temperatures were in the 70’s.
The Sharks (1-0) were facing for the first time the Balimore Nighthawks (1-1), a new entry to the IWFL but a team that came into the contest undefeated. While New York started the 2008 season with a bye last week, the Nighthawks convincingly beat the Central PA Vipers by shutting them out, 55-0. The Sharks had to be confident going into the game, but there remined lots of uncertainty with a team of over 20 rookies and a brand new coaching staff. This game could be a struggle.
The game started with Baltimore winning the coin toss and electing to receive. The Sharks chose to defend the goal with the wind to their backs. A good strategy on a very windy day in Brooklyn, with the wind blowing over 10 mph.
The Nighthawks had started the season last week with a win on a solid effort. Led by their star running back Marqita Roman who rushed for over 200 yards in that game, it appeared that Baltimore would try and establish their ground game first. But the Nighthawks braintrust decided to suprise New York by going to the air on their first play of the game. Big mistake.
Baltimore quarterback Amanda Platt quickly dropped back to pass and threw into a strong wind. The ball hung up into the air and that allowed Sharks safety Adrienne Smith to get her first interception of the year. It didn’t take the Sharks long to cash in on the turnover. The pick gave New York great field postion at the Baltimore 42-yard line. Showing off their new running back Anabel Rodriguez who was a wide receiver last year, she ran for 9 yards on her first 2 carries. Karen Mulligan then showed she was in mid-season form with a 15 yard pickup and then capped off the drive with an 18 yard strike to Brooke McKinney. Megan Antonucci‘s extra point attempt hit the right goalpost and bounced away no good. The Sharks drew first blood and had a 6-0 lead only 4 minutes into the game.
On their next possession, the Nighthawks went back to their running game and giving the ball to Roman. The New York defense was up to the task and forced Baltimore to punt. After the punt, the Sharks again had great field position at their own 47-yard line. But New York could not take advantage as they fumbled the ball to Baltimore. The Sharks defense continued to be stingy and got the ball back to the offense after only 3 plays.
New York’s offense returned the favor to the defense by giving the ball back to them by scoring a touchdown in only 3 plays. The Sharks noticed a soft spot in the Baltimore defense and Mulligan ran the quarterback draw twice to pick up 54 yards in 2 carries for New York’s second touchdown of the game. Antonucci split the uprights for the extra point and New York was now ahead 13-0 with only 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Nighthawks were not having a great deal of success with the run so they went to the air again. And again it led to disasterous results. This time thowing with the wind to her back, Platt was picked off by rookie defensive back Lauren Pringle giving the ball back to the home team at their own 20-yard line. This time the Sharks offense grinded out a score on a 13-play drive for their third touchdown of the game. The ball was advanced by 7 different Sharks as they marched 80 yards downfield for the score. The scoring play was a 9-yard toss from Mulligan to Jennifer Blum. That score extended Blum’s record career touchdown receptions for the Sharks to 34. Antonucci’s extra point attempt was good and New York had a comfortable 20-0 lead with 4:37 left in the first half.
The Sharks final tally of the day came late in the third quarter as the visitors running game continued to sputter and forced them to go to the air. On a third down and long situation, Platt was again picked off by the Sharks aerial defense when Chrissy Pagan plucked the ball out of the air for another Baltimore turnover. It was the Sharks third interception in the game and for the third time New York was able to cash in. This time with an electrifying 54-yard pass play. McKinney caught a bullet pass from Mulligan up the middle and ran all the way to the endzone with some excellent blocks by her fellow receivers. The extra point attempt was missed, but the Sharks had a commanding 26-0 lead with 18 minutes left in the game.
The Nighthawks didn’t pack it in and they continued to play hard throughout the game. Going back to their running attack, Baltimore was finally able to make some ground as Roman was able to turn the corners and use her speed to pick up yards. She finished the game with 114 yards rushing. The Nighthawks were getting some better blocking and were able to prevent the shutout with a 66 yard, 10 play drive in the fourth quarter. The snap for the extra point was high and they never got the place kick off. Baltimore was starting to move the ball but it was too little too late and the Sharks went on to win 26-6.
The Sharks will next host the Central PA Vipers (0-2) at the Aviator Sports Complex on Saturday, April 26th. Game time is 3:30pm (EDT). If you can’t make it to the game, you can still follow all of the hard hitting football as Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will describe all of the action live to you on the official flagship station for New York Sharks Football, www.blogtalkradio.com/wfnradio – the Women’s Football Network.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Nighthawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| New York Sharks | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY – (11:01) McKinney 18 yard pass from Mulligan (kick failed)
NY – (00:40) Mulligan 34 yard run (Antonucci kick)
Second Quarter
NY – (04:37) Blum 9 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)
Third Quarter
NY – (03:04) McKinney 54 yard pass from Mulligan (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
BA – (12:33) Grigsby 14 yard run (run failed)