Queens, New York, April 20, 2002
New season. New League. New Uniforms. New coaches. New offense. Same old results, a win.
The New York Sharks (1-0) defeated the Montreal Blitz (0-1) 45-6, at August Martin High School in Jamaica, New York. The day started with a downpour just before gametime. By the time the pre-game ceremonies started, most of the rain had stopped, but occasional showers throughout the rest of the day kept the crowd wet.
In honor of their much beloved team mate linebacker Sharon Pascale who tragically died on Christmas Day last year, the Sharks have dedicated the 2002 season to Sharon. Throughout the day, the Sharks held tributes to Sharon.
The pre-game ceremony started with the two teams being introduced. When the Sharks appeared on the field, they were sporting their new uniforms. This year they are dressed in black with blue numbers and silver stripes on the sides of the jerseys. On their left shoulder is a blue football with the number 51 on it, to honor Sharon’s number.
Canada and the United States were both honored with the playing of both national anthems. For the Star Spangled Banner, Sharks center/punter Aurora Lighthart played the anthem on her flute.
Montreal won the coin toss and elected to receive. As another tribute in the memory of Sharon, on the first defensive play of the game, the Sharks ran onto the field with only 10 players. A time-out was then called and a moment of silence was held.
The Montreal Blitz are a new team with very few players having any football playing experience. They appeared smaller than the New York players but showed a lot of quickness. The Blitz tried to use this advantage by keeping the ball on the ground. It was effective enough to get them a first down in their first series, but after some quick adjustments by New York, Montreal was forced to punt.
Later in the first quarter, the Blitz made a very strange call by going for a 4th down and less than 1 yard situation from their own 36 yard line. They fumbled the snap for a one yard loss and most importantly New York got the ball on loss of downs. The Sharks made Montreal pay as quarterback Val Halesworth mixed passing and rushing plays to move the team. Free safety Lakisha Grant turned running back punched it into the endzone from the 2 yard line to put the Sharks in front by 6 with 5:23 left in the quarter. New York then made the 2-point conversion on a Halesworth pass to Val “Peanut” Monaco
In the second quarter, linebacker Missy Marmorale blizted and tackled the Blitz running back behind the line of scrimmage. The ball carrier fumbled and Marmorale was able to make the recovery. This gave New York the ball at the Blitz 39 yard line. New York’s offensive line, led by Anna “Tonka” Tate and Nikki Cerrato blasted holes through the Blitz allowing Grant to rush for 22 yards, 9 yards, and then 8 yards for her third touchdown of the game. The Sharks then made the 2 point conversion to stretch the lead to 24-0.
It was starting to look like a blowout when the Sharks kicked-off and pushed the Blitz back to their own 12 yard line. The Blitz then had their highlight of the day as quarterback Samantha Rappaport went to her left and with blockers in front ran for an 88 yard touchdown at 6:34 to make it 24-6. The 2 point conversion failed but the long run got the Blitz on the scoreboard and shocked the Sharks.
The tempo may have started to shift as New York could not do anything following the kick-off. Twice quarterback Halesworth was sacked for big losses and soon the Sharks were forced to punt. But Montreal fumbled the punt with the Sharks recovering. Basically any momentum the Blitz had created was gone.
As part of the halftime ceremonies, the New York Sharks officially retired Sharon’s jersey. A presentation of the jersey and a bouquet of flowers was given to Sharon’s mother and father by Sharks owner Andra Douglas. As part of the halftime entertainment, the New York Sharks as a team sang, America the Beautiful to the fans.
New York received the ball to start the third quarter. They relied on their offensive front line and their running attack. The Sharks continuously kept the ball in Grant’s hands as they pounded the Blitz line. In one series, they handed the ball to Grant 5 times in a row as she moved the ball 27 yards for her fourth touchdown of the game. The Sharks then made the 2 point conversion to make the score 32-6.
The Sharks were still not through scoring. With 1:23 left in the third quarter, Halesworth connected with Liz Presto for a 32 yard touchdown pass. The extra point was missed, but the score was now 38-6.
In the fourth quarter, team owner Andra Douglas came in to quarterback her team. The Sharks again went back to the running game, eating away time as the running backs ate away yards. It resulted with the Sharks last score of the game, a 15 yard touchdown by Courtney Eaton with 4:22 left in the game. Monaco kicked the extra point to make the final score, New York 45 – Montreal 6.
In attendance were some members of the newest IWFL team, the Albany Night-Mares. Their owner, Andrea Barnard used to play for the New York Sharks and she wanted to show her team how the Sharks play football. It also provided her with an opportunity to scout out both teams as the Night-Mares will be playing them later in the season.
As the game was winding down, the Shark players dumped a bucket of Gatorade on their head coach, Nick Giannatasio to commemorate his first win of the season. Later in the locker room, the coaches gave out game balls. For scoring four touchdowns, Grant was given the first ball. For leading the offense at quarterback but for also playing many downs on defense too, Halesworth received a game ball. The last game ball was given to Marmorale for her strong defensive play.
The Sharks started the season by showing everyone why they continue to be one of the premier teams in women’s football. They practically dominated the game in all aspects. The offense scored often using both the pass and running game as weapons and the Sharks defense did their usual thing of stopping the Blitz. The Sharks defense was so strong, that they held Montreal to less than 5 first downs the whole game. Even the special teams got into the act with some nice punt returns and a blocked punt by Lynn Lewis. After the game, the Sharks celebrated at Douglaston Manor with food and drink. To the right is a picture of the happy head coach and happy team owner.
The Sharks will host the Bay State Warriors next saturday, April 27th at August Martin High School at 3pm. The Warriors are a seasoned team and should give the Sharks a handful. It is also Men’s Day at the park, any male (ages 16 and older) will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying female. Come root for New York as they take on their rivals from New England in a battle for first place!