Tampa, Florida, August 18, 2001
Throughout the week there were stories of shark sightings along the Tampa coast. Numerous shark attacks were tallied over the weekend. One attack that was not reported occured further inland as the New York Sharks continued to play inspiring defense and offense in defeating the Tampa Tempest 25-0.
The Shark’s (3-1) victory over the Tampa Tempest (0-2) was their second straight victory. The game was a penalty filled affair. Both teams were penalized for a combined 35 times for a total of 354 yards in penalites.
This was the second shut-out of the season for the Shark’s defense who have allowed only one touchdown all season. The defense was stingy, giving up only 2.5 yards per Tempest offensive play and grabbing 4 interceptions. The defense is giving up on average only 4 points per game this season.
The Shark’s defense grabbed 4 interceptions and made 5 sacks. Val Halesworth led the team with 2 interceptions, Lynn Lewis and Toni Salvatore each had one. Rose Addison had 2 sacks, and Missy Marmorale, Darleen “Blue” Hall, and Virginia “Cha Chi” Leon had one each.
Tampa did have one good scoring drive in the game. They had the ball on their own 10 yard line and marched up the field. The Shark defense kept bending but never broke. The Tempest got the ball to New York’s 10 yard line but that was as far as they went. Tampa was denied as the Sharks got possession on downs.
The offense played well too, scoring on 4 touchdowns. Andra Douglas, playing before her hometown tossed for one touchdown to Valerie Monaco and Michelle Valenti also threw one to Monaco. The other two came on the ground on rushes by Kathy Holloman and Raven Marshall. Holloman’s run came after she picked up a bad snap and rumbled 20 yards for the score.
You could not really tell from the score but the Tampa team really played their hearts out in this tough game. The Tempest did not play with their full complement of players. Many Tampa players had to play both offense and defense in the warm muggy evening air.
The Sharks take a well earned rest next week, before they head upstate to take on the Syracuse Sting on September 1st. The Sharks defeated the Sting earlier in the season at Stony Brook, and those upstaters will be looking to even the series.