Medford, Mass. July 28, 2001
It was a beautiful day for football as the New York Sharks played the New England Storm in Medford, Massachusetts. The sky was clear and the temperature was a very comfortable 77 degrees at kick-off time.
The Sharks were looking for revenge against the Storm, as New England had defeated New York last season in the WPFL Division Playoffs, 10-7 in a defensive battle. This game appeared to be going the same way as both teams were scoreless through the first quarter.
The second quarter started with the Storm having to punt from their side of the field. The snap for the punt was fumbled and the New York Sharks recovered the ball on the Storm’s 6 yard line. From there, the Sharks handed the ball off to running back, Kathy Holloman who ran to her right following her blockers and scored easily to give the Sharks a 6-0 lead. Coach Rich Scarpa decided to go for the 2-point conversion and this time ran the ball left. The Sharks made the conversion and that made the y score 8-0 at 11:53 in the second quarter.
The Sharks scored again just before the two-minute warning. This time it was an 11 yard pass play to Valerie “Peanut” Monaco. The Sharks went for the 2-point conversion but were stopped, making the score 14-0.
With only 2:24 left in the first half, the Sharks were still not finished scoring in the second half. They got the ball back with 1:54 left and scored on a spectacular 34 yard run by Holloman. The play started off as a handoff but when Holloman got to the line, the opening was closed quickly by the Storm. She then stepped back and ran to her right. She found a hole, broke a few tackles and rambled down the right sideline for her second touchdown of the day. The Sharks elected again to go for the 2-point conversion but were stopped. Nevertheless, the Sharks had padded their lead to 20-0 at the break.
In the third period the Storm came out smoking and were able to move the ball against the Sharks, aided by a few New York penalties. New England was able to move the ball all the way down to the Sharks 2 yard line with a first down. But the Sharks defense rose to the occasion and denied the Storm from getting onto the scoreboard. The big play coming on a third down fumble recovery by New York. That was the closest New England came to scoring and New York went on their way to win the 2001 season opener.