Queens, New York, June 15, 2002
After a month of playing away from the Big Apple, the New York Sharks (7-0) finally came home and with a mission. With one more win, they would clinch the IWFL Eastern Division title and propel them into the Championship Game in Ashland, Oregon on July 6th. The Sharks went 3-0 on the road trip but it was tough. The long bus rides seemed to cause the Sharks play to be a little bit rough around the edges. It wasn’t until the second quarter or so before the team was able to shake off the cobwebs and get down to business.
With home cooking on the menu, the Sharks were able to turn a dreary overcast day into a bright sunny one for themselves. New York was back to its old tricks, scoring early and scoring often. The New Hampshire Freedom (1-7) were the Sharks unlucky next victim.
Things started going right for the Sharks from the start and didn’t really end. New Hampshire made the call for the coin toss and lost. The Sharks elected to receive and within 76 seconds they were on the scoreboard.
New York started off in good field position after the kick-off return. Starting from their own 46 yard line, quarterback Val Halesworth connected with wide receiver Val “Peanut” Monaco for a 45 yard pass play that made it first down on New Hampshire’s 9 yard line. Halesworth connected with Monaco again, this time in the endzone and it was quickly 6-0. Halesworth then threw to Monica Marsh in the endzone for the 2 point conversion and at the 13:44 mark of the first quarter, New York was ahead 8-0.
Throughout this season and last, the Sharks have always been strong defensively. Going against a New Hampshire team that is one of the weakest offensively in the IWFL Eastern Division, on paper it looked like a mismatch. It was. After 3 plays, the Freedom were forced to punt.
Again, the Sharks took to the air and moved the ball down to the New Hampshire’s 5 yard line after a 34 yard pass from Halesworth to Monaco. A short pass to Patti Height in the endzone, made it 14-0 with 8:07 left in the first quarter. New York failed on the 2 point conversion.
On the next series of plays, came the scariest moment in the game. New Hampshire was in a third and long situation so they threw a pass to Audra Vigliotte. She caught the ball but when she was tackled her arm went into the turf and she immediately screamed out in pain. The game was stopped for 15 minutes as medical assistance came running on the field. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the field. The trainers think it was a dislocated elbow but she needed to get x-rays to make sure that nothing was broken.
After the Freedom had punted, the Sharks uncharacteristically kept the ball in the air. With passes to Monaco and Liz Presto, the Sharks were on New Hampshire’s 13 yard line. From here another touchdown pass to Height made the score 26-0 at the 2:12 mark. It was a really strange game at this point as the Sharks had yet to run the ball. New York has been noted for their strong offensive line and running attack. The pass is usually used sparingly but very effectively. Here in the first quarter the Sharks were just filling the sky with footballs and scoring.
After the Sharks had kicked off to the Freedom, New Hampshire fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Marsh at the 25 yard line of New Hampshire. Staying in the air, Halesworth twice hit Monaco with passes to put the ball on the Freedom’s 10 yard line. Finally the Sharks handed the ball off to the team’s leading rusher Courtney Eaton who ran it in 10 yards for New York’s fourth touchdown of the day. Halesworth ran a quarterback sneak on the conversion and that made the score 28-0 with 12:37 left in the second quarter.
New Hampshire again could not do anything offensively and were forced to punt. The Sharks quickly scored again, this time on a 6 yard run by Viginia “Cha Chi” Leon. The run was highlighted by some power hitting by Leon to get into the endzone. In the past she has been able to use her speed to avoid tacklers, but here she bulldozed her way by 3 tacklers to score. Presto caught a pass from Halesworth for the 2-point conversion and now the score was 36-0 with 5:32 left in the first half.
On their next possession, the Freedom were able to get their first down of the day. The small victory was short-lived as Darleen “Blue” Hallpicked off a pass for an interception. But with time running out in the half, the Sharks were only able to get the ball down to New Hampshire’s 25 yard line before time expired.
At half time the Sharks were pretty relaxed as they headed to the locker room. Anna “Tonka” Tate was still on the sidelines due to an injury suffered in Albany but she still is able to help the team. Besides shouting encouragement she inspires the team by modeling the latest in Sharkwear, the fin cap.
The second half was no better for the visitors. After receiving the kick-off to start the third quarter, New Hampshire promptly fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Missy Marmorale at the Freedom’s 31 yard line. The Shark’s scored a touchdown on a Halesworth keeper from the 5 yard line. The 2 point conversion was made on a pass to Marsh from Halesworth. With 10:34 left in the third quarter, it was New York 44, New Hampshire 0.
The Sharks seemed to be much more aggressive in this game than in any other game this season. They were blitzing and putting alot of pressure on the Freedom quarterback. On New Hampshire’s next possession, the Sharks got into the backfield twice to sack the quarterback. After the punt and return, New York now had the ball on New Hampshire’s 24 yard line. Shark’s owner Andra Douglas was now the new quarterback for the Sharks and she quickly took no time to put her mark on the game. After a handoff to Eaton who ran for 22 yards, Douglas hit Height in the endzone for a 6 yardtouchdown pass. This was Height’s third touchdown catch of the day. The Shark’s extra point attempt went awry on a bad snap. Still the score was now 50-0 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
Again the Sharks held New Hampshire after the kick-off. The highlight of that defensive stand was a quarterback sack by Tara Passoni to end the third quarter. After the Freedom punted, New York had the ball on New Hampshire’s 45 yard line. It took Douglas only one play to hit Janet Chichester on a 20 yard pass pattern who then ran it in the rest of the way to make the score 58-0.
The Shark’s final score came with 3:23 left in the game. Staying with a running attack to run out the clock, New York handed off the ball to Wanda Williams, Presto, and then to Hall who punched it in from the 2 yard line. The final touchdown made the score 64-0.
After the game, the coaches gave out the game balls. The Shark’s defense got another game ball for their incredible fifth shutout of the season. The game balls for offense were given to Monaco and Height got game balls for their numerous receptions and Douglas got one for piloting the Sharks to 3 touchdowns, two of them coming on passes.
This was a vintage Shark’s game. They scored everytime they had the ball except at the end of the first half when time expired. The offense showed they can win games without having to rely on the running attack as they scored touchdown and after touchdown via the air. The defense was also in fine form as they continuously were able to get into the Freedom backfield and either sack the quarterback or stop their running backs for losses.
The Sharks remain at home for the last game of the regular season against the Bay State Warriors. The game means nothing in the standings but it will be the Big Apple’s last chance to see this high-caliber team before they head out west to play for the IWFL Championship. The game will be played at 3pm on June 22nd at August Martin H.S. Come join us and show your support for New York City’s latest title winning team.