Staten Island, New York, May 21, 2005
The New York Sharks (6-0) were going after their 35th regular season victory in a row as they hosted the Bay State Warriors (1-5). The Warriors’ won-loss record has only been a slight improvement from last year, but on the field they have been giving teams a tough time. Last week they took on the Midwest leading Chicago Force and were defeated 16-0. In a previous game against the Force they lost 12-7. Except for one blowout from the Sharks, Bay State’s defense has averaged giving up less than 11 points per game. On the other hand, Bay State has never beaten the Sharks.
It was another typical Sharks game day, skies threatening to rain. The temperature was in the upper 60’s at kick-off with the sun peeking between the clouds.
The Sharks started off on the right foot as they won the coin toss and elected to receive. Jen Blum fielded the kick and returned the ball to the New York 35-yard line. From there it soon became apparent that coach Lynn Lewis was going to move the ball through the air. Quarterback Val Halesworth made 6 passing attempts during the drive and moved the Sharks all the way down to the Bay State 7-yard line. But New York fizzled after a penalty and a sack, to give the Warriors the ball on a turnover of downs.
The Warriors have struggled scoring this season and so they made a few personnel changes to try and improve their game. On the first try, it didn’t work out as the Sharks stuffed Bay State and New York got the ball back after only 4 plays. But the Warrior’s defense proved tough and the next Sharks’ drive lasted only 4 plays. New York has been hit hard this year with many injured players. So on fourth down, Liz Presto who normally is a receiver was pressed into action as the punter. Her first punt of her career was a nice high kick that landed on the Warrior’s own 22-yard line.
Bay State quickly got hit with a holding penalty and suddenly they were back down to their own 9-yard line. They tried to get some breathing space and ran the ball for 3 yards and then got 2 more yards on a short pass. At this point the clouds in the sky turned very dark and lightning was seen in the near distance. The referees stopped the game and ordered the players and fans inside. Within 2 minutes, the skies opened up and it poured.
The delay lasted 58 minutes, as the officials waited for the lightning to pass by. When it was over, a double rainbow could be seen in the sky as the teams took the field. It was an omen, a good omen for the Sharks.
As play resumed, the Sharks defense was able to stop the Warriors and forced them to punt from their own 13-yard line. The snap from center was low and it bounced through the endzone and the Sharks were ahead 2-0 with 14:01 left in the second quarter.
After the free-kick, the Sharks were starting their next drive on their own 43-yard line. Halesworth went to the air and connected with Blum for a 20-yard gain. It was a nifty catch as the pass was behind the receiver and Blum turned back to catch the ball as she got hit. Halesworth then kept the ball and picked up 11 yards with the ball resting on the Bay State 26-yard line. Then both teams got hit with penalties, illegal formation for New York, a late hit for Bay State. The net result moved the ball down to the Warriors’ 16-yard line. Missy Marmorale got the next handoff and ran for 3 yards. Halesworth then found a wide open Junko Tanida for a 13-yard touchdown reception. Presto came and successfully kicked the extra point. The Sharks were now ahead 9-0 with 10:35 left in the first half.
It looked like the Sharks were getting ready to move away. The defense stopped Bay State again and the Sharks got the ball back, starting on their own 20-yard line. With a few nice runs by Marmorale and Halesworth, New York moved the ball to the Bay State 45-yard line. Tanida caught a ball for another 14 yard and then another 15 yards were tacked on for a Bay State penalty. The Sharks were in the Red Zone but time was slipping away in the half. A sack of the quarterback sealed it for New York and so the two teams went to the locker room at halftime with the Sharks ahead 9-0.
In the second half, the Sharks defense was stellar. New York’s offense had trouble moving the ball and holding on to it. Three times they fumbled the ball away in the second half and they gave the ball back to the Warriors another time on a roughing the kicker penalty and another on an interception. But despite all of their opportunites, Bay State could not muster any offensive progress and finished the day with less than 40 yards on offense.
At the end, it was an ugly win. The Sharks offense kept shooting themselves in the foot and the running game was pretty meek. The running backs rushed for only 28 yards and 2 fumbles on 11 carries. Special teams seem to need work too, as they got hit with another roughing the kicker penalty, their fourth in the season and they fumbled the ball back to the Warriors after a punt.
On the plus side, the defense was rock solid. Even though they were on the field for the bulk of the second half, the Sharks defense stopped Bay State cold. The defense picked up their 12th defensive point and got their third shutout of the season.
The Sharks have a bye next week but remain at home for the rest of the regular season. Their next game will be against their division rival Southern Maine Rebels at Staten Island. This will be a battle for first place as the Rebels are 6-1 and only 1/2 game behind the Sharks in the North Atlantic division. Kick-off time is 7pm and if you cannot make it to the game, Pat Brown will describe all of the action on our flagship radio station KEDU-FM.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay State Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York Sharks | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
NY – (14:01) Snap for punt goes through endzone
NY – (10:35) Tanida 13 yard pass from Halesworth (Presto kick)