Staten Island, New York, June 25, 2005
It was the last game of the regular season as the New York Sharks (10-0) took on the Montreal Blitz (0-4). There was a bit of tension in the air for New York as they had heard that the Atlanta Xplosion had already won earlier in the day to give them a perfect 10-0 record for the regular season. The Sharks had already clinched a playoff berth, but due to IWFL playoff tie-breaker rules, if they wanted to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs they would have to hold Montreal to 9 or less points.
On paper this should not be too much of a problem as the Ladies of the North have only scored once all season. But with nothing to lose, their game plan was to go to the air and the Blitz came out firing. Quarterback and owner Saadia Ashref connected on her first pass attempt for 14 yards but could not get another completion in the drive and were forced to punt.
Coming out to lead the home team was the Sharks’ quarterback and owner Andra Douglas. The regualar starting quarterback Val Halesworth was going to get some rest. Douglas has been used sparingly this season but was playing as the team’s regular backup Courtney Eaton was not available for tonight’s game. After a couple of handoffs to rookie running back Mandy Oppel, Douglas dropped back to pass to a receiver. She did not see the charging linesman and got hit just as she released the ball. The tackle was enough to cause the ball to hang up in the air and it was intercepted by the Blitz on New York’s 30-yard line.
Montreal sensing a golden opportunity, kept the ball in the air and Ashraf completed 3 of 4 passes. The last pass was an 8-yard strike to Teresa Stock in the endzone. Kicker Alia Palmer split the uprights for the extra point and the Blitz were ahead 7-0 with 6:03 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was a shocker. It was the first time the Sharks have been behind since the first game of the season when the Bay State Warriors scored a touchdown, also after a Shark pass was intercepted.
After the kick-off, the league’s most prolific passer, Val Halesworth, came out to lead New York. Not showing any signs of rust, she quickly hit wide receiver Junko Tanida for a 21-yard gain. Then using her legs, Halesworth ran for 12 yards and then 3 yards. With the ball resting on the Montreal 22-yard line, Halesworth took a breather and handed the ball off to running back Teresa Schirrippa who promptly blasted her way in to the endzone. The extra point was missed, but the Sharks were quickly on the board, cutting the deficit to 7-6 with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.
Montreal seeing they may have found a weakness in the Sharks defense took to the air again, but this time New York was ready and Staten Island native Virginia “Cha Chi” Leon picked off a Bliz pass and returned it to the Montreal 47-yard line. Going to the running game, Marmorale, Oppel, and Halesworth all took turns carrying the ball for gains of 21, 14, and 13 yards respectively. With the ball 3 yards from the goal line, Oppel punched through to give the Sharks the lead. The Sharks failed again on the extra point attempt but they now had a 12-7 lead with 10:55 left in the second quarter.
The Blitz went to the air again on their next drive but after a sack and 2 incomplete passes, they were forced to punt. The Blitz punt went only 12 yards and New York had the ball on Montreal’s 39-yard line. With good field position, it only took 2 plays for the Sharks to get on the scoreboard again. The first play was a short pass to receiver Dana Sparling for 8 yards. The second play was a 31-yard run by Oppel into the endzone. This time the Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and Halesworth connected with Jen Blum to make the score 20-7 with 6:40 left in the half.
New York’s offense was moving the ball in fine fashion. But the question was whether the defense could shut down the Blitz passing game. Another score by Montreal could cost the team over $10,000 in travel expenses if they were to make it to the second round of the playoffs. With a lot on the line, head coach Lynn Lewis made a few adjustments and New York’s defense limited Montreal to only 2 more pass completions for the rest of the game. One of those completions was to Shark Michelle Brown.
When the game was over, New York’s defense was able to get the job done and clinched the home field advantage for the Sharks. After the Blitz touchdown, the Sharks defense held Montreal to only 9 offensive yards for the rest of the game. The offense also got the job done as Oppel rushed for 50 yards and 2 touchdowns, while her backfield mate Schirrippa ran for 59 yards and a touchdown.
With the regular season now concluded, work begins on the second season. In the first round, the Sharks will face the Southern Maine Rebels for the third time this season. New York has beaten the Rebels both times, but Maine is hoping the third time is the charm. The game will be played on Saturday, July 9th at Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island. Kick-off is 7pm.
If you cannot make it the game, you can still follow all the hard-hitting football action over the Internet. Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will bring you all of the action on our flagship radio station KEDU-FM.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Blitz | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| New York Sharks | 6 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 41 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
MO – (06:03) Stock 7 yard pass from Ashraf (Palmer kick)
NY – (02:37) Schirrippa 22 yard run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
NY – (14:55) Oppel 4 yard run (kick failed)
NY – (06:40) Oppel 34 yard run (Blum pass from Halesworth)
NY – (00:42) Blum 7 yard pass from Halesworth (Halesworth run)
Third Quarter
NY – (09:23) Blum 19 yard pass from Halesworth (Presto kick)
NY – (09:23) Blum 9 yard pass from Halesworth (kick failed)