Miami, Florida, April 28, 2007
Even though they were staying in South Beach Miami, this was a business trip. After last year’s season ending loss in the playoffs, the New York Sharks (1-0) vowed to not only win their division again but to make it the championship game. And the only way to do that was to have a tougher schedule. So at the request of the team, the IWFL complied by giving New York the toughest schedule in the league. And what better test to open the season than with the Miami Fury (0-1).
You may remember the last time these two teams met was in New York in the first round of the IWFL playoffs. The Sharks had dominated the game but could not put away the feisty Fury. After a turnover late in the game, New York’s defense had to deny Miami a game-tying score as Virigina “Cha Chi” Leon made an open field tackle to stop the Fury receiver one foot from the goal line as time expired. This time around, Miami was looking for payback and the Sharks were now playing in Florida’s waters.
It was a warm and humid evening as the two teams took the field. Game time temperature was in the mid-80’s but there were a steady 5mph breeze to make it more bearable. The Miami Fury had a last minute field change and the game was held at Nathan “Taz” Powell stadium which had brand new turf field put in. The Sharks had won the coin toss, but staying to last year’s form, Coach Vance deferred to Miami and so New York started the game on defense.
It looked a smart move as the kickoff by Shark Megan Antonucci sailed in the air and took a bounce on the Miami 23-yard line. The ball then bounced over Fury kick returner Shanika Kirkland and towards the goal line. It looked like the ball would make it to the goal line but it stopped just short, forcing Kirkland to pick up the ball. She didn’t get far as Toni Salvatore tackled Kirkland at the Miami 3-yard line.
Deep in their own territory, the Fury’s playbook was cut down considerably and on the next play they ran the ball up the middle for a short 2 yard gain by Kalondra McKenzie. On second down the Fury stayed on the ground as quarterback Anonka Dixon handed the ball off to Ronkia Toombs. Tommbs ran to her left but saw a wall of blue jerseys and decided to cut right, but she also went backwards a few yards into the endzone. It was there that Sharks’ captain Shauntay Stewart and Mandy Oppel greeted her in open arms that gave New York a very early 2-0 lead with only 66 seconds into the game.
After the free kick, the Sharks started their first offensive drive of the season on their own 27-yard line. The Sharks were being led by their now veteran quarterback Karen Mulligan and she came out firing. On the first play she threw a sideline pass to Sharks rookie Brooke McKinney who picked up a quick twelve yards. Mulligan then hit Jen Blum for a fourteen yard pickup that put the Sharks in Fury territory. Blum had to go low to the ground and made the ctatch on her back. Mulligan then threw twice more but both failed to find a New York receiver. The second attmept almost led to a turnover as Toombs almost picked it off for Miami.
Facing a third down and 10 situation, the Sharks went from the air to the ground as they handed the ball off to last year’s rookie sensation Yumi Warner . Warner slashed her way for a 12 yard gain and another Sharks first down at the Miami 35-yard line. With the success of the run, Coach Vance decided to keep the ball on the ground as Oppel and Vivian “The Bus” Alberty took turns running with the ball and powering the Sharks to the Fury 20-yard line. Miami was looking for run on the next play and were fooled on a play action pass. Mulligan faked the handoff and then rolled to her right. She connected with a wide open McKinney to put the New Yorkers on the board again. The Sharks failed on the extra point attempt when the snap went bad, but still New York had an early 8-0 lead with 9:32 left to go in the first quarter.
The Fury were starting to dig a big hole for themselves but they quickly changed that on their next possession. After a nice return by Kentrel Hill, Miami had the ball on their own 40-yard line. With more breathing space, the went to the air and a pass that was slightly tipped by Sharks safety Adrienne Smith, Hill was able to make the catch and ran the ball in for a 56-yard touchdown play. Hill showed her speed as she just burst down the sideline for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked by New York and so the score was 8-6 with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
The Sharks answered the Fury score with a nice drive of their own. Starting at midfield after a nifty kickoff return from Warner, the Sharks went to work. Sticking with the ground game, Mulligan, Warner, Oppel, and Alberty were able to rush the ball six times to get down to the Miami 18-yard line. New York went briefly to the air with Mulligan hitting Chrissy Pagan on a quick slant pattern for 8 more yards. The Sharks went back to the ground as Oppel took a pitch to the right from Mulligan for a 10 yard touchdown score. Antonucci split the uprights to extend the Sharks lead to 9 points.
The Sharks defense put up a brick wall on the next Miami possession as the Fury went 3 and out just as the first quarter was to expire. But as Miami was getting ready to punt to start the second quarter, the lights went out at the stadium. The game was delayed as the stadium technicians went to work on the lighting system. It took about 30 minutes before the game was able to resume. It was going to be interesting to see if the delay had an effect on either team. The answer came back rather quickly.
The Miami punt to start the second quarter went high and but not very far. It went about 9 yards past the line of scrimmage, but the Sharks were able to return it for another 7 yards to the Miami 30 yards. New York went back to the air and Mulligan connected with McKinney for a 30-yard play action pass for a touchdown. But a penalty by New York nullified the score and the Sharks continued to shoot themselves in the foot with another penalty and turned over the ball to the Fury on downs on the Miami 40-yard line.
It soon became the Anonka Dixon show as she started to take over the game. On the next series of plays, Dixon carried the ball 6 times to pick up 50 yards. Often she got chased in to the backfield, but with her speed she was able to get to the corners and make some big runs. Their drive stalled at the New York 18-yard line as they got hit with multiple penalties. Stopping the Fury was big and it looked like New York might be able to put the Fury away early as a bad snap on the punt for Miami gave the Sharks the ball at midfield. But New York went conservative with three straight running plays and the Fury defense held to force the New Yorkers to punt.
The Sharks repayed the Fury bad snap with a bad one of their own and Miami was again deep in New York territory with the ball at the Sharks 34-yard line. Dixon then used her legs and was able to get into the endzone after a 16 yard scramble, but it was called back after a holding penalty. Time was running out in the half, but Dixon was able to return to the endzone on another incredible scramble as she scored a touchdown with no time remaining on the clock. Kicker Krystie Jones extra point was good and the score was now 15-13 in favor of the Sharks. But if New York could not contain Dixon, the Sharks were looking at having their record 47-game regular season winning streak broken.
The second half started with the Sharks receiving the ball but their offensive woes since the blackout continued. They were able to move the ball down to the Miami 30-yard line before the drive stalled and they turned the ball over back to the Fury on downs. It was up to the Sharks braintrust to make adjustments to keep Dixon in check and they were able to do so. Twice Dixon went into scramble mode as she looked for receivers but each time the Sharks contained her for a pair of 12 yard sacks by Salvatore and Shana Vickers respectively. This forced Miami to punt from their own 7-yard line. On the punt it looked like the Sharks struggles were continuing when Adrienne Smith fumbled the return and it was recovered by the Fury. But a Miami penalty wiped out the gift and they had to punt again from their own 4-yard line. The second time was the charm for New York as Miami’s punt only went to the 13 yard line and then bounced back to their own goal line. It was eventually downed on the Fury 6-yard line. It was then only a quick run up the middle by Warner for New York to get back on the scoreboard. The Sharks tried to go for the 2-point conversion but the pass was wide. New York had an 8 point lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter.
While New York made some adjustments to stop Dixon’s legs they didn’t stop Toombs. And on Miami’s next possession they were able to tie the score on Toombs electrifying 60 yard run. She then got the ball on the 2-point conversion and the score was now knotted at 21 apiece.
Miami’s good fortune didn’t last long as they went off-sides on the kickoff and with the ball pushed back further the Sharks were able to return the ball to their own 48-yard line. From there Miami’s luck didn’t change as they tipped a Mulligan pass only to see McKinney grab it for a 15 yard gain. Then sticking to the ground, New York moved the ball down to the Fury 27-yard line. Looking for another running play, the Fury were then fooled on a play action pass where Mulligan found a wide open McKinney in the endzone to give the Sharks the lead again. Antonucci made the extra point to extend the lead to 7.
But Miami came roaring back with another quick score. This time it was Dixon making the big play but with her arm instead of her legs as she connected with Hill for a 55 yard strike. Miami was now down by 1 point and they gambled for the lead by going for the 2 point conversion. They came close but McKenzie fumbled the ball just before she crossed the goal line and the Sharks recovered.
This was turning into a slugfest with each team exchanging touchdowns. It was going to be up to one of the team’s defense to make a stop to turn the game around. It looked like Miami might have the edge as the Sharks went three and out. With the ball now back in their hands, the Fury looked to strike after a 26 yard run on a pitch play to Toombs. They then tried to go to the air and paid a big price. Dixon was scrambling looking for an open receiver and tried to force a pass as Sharks were about to tackle her. The pass was short of its intended target and picked off by Oppel who then returned the interception for a 54 yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked but the Sharks had again regained a 7 point lead with 9:28 left in the game.
The Fury must have felt some time pressure as they made a big gamble deep in their own territory. On a fourth down and 1 yard to go situation from their own 21-yard line, they went for it. But the fumbled the handoff and after quickly picking the ball up, the runner tried to toss the ball back to another runner only to lose more yards. New York had a golden opportunity to put the Fury away with the ball sitting on the 14-yard line. And they quickly made Miami pay for their indiscretion on one of the more stranger plays of the game. Mulligan handed the ball towards Alberty but the ball popped up high into the air. The ball went skyward towards the Miami goal line. Alberty followed the ball and after it took a bounce she picked it up and then stretched all she could to give the Sharks another touchdown. Antonucci made the extra point to extend the Sharks lead to 14 points with less than 7 minutes left to play in the game.
On the Fury’s next possession things continued to go wrong. It first started with Dixon having to leave the game due to a foot injury and was replaced at quarterback by Asheba Wadley. Compounding the problem was a fumble by Toombs on a pitchout that was picked up by Salvatore and returned 8 yards to give New York the ball on the Miami 32-yard line. It was another turnover that Sharks would cash in on. They did it mostly with the running game, but this time with 19-year old rookie Gabrielle Nazaire making the carries. Playing in her first game she capped off the Sharks scoring with a 5 yard touchdown run after a key block by Stewart opened up the running lane. Antonucci made the extra point and the game was practically over. The Sharks now led 48-27 with only 1:49 left in the game.
It was pretty hopeless but the Fury still gave it their all and quarterback Wadley connected with Hill for a last gasp 56 yard touchdown pass play. But it was too little, too late as the Sharks got out of Miami with a very hard fought victory.
It was a tough game for both sides, but neither side gave up. The Sharks had taken the early lead but Miami came clawing back. And instead of wilting in the heat, the New Yorkers were able to tough it out and prevail at the end.
Next week the Sharks will have their season home opener as they will be hosting the national champion D.C. Divas. The Divas are one of the elite teams in women’s football and are looking to prove they can win in the IWFL just as well as anywhere else. Last weekend they destroyed the New England Intensity, 70-0 and are looking to be the team that puts a stop to the Sharks record 48-game regular season winning streak. So come see the Sharks in the IWFL Game of the Week as they host the D.C. Divas in New York’s brand new home, Sharks Field at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. Kick-off is at 4pm and tickets are only $12.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Sharks | 15 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 48 |
| Miami Fury | 6 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 33 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY – (13:54) Toombs tackled in endzone by Oppel and Stewart
NY – (09:32) McKinney 21 yard pass from Mulligan (run failed)
MI – (07:37) Hill 56 yard run (kick failed)
NY – (02:23) Oppel 9 yard run (Antonucci kick)
Second Quarter
MI – (00:00) Dixon 11 yard run (Jones kick)
Third Quarter
NY – (06:06) Warner 6 yard run (pass failed)
MI – (05:41) Toombs 60 yard run (Toombs run)
NY – (00:46) McKinney 29 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)
Fourth Quarter
MI – (14:31) Hill 64 yard pass from Dixon (run failed)
NY – (09:28) Oppel 45 yard interception return (kick failed)
NY – (06:58) Alberty 14 yard run (kick failed)
NY – (01:49) Nazaire 6 yard run (Antonucci kick)
MI – (01:30) Hill 66 yard pass from Wadley (run failed)