Breen-Phillips used a relentless first half offensive attack and solid second half play to defeat Farley 35-13 Tuesday night in women's interhall football action.
The first half opened up with a quick drive down the field by Breen-Phillips. A 30-yard pass across the middle set up a 5-yard touchdown pass for the Babes. After shutting down Farley's offense, they soon had the ball back and were driving down the field for another score. Breen-Phillips quarterback Traci Kazmerski ran it in for a touchdown in what would be the first of her three rushing touchdowns.
"[Kazmerski] seemed really sharp out there this game with clean execution and accurate passes," Babes captain Kelly Decklman said.
Kazmerski finished the game 10-of-17 with one passing touchdown. Erin Powell also had two key receptions for Breen-Phillips that lead to scores.
Looking to answer after the lopsided first half, Farley's Finest came out looking strong on their opening drive. After two 20-yard runs split the defense, second-year quarterback Katie Popick connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Later in the half she would also complete a pass for 50 yards that led to another touchdown.
Concerning the stark contrast between the team's first and second half performances, Popick said, "We only had two practices but once we got the first half jitters out we were able to go out there and play awesome."
Eventually however, the Babes proved resilient enough to keep their first-half lead. A goal line stand by Breen-Phillips's defense late in the half essentially ended Farley's valiant comeback.
"We definitely exceeded expectations and were able to come out there the second half and play well against a team with more size and speed than us," Farley coach Ben O'Connor said.
The win for Breen-Phillips puts them at 2-0 on the year and gives them a reputation for their quick offense and stingy defense. Besides just being a confidence builder, this game makes it clear that the Babes are serious about a playoff run.
Welsh 7, Walsh 0
An evenly matched pair of defensive lines kept the suspense high at Tuesday night's game between Walsh and Welsh. It looked to be a shutout for both teams until the Welsh score during the clock's final countdown. When played concluded only moments later the end result was a 7-0 win for the Whirlwinds.
In this defensive-minded game, possession changed several times within the opening minutes of the game as each team's defense was able to prevent the opposition from earning a first down.
Although there were several completed passes made by the Walsh offense, too many were missed to offset the Welsh Family defense. Similarly, the Whirlwind running game couldn't overcome the Wild Women's opposition.
Over the course of play, the Whirlwinds picked off four passes that continually broke the Wild Women's momentum. These interceptions came from Mary Prendergast, Lauren Osterhus and Kacey Rack, who had two to her credit.
Standouts on the Walsh team were also members of an aggressive defense. Carly Belle's sacks led the Walsh defensive line in keeping Welsh Family away from the goal line. Also playing strong and responsible for the key interception of a Whirlwind pass was Amanda Borys.
Both teams were getting frustrated with the scoreless game when Welsh's Mary Murphy finally broke through for a touchdown and subsequent extra point. This last minute push was demonstrative of the on the field confidence coach Brian Adams said the team has been working on.
Captain Katie Sprinz also cited the team still not coming together yet as another goal.
"Our girls don't always work as one yet, but they really came out and played hard the whole game," said Spirnz.
The goal for the future Walsh games will be developing a constant high level of play, especially in the offensive line.
"We need to be more consistent and bring our drives for the score into the second half," Walsh captain Colleen Gannon said.
Pasquerilla West 12, Pangborn 6
Coming into Tuesday night's game, the amount of practice time held by Pangborn and Pasquerilla West was very different. The result of the game matched the preparation by each team as the Purple Weasels defeated the Phoxes 12-6.
Pasquerilla West has been practicing for weeks in preparation for the start of the interhall season while Pangborn only held four practices before the season started.
During Pangborn's first possession, freshman Trish Connolly scored the first touchdown of the game and put the Phoxes (0-2) ahead early. She caught a 25-yard pass, ran it to the 2-yard line and scored on the next play.
Pasquerilla West's Heather Van Hoegarden quickly retaliated, scoring two touchdowns to put her team in the lead at the half.
Pangborn had several huge runs in the second half and got within 12 yards of scoring, but Pasquerilla West kept the Phoxes out of the end zone.
"I was very happy about it," Pangborn captain Katie Murray said. "We didn't lose focus and we all kept the momentum up".
The Phoxes haven't started off too well in dropping their first two games. Their youthful roster has gotten much needed experience.
"We are a young team, a new team, and we're rebuilding," Pangborn's Katie Murphy said.
