In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Lewis Chicks sailed to a 19-0 victory over the McGlinn Shamrocks behind the senior leadership and superb talent of quarterback Erin Nasrallah.
Thanks to the dynamic duo of Nasrallah and fellow senior Mimi Lungren, who connected in the endzone three times, and the Chicks' solid defense that recorded its second shut-out in a row, Lewis extended its winning streak to three games.
"We played great. This is our best offensive showing that we've had. We had some good drives," Nasrallah said. "As always, our defense came up strong. I can't say enough about our defense."
Lewis scored on the first drive of the game when Lungren caught a long pass from Nasrallah. Lungren scored again before halftime and the Chicks were ahead 13-0 at the break after sophomore Joslyn Moya caught the extra point.
Late in the game Lewis receiver Lynne McChrystal picked up nearly 40 yards from another long pass, setting up the final touchdown of the game.
After scrambling and running with the ball all game, Nasrallah again looked to run to the right. With the McGlinn linemen fast approaching, Nasrallah completed a pass to Lungren just before she was sacked, making the final score 19-0.
With seven seniors dominating the field, the Chicks are hoping their early-season success is a sign of good things to come.
"Our goal is, as always, to get to the Stadium," Nasrallah said, having played in the title game sophomore year. "It's a great feeling to be in there and we just want to end on that note."
The Shamrocks, for their part, are disappointed at the game's outcome. After beating Pasquerilla East earlier in the week, they were confident and ready going into Sunday's game.
"It was a really hard loss," McGlinn running back Raquel Ferrer said. "We really didn't come out with a lot of intensity. We learned a lot from the game and we're just hoping to come out hard for our next game."
Pasquerilla East 6, Howard 0
The Ducks put it all out on the field Sunday afternoon but, in the end, still got burned. The opposing teams maintained a shutout until the last minutes of the second half, when Pasquerilla East came out with a touchdown to win 6-0.
The first half set the intense tone for the game and saw numerous exchanges of possession without significant progression in either direction. The Pyros were surprised by the strength of Howard's defense.
"Our offense struggled to find its rhythm today," Pasquerilla East captain Laura Wolohan said. "Luckily our defense really pulled it together."
Howard had the ball to begin the half but, after four running plays, failed to achieve a first down.
Control of the ball reverted back to the Ducks when Megan Marshall had her second interception of the game, a pass by Pasquerilla East's first-year quarterback, Laura Adams, in the first PE play.
Howard continued to run the ball rather than attempt to pass. The Pyro defense took advantage of this with quick and accurate execution. Several times they stopped the ball even before a handoff could be completed.
Pasquerilla East coaches continued to utilize passing plays. A determined offensive line let the offense get two first downs and then the tie-breaking touchdown by Leslie Follmer, although not the extra-point.
Despite the loss, Howard realizes the potential shown in holding out so long against last year's champions.
"We're seen as the small dorm with little threat," Howard captain Shannon Trevino said. "We gained a lot of respect for Howard today."
