Breen-Phillips vs. Pasquerilla West
Tonight at 7p.m. on Riehle West field, Breen Phillips and Pasquerilla West will continue their football seasons, which to this point look extremely promising.
Breen Phillips (2-0) has looked especially impressive on offense thus far, putting up a Kansas City Chiefs-like 59 points in two games. The Babes come into this game looking to continue to move the ball downfield with constant production from their explosive offense.
"We want our offensive unit to continue to look sharp," captain Kelly Deckelman said. "We're just looking to come out strong and catch them on their heals."
Breen Phillips is not taking this game for granted, however. Pasquerilla West (1-1) has looked sharp in both of their games, despite a loss to Walsh on Sunday.
"This is definitely going to be our toughest game so far," Deckelman said. "We've been practicing a lot this week in order to get ready for what should be a very difficult matchup."
Pasquerilla West is not expecting an easy win either, when they come into tonight's game. The Purple Weasels know that they have a lot to do in order to win the game, and they are going to need consistent play on both sides of the ball in order to keep pace with Breen Phillips' offense.
"We had a few lapses in our loss on Sunday, and we need to be more consistent on offense," captain Leslie Schmidt said. "We have the ability to make big plays down field, but we need to establish our short completions in order to move the ball more effectively."
Pasquerilla West is aware of the offensive prowess of its opponent and is hoping to counter it with solid defensive play.
"Breen Phillips has an excellent offense, and we need our defense to make some big plays in order to come out with a victory," Schmidt said.
Cavanaugh vs. Pangborn
One team has the experience of being in the Stadium. The other is a young team looking to rebuild and improve itself before the year is over.
It's a recipe for a game in which anything could happen, and it is the kind of game that could be expected when Cavanaugh and Pangborn collide tonight.
The Chaos are coming into the game with only one other game under their belt - a 13-8 win over Welsh Family all the way back on Sept. 14.
"We've had some good quality practices," captain Jenny Nokes said. "It means that we'll be prepared."
The Phoxes may be younger by age, but come into the game with much more game time experience. According to captain Katie Murray, that's a positive for her team.
"I think we've gotten a chance to see what a lot of other teams are doing," she said. "I'd definitely say that gives us an advantage."
Cavanaugh is coming into this year on a mission, to get back to the championship game after losing last year to Pasquerilla East. Nokes believes that a hard fought win over a good team like Welsh Family will pay off dividends at the end of the year.
"I think that a win is definitely a great way to start a season," she said. "I think it was even better to win a tough game, because that can set the tone for the rest of the year."
Nokes said that the play of quarterback Lisa Ruffer was key in that win, as well as good contributions from a defense that is loaded with veterans.
"We had a pretty good season last year," Nokes said. "And I think that everyone who's come back has shown a lot of that same intensity."
Murray believes that Pangborn has a lot of the same intensity, but the players just haven't learned how to harness it yet.
"Our strength is our weakness," she said. "We're a very young team, and that's great because we have a lot of girls with energy and athleticism.
"But it's going to take time to get them to be football athletes."
Cavanaugh and Pangborn meet tonight at Riehle West field at 8 p.m.
Farley vs. Welsh Family
Welsh Family may be used to success, but they know that nothing comes easy in this league any more. They'll keep that in mind as they face Farley tonight.
The Finest are only playing in their second game of the year, losing to Breen-Phillips last Tuesday. Welsh Family is 2-1 and won its last game 13-6 over Pangborn.
The Whirlwinds are traditionally one of the dominant teams in women's interhall, and this year is no exception, although there have been ups and downs so far this season.
"I definitely think our defense has stepped up every game," said Welsh Family captain Jamie McEldowney. "I think our offense stepped up last game, but we need that every game.
"You can always stop a team on defense, but you still have to score a touchdown to win."
Farley comes into the game with only one game under its belt, something that has not gone unnoticed by captain Angelina Zehrbach.
"I think we'd rather have more game experience," she said. "It's kind of hard to start out your schedule with two teams that are so good."
Farley hopes the game will end up being a defensive battle.
"I think our defense has really stepped it up from last year," Zehrbach said. "We also know that their defense is pretty good, but there's not much we can do about that.
"We just have to keep playing our game."
Welsh Family, meanwhile, just wants to keep doing what they've been doing for the rest of the year.
"Our coaches always tell us to focus on the little things, because they can win you a lot of games," said McEldowney. "It's been a real team effort so far, since we lost a lot of key seniors from last year."
Welsh Family and Farley meet tonight at Riehle West field at 9 p.m.
