Badin vs. Lyons
Badin and Lyons will both continue their 2003 Interhall football seasons Thursday as they square off at Riehle West field at 7 p.m.
Despite opening game losses, expectations are still high as both teams are looking forward to promising years, which continue in this highly anticipated match up.
Coming off a disappointing season opening loss to McGlinn, Lyons is motivated to correct the mistakes that cost them last Sunday's game.
A lot of the problems that Lyons encountered last week resulted from trying to integrate the freshman recruits into an offense led by quarterback, Roxi Travino.
"We're just, right now, trying to get the girls involved," Lyons captail Lauren White said. "Our quarterback really knows what she is doing. We have an optimistic outlook.
"A lot of our mistakes also came from the face that we only had two practices before our first game. We weren't organized. We're feeling a bit more confident."
Lyons' opponent, Badin, is coming off a season opening two-point loss where they looked sharp and in rhythm. Their offense was clicking and they had great play from their strong defensive line.
"We're excited about this season," captain Jenn Carter said. "We've never won an opener but we played the best we have ever played to start a season.
" Our offense is really coming together, and we are looking for another big game out of wide receiver Molly Donnelly."
The two teams should have a lot to prove as they try to avenge their opening game losses. Both teams are confident, as they feel that their respective levels of play will only rise with each game.
"We'll see how things go," said Carter. "We are expecting good things this season."
Pasquerilla East vs. McGlinn
Pasquerilla East, the defending interhall football champions, are hoping their first game tonight against McGlinn sets the tone for a repeat of last year's success.
The McGlinn Shamrocks, however, fresh off their first win on Sunday, have other plans.
"We're not worried," said McGlinn cornerback Becka Saunders. "We have a pretty good team coming out. We have a lot of returning players and most of them played against PE last year."
The Pasquerilla East Pyros acknowledge it's a new year and after losing several key players, including their quarterback, to graduation, they come into the season with many new faces on the roster.
"We know it's a rebuilding year, but we still have pretty high hopes," said Pyro captain and key defensive player Laura Wolohan. "McGlinn always has a pretty good team. We're excited and really just hoping for a win for our first game to get the season going."
McGlinn hopes to improve on their performance from the last game.
Despite a 7-0 win over Lyons, the Shamrocks struggled and didn't score until the last two minutes of the game.
"We've been working to better ourselves as a team overall, being more patient on offense and waiting for the play to develop," McGlinn captain On-Kay Wong said. "We haven't really found our rhythm yet on offense. Last game we were a little too anxious to play and we weren't making good decisions."
The Shamrocks are counting on more clutch performances from quarterback Bridget Meacham and Jessica Fedor at middle linebacker. Wide receiver Raquel Ferrer, in her first year playing for the team, is proving to be a formidable threat as well.
"Our defense came up big last game. They're pretty solid and hopefully they'll be able to come up big against PE," Wong said
The Pyros, meanwhile, are depending on their senior receivers and cornerbacks to lead the way.
They are confident in their freshman quarterback and are happy to have strong rookie players at almost every position.
"We need to go out there this first game, see how it goes and then work from there," Pasquerilla East safety Stephanie Yahn said. "It's a big game because it's the first time for a lot of our players to play."
When the two teams met last year, the Pyros came away with an easy victory, but both teams know it will be a fierce, competitive game.
Lewis vs. Howard
Tomorrow's game between Howard and Lewis will be a rematch between the Chicks senior quarterback Erin Nasrallah and the Ducks sophomore quarterback Sheena Ketchum.
Howard is playing its first game of the year and is ready to bounce back from both a loss to Lewis and a 1-5 record last year. It is critical for Howard to start the year with a winning record to try and prove that last year's loss was a fluke.
Ketchum said that avenging last year's loss is one of the team's goals for this season. To make sure this outcome happens, the team has been focusing on all aspects of the game in practice.
We've been practicing and focusing on coming together as a team," she said. "The defense and offense are both equally important."
The Ducks return several veterans on the team such as Brin Anderson, Renee Allessi, and Lauren Island who come into the season with high expectations.
Lewis, who is fresh from an 8-6 victory over Badin is coming into the game with confidence and assurance that they can repeat history.
"We have a core group of returning seniors who are the backbone of the team," captain Lynne McChrystal said.
In addition to relying on several veterans, such as running back Mimi Lundgren, several freshmen are proving themselves as well.
"The freshmen are really picking up senior leadership on defense," McChrystal said.
In just a couple weeks, the freshmen have evolved from a tentative group to an aggressive one.
"When [the freshmen] saw the upperclassmen diving for flags in practice, they quickly followed," McChrystal said. "The team has been practicing several times a week and is focusing on all areas of the field."
Both teams are looking for the win to gain momentum for the rest of the season. The game will be at Riehle West field Thursday at 8 p.m.
