One week after ending a four-year losing streak, Pangborn is hoping to continue a streak in a new direction. The Phoxes won their second straight game Tuesday with a 20-13 win over Farley.
Led on defense by Katie Riemersma, who returned one interception for a touchdown and picked off two more passes, the Phoxes (2-4) withstood a late drive from the Finest (0-5-1) to come away with the close victory.
Farley wide receiver Lauren Kent had seven receptions for 115 yards in her team's loss.
"Our girls are mostly freshmen," Pangborn coach Robert Coly said. "We wanted to go out on a winning note.
"It's good to have something to show at the end for the work we've done."
After going three-and-out to start the game, Pangborn was forced to punt. Farley needed only three plays to score on their first drive, as quarterback Karrie Koski found Kent in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Koski passed to Kent again for the 1-point conversion.
Pangborn would then answer the score in just three plays of their own. Quarterback Christina Dunn completed a short pass to wide receiver Mary Davis, who initially bobbled the ball before catching it and running in for a touchdown. The 1-point conversion failed, giving Farley a slim 7-6 lead.
The Finest would turn the ball over on downs at their own 38-yard line, and Dunn went right back to work, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run four plays later. The conversion attempt failed, making the score 12-7 in Pangborn's favor.
Farley would come back to retake the lead before the half, taking advantage of a rough tackle penalty by the Pangborn defense during a fourth-down conversion with time expiring. On the final play of the half, Koski completed a short 2-yard touchdown pass to Lauren Gianuzzi. Again, the conversion failed.
The Phoxes did not have to wait long to regain the lead, as Koski threw a pass right into the hands of Riemersma, who ran the interception back 15 yards for the score. Pangborn completed the 2-point conversion successfully.
Most of the second half was a defensive struggle, until the very end when Farley threatened to tie the game. The Finest began with the ball on their own 9-yard line with 49 seconds remaining in the game, and managed to move the ball all the way down to the Pangborn 20-yard line with several long passes to Kent.
With nine seconds remaining in the half, Koski was again intercepted by Riemersma to seal the Phoxes' win.
Neither team will participate in the playoffs.
Pasquerilla West 21, Cavanaugh 0
Any team can win on any given day. The old cliché held true last night as heavy underdog Pasquerilla West (2-2-2) stunned previously undefeated Cavanaugh (5-1) 21-0 behind a trio of touchdown passes from captain Leslie Schmidt and a sparkling defensive effort.
"We did everything well tonight," Purple Weasel defensive lineman Lynne Francis said. "Our defense was fantastic and we had some great stands right when we needed them. Everyone was on their game ... we've never played this well."
Starting the game with the ball, Pasquerilla West ran a seven-play, 65-yard drive as Schmidt picked apart the Cavanaugh defense and found receiver Alyssa Howell on a five-yard slant for the score.
"I started on the left outside and did a drag across the middle," Howell said. "Leslie put a perfect pass right into my arms."
Schmidt hit receiver Maureen Spring for the conversion, spotting Pasquerilla West a 7-0 lead.
The quick score proved to be instrumental in catalyzing the dominating performance for the traditionally slow-starting Purple Weasels.
"We haven't scored on our first drive all year," Schmidt said. "It usually takes us a while to get going, but today we just picked it up, kept marching down the field and punched it right in."
After the Purple Weasels failed to convert a key interception near midfield into points, Pasquerilla West forced Cavanaugh to punt and resumed possession at its own 35-yard line.
Stringing together yet another impressive drive, the Purple Weasels converted a pair of third downs as well as a fourth-and-goal from the five-yard line, as Schmidt hit three different receivers during the drive and ultimately connected with Laurie Lelo for the touchdown.
Purple Weasel Heather Van Hoegarden caught yet another Schmidt touchdown midway through the second half to cap off the scoring.
Despite knocking off first-seeded Cavanaugh, Pasquerilla West fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs. Nevertheless, Schmidt believes the victory will function as a building block for future success.
"We're probably the most underrated and disrespected team in the league," Schmidt said. "We finally proved we're a decent team and we'll definitely be a force to be reckoned with in years to come."
Cavanaugh, on the other hand, hopes to treat the throttling as a learning experience as the Chaos heads into the playoffs.
"We now know what to fix," captain Jessica Leibowitz said. "I'm glad that we had this experience and it will make us want [the championship] that much more."
Walsh 13, Breen-Phillips 13
Walsh nearly came out with the upset over Breen-Philips Tuesday night with hopes of jockeying their way into the final spot of the playoffs.
But the Wild Women came up short - tying the second-ranked Babes, 13-13.
Starting the game with delirious cheers and rowdy chants, the Wild Women began with a 13-0 start, exposing their potentially dangerous offense.
Behind the leadership of quarterback Carrie Campbell, Walsh were able to score early as Campbell ran 23 yards into Breen-Phillips end zone to score the first touchdown and to give the Wild Women a 7-0 lead.
The Babes were held scoreless for most of the first half as the Walsh defense, led by junior defensive lineman Karla Bell, had two early sacks to stop the Babes offense.
Forcing Breen-Phillips to punt on their first three possessions, Walsh took advantage by reaching the 1-yard line on a stunning pass to junior Amanda Borys.
Campbell quickly found receiver Laurie Wasikowski for a touchdown to make the score 13-0.
But Breen-Phillips cut the Walsh lead when freshman Tara Johnson broke a 40-yard run to make the score 13-7 at halftime.
To start the second half, the Babes defense proved why they are the second-ranked team in the Blue League. Their defensive pressure, led by captain Mila Cheatom, stopped the Wild Women from moving the ball into the Babes territory.
Breen-Phillips took advantage of Walsh's stagnant offense to tie the score 13-13 on co-captain Kelly Decklman's touchdown reception.
Despite the final score, Walsh already has high expectations for next year.
"We all did a wonderful job. So much enthusiasm, so much heart, and so much fun!, Next year we are going to be fierce!," Bell said.
The Babes, who already secured their playoff birth, now have a mission to succeed because of the loss of Decklman.
"We are going to take it all the way to the Stadium," Cheatom said.
One of the biggest concerns for Breen-Phillips was an injury to Decklman. She hurt herself on a punt return during the closing minutes of the game.
"Decklman is the heart of the team. It is really hard for her to go down, but this has put a drive in us," Cheatom said.
Decklman went to the hospital
