According to the preseason polls, Cavanaugh was destined to be a top contender for this year's championship game. This was questioned during last Sunday's 0-0 tie against Walsh.Heading into the game, the Chaos were ranked No. 1 in the polls and were firmly aware of last season's 21-0 domination against the Wild Women. But these memories were soon forgotten when rants and cheers came from the Walsh fans proving the Wild Women came ready to play. The Chaos did not have an answer for the Wild Women defense and had three missed opportunities to score a touchdown from the 10-yard line. Among these three attempts was a catch made by captain Jenny Nokes from quarterback Lisa Ruffer that was called out-of-bounds."We had trouble executing offensively," Ruffer said. "We've got to get our heads into it a lot more."Seniors Karla Bell and Amanda Borys led a Walsh defense that caused problems for the Chaos.In addition to Walsh's defense, Cavanaugh also had several questionable calls from the referees working against them. But Ruffer does not blame the final score on the refereeing. "Calls do not always go the way you want them to, but it happens to everyone," Ruffer said. "Walsh came out ready to play and they had a great fight."According to the Wild Women, both the offense and defense battled throughout the game."Our defense was solid," Campbell said. "And our offensive line was fantastic."To begin the second half, the momentum continued for Walsh as an interception was made by Katie Hesmond on the Cavanaugh 15-yard line.But the intensity quickly shifted to the Chaos as sophomore Brigette Sanchez sacked Campbell and gave Cavanaugh a chance to score with 10 minutes left."Our defense was outstanding," Ruffer said. "They saved us." But the Cavanaugh offense could not take advantage of the opportunity and the game resulted in a tie.Despite both teams failing to score, the final result did not represent the impression Walsh left on the field."They [Walsh] are a great team, they have come a long way," Ruffer said. "People underestimated their ability and they shouldn't have."After struggling last season, Walsh is hoping its returning veterans will bring success for the team. "Our players are more mature and are fired up," Campbell said. "This game showed everyone we can play."Breen-Phillips 20, Farley 14Sunday's North Quad matchup between Breen-Phillips and Farley proved to be an exciting season opener for both teams, with the Babes ultimately prevailing over the Finest by a score of 20-14.The Babes came out strong in the first half, scoring two touchdowns and successfully completing one two-point conversion. Breen Phillips' excellent receivers displayed their veteran prowess by catching several 10-yard throws and at least two 50-yard passes thrown by the Babes' quarterback.To add to their success in the first half, the Babes made two important interceptions taking them into halftime with a 14-0 lead.The Farley coaches must have given a rousing halftime pep talk, because the Finest took the second half by storm.The Finest began the second half with a long punt return by sophomore Megan Spokes, as she went on to score Farley's first touchdown of the game. Farley continued picking up the pace in the second half, intercepting a long pass thrown by the Breen-Phillips quarterback.Throughout the Farley push, the Babes didn't back down. After turning the ball over, they came back and gained ground on their next possession until they were first-and-goal. Breen-Phillips then scored its third touchdown of the game. They did not successfully complete their two-point conversion, however, because the Farley defense made an excellent play and sacked the Babes quarterback.Spokes came back to score Farley's second touchdown, closing the gap to six points. Farley made one more interception before the close of the game, but they were unable to eke out that last touchdown and Breen-Phillips won 20-14. "Even though we've got a lot of new people, they are all talented players," Babes coach Steve Mattingly said. "[Our] defense made several huge stops today, and I'm really looking forward to playing next week," The Breen-Phillips captain agreed with her coach,"We made some big offensive plays and had a bunch of great receivers," Jaimie Feltault said.Although the favored Babes won, it was not without a fight. "We are still figuring ourselves out, this was the first game for half of the people on our team and it took us awhile to get started, but it's definitely one of the best games we've played in four years," Farley captain Angelina Zehrbach said. "We were under- ranked in the preseason polls."
