The Phoxes are on the prowl.
Their most recent prey, McGlinn, fell victim Thursday night on a chilly Riehle West field. Pangborn hit the ground running, scoring on its first two possessions and converting both point-after attempts. The Phoxes' defense never let the Shamrocks' offense get into a groove, sacking the quarterback on the first play after the Phoxes' second touchdown. McGlinn's captain Maddie Boyer answered back a few possessions later, sacking Pangborn quarterback Katie Mooney for a loss. Boyer's defensive effort proved of little help when Mooney connected with Meghan Bescher in the end zone two plays later.
With just under two minutes left in the half Bescher scored her third touchdown. Phoxes' captain Katie Riemersma made the reception in the extra point attempt to put Pangborn up 23-0 at halftime.
Despite some very creative play-calling by the Shamrocks' offense, McGlinn continued to struggle to convert first downs. The Phoxes' defense repeatedly broke up passes and stuffed the running game.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, Riemersma intercepted a McGlinn pass and returned it for a touchdown. A fake hand off and pass to Bescher in the corner of the end zone put the Phoxes up 30-0. After two incomplete passes and a fumbled handoff, the McGlinn offense was retired and the Pangborn offense showed off its depth using Brynn Johnson on a run to score their final touchdown of the game. A failed run for the extra point kept the Phoxes at 36-0.
On its final possession McGlinn would convert a first down but time would expire, leaving the Shamrocks with no points on the board.
"The offense hasn't been coming out strong, so we have focused on the offensive start," Pangborn coach Tom Holder said.
Standing 4-0, the Phoxes look to be a formidable contender for the Stadium, and the way they took it to McGlinn shows that they are serious.
"We are preparing for the playoffs," Holder said.
The Phoxes have a bye this weekend and will rest up for their next contest against Lewis next Thursday at 9 p.m.
McGlinn will face Howard this Sunday at 3 p.m.
Farley 27, Howard 21
In the opening quarter Thursday night, Farley's Caty Shepherd intercepted a Howard pass - one of three picks she would have in the game.
It foreshadowed the defensive dominance that would give Farley its 27-21 victory over the Ducks on Riehle West field.
The Ducks would lead 13-6 coming out of the half, but Farley's defensive smothered the Ducks' possession and took a 14-13 lead off a two-point conversion.
The Finest then ran two interceptions back for touchdowns to seal the lead, going ahead 27-13 before giving up a late touchdown.
After the interception early in the game, the Finest offense surged down the field, but the Ducks also showed their defensive abilities with a huge goal line stop.
On their next series, Farley quarterback Brittany Baron threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to one of her receivers open in the end zone. The team was unable covert the extra point attempt, but the touchdown put the Finest ahead 6-0.
The Ducks answered right back with a big touchdown of their own. Despite the slippery conditions, the Howard running game, led by Beth Gribble, was able to break through the Farley defense. The touchdown came after a 40-yard pass to a wide-open Duck receiver. The Ducks earned their point after, giving them a small 7-6 advantage.
Before heading into the half, Howard managed to put up six more points with a touchdown pass to Laura Giezeman. The Ducks held onto their 13-6 lead until the halftime break after a great defensive showing, led by junior captain Catherine Krug.
Farley player Shannon Morrison gave her younger teammates a lot of credit for the team's success. "
The freshmen really stepped it up this week," she said. "There were four total interceptions, which really pushed the momentum in our favor."
Howard made a final attempt to come away with the victory. Before the end of the game the Ducks added six to their score with a touchdown pass to Gribble.
Despite their best efforts, the Ducks ran out of time and ended up losing with a final score of 27-21.
Krug said she was not discouraged by the Howard loss.
"We played hard tonight," she said. "A couple of plays just didn't go our way, and that made the difference tonight."
Breen-Phillips 24, Lewis 0
The battle between the Babes and the Chicks on Thursday night ended with an 24-0 BP victory after the Babes dominated on both sides of the ball.
The Babes defense managed to shut out the Chicks in a stellar performance. Not only did they not allow the Lewis team to put any points on the board, it had five interceptions, giving the BP offense the advantage of good field position all night long.
After its first interception, Breen-Phillips worked its way down the field, dodging through the Lewis defense. Quarterback Melissa Meagher tossed the ball 10 yards to Tara Johnson to give the Babes a 6-0 lead early in the game.
The Lewis defense played strong, forcing the Babes to punt on their first two possessions. But the Chicks offense was plagued with turnovers, and after a big stop on defense, the Chicks once again lost the ball to a BP interception.
With the pressure on them, the Chicks defenders stopped the BP charge after the interception, but they were forced on the field seconds later when another pass was picked off by the tough BP defense.
This time the Lewis defense was unable to stop the BP charge. Meagher's touchdown pass to Megan Ohlenforst gave the Babes a 12-0 lead at the end of the half.
In the second half, Lewis was unable to turn things around. To the Chicks' frustration, yet another pass was intercepted by BP, and this one was taken all the way back for a touchdown. After a failed point-after attempt, the Babes increased their lead to 18-0.
Before the final whistle, Lewis could not manage to get anything going on offense against the fierce BP defense. BP recorded a final touchdown right as time ticked away, making the Babe's final margin of victory 24-0 over the Chicks.
Meagher was impressed by her team's showing.
"I'm really excited about the improvements we made tonight," she said. "I hope that we will be able to build on them in the future."
Despite the loss, Lewis captain Mia de la Rosa believes her team will be able to bounce back.
"We know what we need to work on this week, and we will come out ready to play next game," she said.
