Forget the "Feve". All the Thursday night dancing will be on the gridiron tonight at Riehle West Field as Pangborn battles Pasquerilla West at 8 p.m. in a rematch of last year's championship game.
The intensity for the replay of PW's 13-0 championship victory heated up after both the Phoxes and the defending champion Purple Weasels put up strong wins in their opening games.
Pasquerilla West put on a show last weekend, destroying the Babes of Breen-Phillips 20-0. The offensive explosion was due in large part to captain Mo Spring's two touchdown receptions.
"We came out strong last week but we weren't perfect," Spring said. "We hope to continue to improve every week."
Pangborn also posted a win in its season opener, beating Farley's Finest 6-0. Most teams spend the first week working out the kinks, but the Phoxes have a roster full of juniors and seniors that know about big game experience.
"We played pretty well last week, and we've been practicing a lot so we feel pretty good about the game against PW," Pangborn captain Katie Riemersma said. "We're returning most of our players from last year, so we're pretty excited about the rematch."
A win tonight would put either team at the top of the Gold League with a 2-0 record. The added bonus for Pangborn would be some revenge for the shutout they suffered in the Stadium last season.
"I think we're going to beat them," Riemersma said. "We're definitely good enough to beat them."
Howard vs. Breen-Phillips
Howard and Breen-Phillips enter tonight's 9 p.m. matchup at Riehle West Field on two opposite paths, with BP looking to rebound after a shutout loss Sunday and Howard looking to keep its momentum going after a shutout win.
Howard defeated Lewis 6-0 Sunday on a first-half touchdown pass from Sheena Ketchum to Megan Savage. While the Duck offense was stifled most of the game, the big-play capability it showed early on was enough. Howard held on to the lead and the victory thanks to dominating defensive play.
Meanwhile, BP lost 20-0 to defending Interhall champions Pasquerilla West. The BP offense looked good in spots and moved the ball efficiently, but was unable to make the big plays needed to score. The offense improved in the game's waning moments, while the defense forced a turnover off an interception in the second half.
The Ducks plan to stick to their defensive game plan from Sunday, but hope that their offense will pick up more of the load. Offensively, Howard wants to get off to another fast start against BP.
"Getting the touchdown in the first half was huge, and we would like to do the same on Thursday," Ducks captain Catherine Krug said.
However, Krug also emphasized Howard's need to be more consistent offensively.
"The plan is to not be content with just one touchdown. We found out some things that worked offensively, and some that didn't," she said. "So we plan on building on that to create a more consistent attack."
While on the surface, BP's loss to PW appears potentially crippling, the fact that the Babes played well in the second half to the defending champions and early favorites should be encouraging.
BP can still rebound to make the Gold League playoffs if it wins Thursday.
A win for Howard, meanwhile, will put the Ducks at 2-0 and headed toward a playoff spot.
McGlinn vs. Lewis
The McGlinn Shamrocks will open their season against the Chicks of Lewis tonight at 7 p.m. on Riehle West Field.
Though the contest will be McGlinn's opener, captain Madeline Boyer remains confident.
"We're not too worried that they have played a game and we haven't," Boyer said. "We just need to put into play everything we practiced."
Lewis (0-1) suffered a close loss to Howard in a game where one score was the difference. The 6-0 shutout only gives the Chicks more incentive to come out firing on all cylinders tonight, said captain Mia De La Rosa.
"We played OK in our first game. We just came out on the short end," De La Rosa said. "We tried our best in practice to fix the problems."
Foremost among the Chicks' troubles is putting points on the board. Despite generating a couple lengthy drives, Lewis finished its first game without a score - something the Shamrock defense loves to hear.
"We have a really good defense," Boyer said. "From what I heard, Lewis didn't score last week. Our goal is to make sure they don't score again."
One major issue Lewis and McGlinn will try to sort out is what to do with a boatload of freshmen, as both captains are quick to admit that their teams are short on experience.
"It is hard to predict how our team will do this year because it's a completely new squad," Boyer said. "We have a lot of freshmen but they're very enthusiastic."
The same seems to be true for the Chicks.
"We just have to get our freshmen used to the pace of the game," De La Rosa said. "We just have to make it in the top four to be in the playoffs. That's our goal right now."
