Pasquerilla West continued its winning ways Sunday by defeating Lewis 26-6, thanks to a scoring flurry at the end of the first half.
Leading 6-0 with less than five minutes left in the first half, a huge pass from quarterback Cara Davies down the field set up a 15-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead to two scores.
Immediately following the touchdown pass, Purple Weasel defensive back Brigid Bulfin intercepted an errant Lewis pass, returning 30 yards for the score. Mo Spring caught the two-point conversion pass to extend the lead for PW to 20-0.
Still not finished, Pasquerilla West was able to take the ball from the Chicks once more before the end of the half, leading to a 10-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the half.
The Purple Weasels went into the break with a commanding 26-0 lead, scoring 20 points and sealing the game all within the final five minutes of the half.
"The routes all seemed to be there," Davies said. "We just get more confidence as the games go on."
Showing a lot of heart and determination, Lewis was able to keep its poise in the second half, scoring a long touchdown to close the margin and shutting out the explosive Pasquerilla West offense for the entire second half.
Walsh 14, Lyons 0
Walsh scored two touchdowns in the first half and dominated Lyons all day long en route to a bounce-back win.
The Wild Women started off strong when quarterback Mary Claire Sullivan connected with wide receiver Marie Brenner for a long touchdown on the third play from scrimmage to give the Wild Women a 6-0 lead.
Later in the half, Sullivan scrambled into the end zone from 15 yards out and passed for a successful two-point conversion to extend the lead to 14 points.
The Wild Women never looked back. The defense held the Lions scoreless by using physical and aggressive play to intimidate and frustrate the Lyons offense.
Especially frustrating was Walsh's strategy of screaming while rushing the passer. Early in the first half, several Lions returned to the sideline complaining that this technique was distracting.
Lyons also committed six false starts because of Walsh's distractions. These penalties helped to stagnate the Lion offense, preventing the team from getting any sort of momentum.
Lyons continued to use its two-quarterback system on Sunday, putting both Claire Connell and Maria Petnuch behind center at various times. This system yielded mixed results, as the offense was able to gain yards, but not put up points.
While the Walsh offense was unable to score in the second half Sunday, the outcome of the game was not in doubt late because the Lions were unable to muster up any offensive production.
The victory was extremely important for Walsh, evening its record at 2-2 and virtually guaranteeing the team a playoff berth. It was also an emotional lift for the Wild Women, who came off a draining, hard-fought 6-0 loss to the Cavanaugh Chaos.
Farley 20, BP 6
On third down late in the first half, Farley quarterback Brittany Baron threw a high, lofting pass that was reeled in on the one yard line with a one handed, over-the-shoulder catch by receiver Annie Parret.
On the next play, Baron found captain Kim Crehan on a screen for the touchdown with only 10 seconds left in the half. On the conversion, Crehan caught a screen to take a 7-6 lead, and the Finest never looked back, overcoming an early 6-0 deficit to defeat rival Breen-Phillips 20-6 on Sunday.
Crehan caught two touchdown passes, including the eventual game winner.
For most of the first half it appeared as if Breen-Phillips was in control. On the Babes' second drive, quarterback and co-captain Melissa Meagher hooked up with receiver Tara Johnson for the score. The conversion was no good, leaving the Babes with a 6-0 lead. Offensively, Farley struggled to get anything done for most of the half, and it looked like it would head into halftime down six points.
Farley went on to play a practically flawless second half. Crehan caught another Baron touchdown pass, while the Finest capped the game with a late touchdown reception by Diane Duran.
Farley coach Mike Healy attributed his team's stellar performance to perhaps the influence of a greater being.
"We had a prayer service as a team last night, and God gave us the might to come out here and beat BP today," said Healy, whose Finest moved to 2-2 after starting the season 0-2.
For the Babes, things just weren't happening on either side of the ball.
"We had no momentum," said Babes co-captain and receiver Megan Ohlenforst. "I feel like our team was on a different wavelength today."
PE 13, Cavanaugh 12
Pasquerilla East - winless this season - scored on its first drive Sunday in an upset win over previously undefeated Cavanaugh to capture its first victory of the season.
The Pyros started the game with the ball and came out strong, taking the lead 6-0 on a touchdown pass from Laura Adams to Tara Pillai, quieting the numerous Chaos fans.
After the ensuing Cavanaugh position resulted in a three-and-out, Adams again led her team to a touchdown, this time on a pass to Laura Hansen. The score, which was followed by a successful one-point-conversion attempt, put the Pyros up 13-0.
The Chaos offense was largely limited to the scrambling of quarterback Katie Dunn, who had 5 rushes for more than 15 yards each. Cavanaugh was plagued by dropped passes throughout the game, an issue the coaching staff tried to address at half time.
Dunn led her team to two touchdowns, but it was not enough to lead the Chaos to victory. After scoring the second touchdown in the second half to pull to a 13-12 deficit, Cavanaugh opted to go for two points and the lead over going for one point and the tie. However, a Dunn pass was tipped and broken up by the Pyro defense, which came through in the clutch throughout the second half.
Entering the game, Cavanaugh was the runaway favorite to dominate.
But the Pyro offense dispelled these notions in the first half, and the defense made the early scores hold up.
The Pyros were elated about the victory and gave coach Nathan Dyer a celebratory water bath after the final whistle blew.
Pasquerilla East will face Lyons on Tuesday with a playoff berth likely to be on the line, while Cavanaugh will play Welsh Family in a battle to secure the division title.
"We played really well today. We're so excited about the win, but we have to win Tuesday to make the playoffs and that's still our goal," Adams said.
Howard 20, McGlinn 0
Howard improved to 2-2-1 with a convincing victory over McGlinn this Sunday at the West Quad fields. The Ducks got all the offense they would need on a Sheena Ketchum 1-yard quarterback sneak in the first half.
Despite entering halftime with a 7-0 deficit, the Shamrocks had out-gained their opponents in the first half, recording four first downs.
At the beginning of the second half, it looked as if they would be able to get back into the game, intercepting a pass deep in Duck territory.
But that would be the last positive moment of the game for McGlinn.
Howard defensive back Laura Plis picked off the Shamrocks pass and returned it 60 yards for the touchdown to increase the lead to 13-0.
The second half was all Howard. The Duck defense stifled the Shamrock offense, not allowing a single first down.
"Our defense played amazing today - you can't really ask any more from them," said Ketchum, who, in addition to her touchdown run, had a great game throwing the ball and led a balanced offensive attack. "The O-line and the receivers showed up to play today - they really made my job easy," she added.
Howard sealed the deal with three minutes remaining on a Beth Gribble touchdown run. The conversion was no good, but the game was still put out of reach at 20-0.