Welsh Family's veteran squad wants continued improvement for their offense, which scored 27 points in the Whirlwinds opening game, as they take on the Chicks from Lewis Hall Sunday.
"We can always keep improving," senior captain Kelly Bushelle said. "That might not mean we will keep scoring, but we definitely can continue to work."
The Chicks offense is led by junior quarterback Jenni Gargula, who threw four touchdown passes in their victory over Pangborn last Sunday.
"I don't want to single out any key players, but a solid quarterback is always important," Bushelle said.
The Whirlwinds, though, won't be afraid to change things up if the situation calls for an adjustment. "Obviously what we did worked against Pangborn, but if Lewis gives us something different, we'll adjust," Bushelle said. "For now, what we're doing seems to be working."
The Chicks, similarly, wish to go into the game with a positive frame of mind.
"We have a really positive outlook for this season," Lewis senior captain Alexandra Persley said. "Things didn't go too well for us last year, but we have some key players back from abroad and an impressive freshman class."
While she refused to comment specifically on their match-up with Welsh Family, Persley remarked on the Chicks' overall preparations.
"We've brought in some great new coaches and we've been practicing hard for three weeks now," Persley said.
As both teams prepare for their game on Sunday at Riehle Field, Bushelle keeps the big picture in mind.
"The goal is always a championship," she said.
Farley vs. Cavanaugh
Farley's Finest square off against Cavanaugh Sunday at 1 p.m. in a matchup between two teams coming off disappointing results last week. Farley was unable to finish the chances that their defense gave them and ended up in a scoreless tie with McGlinn Tuesday. Meanwhile, Walsh beat Cavanaugh 14-13.
Despite completing all but four of her passes on Tuesday, Farley junior captain Jenny Rolfs was not satisfied.
"We need to finish our chances and create some bigger plays." Rolfs said.
She recognized the importance of her defense, led by senior safety Anna Pursley, but hopes her offense will help the team win this week. Farley hopes the insertion of regular quarterback Brittany Baron into the lineup will help cure some of the offensive woes the Finest experienced against McGlinn.
"We did a pretty good job on offense for a lot of our girls' first time." Rolfs said.
On the other side of the ball, Cavanaugh hopes to come back after a devastating defeat, in which senior quarterback Katie Dunn was unable to convert on an extra point that would have tied the score. Despite a defense that held the Walsh offense to only 14 points, and picked off a pass that gave Cavanaugh one last chance to score, the Chaos were unable to pull it out.
The Chaos know they are going to be in for a tough bout this week against a quality defense in Farley but they are hopeful that they have enough offensive firepower to move the ball against The Finest.
Walsh vs. McGlinn
Sunday Walsh takes on McGlinn in a battle of two stout defenses. Both teams have shown strong defense in their opening games.
The deciding factor of the game, however, should be how well the McGlinn team can respond to their 0-1-1 start, and if they can contain the Wild Women early in the game.
In the first two games of Walsh's season (victories over Pasquerilla East and Cavanaugh), the offense, lead by their captain, senior quarterback Marie Brenner, and flashy sophomore receivers Sierra Smith and Meghan Hadley, has struck first with early touchdowns. And once the lead has been secured, the Wild Women defense has been able to settle down and control the pace of the game.
"The defense and offense have been working really well together as a unit. There really aren't any weaknesses on our team" Brenner said. "That doesn't mean that we aren't expecting a tough game this Sunday though."
The Shamrocks' season, however, has not had as great a start. Their season opened with a heartbreaking come-from-behind loss to Howard, and then a tie against Farley in a 0-0 defensive battle. The McGlinn offense has had some trouble coming together - they are scoreless in their last three halves.
It could be a difficult game for the struggling McGlinn offense, going up against the rough defense of Walsh, coming off a two game win streak. Junior quarterback Sarah de Groot will have to rekindle some of the chemistry with junior receiver Lulu Meraz if the Shamrocks hope to beat the Wild Women on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Pangborn vs. Lyons
After an impressive 20-6 win over Badin last Sunday, Lyons captains Katie Mackin and Judith Kaczmarek feel confident going into its game this Sunday against a struggling Pangborn team.
"Not only did the first win give us a lot of confidence as a team," Mackin said. "But our intense practices have also given our team a huge boost."
The Lyons captain said their practices helped out the freshmen. They learned to work hard and toughen up, she said. Mackin feels the ladies are playing well as a team, rather than having one or two girls carry all the weight. Lyons is anxious and ready to take on a Pangborn team that had some troubles with their first game against a tough team from Welsh.
In their loss, Pangborn, led by sophomore captain Meghan Bescher, scored only 12 points. That total could go down against a stout Lyons defense, which only allowed six points in its win over Badin.
"We are very confident," Mackin said.
Badin vs. Breen-Phillips
Both Badin and Breen-Phillips are relatively young, with both sporting a large number of freshmen, and both will try to overcome their youth and claim a victory Sunday. The teams field relatively weak defenses as well, meaning that the Badin-BP match up could be an offensive battle.
Badin struggled against Lyons potent rushing attack, losing to Lyons 20-6. The highlight of Badin's performance was a touchdown pass from senior co-captain Katy Rose Hackney to freshman Courtney Rains. In their second week showdown, Badin faced Pangborn and played the Phoxes to a 6-6 tie.
BP is another team plagued by inexperience on defense. In BP's first game against Pasquerilla West, the Babes lost 33-18. They continued to a 0-2 star after losing to Welsh's powerhouse offense 26-0 on Thursday, with senior captain Melissa Meagher unable to drive to the endzone.
The Bullfrogs face the Babes Sunday. The game will depend most on which offense is more prepared, as both teams will probably look to their captain quarterbacks to win the game for them. Expect an intense, high scoring, offensive showdown on Sunday, with two defenses struggling to find their feet.
