This Sunday the Cavanaugh Chaos will look to begin their quest for a second consecutive Championship season against the veteran McGlinn Shamrocks.
The Chaos, led by Senior Quarterback Captain Katie Dunn, have only one goal in mind: win it all.
"This year is about a repeat, but it's also about getting freshmen playing time," Dunn said. "Basically, we're going to dominate."
The first obstacle on the path to a repeat is Sarah deGroot and the girls of McGlinn. Coming off an 0-5-1 season, the Shamrocks will use experienced players with a fresh strategy.
"We lost a lot of close games last year, but hope that this year with the installation of our new, more organized offense, we will come out on top" deGroot said.
Strong line play will be the backbone on both sides of the ball for the Chaos. On defense, Dunn said they will be looking to "make quarterbacks cry." Meanwhile, the offense will focus on "forming a pocket big enough to hide that second extra item from the dining hall."
On offense, the Shamrocks will look to senior wide receivers Lulu Meraz and Jennifer Fedyna for the big plays. Senior tackle Maddie Boyer will handle things on the defensive side of the ball. DeGroot said that while the seniors will be key, "the team features both new and returning talent."
The Interhall foes will clash Sunday at LaBar Fields at 1 p.m.
Howard vs. Lyons
Looking to build upon a successful season last year that led to Howard's first playoff appearance, the Ducks are confident they can begin the season with a statement win on Sunday.
Sophomore captain Kayla Bishop said her team's discipline in practice will translate into success on the field.
"We're going to march down the field and I don't care how we get it done," Bishop said. "We won't be looking for the long play, but if it happens we'll take it."
With the return of Kate Sylvia and Mary Jenkins to the defensive line, the Ducks hope to overpower the Lyons in the trenches. Wide receiver Laura Giezeman will present a threat to the Lyons defense and will be key in the Ducks' success this season.
Lyons will also be looking to return to the playoffs this year after a successful campaign last season. Led by junior captain Claire Connell, the Lions are poised to make a name for themselves.
"We had a solid team last year, but we just didn't have enough bodies," Connell said. "This year we have plenty of young talent to support our veteran core."
Connell will try to connect with sophomore running back and receiver Neva Lundy to ignite the Lion offense. Middle linebacker Shannon Brady, who brings both talent and toughness to the young team, will anchor the defense.
"In the end, I think it will come down to defense," Connell said. "We have to take advantage of our speed and quickness because it only takes one big play to take your team out of the game."
Howard faces Lyons at 2 p.m. at LaBar Fields.
Walsh vs. Farley
With the arrival of fall comes a new interhall football season for the ladies of Walsh and Farley Halls.
The Wild Women of Walsh, led by Captains Kehau Meyer and Cindy Brenner are relying on inspired veteran leadership coupled with a healthy dose of young talent.
"We have a very young team," Meyer said. "We are just hoping that our seniors and upperclassmen set an example for our young girls that Walsh takes Interhall seriously."
Walsh returns plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and, along with strong group of incoming freshmen, could field a potentially fearsome squad.
Farley's Finest are excited about their prospects as well. Coming off a loss in the semifinals, Farley hopes to build on their past success along with a renewed motivation and energy.
"We're a little bit younger," Farley captain Jenny Rolfs said. "But we're a pretty motivated team."
On offense, Rolfs expects an old-fashioned aerial attack.
"We have a solid set of receivers and our quarterback does a good job hitting them," Rolfs said.
Defensively, an experienced linebacking corps leads the way for the Finest.
Overall, Rolfs said Farley has focused on "getting back into the swing of things," while still installing some new plays in practice.
As for Sunday, though, Rolfs is unsure what to expect from the Wild Women.
"We had a great game against Walsh last year, probably our best game of the year," she said. "But they had a lot of players graduate, so it's a new year entirely."
Meyer envisions an inspired, if not flawless effort from both teams.
"We always expect the first game to be entertaining because there will be a lot of freshmen out there," she said.
The teams face off Sunday at 5 p.m. at LaBar Field.
Pangborn vs. Welsh Family
Following last year's disappointing championship game loss to Cavanaugh, the Welsh Family Whirlwinds begin their quest for revenge against the Pangborn Phoxes this Sunday.
This will be the second straight year that Welsh Fam. and Pangborn open the season against each other. Last year's game ended with Welsh Fam. confusing Pangborn's defense en route to a 27-12 blowout win.
"They kept running a delay where their center would block and then run five or 10 yards down the field and become an eligible receiver," said Pangborn coach Ryan Bell. "That killed us, but this time we'll hopefully be ready for it."
While both teams made the playoffs last year, this year will certainly be a test, as they both find themselves lacking significant experience. To make matters worse, the recent rain has kept both teams from practicing as much as they'd have liked to. When the teams take the field this Sunday, no one will be exactly sure how things will work out for these young teams.
Both squads return star quarterbacks this year, Gabby Tate for the Phoxes and Jenny Gargula for the Whirlwinds. Both signal-callers, though, will have to make do with wide receiving units that are composed of primarily freshmen.
With more potential than experience on the offensive side of the ball, the defenses could end up deciding the game. The Phoxes are very high on their linebackers, and, their defense has retained a fair amount of last year's key players. The Whirlwinds, meanwhile, return two top safeties, who will try and shut down Tate's passing attack.
In a regular season of only six games, every game matters. But for two young teams in the midst of rebuilding, this Sunday's opener will prove especially important.
"This game is going to set the tone for the rest of the season," Gargula said. "With so many players who have yet to play a game here, a win would do a lot for their confidence."
Kick off is 4 p.m. Sunday at Riehle Field.
Breen-Phillips vs. Badin
Breen-Phillips has been waiting to play Badin for a long time and to start this Interhall season off with a win.
"Everyone is hungry. We have been anticipating this game since the end of last season," Breen-Phillips senior quarterback Melissa Meagher said.
The feeling is certainly mutual.
"This year, we are really excited because we have a large group of girls," Badin senior quarterback Katie Rose Hackney said. "The freshman girls are really pumped. They're a really athletic class."
Badin had a rough 1-5 season last year and hopes to improve that record. Keeping the roster full has been a problem for the Bullfrogs, and recruiting is difficult because of the dorm's small size, but the class of 2012 brings new hope for the season.
Badin does, however, return two very strong players - safety Kelsey Young and wide receiver Courtney Rains are two key components in Sunday's season opener.
"[Rains] is a very aggressive wide receiver and has a great knack of reading the ball," Hackney said.
The seniors, especially, are looking forward to Sunday with anticipation.
"For us seniors, this year's our last chance to put ourselves out there," Hackney said.
Breen-Phillips' key returning players include senior wide receiver and halfback Tara McCarron, sophomore wide receiver Gabby Moriel, and senior safety Christy Golubski
"We have been working on the basics in practice," Meagher said. "Fundamental skills with catching and flag-pulling are crucial, and we always work on team communication on defense and offense."
Neither team is willing to field a guess as to the outcome on Sunday
"You never really know what to expect the first game," Hackney said. "It's all about learning who's going to work best together."
The game is at 3 p.m. at LaBar fields.
