After two years of falling to Howard in the playoffs, the Purple Weasels found their long-awaited victory in an 18-0 shutout win Thursday night.
"It was good to win," junior quarterback Kristen Danna said. "After losing to Howard in the playoffs two years in a row, we are proud of our performance tonight."
In an offense-dominated game, Danna threw for 78 yards finding connections with junior receiver Alice Yerokun and senior running back Laura Phillip. Most distinct to the Purple Weasels offense were the trick plays that left Howard's defense scrambling.
"We like to mix it up on offense," Danna said. "We like unpredictability."
Even with Pasquerilla West's changing offense, Howard (1-3) kept itself composed.
"It was a rough game," senior captain Jenny Gassner said. "We've had a lot of changes on the team and this just wasn't the game for us to be struggling with new positions."
Gassner, who missed the game due to an injury, kept the team's spirits high on the sidelines as senior safety Caroline Walsh made two interceptions. One in the last five minutes gave the team newfound confidence for its final drive.
Pasquerilla West (3-1) looks to continue their winning streak against Breen-Phillips while Howard prepares to face Pangborn on Sunday.
Contact Stephanie Banta at sbanta01@saintmarys.edu
Pangborn 18, Badin 0
Pangborn ran away from its competition and defeated Badin 18-0 Thursday night.
The Phoxes (2-3) started out slow, but got a huge spark from senior receiver and captain Liz Pawlak, who rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Pangborn struck first on a 25-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field from junior quarterback Meredith Angell.
Pawlak added to the Phoxes' lead as she received an end-around, fooling the defense for a touchdown. In the second half, an identical play was called for Pawlak, as she ran 85 yards down the sideline and scored again.
"It was an exciting play," Pawlak said. "It went well for us tonight and we're happy what we've practiced is working for us."
Badin (1-3) was led by senior quarterback and captain Sylvia Banda, who threw for 55 yards. Banda nearly connected with her receivers on numerous occasions throughout the game, but the offense couldn't find the end zone.
"We think we can improve on offense," Banda said. "We need to get more crisp."
With both teams gearing up for their playoff pushes, Pangborn will face Howard on Sunday while Badin waits until after fall break to face Breen-Phillips in its final game of the season.
Contact Brendan Bell at bbell2@nd.edu
Pasquerilla East vs. McGlinn
Pasquerilla East has its last chance of the season to get a victory Sunday when it takes on a McGlinn team looking to come out strong after a week off.
Pasquerilla East (0-4-1) lost Monday to an undefeated Ryan squad, but the Pyros hope they can end their season with a bang against the Shamrocks (3-1), senior captain Kristen Mannion said.
"Everybody is looking for a win," Mannion said. "We obviously have nothing to lose."
Though Pasquerilla East has been able to score in each of their last three games, the Pyros hope greater offensive consistency, improved defensive pressure and big plays will lead them to a victory. Mannion also said that controlling the flow of the game would be important to the Pyros' success.
"We need to really control the ball and get more points on the board than we have been able to thus far," she said.
Meanwhile, McGlinn has not played since Sept. 28 when the Shamrocks won a thriller by scoring twice in the last two minutes. While McGlinn spent time practicing in its week off, the Shamrocks also spent time recuperating before an important playoff push.
"We practiced and used the extra time to make some adjustments," senior quarterback and captain Lauren Miller said. "But we also used the time to rest."
McGlinn and Pasquerilla East will battle it out Sunday at 5 p.m. at the LaBar Practice Complex.
Contact Peter Steiner at psteiner@nd.edu
Welsh Family vs. Walsh
Welsh Family and Walsh will meet Sunday in a heated matchup that will leave one team closer to making the playoffs.
The Whirlwind (2-2), coming off a tough loss against Ryan, are ready for their upcoming challenge, said senior captain Charlotte Seasly.
"We're just looking forward to the next game and focusing on our game against Walsh," Seasly said. "While we took some things and adjustments out of our game against Ryan, we want to put that behind us and move on and prepare for our next game."
Walsh (0-3-1) is also coming off a tough loss, a 13-12 heartbreaker against Lyons last week. The Wild Women are known for their crafty offensive skills and are looking to sophomore wide receiver Margot Prinster, to keep the offensive production going.
Senior guard Meg Kowieski said the Wild Women are working to stay focused throughout the game.
"It's been difficult in general with our team, as we have a lot of rookies, but the fact of the matter is we have a lot of talent that we just need to refine," Kowieski said.
Both teams will meet at the LaBar Practice Complex at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Contact Ally Darragh at adarra01@saintmarys.edu
Ryan vs. Lewis
Looking to improve on the best season in the dorm's short history, Ryan hopes stay undefeated against Lewis on Sunday.
Despite four straight victories, senior running back and captain Brianna Curtis said the Wildcats (4-0) continue to look for areas to improve.
"We're going to prepare the same way we do for every game," Curtis said. "We're trying to improve after each game, and we want to really try to improve on special teams this week."
Lewis junior quarterback Connaught Blood will test the Ryan defense.
"I've heard their quarterback is really good. We're going to have to watch out for her and try to shut her down," Curtis said.
Lewis (2-2) is coming off a blowout 25-6 loss to Lyons and needs a win Sunday to stay in the playoff picture. Senior captain Margaret DeBot said she is confident Lewis will perform well.
"We tend to play really well against good teams, so I think we're going to have a good showing against Ryan," senior captain Margaret DeBot said. "I think we are just psyched going into the game."
The Chicks are working in practice to add new wrinkles to their game, DeBot said.
"Our offense is adding a few more plays, and we're working on getting a little more consistency coming into this next game," DeBot said.
The Chicks will face the undefeated Wildcats Sunday at 6 p.m.
Contact Jonathan Warren at jwarren3@nd.edu
Breen-Phillips vs. Pasquerilla West
Hoping to add to its achievements, Breen-Phillips will look to tack on a win Sunday to show off their defensive improvements against Pasquerilla West.
"We do not take ourselves too seriously and we have so much fun at practice," senior captain Maria Lynch said. "Yes, we have that competitive fire, but we also are not fazed by adversity.
Although the Babes are excited, they are still taking the game against the Purple Weasels (2-1) seriously. Sophomore Molly Toner has filled in at quarterback and helped the team take major strides.
"It takes a lot of guts to play a position outside of your comfort zone, especially when you're so good at other positions like Molly is," Lynch said. "
Meanwhile, Pasquerilla West is working on mixing up their options and being ready to play from the first snap, senior captain Alison Lindeen said.
"Every game is the same no matter who we are playing," Lindeen said. "We play our game and make game-time adjustments if necessary."
The two teams face off Sunday at 7 p.m. at LaBar Practice Complex.
Contact Meghan Roder at mroder01@saintmarys.edu
Howard vs. Pangborn
Howard and Pangborn will meet in an intense matchup, as both teams look to prove themselves and capitalize on scoring possessions.
The Ducks (1-2) find inspiration in senior wide receiver and captain Jenny Gassner after she suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung Tuesday against Pasquerilla West. Gassner's recovery has gone well and although she can't play for the rest of the season, she said her team would come through.
"I was really bummed when it happened and it might have been a blow to the team."Gassner said. "We will recover from it and we have three strong receivers who will be explosive."
The Ducks are hopeful that, along with this receiver core, freshman quarterback Lauren Gabel has a great game, Gassner said.
"[Gabel] is very dynamic. She can run, has a great arm and is very accurate," Gassner said. "She is small so people don't expect that. She's an unexpected force."
The Phoxes (1-3) are looking to counter the Ducks by starting off with a bang, senior captain Liz Pawlak said.
"We're ready to come out and score first," Pawlak said. "We don't want to have to fight back the whole game."
The Phoxes hope to prove themselves by winning with conviction against the Ducks, Pawlak said..
"Our record doesn't show our talent and we're going to change that," Pawlak said.
Pangborn and Howard face each other Sunday at 6 p.m. at the LaBar Practice Complex.
Contact Isaac Lorton at ilorton@nd.edu
Cavanaugh vs. Farley
With undefeated records on the line, Cavanaugh and Farley will square off Sunday in a matchup that could determine the top seed in the playoffs.
After outscoring its opponents 60-0 in its first three games, Cavanaugh (4-0) was tested Tuesday, giving up its first points of the season in a 20-9 win over Pangborn.
"I think that we just need to keep doing what we've been doing all year," Fahrenbach said. "We might throw in some new defensive plays to stop Farley's offense, and we'll look to our offense to score a lot of points, as they have done in past games."
The Chaos will look for strong production on both sides of the ball Sunday, relying on an explosive offense led by senior quarterback Rebecca Cink and a tough defensive unit that returned an interception for a touchdown against Pangborn.
Farley (4-0) also comes into the game fresh off a difficult test, as the Finest allowed their first points of the season in a 19-6 win over Badin on Tuesday.
"Our offense played really well against Badin, but we need to work on our defensive secondary coverage, as Badin gave us a challenge," senior captain AnaliseAlthoff said.
Offensively, Althoff said her team plans to utilize a diversified attack against the Cavanaugh defense.
"We plan to run different routes, throw in some trick plays and switch some players into positions they wouldn't normally be in," Althoff said.
This clash of undefeated teams will take place at 7 p.m. Sunday at the LaBar Practice Complex.
Contact Brian Hartnett at bhartnett@nd.edu
