No. 3 Pangborn shut out No. 6 Cavanaugh in a 27-0 victory in the first round of interhall playoff games.
Pangborn senior quarterback Caitlin Gargan had four total touchdowns on the day, while the Phoxes defense held the Chaos scoreless to advance to the semifinals.
Gargan engineered a scoring drive on the game’s first possession, moving the Phoxes offense upfield before running into the corner for a 5-yard touchdown.
Pangborn senior cornerback and captain Anna McNamara said she was particularly impressed by her team’s opening drive.
“Our offense got us off to a really quick start,” McNamara said. “It really took the pressure off the defense.”
The Pangborn defense built on the advantage, intercepting Cavanaugh senior quarterback Sam Flores's pass on third-and-long. Gargan rewarded her defense's efforts within three plays as she escaped pressure and threw for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Cavanaugh came close to scoring on its second drive, turning a deflected pass into a gain and converting a fourth down in the following play. However, after marching downfield and completing a long pass to the 3-yard line, Flores threw a second pick on third-and-goal.
The Chaos soon earned another first-and-goal late in the half, but again Pangborn’s secondary prevented Cavanaugh from reaching the endzone.
Despite shutting out the Chaos, McNamara said the Pangborn defensive performance wasn’t perfect, as the two flags against the Phoxes extended Cavanaugh drives on third down.
“On defense, we need to work on playing a clean game and not getting as many penalties,” she said.
Cavanaugh started the second half with another long but scoreless drive, and the Pangborn offense used this momentum to pull away. A deep ball from Gargan found junior receiver Katie Schultz in space on 3rd-and-21 for a 61-yard touchdown pass. Gargan soon added a 22-yard run to seal the win.
Harrington said she was still able to find positives from the way her team played the game.
“I don’t think we gave up, which was really important," Harrington said. "We stayed in it the whole time. We had some good plays and left it all out on the field.
“We got caught in a lot of tricky situations and couldn’t convert some first-and-goals. We just couldn’t catch the ball when it was really important.”
Pangborn will play Pasquerilla East in the semifinals. The Pyros handed the Phoxes their only loss of this regular season, and McNamara said she believes that this time Pangborn can win.
“We're definitely in it for redemption, said McNamara. “It's hard to beat a team twice, and I think we're a better team than when we played them the first time.”
The Phoxes face the Pyros in the semifinals Sunday at LaBar Practice Facility at 4 p.m.
