Farley's Finest never knew what hit them.
Cavanaugh came onto the field with intensity as it drove down the field on its first offensive possession. The Chaos scored on the fourth play from scrimmage, en route to a 14-0 shutout of Farley.
The notion that the Chaos offense might come out a little rusty after not playing a game in over a week was quickly put to rest. In fact, Cavanaugh viewed the time off as an advantage.
"It was actually good to be able to make corrections in practice during that week in between games," Cavanaugh coach Hunter Craig said. "We were really motivated to come out and get that first win, especially since we were ranked No. 1 in preseason."
The highly-talented Chaos defense dominated the Finest offense throughout the night, recording its second shutout in as many games this season. Farley was held to only 80 yards of total offense for the game, as constant pressure from the defensive line kept Farley's offense off-balance. The Chaos offense, on the other hand, had little trouble moving the ball, as last week's scoreless tie with Walsh was undoubtedly in the back of their minds.
"The three practices that we had this last week allowed us to work on the passing game," Chaos quarterback Lisa Ruffer said. "We knew we had to win this game."
Ruffer contributed to the team's success by throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns and running for another 35 yards. Despite her contribution to the total yards the Chaos gained, she still credited the defense for the win.
"We always try to shout and scream to motivate our defense and intimidate the other team," Ruffer said. "We want the defense to know how important they are."
Although Farley's defense did give up 190 yards on the night, it managed to keep Cavanaugh out of the end zone for the rest of the first half.
Unfortunately for Farley, the second half was almost a mirror image of the first, with Cavanaugh scoring on its first possession again.
The drive even included a lateral for a big gain and a great catch tipped three times that set up the Chaos for its second touchdown. The Farley offense showed a little more life on its first drive as well, but the Chaos defense rose to the challenge and shut them down for the rest of the half.
Walsh 6, McGlinn 0
The Wild Women defense did it again.
For the third time in four games, the defense of Walsh posted another shutout with a 6-0 victory over McGlinn Tuesday night.
The win can primarily be attributed to senior cornerback Katie Hesmond and the rest of the defensive squad. Hesmond continued her interception streak, by adding two to her remarkable season total of eight.
The McGlinn offense proved to be a valiant foe, especially in the opening minutes of the game, when it moved its first offensive drive deep into the Walsh red zone. The star of that drive was McGlinn's offensive weapon, receiver On-Kay Wong.
Wong's receiving skills backed the heels of the Walsh defense all the way to its own goal line, but, after going four-and-out inside the red zone, McGlinn regained control of the ball.
After trading possessions, Wong again showed her receiving abilities to the Walsh defense. However, the strong Wild Women would not allow a touchdown, and it was on this drive that Hesmond made her first of two interceptions, stopping the Shamrock drive at the goal line.
Freshman quarterback Mary Sullivan then took over. Sullivan threw a long, 30-yard run, followed by a 25-yard pass to fellow freshman CiGi Low close to the half.
Coming out of the break, Hesmond brought down her second interception deep in McGlinn territory. While Walsh was unable to convert the scoring opportunity, it did pin the Shamrocks back up against their own goal line.
Soon after, Walsh senior Amanda Borys caught an interception that gave the ball back to the Wild Women and set up the only scoring of the game. With the ball back in the hands of Sullivan, Walsh scored on a quick pass to freshman Marie Brenner.
The 6-0 lead was all the Walsh defense would need, as it succeeded in holding the Shamrocks scoreless for the rest of the game.
Breen-Phillips 12, Pasquerilla East 6
With a slight drizzle falling throughout the second half, mud puddles building and the lights illuminating the slick field, Breen-Phillips and Pasquerilla East played on - cleats or no cleats, injury or no injury, quarterback or no quarterback. BP came out victorious 12-6.
"The conditions were awful. The field was disgusting," PE captain Allison Ferber said. "It was like a great mud pit, but it was fun playing at night under the lights."
To begin the game, BP struck first when wide receiver Megan Ohlenforst snagged a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ali Brosnan midway through the first quarter. However, the Babes failed to complete the extra point to make the score 6-0.
The Pyros fired back with a short touchdown pass of their own with 3 minutes remaining in the half to tie up the score. Wide receiver Caroline Murray caught the sharply thrown ball from substitute quarterback Stephanie Adams.
Locked in a 6-6 tie, the Babes defense continuously worked on trying to figure out the Pyros' tricky offense, full of double reverses and pitches.
"The defense did wonders," BP senior safety Rachel Kemp said. "The Pyros ran a really tricky offense. Once we figured it out, we were able to hold them."
Kemp credited the dominance to the team's defense.
"[Defensive lineman] Emily Voge was able to pick up a lot of flags, get tackles behind the line," Kemp said.
Three minutes into the second half, Kemp broke the tie when she intercepted an Adams pass and sprinted 20-yards for the game-winning score. The defense held up for the rest of the game, preventing PE from coming any closer than 20-yards from scoring.
However, conditions did not benefit either team.
Several players competed without cleats, causing several collisions. One of the most brutal clashes came when Pyros wide receiver Caroline Murray collided with a defender.
"It really looked like she swallowed a golf ball through her lip. She had a big lump, and her eye was shut," Ferber said. "Our QB was not at the game, and we were missing a lot of key players."
Despite all of the obstacles, the Pyros kept up with the undefeated Babes.
"We haven't won a game yet, but we play with a lot of heart," Ferber said. "I don't think there is any magic formula to make us win; we're a strong, athletic team. We're just inexperienced."
While 3-0 BP pushes towards the playoffs, the team knows it must remain humble in order to achieve its goal.
"We're just trying to keep our heads on straight," Kemp said. "This would be awesome if we got to finish in the Stadium."
