The Lewis Chicks recovered from a tough opening loss by blanking the Howard Ducks 12-0, legitimizing their chances of playing in the stadium for the second straight year.A strong showing by both the offensive and defensive units proved too much for a Howard squad that fell to 0-2 on the season.In last week's match against the defending champion Badin Bullfrogs, the Chicks struggled on offense, failing to find the end zone and falling 7-0. These offensive woes vanished almost immediately Sunday.On the first Lewis possession, Chicks quarterback Meg Bustin hit a streaking receiver for a thirty-yard completion deep into Howard territory. A few plays later - after a key fourth down conversion - Bustin gave Lewis a 6-0 lead with a five-yard touchdown run.Bustin said the difference between Lewis' last game and this game were simple."The first game jitters were gone," Bustin said.Lewis' offense even afforded the crowd some fun with a little trickery late in the second half. After intercepting an errant Howard pass, the Chicks offense lined up deep in Duck territory.On first down, Bustin swung a pass to wide receiver Tiffany Roberts behind the line of scrimmage who, after stepping back, fired a twenty-yard dart to a wide-open receiver in the back of the end zone. When asked about the trick play, both Bustin and Roberts noted trickery had been a staple of their 2003 squad that came within an extra point of the championship.Lewis' impressive offensive performance was matched by an equally remarkable defensive showing, as the Duck offense was limited to just three first downs for the entire game. The Lewis defense also forced two interceptions, one of which led to the second Chicks touchdown.With the win, the Lewis squad improves to 1-1 on the season and renews the confidence they had last year that led them to the stadium."Oh, we're headed there," Roberts said.Pangborn 26, Badin 0To say it was a turning point for Pangborn would be an understatement.The Phoxes defeated defending interhall champions Badin, 26-0. The Badin Bullfrogs came off winning games against Lewis and Howard.The Pangborn team hadn't been as successful, losing its first game against Welsh Family and tying its second game against Lyons Hall.Coming in apprehensive but prepared, Pangborn came through with a win."The team played a great game," Pangborn's defensive coach Doug Cionni said. "They executed the game play to a 'T.' We still have some thing to work on and there's always room for improvement."The first touchdown was a trick play. Quarterback Katie Mooney passed off to Chris Dube. Dube then threw the ball 25 yards to receiver Katie Reimersma.After half time, the Phoxes scored three more touchdowns. Mary Davis, Trish Connelly and Brynn Johnson all scored.Pangborn's defense stepped up and responded to Badin, as well."We knew Badin was a passing team and we came ready to defend that kind of offense," captain Katie Murray said.Badin played a well-fought game, but Pangborn came out on top."[The] win over the defending champions was just sweet, nothing bitter about it," Murray said. "I think we've really proved we're a team heading to the playoffs and have good reason to dream of the stadium."This coming Wednesday, Badin will face the Off-Campus team, while Pangborn will play Lewis.Lyons 13, Off-Campus 6Off-Campus coach Tim Breitbach called Sunday's game a moral victory. But moral victories do not show up in the standings as Off-Campus lost a hard fought contest to Lyons by a score of 13-6 Sunday afternoon.The Off-Campus squad [0-2] fell behind 13-0 early and it appeared that it would be a long afternoon. The team's defense stepped up later in the game, but Off-Campus simply could not muster enough offense to overcome the early deficit. Quarterback Traci Kazmerski keyed the victory for Lyons [2-0-1]. Her versatility proved to be a weapon too difficult for the Off-Campus team to stop. She accounted for 164 yards of total offense with 83 yards rushing and 81 yards passing.Kazmerski set the tone early as she ran for a 55-yard touchdown on the third play of the game. After a stop by the Lyons defense, she led a five-play, 41-yard drive culminating in a 21-yard touchdown pass to receiver Meghan Regan. "She's a great player," Lyons coach Mike DeMartini said of Kazmerski. "She can run and throw the ball, and we like to use her ability to key our offense."Adjustments by the Off-Campus coaching staff limited Lyons to just 27 second half yards. The team's offense also showed tremendous progress from the first game when it failed to register a first down.Off-campus quarterback Lauren Blum engineered the team's first scoring drive of the year - a 65-yard march late in the first half. The drive ended with Blum's 15-yard touchdown pass, which ended the scoring as neither team found the end zone in the second half.Breitbach was confident his team could build upon this game. "The system in place is good," he said. "Now it's just a matter of the girls executing. Hopefully our execution will improve."
