Farley quarterback Katie Popik's touchdown pass in the waning minutes of the second half helped the Finest put the game out of reach of the Pyros of Pasquerilla East Thursday.
The touchdown was the only score of the second half, and Popik's fourth of the game. She threw for a total of 200 yards in the contest.
Down 20-6 at the start of the second half, PE lost the ball on downs, but stopped the Farley offense inside PE's 20-yard line on its next drive. The Farley defense intercepted the ball on PE's first play of the series, but quickly gave the ball back when Courtney Chen intercepted a wayward pass by Popik. The PE offense wasn't able to mount a drive, and Diane Duran set up the offense for Popik's fourth TD with an interception on the PE 20-yard line.
The game began with a 60-yard score by Farley on the fourth play of the series, and Farley was able to quickly intercept the ball on PE's ensuing drive. They were unable to score, and PE scored on 77-yard completion to Megan Conway. The rest of the half was all Farley, with their third and fourth touchdowns going for 58 and 18 yards, respectively. PE got one last chance to score before halftime, but time ran out just after they made their way onto Farley's side of the field.
"It was an amazing game," Popik said. "I was very pleased. I just wish we had played better earlier in the season."
Farley's playoff status is still in doubt, but the squad has put itself in a good position to make the postseason with this win. Popik and Duran both stressed the importance of their coaching staff, some of whom are members of the Keenan interhall team, in their win as well.
"The coaches have done a great job," Duran said. "They come straight from their own practices to coach us."
In addition to Duran's touchdown reception, Jenny Rolfs caught two scoring passes from Popik, and Kim Crehan caught one.
Paul and Pat Rigney, brothers who coach the PE team, were proud of their team despite the loss.
"The girls really played hard, showed a lot of effort," Pat Rigney said. "We gave up some big plays, got unlucky, and that made the difference."
Paul also acknowledged the tough matchup.
"Farley was talented - they had a lot of good players," Paul Rigney said. "We've just got to work hard for Sunday."
Pangborn 21, Welsh Fam. 6
The Pangborn Phoxes put up 21 unanswered points in the first half and were able to hold off a second-half Whirlwind offensive effort to win over Welsh Family Thursday. It was the second straight victory for a Pangborn squad that sought to prove itself against the team that denied it an unbeaten season last year.
The Phoxes found their rhythm early, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half behind an impressive offensive performance. Katie Mooney connected with Katie Riemersma and Brinn Johnson for touchdown catches, and Trish Connelley ran for another as the Phoxes took a commanding lead into halftime.
The Pangborn defense did its part by preventing a Whirlwind score in the first half. Amanda Dosch came out with a momentum-shifting interception early on to help keep the Phoxes on top 21-0 going into halftime. Pangborn captain Katie Murray was pleased with her team's play in the first period.
"The first half was just amazing," Murray said. "We really just need to be playing like that the whole time."
"Our offense came out really strong and we were just really pumped coming into the game," Johnson said. "Our defense played awesome as well."
Though the Pangborn offense took charge early, a motivated Welsh Family squad came out strong in the second half and shut down what had appeared to be an unstoppable Pangborn attack. Though the Whirlwinds could not come up with the victory, coaches Tom Chesnick and Ben McClain were pleased with their team's second half effort.
"We're proud of the girls' second half performance, and the effort they showed despite being down three scores," Chesnick said. "Even though we took the loss, there are still definitely some good things that come out of the game."
In addition to an impressive second half defensive performance, the Whirlwind offense also came out strong after halftime. The Whirlwinds drove to the Pangborn 3-yard line but were unable to score due in large part to a stingy Pangborn defense which tipped two passes at the goal line. On the next Welsh Family possession, Melissa Sands connected with Jenni Gargula for 16-yard touchdown but, with time running out, it was too little, too late for the Whirlwinds.
"We were able to make some good adjustments after the first half," McClain said.
"We were till able to get right back in it even after being down by three scores."
Pasquerilla West 13, Breen-Phillips 6
The Purple Weasels knocked off the Babes in Women's Interhall Gold League action Thursday.
The Weasels scored two unanswered touchdowns after Breen-Phillips took a 6-0 lead.
Maureen Spring scored both touchdowns for the Weasels, with a game-tying catch and an interception return for a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game, sealing the victory for Pasquerilla West.
The Weasels took the lead on the ensuing possession after the Babes' go-ahead touchdown. Spring's reception, combined with a successful extra point, gave Pasqerilla West a lead it would not relinquish.
