With both teams coming off a loss, Badin will take on the Lewis tonight at 9 p.m. at Riehle Field.
The Bullfrogs (0-2-1) lost to Pangborn 21-9 last week, while the Chicks (0-2) lost to Walsh 14-0.
Despite being shut out, Lewis captain Katie Sushinksy was not entirely displeased with her team's performance.
"Collectively, we showed great improvement on both sides of the ball," she said.
Sushinksy said turnovers were a main factor in the loss. In practice, the team has focused on taking care of the ball in hopes of winning the turnover battle in future games.
So far, the Chicks' strength has been their defensive line, which created an aggressive pass rush last game.
On the other sideline, Badin struggled with moving the ball in their last game.
"Pangborn was able to pick up on where our receivers were running," Bullfrogs captain Katie Rose Hackney said.
As a result, the Bullfrogs' focus in practice has been mainly to diversify their offense to confuse opponents. On defense, they are working on the fundamentals, such as pulling flags. Badin's strength thus far seems to be its ability to share the ball.
"Our wide receivers have caught about an equal number of passes," Hackney said. "That has really been the core of our team."
Walsh v. Welsh Family
The resurgent Wild Women of Walsh will attempt to hand Welsh Family its first loss of the season tonight at 8 p.m. on the Riehle Fields.
After a demoralizing 26-0 loss to Farley to open the season, Walsh has responded with two convincing wins against Pangborn and Lewis. In their two triumphs, the Wild Women have won by more than two touchdowns.
Walsh captain and linebacker Cindy Brenner has attributed the turnaround to the maturation of the young team.
"We are a very young team with less than four returning starters," she said. "But our team has done very well adapting and improving from one game to the next. Some of the younger girls have stepped up and made big plays."
Brenner added that the defense has done a tremendous job.
"Last game was our head coach's 22nd birthday and he asked the defense for an interception," she said. "We gave him three."
The emergence of junior wide receiver Kim Bugos has also been a key factor in the growth of the passing offense.
"In the 14-0 win against Lewis, Bugos made some great catches to lead the offense to those two touchdowns," Brenner said.
The story of the season for the Whirlwinds has been the defense, led by senior linebacker Erin Fitzpatrick. The Whirlwinds have yet to allow a single point on defense and are trying to extend their shutout streak.
"In our last game, our defense played great as usual and ended up with four interceptions," senior captain Jenni Gargula said.
Not to be outdone, the offense for Welsh Family has been equally impressive.
"Our offense has had no trouble moving the ball on defenses and scoring," Gargula said.
Senior wide receiver Katherine Hart has combined with quarterback Gargula to form a formidable tandem. Gargula has found Hart in the end zone four times this year, twice in each game. They will try to continue that streak against the Wild Women.
Breen-Phillips vs. Pangborn
Not many teams can head into the third week of a season winless and undefeated, but Breen-Phillips is doing just that.
The Babes (0-0-2) hope to change from their tying ways tonight when they play Pangborn (1-2). On the season, Breen-Phillips has only managed six points, on a sixty-yard touchdown pass against Badin two weeks ago in a game that ended 6-6. Last weekend, the Babes tied Farley 0-0.
In order to preserve the tie, Breen-Phillips' defense stopped Farley on two plays at the one-yard line with less than thirty seconds left. This goal line stand and the defense as a whole have defined the season thus far for the Babes.
"We're proud of how our defense held up," senior team captain Melissa Meagher said. "But [we are] still disappointed that we didn't win.... Our offense needs to execute in key situations."
In order for the Babes offense to produce as Meagher wishes, they will have to outdo an opportunistic Pangborn defense. Last week against Badin, the Phoxes defense had three interceptions in the first half. Those takeaways led the way to Pangborn's first and only victory this year. That victory could generate some new energy.
"We have heard that Breen-Phillips is a tough team," sophomore captain Kathy Poploski said. "We just need to keep up the intensity from Sunday."
Tonight at the Riehle Fields at 7 p.m., Breen-Phillips looks to remain undefeated and hope to notch its first win, against a Pangborn team looking to even up its own record.
