Lyons won its first game of the year over Pasquerilla East on Monday night thanks to some timely forced turnovers and a fluid offensive tempo.
The Pyros (0-2-1) came out of the gate hot after freshman receiver Alex Good hauled in a 30-yard touchdown on the team's first possession of the game. However, they made several key mistakes that changed the tide of the game, including penalties and three second-half turnovers.
"Our defense was solid," senior captain NnekaEkechukwu said. "We just needed to carry that intensity throughout the rest of the game."
Ekechukwu said that the team has promise to build upon.
"I loved how we came out strong from the beginning, scoring in the first ten seconds of our first possession," she said.
The Lions (1-2) rallied after a slow start in which they surrendered a touchdown on the first play of the game. After the Pyros' first possession, the Lyons defense clamped down and made some big defensive plays, including three second-half interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Kat Rodriguez paced the offense with a balanced, dual-threat presence by passing for a touchdown, completing a two-point conversion and keeping the Pasquerilla East defense honest as a rushing threat.
Lyons junior captain Erica Miller praised the defense's effort after its initial struggles.
"There was a lot of communication on defense," Miller said.
I loved our mentality after giving up the initial touchdown, how we didn't give up."
Lyons looks to continue its winning ways against Walsh, while Pasquerilla East will compete for its first win against Lewis on Sunday.
Contact James Southard at jsouthar@nd.edu
McGlinn 14, Walsh 7
McGlinn left it to late dramatics Monday night, registering two touchdowns in the final two minutes of play to shock the Walsh defense.
Down 7-0 in a penalty-ridden, defensive struggle, the Shamrocks (3-1) looked to be all but finished amid their offensive struggles. With the ball on their own 18-yard line and less than two minutes to play, junior quarterback Lauren Miller threw deep across the middle to senior receiver Kate Tucker, who sprinted past the Walsh defense for a 62-yard score.
"Kate ran a great route and had an amazing run after the catch," Miller said. "We were able to time the play perfectly".
After missing the two-point conversion, McGlinn's defense came up with a huge stop to hand the ball back to the Shamrock offense with less than 30 seconds remaining.
After a 4-yard scramble and an 11-yard completion, Miller scored on a run to the corner of the end zone with only three seconds left on the clock to give the Shamrocks a dramatic win.
"This was the tale of two halves for our offense," Miller said. "We struggled for most of the game, but we were able to execute much better on our two scoring drives. Our defense kept us in it and gave us a chance to win in the end."
A 29-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kat Leach late in the first half put Walsh on the board first.
"We played a really solid game, we just have to work on finishing both offensively and defensively," Leach said. "This was a tough one to lose."
Walsh (0-2-1) will take on Lyons next, while McGlinn will try to build off its momentum against Pasquerilla East on Sunday.
The Badin-Pangborn and Pasquerilla West-Howard games were postponed due to the rain and flooding at the Riehle Fields. A makeup date has not yet been announced.
Contact Nick Boyle at nboyle1@nd.edu
