Intensity Wins Season Opener Despite Hurricanes bringing Snow

MEDWAY, MA - The New England Intensity, of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), defeated cross-state rival Holyoke Hurricanes 34-0 in blustery and wet game Saturday.  The season-opening win for New England was the first for new Head Coach Jason Fernald and his staff. 

With temperatures in the mid 30's, wind gusts over 25 mph, and precipitation that varied from rain to sleet to [a brief period of] snow, who could have asked for better weather for a football game?! 

The game began with rookie Bri Giarrusso kicking off for New England, and if the opening kickoff is any indication of how the season will go, then the Intensity will have a great year.  The kick was fielded all the way back at the Holyoke 12 (a 53 yard kickoff, the 2^nd longest in team history) and well-covered as second year player and all-around stud Lisa Vincent tackled the Hurricane kick returner after only a 3 yard run back at the 15 yard line for the visiting team.

Captain DT/OT Maia Goodall furthered the Intensity's message by stuffing Holyoke's first rushing play from scrimmage for no gain.  Her teammate and fellow Captain DT/OL Jennifer ?Coco' Edwards recovered the fumble on the ensuing play at the 9 yard line of the Hurricanes, setting up the NE offense with the dream scenario of first and goal on their first possession of the season. 

Three plays later Captain Steph Samuelson, the team's all-time leader in several categories (total yards, rushing yards, TDs, scoring, rushing TDs, to name a few) ran in from the 5 yard line to put the Intensity up 6-0 with 12:37 left in the 1^st quarter. The 2 point attempt (incomplete pass) failed.

Stacey ?Hulk' DeLuca made the tackle on the NE kickoff and the visitors would try again, this time starting at their own 43.  Their second possession would not go much better than their first.  DE Bridget Cambria stopped their first down run for a one-yard loss and DTs Torrance Brown and Goodall did the same on 2^nd down.  DB Lizz Vogel added to her all-time record for passes defended by locking down the intended receiver for the 3^rd down play.   A very short punt by Holyoke was fielded by team newcomer Erica Statkus and returned to the Holyoke  41-yard.

A false start had the NE offense starting 1^st and 15.  A short run followed by a fumble that the Hurricanes recovered near midfield all of a sudden had the momentum swing in favor of the visitors.  Capitalizing on this, Holyoke completed a pass to inside the Intensity 40 for a first down.  The "D", deciding enough was enough, dug in their heels.  Brown and Cambria stuffed the Hurricane RB for a one-yard loss, followed by rookie LB Samantha ?Texas' Thacker stopping the next attempt at the line of scrimmage.  Successive incomplete passes gave New England the ball back via a turnover on downs at their own 36.

Vincent opened up this offensive series with an 11 yard run, followed by Samuelson rushing for 6 more yards.  QB Tricia Donovan was sacked (the first of three sacks on the day?one of the low points of the Intensity's performance) on 2^nd down but completed a 33-yard pass to rookie WR LaKia Hendricks to move the ball to the Holyoke 21 with a fresh set of downs.  The quarter would come to a close on this play with Intensity maintaining a 6-0 lead.

Two plays and 58 seconds later, Vincent scampered in from the 20 for her first of two touchdowns to put the Intensity up 12-0.   Unfortunately, the 2 pt attempt result was no different than the first one--another incomplete pass--so the score remained 12-0.  DeLuca and 2^nd year player Andrea Covelli combined to hold the Hurricanes to a short 8 yard kickoff return.

DeLuca defended the 1^st down pass attempt by the visitors, Donovan did the same on 2^nd down, and Covelli followed suit on the 3^rd.  An incomplete pass on 4^th down turned the ball over on downs.  The Intensity ?O' would come back out with first and ten on the Holyoke 38. 

Vincent opened up the series with an 8 yard run, as the wet and windy conditions wreaked havoc on the passing game and Donovan's next two attempts went incomplete.  Facing 4^th and 2 from the Holyoke 30, Coach Fernald rolled the dice and went for it, handing the ball off to Samuelson who churned out 4 tough yards and a first down.  Donovan was sacked on the next play and threw an incomplete pass on second down.  Facing 3^rd and 14, the refs caught everyone's attention by claiming that NE just turned the ball over on downs, giving the ball back to Holyoke at their 30.

Justice was served . . . An incomplete pass was followed by a Vincent tackle for no gain, followed by a fumble that the Hurricanes recovered but only after Cambria and Giarrusso tackled the recovering player for a 10 yard loss.  A bad snap on the punt attempt caused the Holyoke punter jump on the ball at their 12 yard line with Vincent covering.

Two consecutive runs by Samuelson ended in a 9 yard TD run for her (her 2^nd of the day) with 5:23 left in the 2^nd quarter.   Donovan linked up with TE Lisa Close for a successful 2 point conversion to make the score 20-0.  Unfortunately, Close was injured (and tended to by Head Athletic Training Cliff Ashley who gamely fought through his own flu to endure the rough climate and be there for the team) soon after this play.  Covelli and Statkus covered the ensuing kickoff, stuffing the returner at the Holyoke 37 after only 7 return yards.

Vincent teamed up with Giarrusso for a first down tackle for a 3 yard loss on 1^st down and with LB/OL Stacey Martin for short gain on 2^nd down.  Brown and rookie OL/DL Lamia Bouhallel kept the Holyoke 3^rd down rushing attempt to a bare minimum, forcing the visitors to bring out their punt team.  A short non-returnable 18 yard punt gave the Intensity the ball at their own 41.

Donovan was sacked for a 6 yard loss on first down but runs of 9 and 16 yards by Samuelson (she finished the day with over 100 yards and the Game Day MVP award) dug the team out of the that hole, resulting in first and ten at the Holyoke 40.  A block in the back by NE cost the team 6 yards but Samuelson followed that up with another 10 yard run.  However, time would run out on the half and the Intensity entered the warmth of the locker room up 20-0. 

The visitors kicked off to open the 3^rd quarter and veteran DB/WR Jojo Gauthier scooped up the short kick and managed 8 yards before being tackled at the NE 44.  Samuelson picked up right where she left off, ripping off a 19 yard run on first down and a 10 yard run immediately after that behind the solid blocking of C Bettyann Perry, Brown, Edwards, Goodall and Captain Kim Herrig.  LB/FB Kate Miechkowski took the handoff on the next play and ran hard for 7 yards right up the gut.  Samuelson scampered for 12 more yards, and another first down, do the Holyoke 8.  A few tough stops by Holyoke resulting in short runs by Samuelson and Vincent had the Intensity facing 4^th and Goal from the 4.  Not to worry though, displaying resilience, determination and concentration, Donovan linked up with Gauthier for a TD pass to push the score to 26-0 with 8:21 left in the 3^rd quarter.  The 2 point attempt (run) failed.

Defensive Coordinator Peter Brown, and Assistant Coach, Eric Shi, had the defense playing strong all day (allowing less than 50 yards of total offense for Holyoke).  Thacker and Covelli stopped the Hurricane RB after a one yard gain, Vogel and Thacker then tackled the runner for a one yard loss on the next play.  Statkus' solo tackle on 3^rd down for a short gain caused the visitors to trot out their punt team on 4^th and 8.  The punt went out of bounds at the NE 42. 

Successive short runs on the first two downs to Samuelson, followed by a 6 yard pass to her from Donovan brought the home squad to the Holyoke 45 with a new stet of downs.  Sadly, back to back false starts to end the quarter quickly erased the gains of the previous three plays.  Adding to the difficulties of this series, Donovan would through an interception to start the 4^th quarter, putting in jeopardy the shutout that NE had going.

The D appeared to rise to the challenge, with Vogel and Herrig tackling the Hurricane ball carrier for a 6 yard loss on first down.  Rookie WR/DB Kerri Richardson defended the pass play on 2^nd down and Holyoke was errant on it's 3^rd down pass attempt.  Another bad snap on the visitor's punt and New England found itself with great field position (courtesy of 2^nd year player Toni Cann and IWFL Fan MVP running down the punter for a 19 yard loss).

So it was back to work for the Intensity, first and ten from the Hurricane 23.  Vincent sprinted to a 9 yard gain on first down and Micehkowski hammered her way forward for 5 yards and a first down (and goal on the Holyoke 9).  After an incomplete pass, Donovan hit Vincent for New England's fifth TD of the afternoon, putting this one ?on-ice' (pardon the pun) as New England, after Vincent's 2 point attempt run, went up 34-0 with less than 6 minutes left in the game.

Holyoke, was not about to go down looking, attempting to pass their way onto the scoreboard.  Covelli defended their first attempt, DeLuca the second, but then Holyoke connected for a 13 yard pass and a first down.  They followed this up with an 8 yard pass to the NE 32.  Thacker and Martin combined for a sack on 2^nd down, driving the Hurricanes back to the NE 39.  Richardson defended the 3^rd down pass and the game soon ended with the Intensity closing out a good season-opening win in very unfavorable weather, 34-0.  The shutout was preserved, thanks, in large part to the solid play of the D line reserves Lesley Lopes, Nancy O'Loughlin, rookie Kelly Hebert and Pam Curtis, as the Hurricanes were unable to generate any offensive push against the D line at any point during the game?a tribute to not only the players, but to the Line Coach, Jim Callahan and Assistant Coach Nuri Barlas.

Special thanks to our game day volunteers (Rae Rae O'Neal, Chris Horta, Billy Samuelson and his Grandfather, and IR Lisa Paulson who helped out with the chain gang) and our fans for enduring the weather the same as the players and staff to make our first home game a success!

The Intensity will travel to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania next weekend, 4/18, for a matchup against the Central PA Vipers, a Tier 1 team from 2008.  New England's next home game will be on May 2^nd when they will host long-time rival Manchester Freedom in the first of a home and home series with them.