The Intensity Calms Hurricanes in 1st Home Win
MEDWAY, MA - The New England Intensity of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), had the ability of their defense, among other things, called into question by entities not at all familiar with the players nor the team after last week's loss to the Montreal Blitz.
However, the Intensity used these comments as fuel?good ol' "Bulletin Board" material, if you will. This fuel contributed to an outstanding week of practice and gave rise to a tempest that the Holyoke Hurricanes did nothing to cause, but had the misfortune of being stuck in the path of.
The game was dubbed the Massachusetts version of the "Backyard Brawl". This proved an inaccurate description as the word "Brawl" implies an arduous fight in which the combatants beat each other up. Given New England's amped up mental state, it was less of a brawl and more of a beating (of which the visiting team clearly got the worst). The home team would end up winning a very lopsided contest 48-0 (the halftime score was 42-0).
Another raw day was the backdrop at Hanlon Field, where the Intensity faithful gathered to cheer on their team. The home crowd did not have to wait for something to get excited about . . . as K Michelle Hicks boomed a 40 yard kickoff to start the game that LB Kelly Kraynak and DB/RB Lisa Vincent covered well, tackling the Holyoke ball carrier for a one yard loss!
A false start on the first offensive play for the Hurricanes, followed by a run that was stopped for no gain by DTs Torrance Brown and Maia Goodall had the visitors staring at 2nd and 15 from their 19 yard line?a deep hole to be in this early . . . and one they were unable to dig themselves out of as they punted on 4th and 5. Though with punt-and kick-returner extraordinaire WR/DB/QB Tricia Donovan back to receive, Holyoke would soon wish they had just tried to convert the 4th down. A short punt by the Hurricanes was returned for 24 yards by Donovan (who would return 3 more punts for an average of nearly 18 yards per return).
Eventual Game Day MVP and Captain Steph Samuelson got the call early and often, punching in her first of 3 TDs for the game on her fourth consecutive run play to eat up the 27 yards New England found themselves from the end zone after Donovan's return and go up 6-0. Hicks' PAT was good and the Intensity was on the board with less than 5 minutes elapsed in the game.
Hicks had another good kickoff that DB Lizz Vogel covered to stop Holyoke after a short return. Goodall, on the first play of the Hurricane's second offensive series would cause a fumble that fellow DL Suzanne ?Swiss Miss' Dubey would recover, giving the Intensity Offense the chance to come right back out on the field?this time at the Holyoke 37.
The O line continued its dominance, paving the way for a 19 yard scamper by DB/RB Jojo Gauthier on first down, then again for an 11 yard TD run by DB/RB and rookie Lisa Vincent?her first career TD and first of three TDs for the game. The effectiveness of the NE offense, the running game in particular (266 yards on the ground and over 8 yards per carry) cannot be overstated and is due to pure team-wide effort: Consistent, outstanding play by the O line, uperlative vision and execution by the ball carriers, and those not carrying the ball unselfishly making blocks and/or running their routes convincingly to occupy their defenders.
A poorly struck kickoff by Hicks that touched Holyoke and became a live ball was alertly and aggressively recovered by Gauthier at the Holyoke 41, bringing the home team offense back on the field for the third time in the first 8 minutes of the game. Runs of 20 yards by Samuelson (70 yards on 11 carries) and 11 and 6 yards by Gauthier (84 yards on 7 carries) would absorb the two early penalties on this drive by New England, setting up 4th and 2 from the Holyoke 13. Inexplicably, the Hurricane defense lined up such that a dump truck could have driven through the center of their line and Captain and Center Anita Barnes (5 tackle assists) and Donovan (2 for 6, 2 TD, 0 INT, 121.5 Passer Rating for the game) did an impromptu QB sneak that resulted in 1st and Goal from the 2. Shortly after the start of the 2nd quarter, Samuelson would dive in for her second TD and with Hicks converting the PAT again, New England found themselves with a commanding 21-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter.
Head Coach Bob ?Twitch' Twitchell took advantage of the opportunity to begin to work in some of the depth chart. The reserves responded very well?a tribute to their hard work in practice. DB/RB Stacey DeLuca stuffed the ball carrier for a one yard loss on first down. Kraynak would sack the QB on the next play and LB/OL Stacey Martin (5 tackle assists) teamed up with Captain and DL/OL Coco Edwards for a two-yard tackle for loss forcing the visitors to punt again.
Gauthier and Vogel continued their dominance on special teams, with Gauthier blocking the punt and Vogel recovering it at the Hurricane 40 and returning it 7 yards before being tackled. On a broken 2nd and 15 play, Donovan kept her composure and connected with Samuelson for a 38 yard TD pass, Steph's 3rd and final TD of the day. Incidentally, Samuelson, with her 3 TD effort in this game, became the Intensity's all time leading scorer as well as the record-holder for most rushing TDs and most total TDs in franchise history. During this game, she and Donovan became the first two players in Intensity history to tally more than 2,000 total yards for their careers.
Up 28-0, Hicks hit another solid kickoff that QB/LB Bridget Cambria covered and forced a fumble on Holyoke. Unfortunately, in a rare break that when their way, Holyoke would recover the ball. DL/OL Toni Cann and OL/DL Nancy O'Loughlin were very active on this series, chipping in to hold the visitors to short gains and another 3 and out. Donovan (99 total yards) would once again return a Holyoke punt for more yards than it was kicked and the NE offense came out on the Holyoke 31 yard line. The "O" wasted no time as Vincent outran everyone on the first play for another TD, putting the home team up 34-0 (soon 35-0 as Hicks made another PAT).
Cambria and Kraynak kept the Hurricane kickoff return to a minimum and the Defense in question took the field again?still having yet to surrender a first down with half time approaching! Barnes stood tall on this series, combining with Kraynak for a stop after a 2 yard gain on first down, then getting those two yards back with a tackle for loss on 2nd down. After an incomplete pass, Holyoke punted again?this time away from Donovan so she was not able to return it.
On 3rd and 1 from the Holyoke 44, Donovan connected with Vincent (who had a team-leading 110 total yards) for a TD pass that all but sealed this game with 27 seconds still to play in the first half. Hicks' PAT was helped by the wet conditions as the ball squirted across the top of the crossbar?it probably would have bounced back no good if the crossbar was dry. LB Stacey Martin and Gauthier covered the short kick, then Martin and Cann (4 tackle assists) made the last tackle of the 2nd quarter and teams entered the break with NE up 42-0.
To add insult to injury, Holyoke would have to start the 2nd half kicking off. Donovan, on her only KO return of the game, would go for 17 yards (just about her career average). Gauthier, behind phenomenal blocking by Captain and OL/DL Kim Herrig?who quickly defeated her first down field block and then expertly identified, engaged with and defeated another?scampered for 35 yards down the right side all the way to the Holyoke 14. Perhaps the referees where feeling a bit sorry for the visitors as a flag was thrown for a block in the back, bringing the ball all the way back to the Holyoke 46.
Runs of 24 and 15 yards by Vincent and Samuelson, respectively, put NE 1st and Goal from the 5. A false start and some spirited defense by the Hurricanes held the home squad to a field goal attempt?that was blocked by the Hurricanes. A lot of credit goes to the Holyoke players and staff for continuing to fight hard down by 6 touchdowns late in the game.
As feisty as their defense was, the Hurricane offense was still badly overmatched in this contest. While they were able to gain their first 1st down of the day, Barnes, DeLuca, Cambria (1 solo and 2 tackle assists), and LB/RB rookie Andrea Covelli all got their noses dirty and forced the visitors to punt again to start the final frame.
On the ensuing drive, DeLuca (28 yards on 3 carries, 1 solo tackle, 1 assist) would rip off a huge first down run evading would-be tacklers down the left side for 20 yards. Covelli followed with a 5 yard gain of her own and QB Bridget Cambria connected with WR/DB rookie Dianna Ploss for a 12 yard TD pass (Ploss' first of her career).
On the kickoff, DE Suzanne Dubey made an impressive open field tackle, er, clothesline, of the Hurricane returner that evoked memories of the original "The Longest Yard'. Fortunately nobody's neck was broken this time!
Short running gains (courtesy of continued hard-nosed defense by Barnes, Edwards and O'Loughlin, who finished the day with 2 tackle assists) sandwiched around a Hurricane false start brought up 3rd and long for Holyoke who's attempt to throw for the first down was thwarted by outstanding coverage by Vincent who perfectly timed her hit and separated the receiver from the ball just after she started to catch it. This would prove to be the exclamation point on the superlative effort of the Intensity "D", holding the much-heralded Holyoke offense (that scored more points against Southern Maine than New England did) not only scoreless, but to just 45 yards rushing on 16 plays and zero yards passing.
The last offensive series for NE would also be the final possession for either team as LB/FB Kate Miechkowski (33 yards on 6 carries) would bring the pain right up the gut, and keep the clock and the chains moving. One play in particular saw Miechkowski hit hard behind the line of scrimmage only to shed her attempted-tackler and rumble forward for positive yardage. Cambria then took a purposeful game delay penalty and 2 consecutive knees to expire the clock.
A great win for New England?exceptionally solid defensive play (here's to some external motivation), great work running the ball as a team and in connecting through the air the few times such a play was called. Kickoffs and kickoff coverage was better and many of the rookies/reserves saw extended minutes AND they contributed significantly to the overall team effort (making 3 of 7 tackles and 9 of 28 tackle assists; and rushing for 32 yards), all the while preserving the shutout win.
On the flip-side, there are some coaching points that the staff has pointed out and will be working on in the coming weeks as New England prepares for a tough match up at Manchester versus the 2007 division champion Freedom (with whom they split the 2-game series last season, each team winning at home). Notably, several penalties, while not directly costing the Intensity this week must be improved upon for upcoming games. Further, while good luck was smiling on NE in this game, we all know that will not always be the case and many of the botched plays on offense will not turn out to be positive yardage as they seemed to with regularity versus Holyoke?so execution needs to improve as well.
On another good note, two of the areas that most plagued the Intensity versus Montreal?special teams and turnovers?made noticeable improvements: Hicks was 6 for 7 on PATs, far better than her 1 for 3 in the previous two games. NE only allowed 8.3 yards per KO return (compared to 28 yards per return last week), and had no interceptions nor fumbles lost (compared with 2 INT and 2 fumbles lost on 4/26).
As mentioned above, The Intensity will now focus on preparing for the away game versus the Manchester Freedom on May 17th. Both the Intensity and the Freedom are 2-1 on the season, so this promises to be a very competitive, physical, and entertaining contest.
-END-
The New England Intensity is the leading women's professional football franchise in the region. For more information, visit www.newenglandintensity.com.
