MEDWAY, MA - The New England Intensity, of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), withstood the passing onslaught of the Manchester Freedom, earning a 20-8 victory in Manchester Saturday and improving to 4-0 at the halfway point of the regular season.   

In their biggest test of the 2009 season, the New England Intensity traveled to Manchester to play the second of a home-and-home mid-season set, fresh off of a solid 13-0 victory last Saturday in Medway.   The combination of not having won in Manchester since 2003 along with the pressure of trying to beat the same team on back to back weeks had many outsiders (including the ?End Zone to End Zone' radio program hosts that featured this matchup as their ?Game of the Week' and interviewed both team's Head Coaches) picking the Freedom to win.

A mostly sunny day with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60's and a slight southerly wind meant it was a great football afternoon in southern New Hampshire. New England would receive the opening kickoff, with DB Lizz Vogel returning the short kick to the Intensity 38.

Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Jason Fernald came out swinging with QB/TE Erica Statkus attempting passes on the first two plays, though both fell incomplete.  A short gain by Captain RB Steph Samuelson led to a three-and-out for the visitors as DB/WR/P Jojo Gauthier punted away on 4^th down.   DB Andrea Covelli (3 solo tackles and 2 tackle assists?both on special teams) and LB/FB Kate Miechkowski (1 solo tackle, 8 tackle assists?2 on special teams, 16 yards rushing with one first down) were in on the coverage, holding the return to 8 yards.

As advertised, the Freedom came out passing (after having minimal success running the ball versus New England in last week's game), with completions of 15 and 11 yards on their first three attempts, sandwiching an incomplete pass between them and advancing the ball deep into New England territory.  Ostensibly to ?mix it up', Manchester attempted a run, that Captain OT/DT Maia ?Brickwall' Goodall and Vogel (1 solo and 5 tackle assists) slammed for a 5 yard loss.   Taking to the air on 2^nd down, the home team's pass was well defended by DB Stacey DeLuca (team-leading 4 solo tackles, 4 tackle assists?one of each on special teams, and 2 passes defended), bringing up 3^rd and 15.  Vogel tackled the receiver on the next playing, holding her to a 3 yard gain and leading to a 4^th and 12 from the NE 34.  Electing to go for it, Manchester attempted to pass their way to a new set of downs, but were unable to do so.

The Intensity's second offensive series had QB/WR Tricia Donovan line up under center and throw and incomplete pass on first down.  Samuelson, behind some solid blocking of the O line (C Bettyann Perry, Tackles Captain Jennifer Edwards and Goodall and Guards Rookie Lamia Bouhallel and Captain Kim Herrig), ripped off an 18 yard run, crossing into Freedom territory.  Miechkowski pounded ahead for three tough yards on a FB dive, with Samuelson gaining 6 more on 2^nd down.  Donovan notched a first down with a 3 yard QB keeper.  Samuelson moved the ball to the Manchester 30 with a 6 yarder on first down and followed up a Donovan incompletion with a 5 yard run for a first down (one of eight she had this game).   Gauthier caught a nice pass from Donovan up the middle for a first down to the M 15.  Samuelson then covered 9 yards over the next two downs and Miechkowski moved the chains with a 3 yard rumble to the Manchester 3 yard line.  Two short runs by Samuelson and Donovan brought the ball to the 1 and Samuelson, behind the blue wave, surged in to put the visitors up 6-0 with 47 seconds left in the 1^st quarter (her first of two rushing TDs this game), capping off an impressive 15-play scoring drive.  Rookie K Kerri Richardson missed the PAT.

Richardson's kickoff traveled 35 yards and, with their return, the home squad would begin this series on their 40 yard line.  The Freedom rattled off a 15 yard run on first down and quickly found themselves in NE territory.  In a game that had very few penalties (only five total between the two teams), the Freedom were whistled for a false start and were backed up to midfield.  Trying to get all the yards back at once, Manchester took to the air.   However, with DT/OT Torrance Brown providing pressure, the errant pass was picked off by LB Stacey Martin at the NE 45 and returned to the M 47. 

Samuelson, fresh off a 190 yard rushing effort last week, contributed 8 yards to her impressive 188 yard total for this game on first down and added 12 more on the next play to give NE first and ten from the M27.  In between short runs by the Captain, Donovan and Gauthier just missed linking up for a TD reception, brining up 4^th and 5 from the 22.  Coach Fernald, perhaps rhetorically but nonetheless polled his team asking if they wanted to go for it or not, to which they resoundingly voted to aim high.  Statkus then connected with Donovan for TD's third touchdown reception of the season and Statkus' second passing one.  More importantly, New England, after a solid boot on the PAT by Richardson, now found themselves up 13-0 with 11:50 left in the 2^nd quarter.

Richardson's kickoff went out of bounds and Manchester elected to have her re-kick.  Her 36 yard kick was exceptionally well-covered by rookie LB Samantha Thacker (3 solo and 5 tackle assists?one of each on special teams) who hammered the returner in her tracks as soon as she gained possession of the ball.

After averaging only 3 yards per carry last week, the Freedom was well on their way to having an even tougher day on the ground as Vogel and DT/OT Pam Curtis dropped the ball carrier for a two yard loss on first down.  With DT Lesley Lopes handling two offensive linemen (each time she was on the field), Thacker held their 2^nd down rush to only 2 yards, bringing up 3^rd and 10.  An 8 yard pass play gave Manchester a decent shot with a 4^th and 2, on which they tried to run, but Thacker and Game Day MVP Kate Miechkowski not only prevented the first down, but gained 3 yards for the Intensity offense by tackling the ball carrier for a three yard loss.

Samuelson charged ahead for 8 yards on first down and earned the visitor's another set of downs with a two yarder on 2^nd down.  Miechkowski gained two of her own on the ensuing first down attempt and Statkus' pass to Gauthier was missed by the narrowest of margins on 2^nd down.  Samuelson just missed first down yardage with a 7 yard rush, brining up 4^th and 1 from the M 15.  A very suspect spot (which seemed to be the order of the day from the officiating crew) had Samuelson's dive attempt come up short, thus turning the ball over on downs to the Freedom.

Defensive Coordinator Peter Brown's Defense forced a three-and-out (two incomplete passes and run held to only three yards by Vogel and DL/FB Suzanne Dubey).  His work, along with Assistant Coach Eric Shi, have really re-defined the Intensity Defense into the aggressive unit it has become.  The Freedom lined up to punt from their own 18 and were looking to be on the ropes.  In what would prove to be a significant momentum switch, the short punt was fumbled by Samuelson and recovered by Manchester on their 39 yard line. 

The home team, unable to get much going thus far on offense, took advantage of the extra possession and completed a 20 yard pass play on first down.  Their next play, a run, was held to no gain by DE Bridget Cambria (1 solo tackle and 3 tackle assists).  An incomplete pass led to 3^rd and 10 that was overcome by a 14 yard run and put the Freedom inside the NE 30.  Martin and DeLuca held the ball carrier to a 2 yard pick up on first down at the two minute warning and Covelli saved a big gain by tackling the 2^nd down rusher after a 5 yard gain at the NE 20.  Dubey and Edwards (1 solo tackle and 4 tackle assists) kept the 3^rd and 3 attempt to just 2 yards.  The Freedom, down by 13 and not knowing if and when they'd have this good an opportunity to score went for it on 4^th and 1and completed a tough pass play down to the visitor 6 yard line.  Staying with their air attack, they threw on first and goal and lost two yards as Dubey came up big with a tackle for loss to give the D some more breathing room.  Another incomplete pass was, unfortunately, followed with a TD pass for Manchester with just 20 seconds remaining in the 1^st half.  The converted a pass for the two points and found themselves only down 5, 13-8. 

With the Freedom's kickoff going out of bounds, NE would take the ball on the 35.  As time expired in the half, Samuelson ran for 7 yards and the two teams went to the break with the score 13-8, New England ahead.

The 3^rd quarter began with The Intensity kicking off.  The ill-effects of a very short kick by Richardson were somewhat mitigated as Thacker and Miechkowski held the returner to no yards.   A huge pass play for 32 yards on first down catapulted Manchester to the NE 30.  Edwards, though fatigued from constant two-way play on the line, had enough in the tank to dig her heels in and inspire The Intensity to turn back the rising tide of Manchester momentum.   She stopped cold the rush attempt on the next play, and though the home team completed a pass to the NE 18 for a first down, she and Martin corralled the RB two yards behind scrimmage to bring up 2^nd and 12.  After an incomplete pass, Edwards and Miechkowski tag teamed the runner and gained two more yards for the Defense, resulting in 4^th and 14 from the NE 24.  Too far for a field goal and not likely to gain much by punting (and, by the way, still feeling pretty good about themselves after scoring on their last possession), the Freedom decided to go for it.  Goodall brought the heat and forced a bad throw and a turnover on downs.

New England began this promising drive with a 17 yard run by Samuelson, followed by a 5 yarder by Miechkowski landing them at the NE 48.  A short one by Samuelson and a QB keeper for the first down on a 4^th and 1 by Donovan moved the chains for the Intensity.  Samuelson and Miechkowski then had runs of 6 and 3 yards, respectively.  Donovan, after a miscue in the backfield, was forced to keep the ball and was tackled for a 1 yard loss.  Statkus' 4^th down pass went incomplete and the visitors turned the ball over on downs again.

The Freedom, still down by only 5, had their rush on 1st and 10 from their 40 stopped for a 1 yard gain by Miechkowski and Goodall.  Manchester did gain 7 yards on the ground on 3^rd down before Thacker and rookie DE Bri Giarrusso combined on the stop after their 2^nd down pass was incomplete.  A 13 yard run gave the home team a first down and a lucky break (recovering their fumble on the next play) allowed them to retain possession.  Their run on 2^nd and 8 was fairly ineffective as Brown and Edwards slammed the door shut one yard after scrimmage.  Cambria, bringing pressure from her DE position, hurried the QB, causing the 3^rd and 7 attempt to be off the mark.  Manchester went for it again on 4^th down but was unable to convert the pass and turned the ball over on downs.

Samuelson, behind some great blocking of the line, including TEs Lisa Close and Statkus, plowed ahead for 9 more yards as the 3^rd quarter ended.  In what would ultimately by a 17-play scoring drive, the Intensity would line up and run play after play and keep moving forward, even with the Freedom putting 8 or more defenders in the box.  Samuelson got the ball to midfield on the first play of the 4^th quarter, and gained 8 more on the next play.  Gauthier picked up 7 yards between the next two carries, gaining a first down in the process.  A 34-yard TD run by Samuelson was called back on a block in the back penalty (that, incidentally, had no impact on the play as the foul occurred after Samuelson was about 7 yards past the point where the infraction took place).  Undaunted, Samuelson carried the ball on the next 8 plays, with gains that included 10, 7, 6, and 5 yards to bring the ball down to the Manchester 4.  On 4^th and 4 from the 4, she punched in her second TD of the day (and 6^th of the season) to put the visitors up 19-8 with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation.  Richardson's PAT was good, pushing the score to 20-8.

Coming up huge on the kickoff, Richardson struck a line drive that the returner mishandled and ended up chasing all the way back to the 11 yard line (a 49 yarder).  DeLuca and Cambria were all over her and held the return to a scant 3 yards.

Manchester's first down pass was incomplete and Cambria blew up the 2^nd down run for no gain.  Not ready to roll over, the Freedom connected on a 16 yard pass play on 3^rd and 10, good for a first down.  They stayed in the air and gained 15 more yards on the next play, giving them 1^st and 10 on their 45 yard line.  Solid pressure from DL's Nancy O'Loughlin and Kelly Hebert and a hurry from Curtis resulted in an incomplete first down pass.  Much credit to Line Coach Jim Callahan and Assistant Coach Nuri Barlas for doing a great job coaching up the reserves to be able to hold the fort at this crucial juncture and allow the starters that chance to rest.  This trio, along with LB Toni Cann jamming the primary receiver at the line to disrupt their timing, led to two more incomplete passes.  On 4^th and 10, Manchester caught the D off guard with a 12 yard run for a first down.   Unflustered, NE kept the pressure as the Freedom tried passing again, with Curtis notching another hurry on first down, contributing to another incomplete pass.  DeLuca defended the 2^nd down attempt and Covelli the third with DE Giarrusso and Curtis hurrying the Manchester QB.  On 4^th down they tried to go the well once again with a run that Giarrusso sniffed out and stuffed after just 3 yards, resulting in yet another turnover on downs, effectively ending the game.

On the last series of the game, Gauthier gained 9 yards over three consecutive carries, setting up 4 and 1.  Dubey (who, along with Miechkowski spent the better part of the day demolishing potential tacklers as a lead blocker for Samuelson) then blasted forward for 5 yards and a first down, allowing the game to end with a final score 20-8, New England.

To Manchester's credit, they did move the ball through the air more effectively than the previous game (gaining over 160 yards passing in this contest, including a TD and 9 first downs).  What they were unable to do was slow down the New England rushing attack as the Intensity ran for almost 230 yards.  Other positive items of note for New England were the improvement in penalties (only three this game compared to eight last week?due in large part to Assistant Coach Anita Barnes' ability to marshal players into/out of the game), Richardson averaging over 35 yards per kickoff, the ?D" allowing only 2.3 yards per rushing attempt, and less than 5 yards surrendered per kickoff return.  The Intensity also improved it's turnover margin from the pervious week (it was minus 2 in that game). 

New England now sets its sights on in-state rival Holyoke Hurricanes, whom they beat in the season opener 34-0 and will lock horns with under the lights next Saturday night at 7pm in Holyoke.  You can bet the coaching staff will be spending the week sharpening the Itensity's edge for this next contest.