Intensity It's Own Worst Enemy in Loss at Montreal

MEDWAY, MA - The visiting New England Intensity of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) put forth a remarkable effort against the undefeated Montreal Blitz up until the final quarter when their numerous mistakes finally came back to haunt them.  Despite being down only 13-12 late in the third quarter?having successfully contained the well-balanced and explosive offense of the Division-leading and playoff-bound Blitz, and entering the fourth quarter down only 19-14, a series of consecutive errors led to outstanding field position for Montreal, all of which they capitalized on?as good teams do.   When the final whistle was blown, the scoreboard read 40-14, Montreal.  

Head Coach Bob Twitchell indicated before the game that the keys to winning were to contain the aggressive passing attack of Montreal and to keep mistakes to an absolute minimum.  Up to the last 35 seconds of the 3^rd, the Intensity Defense had held the Blitz to 12 for 21 passing and fewer the 140 yards with 2 sacks and one interception.  Perhaps more importantly was that their longest pass play had gone for only 18 yards.   Additionally, the Intensity had committed only two penalties through the first three quarters and had only one turnover (what proved to be a harmless interception thrown seconds before the end of the half).  But, things got ugly in the last 16 minutes or so .

The unsettled weather (torrential rain the night and morning before the game) gave way to hazy humid conditions at kickoff that were replaced by much cooler overcast by the middle of the second half.   Montreal won the toss and elected to receive.   Replacement kicker OL/DL Maia Goodall (K Michelle Hicks torn her shoulder muscle in the Manchester game two weeks ago, did not join the team in Montreal and may very well be on IR for the remainder of the season), kicked off and the outstanding coverage of Lisa Close and Tricia Donovan kept the return to a minimum.

Montreal began with the ball on their 46 yard line and wasted no time getting their well-oiled offense right into gear.  They shifted seamlessly between runs and passes, eating up ground in 6, 6, 17, and 5 yard chunks in the first four plays bringing them into the NE red zone.   Kate Miechkowski (2 solo and 4 assists for the game) and Jojo Gauthier (2 solo, 7 assists for the game) were very active in this opening drive.  On 4^th and 3, the Blitz attempted a run play that Game Day Co-MVPs Kelly Kraynak (2 solo, 13 assists?breaking her own single game franchise record of 12 in a game) and Captain Anita Barnes (4 solo, 7 assists) combined to stuff the rush well short of the first down.

New England took over at their 18 yard line with a revamped offense that would include a few running plays designed for DE Suzanne ?Swiss Miss' Dubey, a 5'10", 190 lb bruiser who would presumably require at least 2 or more players to bring her down.   They started off with several running plays in a row, mixing runs of 2 and 11 yards by Captain Steph Samuelson, with a 6 yarder by Dubey and a 5 yard run by Lisa Vincent.  A 9 yard run first down run to midfield by Samuelson was for naught as a holding call sent the ball 10 yards in the wrong direction.  This would prove a fatal blow for the opening drive for NE as they were unable to climb out of the hole dug by the penalty and would punt three plays later.   Of note, Gauthier, the replacement punter, did an admirable job for the day averaging about 30 yards per punt.

The Blitz began their second series on their 26.  Tough defensive play by the visitors and a holding call early in the drive forced them to a 3 and out (thanks largely to a huge tackle for loss on third and inches by Miechkowski and Goodall).  Even better, Swiss Miss blocked the punt and the Intensity would take over possession on the Montreal 31.

An impressive 8 yard rumble by Dubey, followed by a nifty 18 yard pass from Donovan to Samuelson brought New England to the 5 yard line.  Successive runs by Samuelson ended in the endzone (the first of 2 rushing TDs for her for the day as she continues to distance herself atop the all-time franchise record lists for rushing yards, rushing TDs, and points scored).   Of immediate importance was the fact the visitors drew first blood, capitalizing on the hard work of their defense and making Montreal pay by pulling ahead 6-0 in the closing minutes of the first quarter. 

The 2 pt conversion attempt (without Hicks) failed.

Not having the starting kicker took its toll on the Intensity, as, despite Goodall's best effort as a gamer and selfless and courageous competitor, she just has not practiced nor developed her kicking technique yet.  A short 20-yard kick that was returned for 11 yards gave the Blitz outstanding field position (the NE 44) to start the drive.

The home team took advantage of this golden opportunity to get on the board.  They would have struck paydirt on a pass play if not for a terrific effort by Samuelson and Gauthier running down the receiver and stopping her 5 yards short of the endzone after an 18 yard gain, giving the Blitz first and goal from the 5.  This played seemed to breath life into the defense that rose to the occasion on the next three plays, all incomplete passes, with the middle one a 13 yard loss courtesy of a sack by Kraynak.  All this effort seemed to be wasted as on fourth and goal from the 18, Montreal completed a TD pass to tie the score at 6.  Their XPA was good and they pulled ahead 7-6 barely one minute into the 2^nd quarter.

Montreal's kickoff was returned by Samuelson (60 KO return yards, 90 rushing yards on the day) to the 35.  New England would put together a 10-play drive that would forge ahead to the Montreal 36 before turning the ball over on downs, once again, to the host team.

The Blitz then put on an impressive display of offense as they alternated running and passing plays that brought them from their 36 to the NE 25.  It was at this point that the "D" stepped up again, despite staring across scrimmage at the frighteningly-efficient offense of their opponent that was first and ten only 25 yards from the endzone.  Three successive incomplete pass attempts (with another sack?this time by Miechkowski for a 9 yard loss, and a pass defended by Dubey) forced Montreal to punt.  Montreal's effort to coffin kick it failed as the punt went into the End Zone and the Intensity would start the ensuing possession on their 20.

Samuelson, behind good blocking, kept the chains moving on runs of 5, 8, and 4 yards.  With time running out in the half, Donovan took to the air . . . her pass on 3^rd and 6 was intercepted at midfield and would have been returned for a touchdown if not for a last-second tackle at the NE 10 yard line by Samuelson.  The half would end with the score 7-6, Montreal.

A short Montreal kick and respectable return by Samuelson gave New England the ball on their own 45.  This decent field position would not be well put to use as the Intensity could only muster an anemic three-and-out to start the 3^rd quarter.  With the opportunity to pin Montreal deep with the punt, NE hoped to get good coverage down field quickly, unfortunately, Montreal sprung for a 28 yard return to start their first offensive possession of the second half on the 47 yard line of New England.

The "D" of New England came up with another huge play . . . this time, on a first and ten pass attempt, Donovan?a true student of the game of football, who spends hours breaking down game film to learn other team's tendencies?sniffed out the play, made the interception, and returned the ball all the way to the Montreal 1 yard line.  Only a perfect pursuit angle and a 5 yard headstart by the Montreal tackler prevented a touchdown for NE on the play.

It was merely postponement of the inevitable as Samuelson plowed in on the first play for the go ahead touchdown to put New England up 12-7 (the Intensity was once again unable to tack on any points after the touchdown).

Kraynak made another solo special teams tackle after a short return, though the Blitz again were starting out first and ten on the New England side of the field after a kickoff. 

It was only a matter of time before the continuous good starting position of most of the Montreal drives would hurt NE.  8 plays later, despite a couple of tackles by Captain Jennifer Edwards and another pass defended by Lizz Vogel, the Blitz scored again.  Goodall, all 6' of her, drove through the heart of the Montreal line during the XPA, and extended herself just enough to block the attempt.  It was an amazing play to witness in person?nearly as amazing as her victory jig afterwards!!  The score now stood at 13-12 Montreal with the 3^rd frame about halfway complete.

A solid return by Samuelson, aided by an unintentional facemask called on Montreal gave New England the ball at midfield, hoping to respond with some more points of their own?after all, their offense had been moving fairly well to this point.   Montreal had clearly made some effective adjustments as Dubey, who had enjoyed significant success carrying the ball the first several times she touched it, was stuffed for a 4 yard loss on the first play of this drive.   Samuelson got those yards back on the next play, but Donovan was sacked on 3^rd down and the Intensity was forced to punt, thus squandering a decent opportunity to score.

Things went from bad to worse as the snap went over Gauthier's head forcing her to fall on the ball on the NE 21, where Montreal would take over first and ten.  A couple of plays into the drive, the home team found themselves first and goal from the 9.  The "D" looked like they might dig in just deep enough to prevent a touchdown as Bridget Cambria and Samuelson stopped them for a one yard loss.  Barnes and Kraynak stuffed Montreal for a short gain on 2^nd and goal, but the Blitz found the End Zone on a 3^rd down pass play to go ahead 19-12 with just over 34 seconds in the 3^rd.

In a very interesting and hotly contested XPA play, Bridget Cambria blocked the attempt that Vogel recovered deep in New England territory and began to return it.  The referee crew, having struggled with the differences of Canadian and American rules football all afternoon (though, to their credit, they always conferred with each other and corrected mistakes that they made), blew an erroneous whistle (two actually, one faint whistle soon after Vogel recovered the ball and one loud one several seconds after she picked it up) as to stop the play as dead.  Many players in the vicinity of Vogel started to stop on the first whistle and almost everyone stopped moving on the second whistle?except Vogel, who, at the insistence of her screaming coaching staff, continued all the way into the End Zone.

The end result of the play, after much vocal complaint from both sidelines about who should be punished for the ref's mistake [of the inadvertent whistle] was that New England was awarded 2 points.  The score was now 19-14.

While the receipt of these two points was a plus for NE, retrospectively, it seems to have been a turning point in the game, as Montreal, for the remainder of the game, really seemed to raise their play to a level the visitors were unable to match.  Instead, it seemed that the only thing the Intensity was able to increase was the frequency of their errors--which would prove disastrous.

A short kickoff by Montreal was returned for 9 yards by Stacey DeLuca to the New England 49.  Three plays into the drive, Montreal forced a fumble by Gauthier that they recovered on their 48.  The Blitz then struck for a 52 yard TD pass to go ahead 25-14.   The XPA was good and the score was 26-14 barely a minute into the 4^th.

The downward spiral continued on New England's next offensive play; a carry fumbled by Dubey and recovered by Montreal near midfield.   The Intensity defense was not ready to abandon ship just yet, hanging tough with a solo tackle for minimal gain by Vogel sandwiched between deflected pass attempts by Dubey and Kraynak.  This  brought about a punt attempt that Dubey blocked?cleary she was doing her damnedest to make up for her fumble!   Samuelson recovered the block on the Montreal 46, where the offense would take over down 12 with a lot of time left on the game clock.

Samuelson followed up the recovery with a 19 yard first round scamper to move the visitors inside the Montreal 30.  A short run and three incomplete passes later and another golden opportunity to score went by the wayside as Montreal took over on downs for a third time.

On 2^nd and 3 from their 34, Montreal's ball carrier was stuffed for a 4 yard loss by Kraynak and Miechkowski?indicative of a defense that still was playing to win.  That brought up 3^rd and long 70 yards from the New England End Zone . . . which happened to be the distance covered on the next play.  A well-executed touchdown pass (and subsequent good XPA) to run the score to 33-14 with about seven and a half minutes remaining in the game. 

The kickoff went, for the first time, to Donovan, who brought the ball back to the NE 45.  The Intensity offense, creating its own hardship, for a third time in the last four offensive drives committed a turnover.  This time an interception that brought Montreal's offense back out onto the pitch, up 17 points, with first and ten from the New England 35. 

Reserve OL/DL Pam Curits got in on the action, making a solo tackle and a tackle assist during the defensive series.  However, with such a good starting position, the Blitz were able to eventually punch in another touchdown, this one a 3 yard run, to cap off an 8-play drive.  The XPA was good and the score was now home team 40, visitors 14 just outside of the two minute warning.

New England's next (and final) offensive possession was highlighted by short running gains by Miechkowski, DeLuca and Andrea Covelli, as well as another false start penalty by PJ O'Brien.   The game would end with the final score remaining Blitz 40 - Intensity 14.

As alluded to earlier, the level of play exhibited by New England for the first 44 minutes of the game (characterized by minimal metal and physical errors) seemed to leave in a flash as the last 16 minutes of the game went, in summary, as follows:  Bad snap on a punt giving Montreal possession inside the NE 30?which they scored a TD on 6 plays later.  Fumble at midfield during their next drive, giving Montreal the ball back again?after which they scored on a 52 yard TD pass.  Another fumble recovered by Montreal near midfield, this one on the first play of the next offensive series?through great effort on the part of the defense, the Blitz were not able to score on this drive.   Turnover on downs after 5 plays by NE on their next possession. A 70 yd TD pass by the home team on the 3^rd play of their next possession.  A first-play interception by NE on their next offensive drive, giving the Blitz the ball on the New England 35, setting Montreal up for their 3^rd touchdown of the 4^th quarter.  And, on the final drive, a 5 play turnover on downs (the 4^th of the day for the Intensity offense).

Recalling Coach Twitchell's keys of the game?which they did so well for the first 44 minutes?to contain the passing attack of the Blitz and keep our own mistakes to a minimum, clearly NE fell short over the final 16 minutes as they allowed more passing yards and touchdown passes in the final 16 minutes than they did in the previous 44.  What's more, they also had a bad snap and three turnovers over the same period, all of which resulted in great field position for the home team that they turned into 21 of their 28 points during the final 16 minutes to go from being up 1 point (13-12) to winning by 26 (40-14). 

A true reflection on the solid character of the Intensity organization, Coach Twitchell and the Co-MVPs echoed the sentiment that the team, as a whole, played its best ball all year for the first three quarters and just lost focus (not effort nor desire) a few times down the stretch and Montreal, to their credit, took advantage.  Barnes and Kraynak went on to say that this loss, while tough, is behind the team now and all of their and their teammates' attention will go towards preparing for next week's game versus Southern Maine.  A game the Intensity must win to stay in the playoff hunt.

New England now finds themselves at .500 for the season (3-3) with two regular season games remaining.  One on the 7^th of June in Medway versus the Southern Maine Rebels whom they beat 38-6 to open the season, and the last one, on June 14^th, they host the Manchester Freedom, to whom they lost earlier this year in a similar game [to this Montreal game] where they were competitive for a majority of the contest but committed costly errors down the stretch the their opponent took advantage of.   With a [hopeful] Manchester loss versus the Tier 1 Baltimore Nighthawks on June 7^th (and a New England victory over Southern Maine), the 6/14 game would be a ?winner-goes-to-the-playoffs, loser-goes-home' scenario . . .