Pittsburgh Passion Game 7

Saturday June 6, 2009
Benjamin Johnston Memorial Stadium
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh Passion v. Philadelphia Firebirds
Final score: 53-0

Moving in retrograde, the Pittsburgh Passion traveled left to right to take on the Philadelphia Firebirds in the City of Brotherly Love. I like Philadelphia, the city. How could I not? It houses the best museum in the world!
The Passion are closing out their regular season schedule on the road, and first up was a stop just this side of Camden, New Jersey.
The Passion won the coin toss and elected to receive. Jenine Suprano fielded the ball and then handed it off to a racing Shawna Rouse who ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown. Only problem was there was a holding call on the run back, so the Passion were backed up to their own 41 yard line. Under Horton the offense moved progressively down the field, culminating in a 15 yard TD dash by Amanda Haeg. Regular kicker Lauren Bracco didn't make the trip, so back up kicker Autumn Dillaman was pressed into duty, missing the PAT. Passion led 6-0.
On the Passions next possession they took over on their own 16 yard line. Horton threw a razor sharp dart to Jenine Suprano who then romped the remaining field for an 84 yard touchdown pass play! Dillaman's PAT good this time, Passion up 13-0.
The Firebirds drove the ball down the field on their next ups, ultimately stalling out at the Passion 28 when the defense turned stingy. Passion took over on downs. Horton orchestrated another drive toward the opposing endzone, resulting in a 12 yard TD pass to tight end Autumn Dillaman, who then missed the PAT. Passion 19-0.
After defensive back Sharon Vasquez picked off the Firebirds QB, the Passion took over on the Philadelphia 24. Janice Masters replaced regular QB starter Lisa Horton and promptly set about the task of engineering her own scoring drive. Three running plays and two incomplete passes late, Masters hooked up with Jen Moody for an 8 yard touchdown toss. Kick good, Passion ahead 26-0.
Once more the Passion defense holds, and after a punt and hefty run back, the Passion set up shop on the Firebirds' 29 yard line. Three running plays later Masters throws a 13 yard TD strike to Kate Sullivan. PAT good, Passion 33-0.
End of First Half
To open the 3rd Quarter the Firebirds mishandled the kick off and ended up on their own 8 yard line. Then, retaining possession of a fumble and a loss of seven yards, they were backed up on their own goal line when they were forced to punt. A short punt followed, fielded by upman blocker and defensive stand out linebacker, Trumane Rogers, who ran the punt back unmolested for an 18 yard touchdown!
Missed point after, Passion 39-0.
Later TDs were also tallied by fullback Lori Burkholder and fellow running back Emily Marek for a game ending score of 53-0. Another impressive outing for the Passion! Great defensive night for Rogers and Vasquez, with Beth Amato once again proving steady.
The Passion have improved their regular season record to 6-1, trailing only the DC Divas (7-0) in the IWFL Mid-Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. We're in a sweet position to win a wildcard play-off berth and we can seal the deal next week with a win at New York against the always tough Sharks.
You can listen to Pittsburgh Passion games, either home or away here.
The Divas are intimidating, and handed us our solitary loss this year, but I'd like the chance to avenge that loss in the post season!

Pittsburgh Passion Game 6

May 30, 2009, Saturday 7pm, Wexford, PA, Newman Stadium
Pittsburgh Passion versus Connecticut Crushers
The firmament was naught but a sea of crystalline cerulean as the gridiron warriors suited up to wage unrestrained battle. For one team this would prove to be a field of dreams, and for the other a lea of boundless sorrows. Who might emerge the victor? Vanquishing their foe with merciless ferocity? Only time and fate could dictate that eternal mystery.
The Passion won the coin toss and elected to receive. The gathered throng waited in baited anticipation as the cruelly spike booted kicker unleashed a torrent of fury and menace upon the unsuspecting ball!
OK, enough of the over blown prose. I don't think that I can sustain it anyway. Not while watching tv while I write this.
After the kickoff Lisa Horton and the Passion took over play at their own 47yd line. On the first play from scrimmage Jen Hoffman scampered for 42 yrds to the Connecticut 11. Definitely this was a harbinger of things to come as on third and five QB Lisa Horton tossed a TD pass to #1 Wilma Walton in the endzone. At 13:22 of the 1st Quarter passion went up 7-0 and never, ever looked back.
The most exciting play of the night, in a night of various exciting plays, came about on the Passion's second possession. On the first play after the punt, Horton handed off to Haeg, who pitched the ball back to Horton and threw a zipline pass to Suprano racing down the right side of the field for a 60 yd TD. Classic hook and ladder play executed to perfection! I was jumping around so wildly that I almost lost my pen. At 11:48 of the 1st Quarter Passion up 14-0.
Other scores: Bracco 9 yd TD run at 8:05 of the 1st Quarter, missed extra point, 20-0
71 yd TD run by Amanda Haeg at 3:18 of the 1st Quarter, 27-0
14 yd TD QB keeper run Lisa Horton, 1:26 of the 1st Quarter, 34-0
81 yd TD pass from Horton to Lori Johnsom, 9:21 of the 2nd Quarter, 41-0
82 yd TD pass from Horton to Lori Johnsom, 0:40 of the 2nd Quarter, 48-0
Brevard picks off Connecticut with two seconds left and Horton takes a knee to end the half.
The second half saw four more unanswered TDs being tallied by the passion for a final score of 76-0. Honestly, I've never witnessed a game like this, on any level. Anyone who thinks that Horton is not the best QB in the league has never seen this woman throw a ball. Even with a bum knee she throws the ball like a laser, down field, waaaaaaay down field, almost unfailingly hitting her chosen receiver in stride. I know that too much of the attention usually gets paid to the QB, so allow me to recognize Lori Johnson, Wilma Walton, Amanda Haeg and Jenine Suprano on offense who all deserve special kudos for jobs well done. Great game!
On the defensive side stellar games were had by Michelle Brevard, Jo Jo Warner, and Peru Barber. They held the Crushers scoreless despite being on the field for extended periods of time.
This wraps up the regular season home games for the Pittsburgh Passion. They take on the Philadelphia Firebirds on June 6 and the New York Sharks on June 13, both away games. After that we'll hopefully be going to the playoffs. MK and I will be there!

Pittsburgh Passion game 2

April 25, 2009
Newman Stadium, Wexford, PA
Pittsburgh Passion v. Baltimore Nighthawks
Final score: Pittsburgh 49, Baltimore 0.
I don't know what happened in the second half because we left at halftime. What? The score was 35-0 and we wanted to get home and watch 'Vicki Christina Barcelona' that netflix had kindly sent us.
Amanda Haeg, seen here, scored at least two touchdowns. Oddly, there's no game recap up yet at the official Passions website. Not even a tiny box score. Forget about any other sort of coverage of the game because all of the print media in town ignores them. I should take a notebook with me and just jot down highlights so that my posts about the games don't seem so pointless. In this game it seemed like almost every play had some sort of highlight as we dominated Baltimore completely on both sides of the ball. MK was taking pictures, and she did use a monopod this time so they're less shaky. She's improving week by week, I think :)
Next up: Away game at the undefeated DC Divas. Should be a tough game, but I'm betting that the defense will step up. Jo Jo Warner is just a phenomenal linebacker with tremendous instincts, anticipating plays, getting into the backfield to sack the QB or stuff a run. She's a lot of fun to watch, and hopefully Saturday night she'll have a big game for us! I don't worry too much about our offense. Lisa Horton is the best QB in women's football. She throws the ball like it's on a zip-line.
Good luck defeating DC!