Cyclones No Match for the Gale Force of the Intensity

The New England Intensity Women’s Football team took their 2-1 record to Shelton, Connecticut on Saturday, August 19^th to square up with first-year team, Connecticut Cyclones. This game was the last in a series of three away games for the Intensity.

The Intensity drew first blood on the Cyclones by winning the coin toss and electing to receive. Game Captain and QB Val Halesworth marched the Intensity offense downfield in a well-executed drive and threw a 33-yard pass to TE Kate Slack for the first touchdown of the game. Kicker/ NG Sara “Smushy” Sermuksnis easily put the ball between the uprights for the extra point. Later in the first quarter, the Intensity struck again with a 14-yard touchdown reception by WR Tricia Donovan. Sermuksnis once again put up the extra point. The score was 14-0 Intensity at the end of the first quarter.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, Halesworth fired a 20-yard pass to Donovan for the Intensity’s third touchdown of the game. The 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, however, making the score 20-0, New England. The New England offense was able to get into the end zone one more time before the clock ran out on the first half. This time Halesworth handed off to RB Steph Samuelson for a 12-yard touchdown run. Another 2-point conversion attempt was squashed by the Connecticut Cyclones. The score was 26-0 Intensity at the half.

The third and fourth quarters were challenging for the Intensity offense as they became plagued by penalties and had difficulty maintaining a solid drive. The Connecticut defense capitalized on this breakdown sacking Halesworth 4 times and nearly intercepting the QB 3 times in the second half. The Cyclones also prevented the Intensity from scoring in the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, however, rookie QB Bridget Cambria stepped in to hand off to fellow rookie, RB Courtney Ellis, for what appeared to be a long touchdown run. Despite getting into the end zone, the officials ruled that Ellis’ knee was down at the 1 yard line. Maintaining their composure, the rookies Cambria and Ellis connected again, this time for a 1 yard touchdown run. Cambria then passed to Donovan for the 2 point conversion.

The Intensity defense remained a reliable force throughout the game with several players recording tackles (for a team total of 30), and two players, Game Captain and DE Vicky Eddy and LB Stacey Martin combining efforts on a sack. Kicker/ NG Sara Sermuksnis, LB Anita Barnes, DE Jennifer “Coco” Edwards, and DE Charlene Casey each recovered fumbles on defense for the Intensity. This game marks the Intensity’s third victory of 2006, all of them shut-outs.

The final score against Connecticut was 34-0.

Visit www.newenglandintensity.com for the Intensity’s 2006 schedule, news, photos, and more information on the WPFL.