Cheetahs prey on Warriors

(GCFFA): Upsets, ties and stiffening competition from the underdogs best describes the current state of the Dart Women’s League under the Grand Cayman Flag Football Association. It began with a 6-6 tie after overtime between the number one ranked team, Hammerheads Lady Sharks and the seventh place team Lone Star JagerMonsters at the Camana Bay Field last Friday night. Defending champions, Lady Sharks found themselves in trouble on offense as quarterback Hong Nguyen managed completing only nine of 19 pass attempts, while getting sacked a total of nine times. Serena Yates, known mostly for her defensive ability with Lady Sharks, proved herself as an offensive player as well, leading her team with four catches including one in the end-zone gaining the lone score for Hammerheads.

Yates also saw some glory on defense as she sacked Lone Star’s quarterback one time. Meghan Boccaccio read JagerMonsters’ quarterback well, gaining three interceptions, and Judy Rivers followed with two interceptions. It was a quiet defensive game for Lady Sharks as Rivers led in tackles with a mere two.

Lone Star JagerMonsters nearly tasted victory against the top-rated team after struggling to win in recent games. Changing their game plan, Lone Star had Erica Bosch play quarterback for the entire game, and Bosch was able to complete seven of 17 passes, with five interceptions thrown.

Bosch’s favorite look on offense was Monique Roberts with five receptions. Her only pass to Nickey Martinich in the end-zone secured the one touchdown for the team. Roberts excelled in defense as well, sacking the Lady Sharks’ quarterback five times, followed by Marline Williams with three sacks and Laura Watler with one.  Renee Thompson and Tricia Miller had three tackles each, and Roberts and Williams each added two tackles to their defense.

On the next field, Androgroup Killa Panthers slipped by with a 19-12 win over Subway Stingers. Easing back into her regular quarterback position, Lisa Malice had a great game, completing 17 of 28 pass attempts. Alicia Dixon led the offense with six receptions, including one in the end-zone for a touchdown. Cassandra Bodden followed with five receptions including catches in the end-zone for a touchdown and extra points. Gillian Roffey slipped by two defensive players for a 50yard run to bring in the third touchdown for Androgroup Killa Panthers.

On defense, Suyen Coe and Jennifer Allen led with three tackles each. Stephanie Watler came through with one sack to Subway’s quarterback and Roffey added an interception to the game.

Subway Stingers stepped up their game this week, as quarterback Christina Pineda completed 14 of 23 pass attempts, and one interception thrown. Pineda spread the ball around but saw Joanne Remillard for four passes including one that was sprinted in 30 yards for a touchdown. Dionne Anglin was instrumental in bringing the ball up with three big catches down the middle and Keisha Anglin secured the second touchdown for Stingers with an easy dash into the end-zone.

It was a team effort on defense with Anna Nyaundi, Timisha Edwards, Keisha Anglin and Latoya Cover each getting three tackles. Nikki Ebanks also managed to sack Androgroup’s quarterbackone time.

Saturday morning’s game started off with underdogs Hot 104.1FM Cheetah’s shutting down Zulu Warriors 6-0. Quarterback for the Cheetahs, Jamesette Anglin, completed 11 of 21 pass attempts and ran in the ball to secure the only touchdown for the Cheetahs.   Leading the Cheetahs offense in receptions was Tonia Ebanks-McLaughlin with four catches, followed by Jessica Richards and Sophia Dilbert each with three catches. Ebanks-McLaughlin also took a turn at quarterback, completing one of three pass attempts.

Tracey Seymour was smoking on defense withten tackles and one interception. Anglin, Amanda Nelson and Ebanks-McLaughlin each had four tackles on defense, and Nelson came up with one interception and Anglin had two. Kara Rankine came up with two sacks to add to the team’s strong defense.

For the Zulu Warriors, quarterback Jessica Pawlik was able to connect with her receivers, but some mis-calculated throws that resulted in a series of interceptions halted any progress for the team. Pawlik managed to complete 19 of 32 pass attempts, with four interceptions thrown.

Leading the offense for Zulu was Shamar Ennis who had six catches, followed by Dionne Whittaker and Emily Vakauta with four receptions each. In the last few minutes of the game Zulu had a chance to score as they reached their opponents end-zone but Cheetahs’ defense was too strong to allow any touchdowns.

Adrianna Christian had her first stand-out game on defense, sacking the Cheetahs’ quarterback five times. Whittaker also stood out on defense with three tackles, followed by Hortencia Jackson, Janycee Parchment and Bianca Johnson with two tackles each. Johnson also sacked the quarterback two times, and Parchment came through with an interception.

The last game on Saturday morning saw the Burger King Wolverines continue their winning record after defeating Maples Bliss 12-0. Quarterback for the Wolverines, Antoinette Lewis, completed just eight of 17 pass attempts with two interceptions thrown. Jessica Ebanks also stepped up as quarterback with two unsuccessful pass attempts.

Benecia Thompson had the most looks on offense with four catches, followed by Alex Terry with two. Both players caught balls in the end-zone to contribute to the team’s score.
The Wolverines had a quiet game on defense as Maples didn’t do much to move the ball. Thompson, Saneata Smith and Carrie Barnett each had two tackles on defense, and Ebanks had one interception.

Not all the stats were recorded for Maples Bliss, but the team struggled against the Wolverines, with quarterback Ellenor Berry noted as completing just four of eight pass attempts with one interception thrown. Jessica Maxwell, Catherine Hines, Amber Watson and Marleena Smith each had a catch on offense.

On defense, Malaqui Awe and Dianerra Whittaker had two tackles each. Loletta Hanna and Somali Small each had an interception, but Maples weren’t able to stop the Burger King Wolverines from scoring.

This Friday night’s games start off with the Hot 104.1FM Cheetahs trying to keep their winning momentum as they face Maples Bliss at 8pm at the Camana Bay Field. On field 2 will be Zulu Warriors against Burger King Wolverines; the Warriors did beat the Wolverines earlier in the season and Friday night is the second time the teams face each other before playoffs. Saturday morning starts with the Lone Star JagerMonsters versus Androgroup Killa Panthers at 10am, followed by Hammerheads Lady Sharks against Subway Stingers.