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Force Wed Jun 04 2008
Force Clinch Their Division
The Chicago Force clinched the division title in a 40-0 victory over the Clarksville Fox. From the recap:
The Force kicked off and established their defensive domination on Clarksville’s first possession. Crisp tackling by S, Linda Bache, DE, Amanda Malsch, and a crunching hit by LB, Darcy Leslie set the tone that the Fox had no answer for. The Force didn’t waste any time when they touched the ball for the first time at the Fox 42 yard line. RB sensation Melissa Smith, who the Fox defense found out in a hurry that one player can’t bring her down, ran the ball 4 straight times highlighted by a 28 yard sweeping run from the left side, that proved to be the winning score. Carolyn Lee whose been almost perfect since taking over the extra point duties two weeks ago, made the score 7-0. Lee followed with a kick off deep into Fox territory at their 10 yard line. Swarming defense by LB’s Jessica McPeake, Tricia Charbonneau, Leslie, and Bache, resulted in four and out. Smith, named game day MVP, ran the ball on three consecutive calls, and bulldozed her way through from 1 yard out for her second TD on the day. All told, Smith finished with 89 yards on 14 carries. Lee made the score 14-0 with just under 6 minutes to go in the first quarter.
QB, Sami Grisafe who seems to be finding her rhythm, made the score 20-0 when she made a great fake inside that froze the Fox defense. Allowing her to roll out right and hit a wide open TE, Kim Marks in the end zone. Bache named defensive game day MVP, got her first of two interceptions on the day, at the Force 28. Two big pass completions from Grisafe to WR, Brandi Srda of 30 and 21 yards, set up a beautiful 21 yard TD strike to WR, Albi Zhubi to make the score 28-0 at halftime. Fullback Bridget Fahrner got into the scoring column at 6:13 of the third after 4 straight runs of 9, 13, 5 and right up the middle from two yards out thanks to a good block by offensive tackle Keesha Brooks. The final tally of the game was one for the highlight reel. With 2:38 to go and the Fox pinned back in their zone McPeake despite a broken finger blocked the punt attempt at the three. Leslie picked it up and dove into the end zone to the delight of the screaming capacity home crowd. “I wasn’t thinking about the injury, explained McPeake. “I just try to go hard on every play. I was fortunate to get my hand on the ball.”
The Force play the last game of the regular season on June 14, taking on the Wisconsin Wolves. They hope to maintain their perfect record heading into the divisional playoffs. The IWFL championships will take place in Chicago at North Park University in July, which would give the Force home crowd advantage should they make it all the way.
