Sunday Breakers Wrap - June 1, 2008

Last night the Southern California Breakers hosted the California Quake at the Capo Valley Field. The Quake brought a large cheering section and some new offensive plays. Although they were the opposing team, it was nice to see that they had so many fans. The fact that more people seem to be catching on to the excitement of the IWFL is really great. In fact, one fan told me that they were surprised that more people don’t come to games. I am devising plans of how to change that as we speak. Seriously, if you’ve never seen an IWFL game you are missing excellent sports action. This is a display of athleticism and teamwork that rivals any other league.

The Quake had the first possession of the game. On the first play, Suzanne Linn, LB (87) jumped offsides and was called for a personal foul. From an outside viewer’s perspective, there was no intention to cause any harm on Linn’s part but the referees saw it differently. This could have been due to the fact that the Quake player that she hit didn’t get back up right away. On the very next play, Hailey Hernandez, DL (99) intercepted the Quake and started the Breakers’ first drive. During this drive, Vanessa Santiallan, RB (28) carried for two first downs, Linn also carried for a first, and the Quake were called for jumping offsides. The Breakers were in sync and on a long drive. Unfortnately, this ended with an unsuccessful 4th down conversion attempt and the Quake took over on downs. On the resulting Quake possession, Amanda Garcia, LB (97) and Linn made key stops and forced the punt. Later in the first quarter, Priscilla Gardner DL, (43) and Tutu Armstrong LB, (53) chased down the Quake QB for a large loss and a sack.

The Quake’s Monique Zaky (RB/QB) posed a double threat to the Breakers as she not only ran efficiently but passed the ball for gains as well. The Quake were able to ride on her ability to victory 27-0. Although this was disappointing to the Breakers, they are the only team to hold the Quake to lower scoring games. With every other opponent, the Quake have been able to score an average of 44 points in a game. In the first meeting, the Breakers held the Quake to only 5 points. A key difference in this Quake victory was the use of the reverse on offense that they did not show in the first contest.

The Breakers have no shame in their game as players continue to improve and work together as a cohesive unit. Hernandez was able to pin the Quake back to their own 1-yard line with a very efficient punt. Lori Schnaider, QB (7) threw several exceptional passes and just gets better as the game progresses. Key plays were made by Brenda Cash, DB (40); Priscilla Gardner, OL/DL (43); Becky Leetch FB/LB (85); and Asia Salazar OL/DL (79).

Next up: The last home game is next week (June 7th) when the Breakers host the Las Vegas Showgirlz.