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July 12, 2008

Force Football - Chicago Force Wins the Eastern Conference Championship

Force fullback Bridget Fahrner holds her Offensive MVP award after the game.

Assistant Coach John Konecki flashes a thumbs up for the camera

Boots wants us to post more pictures of him

It is clear to me that the two-point conversion is going to be a very important part of the IWFL championship game on July 26. This is because for the second game in a row, the Chicago Force won 8 to 7, which is exactly the difference between an extra point kick and a two-point conversion. The Force is now officially the 2007 Eastern Conference championship team, and they will be playing against the Dallas Diamonds for all the marbles.

Yesterday's playoff game was against the Pittsburgh Passion The Passion is new to the IWFL. Last year, they won the championship in the National Women's Football Assocation. Like the Force, they have a large number of players. Prior to yesterday, the franchise had 21 wins and no losses.

Both teams had done their homework coming into the game. The Force's plan was to have the defense put pressure on quarterback Lisa Horton, denying the Passion their passing game. The Passon's plan was to pressure Force linebacker Pam Schaffrath so she couldn't get to their quarterback. It is true that during the regular season Schaffrath made an extraordinary number of stops; however, the flaw in the Passion's master plan is that if you send your line against Schaffrath you don't have anyone covering Linda Bache, who had an absolutely fantastic game, including another interception (her sixth this year), a recovered fumble, and a whole lot of hard stops.

There were a lot of penalties in the game. Early on, the penalties were mostly against the Passion, but in the second quarter, the Passion began to make progress running the ball and scored a touchdown. After that, the penalties seemed to go in the other direction.

It was after that first touchdown that the Passion made a critical mistake. Normal policy after a touchdown is to kick for an extra point, but you have the option to go for two points by carrying the ball into the end zone-- the legendary two-point conversion. Most teams don't do that, because the kick is almost guaranteed, while the conversion has an even chance of failing.

The thing is, if you make a touchdown against the Force and kick for an extra point, the next time they score, they're going to go for the conversion, and they're probably going to make it. This happened during the first-round playoff against the Detroit Demolition. The Passion, however, did not take this possibility into consideration and kicked for the extra point. The score remained 7 to 0 for the Passion until the fourth quarter.

The tide turned when Force quarterback Samantha Grisafe threw a long pass to rookie Albiona Zhubi, who was immediately tackled by Passion linebacker Jen Dulski. (As often happens after a hit by Dulski, Zhubi had trouble getting back up.) Fortunately, however, the pass was complete and the Force had a first down 38 yards from the goal. Grisafe carried the ball for four yards, making it 2nd and 6 on the 34. Grisafe threw the ball to Force veteran Angie Bandstra who ran it into the end zone for a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty. It was now 2nd and 21. The next play was an incomplete pass, but the next one (to Force rookie Patricia Harper) worked, and the Force had a 4th down with 1 to go. The Force continued running the ball and passing, gaining a few yards here, taking another penalty there, until a run by Force running back Melissa Smith put the ball on on the 1-yard line. Grisafe ran the ball into the end zone, and the Force had its touchdown. A two-point conversion followed, making the score 8 to 7 Force. There were 4 minutes and 9 seconds left in the game.

The Passion tried to make another touchdown, but they eventually fumbled the ball to Linda Bache, and now the Force had the ball. After four downs and a punt, the Passion got the ball again on their own 31 yard line. With 36 seconds left, they threw a pass that was intercepted by Force defensive line player Theresa Simon. The game was over and the Force were officially the Eastern Conference champions.

The league championship will be Saturday, July 26, here in Chicago at Holmgren Field. Tickets and information can be obtained here. This is a chance to see a Chicago team competing for a championship here in Chicago, which is not something that happens very often, so if you're going to be in the area, order your tickets now.

The Force will be playing against the Dallas Diamonds. Like the Passion, the Diamonds are new to the IWFL, having previously played in the Women's Professional Football League. The Diamonds won three championships in the WPFL (2004, 2005, and 2006), In 2007, they failed to make the playoffs. The switch to the IWFL, however, enticed several veteran Diamonds out of retirement (including starting quarterback Karen Seimears), and this season they are undefeated. They will be going into the championship game expecting to win.

If they're smart, they'll start practicing two-point conversions.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat

# At Sat 10:53 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (1) | More Force Football | Tags: Albiona Zhubi championship Chicago Force Dallas Diamonds Detroit Demolition feminism football Jennifer Dulski Linda Bache Lisa Horton Melissa Smith Pam Schaffrath Patricia Harper Pittsburgh Passion Sam Grisafe sports Theresa Simon women

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Posted by: Suldog at July 16, 2008 11:45 AM