Frantic Finish
The New York Sharks had been the Eastern Conference champions in the IWFL for the past 2 seasons. They won the national championship in 2002 but lost in 2003. 2004 was the year to re-take the title. On opening day in 2004, the Sharks were hosting the Atlanta Xplosion, a new team to the IWFL but a team with a winning history in other leagues.
The Xplosion joined the IWFL to show everyone that they could play with the big girls and what better team to show off than against the Sharks. The game started off with a bang as Atlanta's Angela Rowe returned the opening kick-off 78 yards for a touchdown.
The Sharks were able to tie the game later in the first quarter on some heads-up play by punt returner Lori DeVivio. On a very short punt by the Xplosion, the ball was rolling around their own 35-yard line. DeVivio noticed that no one had bothered to down the ball and were not near it. She scooped up the ball and raced down the left sideline for a touchdown to tie the game.
Atlanta quarterback Sue Cackowski had great success against the New York secondary with touchdown passes of 33 and 36 yards in the second and third quarters of the game. The Xplosion then extended the lead to 14 points with a 24-yard field goal by Kay Bateman with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
Things were definitely not looking bright for the home team as the offense had trouble getting untracked through most of the game so far. The Sharks' streak of 21 regular season game wins was at stake as the third quarter was drawing to a close. But things turned around rather suddenly as DeVivio intercepted an Atlanta pass and returned the ball to the Xplosion 49-yard line.
Sharks' quarterback Val Halesworth using quick short passes was now beginning to move the ball to the Atlanta red zone. Once they got to the 13-yard line, Missy Marmorale came into the game for the first time on offense at running back. She immediately brought energy to the running attack as she pounded away at the defense. Marmorale capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to bring the Sharks within 8 points with most of the fourth quarter still to play.
The Sharks were smelling blood and on Atlanta's next possession, Virginia "Cha Chi" Leon intercepted a pass for New York's third INT of the game. Mixing passing and running plays New York was able to score a touchdown to bring them within 2 points with 5:32 left to go in the game. So to tie the score the Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and made it on a Kathy Holloman run.
The Xplosion seemed to be getting rattled and on their next possession they fumbled the ball away. The Sharks recovered the ball on the Atlanta 42-yard line. Halesworth led the team again into the red zone and Marmorale blasted through the final 6 yards for a touchdown to give the Sharks their first lead of the game with 2:36 left to go.
The New York coaching staff was very much concerned about the Xplosion kick-off return as they were getting very good yardage, plus they did score on the opening kick-off. To combat this, the Sharks' braintrust gambled and went for an on-side kick. Atlanta recovered the ball on New York's 40-yard line. It was excellent field position but with time running out, the Sharks defense came on strong and stopped the Xplosion on 4 plays. The last play being a sack by Marmorale to clinch the Shark victory.
The Sharks have never been behind by 2 touchdowns before, let alone 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter. This dramatic comeback proved to be one of the most exciting games in Sharks' history. This was also the first game that the Sharks broadcasted live over the radio and on the Internet and it was a doozy.
For more game details read our gameday write-up.
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