In a city made famous by fast cars and hot engines it was the “red-line” of Fort Wayne that dominated Indianapolis in a 58 – 0 victory. Our O-Line exploded in the 2nd and 3rd quarters Saturday night against a much bigger Indianapolis Chaos defense to lead our offense to 46 points. Heather Anderson finished with 181 yards rushing and four TD’s. The game started a little rocky for the offense as Indy used three first quarter turnovers to turn us away. The Flash defense made sure any momentum for the Chaos was short lived. Our front four made life miserable for the Chaos all night, finishing with 30 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 blocked punts and three fumble recoveries. Rzasa, Meeks, Davis, Wright and Brand were instrumental in holding the Chaos to a negative 13 yards rushing. Other highlights included a 68 yard kick return for TD by Regina Powers and a 53 yard catch and run by Tessa Pernsteiner from Kate Macke for the game’s final score.
Next up is the Cleveland Fusion this Saturday. The Fusion come into Bishop D’Arcy Stadium tied for first in their division with a 2 – 1 record. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams and we know we have our hands full with the perennial powerhouse Fusion. Cleveland’s offense goes through the arm and feet of their athletic QB, Peru Barber. When we are on offense, we must take care of the three R’s – LB’s Ross, Rucker and Ryba if we’re to have any success. This should be another great game for our fans to enjoy. Kick-off is at 4:00pm.
A GAME OF INCHES
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A two point conversion attempt in overtime for the win and the Flash home debut at Bishop D’Arcy stadium were thwarted by the West Michigan Mayhem Saturday afternoon. The Mayhem escaped Fort Wayne with a hard fought 7 – 6 victory. One day, I envision a high scoring battle between the two teams, but for now, fans get to enjoy two defensive teams with a lot of pride and a lot of fight. Playing in the shadow of our own goal post for three quarters, the Flash defense kept the Mayhem offense from finding paydirt. A third quarter drive down inside our 10 yard line ended with the Flash blocking a potential game winning field goal attempt.
The Flash offense found little wiggle room until late in the game. Field position and momentum finally favored us after a Heidi Wright 45 yd punt in the fourth quarter. The offense started finding holes in the Mayhem wall and moved the ball down to the 17 yd line. With the game clock winding down in regulation a completed 4th down pass attempt came up short of the first down.
The Mayhem started on offense in the overtime period and Jennifer Plummer scored on a run around the right side. A successful PAT and the Flash found themselves down 7 – 0. On third and 14, Laura Kerr hooked up with Tara Marble in same corner and the Flash was within one point of tying the game. I decided we had the momentum and wanted to finish the game right there. A quick pitch, a fumble, a mad scramble, a recovery and an unpilng of bodies resulted in a couple inches shy of the winning score.
It was a thrilling finish to a brutal game. Both teams took and gave their share of bumps bruises. We have a bye week to rest up and get healthy before we get back to divisional play. May 10th the Flash travel to Indy to take on intrastate rival, Indianapolis Chaos. The defense will get tested again by #42, Angelique Farman. Farman is a threat running, passing and returning kicks. The Chaos also boasts plenty of size up front on both lines. This should be another great game. Kick-off is set for 7:00pm at Arlington H.S. on the NE side.
Coach Scott
A SPECIAL Night
Monday, April 21, 2008
Your Fort Wayne Flash opened the 2008 season with a convincing 59 – 0 victory over the Dayton Diamonds on Saturday night. The score reflects a dominating performance by the offense and defense but it was the Flash Special Teams that deserve most of the credit. Stacie Lancaster returned the opening kick off 75 yards for a touchdown and put an exclamation point on the start of our second season. The offense’s average starting position was Dayton’s 27 yd line, thanks to attacking defense and a great job by our punt return / block team.
QB, Laura Kerr directed the offense to 37 first half points on 3 – 5 passing and two TD passes (Bethany Harrison, Regina Powers). Tara Marble led the offense in rushing with 83 yards on just five carries. In all, six different players scored TD’s on the night. Not that we needed anymore scores after the first 15 seconds of the game. The Flash Defense picked up where it left off last season, holding the Diamonds to negative totals on offense. Diamond QB, Miranda Carpenter was harassed all game by the pass rush. The Flash defense finished with an impressive 13 sacks, Heidi Wright and Trish Morgan had 5 and 2 ½ respectively. The same two players also led the team in tackles with 8 each. Tessa Pernsteiner had an interception for the Flash.
Things get a whole lot tougher this week as we prepare to host the West Michigan Mayhem in our home opener. The Mayhem, led by “all world” runningback & linebacker, Jennifer Plummer come into Fort Wayne boasting 4 straight seasons of playoff appearances and 3 straight divisional titles. Last season, the Mayhem accounted for half of our losses. This will be a great challenge and we hope, a great game for the fans to come out and cheer us on.
Coach Scott
2008 Season Preview
Monday, April 7, 2008
Get ready for an exciting season Flash Fans. Your team has been preparing very hard for their second year and I am very pleased at their progress. We return intact nearly all of our veterans from last season. Our leading rusher, Heather Anderson has had a great camp and looks to improve on her rookie numbers. Joining her in the backfield are playmakers, Tara Marble, Keitra Duff and newcomer Tessa Pernsteiner. Laura Kerr, playing QB this season for the first time has been working hard with our receivers led by Jill Gemmer and Bethany Harrison. Jennifer Heffernan leads our veteran “Big Girls” up front on the offensive line.
Defensively, Heidi Wright and Cindy Meeks should be causing havoc up front for our opponents. Linebackers Trish “Crunch” Morgan and Pernsteiner will be fighting for scraps that get through. Enforcing our NO PASSING zone on defense are second year players Kim Raupfer and Alica Adam. We are looking for Regina Powers and Stacie Lancaster to provide some sparks in our return game this year.
Most of my coaches are back for another season, Tim Selvia returns as Def. Coordinator. Joining him on defense are Jason Fisher (DB’s and Special Teams) and new to the staff, Chad Heffernan (DL). Jason also pulls duty on offense working with our receivers and finishing out the staff is Sam Beachy (OL). I am very lucky to be working with such great teachers.
We still have plenty of new surprises in store for our fans this season starting with our home field. The Flash will be playing all of our home games at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium on the campus of St. Francis University. The team is pumped about this great opportunity and we hope our fans will enjoy the premier facility in our league. Also new this year is our division and schedule. We play in the Mid-Western Division with new foes the Dayton Diamonds and the Indianapolis Chaos. Dayton is a great regional rivalry for us, and it is wonderful to begin a new in-state rivalry with Indy. I’m sure this will be a big game for the whole Fort Wayne community. We probably have the two toughest teams in the Northern Conference for our out of division games. First is a renewal of a rivalry that began last season with the West Michigan Mayhem. Our second out of division opponent is the Cleveland Fusion. Fort Wayne, you have the chance to see some of the best football our league provides this season. So come out and support the Flash and enjoy the show.
Coach Scott
2007 Season in Review
Friday, 29 June 2007
The 2007 Fort Wayne Flash set new standards for NWFA expansion teams and can be proud of their many accomplishments. While the three other new teams in the league this season floundered, flopped and folded their way to a combined 1 – 15 record, the Flash finished with a respectable 4 wins and 4 losses. Since the 2004 season only one of the 16 new teams has finished as high as Fort Wayne. The Flash competed for a Northern Conference playoff spot until the final week of the season. They finished second in the West Division.
Offensively, the Flash were able to accumulate 113 points for the season – the second highest total for the 16 newest teams. A rookie offensive line and a rotating group of veteran fullbacks paved the way for Heather Anderson’s 929 yards rushing. She finished with the 6th highest total in the NWFA. She was one of only two backs in the top ten not to have been on a playoff team.
Defensively, the Flash finished as the league’s 9th best defensive unit giving up a very stingy 79 points for the whole year. The entire unit deserves praise as 25 different defenders registered tackles, 8 players had at least one interception and four defenders recorded QB sacks. In five of our eight games this year the defense did not allow the opposing offense into the endzone. This is a remarkable feat and a goal the Flash defense wants to surpass next season.
Coach Scott
Team Update, June 12th
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
The Flash left Milwaukee Saturday night with a 22-0 victory over the Momentum. Things looked great from the start as H took the handoff on the very first play and scampered 64 yards to give us a quick 6-0 lead. Our offense bogged down the rest of the half and the scored remained the same at the intermission. Luckily our defense arrived in an angry mood and played "nasty" all night. Milwaukee was held to 62 yards of total offense and committed two turnovers. The offensive line comprised of Jen Heffernan, Cathy Karney, Deb Taylor, Amber Beck, Cheryl Wade, Mo Hartle, Kellie Bennett and Bethany Harrison woke up during halftime and started taking control of the Milwaukee front seven. Tara Marble took advantage of these holes early in the third quarter to jumpstart our offense with some exciting runs. H continued pounding through as well to finish with 168 yards on the ground. Stacey Lancaster provided some sparks with a 27 yard effort on a reverse and a nifty 19 yard punt return to set up a score. The defense continued it's dominance with QB sacks by Geiger, Bennett and Wright.
Don't miss our season's final game this Saturday at Homestead High School. Kick-off is at 7:00 as we play host to the Ann Arbor Spitfire. We escaped Ann Arbor last month with a hard fought 16-14 victory and expect another great game this week. We have a lot to play for as both teams are trying to capture the 2nd place spot in our division. The Flash have a chance to finish at .500 and take a two game win streak into our second season. You better believe we will be motivated. We have some special things planned for halftime and after the game you can come and party with your favorite players for our season ending social at Flannigans. Information will be available at the game. Go Flash!
Coach Scott
Team Update, May 18th
Friday, 18 May 2007
Flash Fans,
Much has taken place since my last post, your favorite team has been busy. the Flash stands at 2 - 2 at the midway point of the season. We escaped Ann Arbor last weekend with a thrilling 16 – 14 victory over the Spitfire. Our defense played very well, limiting the Spitfire to under 40 yards of total offense and adding a safety on a Gerrie Brand tackle for loss. Offensively, we played good at times with seven ball carriers getting positive yards, led by Heather Anderson’s 143 yards and two TD’s. Our offense did make some critical errors resulting in two scores for the Spitfire defense and four turnovers. Rookie QB, Deann Booth had a rough beginning to her first start, but stayed confident and showed poise and promise as the game wore on. We know we have to play harder and smarter this week to compete in Kalamazoo.
This Saturday will be our first rematch of the season as we travel to the home of the West Michigan Mayhem. The Mayhem won our first game 6 – 0 in Anchorage, Alaska. Playing opponents for the Mayhem’s caliber always presents tough challenges. Offensively, they have several weapons to attack us. Cat Converse is “hot” coming off a 248 yard rushing performance. Jennifer “JP” Plummer adds a physical inside running threat. WM’s QB, Jan Johnson has shown the ability to make big plays in the passing game and she has a talented group of receivers to throw to, including speedster, Jodi Howe.
Finding holes in the Mayhem defensive front can be difficult. Led by DT, Bunny Claxton and LP, JP, the Mayhem defense takes pride in shutting down opponents. A solid secondary including savvy veteran, Yvette Carriere adds to an offense’s frustrations.
The team is still learning to navigate through a complete season in the NWFA and we have shown steady improvement. We are ready compete hard the second half of the season. Go Flash!
Coach Scott
Welcome To The ('07) Inaugural Season
Tuesday, 06 March 2007
Flash Fans,
Welcome to the inaugural season of your Fort Wayne Flash Women’s Football Team. The team has been working hard to represent our area in the National Women’s Football Association. We know Fort Wayne’s tradition in football, from high school, college, semi-pro to indoor; Fort Wayne is synonymous with football excellence. Despite being from one of the smallest markets in the NWFA, our goal is to have our program recognized as one the nation’s best.
49 players have survived the grueling winter workouts and practices. Individual battles for starting positions won’t be settled until our opener on April 14th. Key returnees from last year’s exhibition season include Heather Anderson (TB), Stacie Lancaster and Jill Gemmer (WR), Bethany Harrison (TE), Jennifer Heffernan, Deb Taylor, and Kathy Karney (OL). Returning playmakers on defense include; Heidi Wright, Cindy Meeks (DL), Kim Pais, Heather Budenz and Keitra Duff (DB).
In addition to the rest of our returning players, the Flash has been joined by an outstanding group of rookies and seven veteran players from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Keep your eye on Laura Kerr, Amy Geiger (LB), Gerrie Brand, Kelly Bennett (DL), and Tara Marble (FB). All of our veterans bring great intensity and work ethic to practices. The rest of the team is elevating their play to match them.
Our fans should be treated to some great football this season. Home games against our divisional opponents Milwaukee and Treetown (Ann Arbor, MI) should be great contests. Our home opener against divisional champion West Michigan promises to be one of our toughest games. We play a home and away against out of division opponent – Columbus Comets this season as well. Columbus, like WM, is one of the top returning teams in the league.
All of our fans can get a sneak peek at your favorite team on March 31st when we welcome Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati for a scrimmage at Homestead High School. Scrimmage begins at 1:00pm.
Coach Scott