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<< Back to Gameday Recaps
June 11, 2005 ~ Against Tampa Bay
ATLANTA XPLOSION KO’S TAMPA BAY 49-0!
Saturday night, The Atlanta Xplosion Women’s Football team knocked out the Tampa Bay Terminators hopes of a wild card berth for the playoffs. With a win by the Southern Maine Rebels over the Bay State Warriors 8-0, and a loss to the Xplosion 49-0, the Terminators have lost their shot at the post season.
“Make no mistake about it, they’re a great team and probably much better then some of the other teams who will actually make the playoffs,” says Head Coach Phil Beniamino. “They’ve had a very tough schedule, I feel bad for them, but I’m glad we don’t have worry about playing them again.”
This was evident at the end of the first Quarter, which left the score knotted up 0-0. The rain was a huge factor as it began to downpour an hour before kick-off, and continued into the game. Despite the bad weather, the relentless defense for the Xplosion led by leading tackler #44 Carla “Smiley” Odom (11 tackles) and #2 Toni Fuller (10 tackles, one interception, and one sack) helped keep Tampa Bay off the scoreboard.
Hard hits and solid play led to three Terminators turnovers in the second quarter. The second turnover would be considered the biggest as the Terminators were driving inside the Xplosion’s 20-yard line, when a hard hit by Fuller led to a fumble, which was scooped up by #27 Cherie Collins (4 tackles, one fumble recovery) and returned to Tampa Bay’s 47 yard line.
Charmaine Chin #12, (14 carries for 124 yards, 1 TD) would carry the rock 37 of those yards until QB #11 Sue Cackowski would connect to #81 Dede Hutcherson, (2 catches for 95 yards and 2 TD’s) for the first time, and give the Xplosion a 6-0 lead. Jessalyn Martin’s #16 kick was good and the Xplosion’s lead was 7-0. After the ensuing kickoff, The Terminator’s QB dropped back to pass, but was sacked by #56 Kiwanni “KK” Gibson and fumbled the ball. Defensive linewomen #58 Dee “Hawaii” Ember snapped it up and the Xplosion Offense went back to work on the Terminators 44-yard line. It would only take one more play; a hook-up from QB Cackowski to #26 Takela “The Truck” Corbitt, (5 carries for 38 yards, 2 catches for 53 yards and 3 touchdowns) to make the score 13-0. The extra point was missed and the Xplosion went into the half with the lead.
The second half opened up with the Xplosion getting the kickoff and marching the ball 73 yards which was capped off by #12 Charmaine Chin’s 30-yard Touchdown run. The 2 point conversion was good by #83 Cheryl Luther and the Xplosion’s lead grew 21-0. The real story of the day however, was how the Xplosion’s defense shut down the leading passer in the league. Tampa Bay’s Quarterback #2 Kim Shaw, has thrown for over 1000 yards this year but wouldn’t add much to that this day.
“We knew she was going to go to the air,” stated Defensive Coordinator Coach Craig Couchoud. “Shaw is a tremendous athlete and we worked hard all week to prepare for her.”
The defense once again gave the ball to the offense and two plays later; QB Cackowski connected for the second time, to receiver Dede Hutcherson for an 85-yard Touchdown. Martin’s extra point was good and the Xplosion had control of the game 28-0.
The fourth quarter seemed much like the second. This time a hard hit by #27 Cherie “Re-Re” Collins led to #25 Stephanie “Lil-Bit” Thomas’ fumble recovery, which landed the offense the ball at Tampa Bay’s 9-yard line. Here, QB #14 Benita “Wild Thing” Bearden would connect with Takela “Truck” Corbitt for her second touchdown of the night. The 2 point conversion went to Captain #82 Angela “Def” Rowe and the Xplosion extended their lead to 36-0.
After great defensive play, the ball was turned over on downs back into the Xplosion’s hands at mid-field. The offense would drive the distance with “The Truck’s” 26-yard rumble for a 42-0 lead. The extra point again was good by Martin, and the score became 43-0.
Once again after the kickoff, the next Terminators play resulted in a fumble that was picked up by defensive linewomen #65 Dekeishia Porter, who scrambled the distance for her first career Touchdown making the final score 49-0.
The undefeated (9-0) Xplosion get a much needed rest this week before traveling to Chicago for their last regular season match up. No matter the outcome of the Chicago game, the Xplosion becomes the number 2 seed in playoffs. The Jacksonville Dixie Blues will most likely be the number three seed, which would make for a round three heavyweight match up of two great teams.
This first round of the playoffs will take place on July 9th at Campbell High School at 7:00 pm in Smyrna, Ga.
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