Toledo Reign Team News
Reign Rule, Carolina Queens Crumble
By: Dave Herndon
Originally Thee Toledo Reign was supposed to play the Northern Ice, but the franchise decided to take a year off to regroup. The game was rescheduled to be against the Georgia Gladiators, but that team folded. Finally, the WPFL got the Carolina Queens to come to town.
After the game Carolina was wishing it hadn't agreed to the game, when they fell 56-0. The score could have been much worse, but the teams agreed to a running clock for the second half, after more than an hour and a half lightning delay.
Toledo won the coin toss, elected to receive and quickly scored the first points of the game. Just 1:21 seconds into the game Stacy Alkula busted through the line for a 17-yard scoring run. The PAT was blocked, but Toledo lead 6-0.
Toledo regained possession quickly when Turquoise Perry fumbled the kick-off. Kandi Kill quickly monopolized the turnover scoring on a seven yard run; then she took in the 2-point conversion for the 14-0 lead with 12:14 left in the opening quarter.
The Reign weren't finished yet though. With just over two minutes to go in the first Angie Maddox brought down Mia Nance, the Carolina quarterback, for a safety. Then to close out the scoring in the quarter Natasha Hall took in her only touchdown of the day from five yards out, as time expired on the clock. The conversion attempt fell incomplete but Toledo still lead 22-0.
Kill scored her second touchdown of the day when Maranda Carpenter threw a line-drive pass from the 29-yard line with 6:16 remaining in the half. Toledo now led 28-0. Less than a minute later it was Kill again that put the dagger in the coffin scoring her third touchdown of the day, this time from 36-yards out. That made the halftime margin 34-0 in favor of the home team.
Halftime began with a performance from the Bedford Martial Arts Academy, and ended an hour and a half later, after a lengthy rain delay. During this time the majority of the fans hid out in the concession areas and under the bleachers, hoping to catch the end of the game.
"We used the time to talk about strategy and to go over the game plan," said Reign head coach Mitchi Collette. "My girls stayed loose in the locker room and were ready to go when we got the word."
The third quarter saw just a single score; again from Kandi Kill. This time from 13-yards out. Natasha Hall put in the 2-point conversion. Throughout the quarter both teams played sloppily, with numerous slips and fumbles due to the conditions on the field.
Lynne Venable started out the fourth quarter scoring. She blocked Kat Farrenkoph's kick, picked up the ball and ran in to the endzone from 20-yards out. Five and a half minutes later Kandi Kill scored her fourth rushing touchdown, and fifth total on the day to put the final margin of 56-0 on the board.
"We really wanted this game," said defensive captain Angie Maddox. "We weren't able to prepare much for them, because we didn't find out we were going to play them until much later than we would have liked. We just went out and played football. It proved that we were just the better team."
"I'm very proud of my team tonight," coach Collette said. "This was an important game for us, especially after the heartbreaking loss last week."
Kandi Kill had 21 carries for 257 yards to lead The Reign's offensive attack. She scored four rushing touchdown's and caught another. Stacy Alkula also had a rushing touchdown to go with her 51 rushing and 31 receiving yards. Erin Socks and Chris Wolcott helped to lead the defense with seven and five tackles respectively. Heather Swinehart had to sacks and Jodi Fruchey had an interception. Carolina was lead by Darekia Slade and Tonya Monroe on the ground, each had five rushing yards. Mia Nance completed just two passes for 45 yards through the air. Jennifer Dillard was tops in the game with 12 tackles.
Toledo was penalized just once for 15 yards while Carolina had 13 penalties totaling 132 yards. Toledo had 381 yards on the ground and 412 yards of offense. Carolina was held to negative 19 yards on the ground and totaled just 26 yards of offense for the game.
Next week these same two teams will be on the field against each other again, this time in Raleigh, North Carolina. It will be the first excursion from Bedford Community Stadium this season for the Reign.
"Next week will be an entirely different game. They'll have the home field, and the home fans. It'll be a good game," coach Collette said.
Successful Dodgeball Tournament
Thee Toledo Reign held its first annual Sand Dodgeball tournament on Sunday, August 7 th. Players, fans, parents, kids, and TV crews all came out to enjoy the beautiful weather and to have some fun in the sand. Ten teams and over seventy participants competed in the double elimination tournament, ranging in age from 7 to 45. The tournament was won by “The Loudmouths” team, with “Thee Shockers” coming in second. The trophies will be presented at the Toledo Reign football game on September 13, 2005. Special thanks to the City of Toledo and Thee Toledo Reign players and staff for all of your hard work in making this a successful tournament!
For more information on Thee Toledo Reign –Women’s Professional Football Team, please contact:
Beth Razzoog at 419-654-5799
Vixen triumph over Reign in final seconds.
By: Dave Herndon
Thee Toledo Reign appeared to be on their way to a hard fought victory before being toppled in the final minute by the Minnesota Vixen.
Minnesota struck first when Sherry Levasseur scampered into the end zone from six yards out. This put the score at 7-0.
Minnesota seemed to be physically dominating the game to that point. The game turned when Lori Welling recovered a fumble with 2:05 left in the first quarter. On the next play Kandi Kill punched the ball into the end zone from 26-yards out. The PAT failed and Toledo trailed 7-6, but had regained their confidence.
With time running out in the half Kill busted a 40-yard run, being forced out of bounds near the 20-yard line. Two plays later Maranda Carpenter threw a strike to Chris Wolcott for an 18-yard TD pass. The 2-point conversion was successful, putting the Reign up 14-7 with twenty seconds remaining in the half.
The Reign received the ball to start the second half, and drove the field to put in another score. The drive culminated in a 9-yard scoring run by Kill. Stacy Alkula put in the 2-pt conversion to put the Reign up 22-7 with 12:03 to go in the half. But the Reign wouldn’t score again.
The Reign continued to do everything possible to keep the Vixen off the score board continually backing them up and keeping them under pressure. When the Vixen did almost score Leslie Keane picked off the pass and returned in 25-yards.
With 3:01 left in the game Kristen May flattened the Minnesota quarter-back to seemingly end the drive. But on fourth down Minnesota scored to bring themselves to within one point at 22-21 with 2:54 left in the game.
Toledo tried to run the clock out, but was unable to gain a first down as Minnesota used timeouts to stop the clock. With 42 seconds left in the game Minnesota returned a punt 53-yards to put themselves up 27-22.
Carpenter, who serves as punter and quarterback, was injured on the punt. But she was the only quarterback on the sidelines for the game and was forced to go back out for the final drive. With 36-seconds left in the game she took another hard hit, and was slow to get back up. Then while trying to will the ball down the field she was picked off and Minnesota ran the clock out.
“We thought we were ready for them. My team played their hearts out, out there on the field tonight,” said Reign head coach Mitchi Collette.
“It’s extremely upsetting to lose, especially in that way to that team. They are the team that kept us out of the play offs last year and we really wanted this. It leaves real sour memories for us,” said Sue Ambrose, who plays on both the offensive and defensive lines.
“This really humbles us. We played hard and held our own, but in the end it just wasn’t enough. We’ve come very far against them though,” said Toledo’s defensive player of the game Angie Maddox, who had 11 tackles.
Toledo 'Reigns' over Indiana
By Dave Herndon
Toledo won everything Saturday night. They won the opening coin toss, then they again won the coin toss in overtime, and as time expired they won the most important thing. They won the game.
The Toledo Reign hosted to Indiana Speed at Bedford Community Stadium, in Temperance MI, to open the WPFL season. The game was extremely hard fought by both teams.
“That was one of the best games that we have ever played. These two teams were so evenly matched it was really just about who wanted it more,” said Reign head coach Mitchi Collette.
Indiana opened the game’s scoring when Rochelle Wolf threw a strike to Virginia Hicks for a 54-yard touchdown. The Speed failed to make the 2-point conversion, but lead 6-0 with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter.
It was Indiana again midway through the second quarter, as Kiva Thomas scored from two yard’s out. Indiana put in the 2-point conversion and led 14-0.
“I was worried at that point. But then a little bird in my head reminded me that we were down 20 to this team last season and came back, so I didn’t panic,” Colette said.
With things looking dismal for the Reign, Leslie Keane turned her game up a notch. She scored a touchdown from 39 yards out, and then took in the 2-point conversion attempt, to pull the Reign to within 14-8. At that point only 2:16 remained in the half.
An Indiana turnover gave Toledo the ball back with time to run just a few plays. That’s when Maranda Carpenter threw a bullet right down the middle of the field to Chris Wolcott. The play resulted in a 40-yard td pass. Toledo missed the point after, but had managed to tie the game at 14 all with just 33 seconds left in the half. The teams traded interceptions on the first two plays after the kick-off and the half ended with Indiana taking a knee.
Toledo struck first in the second half when Keane again shook the defenders out of their cleats and broke through for a 69-yard td run to put Toledo up 20-14 after a failed point after attempt. The score would remain that way until 2:59 was left in the game. That’s when Indiana’s Kiva Thomas struck again, this time from three yards out. The Speed missed the kick and the game remained tied. After a blocked punt, Indiana had a chance to win the game. With just two seconds left in regulation the Speed opted to attempt a 32-yard field goal, which again went wide left.
After a short review of the rulebook, a 15-minute, sudden death overtime began. The WPFL uses NFL rules, the rule for overtime--during the regular season--states that one 15-minute overtime will be played; if the teams are still tied the game will be declared a tie. The teams traded possessions for nearly the entire period.
With 17 seconds left in the overtime it appeared that the teams would be forced to settle for a tie. All that was left to do was punt the ball away, and then the game would be over. However, Leslie Keane had another idea. She evaded every defender, running 56 yards for the game winning touchdown. The teams had played to a tie for 74:50 before Keane ended the game, a 26-20 Toledo victory.
“This was the best way to end the game. This will be a huge moral booster for the team because we have never won the season opener before,” said lineman Beth “Tank” Miller.
“I’ve been told a tie is like kissing your sister, and we didn’t come here for that,” Collette said. “We wanted it bad. Hopefully this will set the season’s momentum.”
“This was my first chance to see a WPFL game. They all, both teams showed that football is football; as long as the team has players that play with intensity,” said Bobby Howard.
Keane was named both offensive and defensive player of the game for the Reign. She rushed for 164 yards, had 10 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. She had three touchdown’s on the day. The Speed’s offensive player of the game was Kiva Thomas who had two touchdown’s and 126 yards on the ground. Indiana’s defensive player of the game was Molly McKeown, who had 10 tackles and an interception.
“I don’t know where Keane got the energy from on that last play. She was totally exhausted when she went out on the field,” Collette said.
Notes
Toledo had 11 first downs, Indiana had 12. The Speed completed twelve passes, threw three interceptions and ended up with 205 yards in the air. Toledo completed just a single pass for 0 yards and was picked off twice. Toledo out gained Indiana 283 yards to 103 yards on the ground. Toledo fumbled six times, but only lost one, while Indiana fumbled three times, losing all of them. Indiana was penalized five times for 35 yards; Toledo was penalized seven times for 45 yards. There were nine punts in the game, Toledo punted five times (17.2 avg), and Indiana was forced to punt four times (17.6 avg).
Reign Members Participate in Mock Disaster Training
Adrian Police Officer and Reign player #35 Leslie Keane, received some help from her teammates on Wednesday July 20th during a mock training crisis in Lenawee County , Michigan . Health Care professionals, Emergency Medical professionals, Fire Departments and Police Departments were put in a “What if” situation. This time it was the dreaded “Tularemia Bacteria” spreading the county.
Ten members of the Reign participated in the training, including Chris Wolcott, Staci Alkula, Beth Miller, Natasha Hall, Kristin May, Maegan Applegate, Gale Ruman, Maggie Alberts, Kristie Lillie, and Melissa Yeo.
All of the volunteers role played as if they were exposed to “Tularemia Bacteria”. All went well for all the professionals and volunteers.
Thee Toledo Reign would like to thank Lenawee County and Leslie Keane for the opportunity to help out in the Mock Disaster Training.
Toledo Reign's Website Gets A Makeover
Toledo, Ohio: July 22, 2005 – Thee Toledo Reign Women’s Professional Football team received a welcomed new web site designed locally by Scott Showalter of Scottrageous Design. The team hopes the new site will attract more viewers and fans to their games. "With sleek graphics and a navigable interface, people should find the information they need quickly and easily," said Showalter. "I would definately enjoy coming to the new site, and I will!" More updates may be on their way once the season begins and player statistics, and other information will have to be posted.
Toledo Reign To Hold First Annual Dodgeball Tournament
Toledo, Ohio: July 18, 2005 – Thee Toledo Reign Women’s Professional Football team will be holding their first annual Dodgeball Tournament on Sunday, August 7 th at "The Beach" sand volleyball courts at International Park in downtown Toledo. Check in will start at 11 am with the double elimination tournament starting at noon. The entry fee is $70 per team, with each team having between 6-10 players. All participants will receive at least two games, t-shirt, and a ticket to a Toledo Reign football game.
For more information, please contact Thee Toledo Reign at 419-654-5799 or email: TheeToledoReign@aol.com.
Thee Toledo Reign Announces 2005 Schedule
Toledo, Ohio: After missing the 2004 playoffs, Thee Toledo Reign Women’s Professional Football Team is looking to make a run for the WPFL’s National Conference title in 2005. The WPFL is a full contact tackle football league for women and patterns itself after the NFL, following the same rules and regulations. The Reign will play a ten game regular season schedule with home games being played at Bedford Community Stadium, 8285 Jackman Road, Temperance, MI 48182. All games are set to kickoff Saturday nights at 7:05 pm. Tickets are on sale now!
July 30 th Home Indiana Speed
August 6 th Home Minnesota Vixen
August 13 th Home Georgia Gladiators
August 20 th Away Carolina Queens
September 3 rd Away Minnesota Vixen
September 10 th Home Carolina Queens
September 17 th Away Indiana Speed
September 24 th Away Minnesota Vixen
October 1 st Home Cape Fear Thunder
October 15th Away Albany Ambush
For more information, please contact Thee Toledo Reign at 419-654-5799 or email: TheeToledoReign@aol.com.