English defeats Classical in Powder Puff showdown

LYNN – The fans were chanting wildly and the crowd was filled with students wearing their school colors proudly.This was not a playoff game. Lynn Classical and Lynn English faced off in the Powder Puff game at Manning Field. The English Lady Bulldogs escaped with a 7-6 victory over the Classical Lady Rams.Click here for a photo gallery.Bulldogs quarterback Shannon Calnan found Marnie Biondi open in the end zone for a 21-yard pass and Eleezat Castro provided the win by kicking the extra point. The Lady Rams scored on a touchdown pass from quarterback Bobbie Dee Regan to Monta Connolly.”This was our fourth straight win,” said Lady Bulldogs head coach Dick Newton. “Our defense played outstanding.”The girls on both sides did not wear helmets, but they colored their hair green (for the Rams) and red (for the Bulldogs). They played two-hand tag.English was led by the running attack of Geanni Ferreira and Abbie Martocchio. Classical’s defense was able to prevent the English ground game from piling up a ton of yards. Calnan was able to complete passes to move the chains.”We had the outside, but the plays were slow to develop,” Newton said.On the other side, Classical’s passing game was led by Regan and wide receivers Connolly and Samantha Earp.”Our passing game was very effective,” said Lynn Classical head coach Bob Smith. “Bobbie Dee is a great quarterback and Connolly is an outstanding athlete. One of the plays they called themselves.”English had opportunities to score on its first few possessions, but the Classical defense made big plays. On their third possession in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs traveled to the Classical 4-yard line. Classical’s defense came up with an interception in the end zone by Angela Erelli (two interceptions).”Our defense helped us stay in the game,” Smith said. “They came out with a lot of intensity and they did everything we asked of them.”On the following possession inside the final two minutes of the first half, Classical received a 38-yard run from Regan along the right side of the field to the Bulldogs’ 2. Sahallom Adewele sacked Regan to keep the Rams from taking the lead and this ended the half on a scoreless tie.In the third quarter, the Rams received the ball first. Classical went three-and-out and punted back to English. The Lady Bulldogs took over at the Rams’ 37. A pass interference penalty on Classical’s defense brought the ball to the 21-yard line. Four plays later, Calnan hooked up with Biondi.The Rams started their next possession at their own 34. After the Rams converted a first down, Regan threw a swing pass to Connolly. Connolly outran several English defenders past the goal line to put the Rams within one. Classical was unable to score on the two-point conversion.”They expected us to run the ball every time, but we tricked them by passing the ball,” said Connolly. “We did the unexpected.””It was a botched snap,” explained Smith.Both defenses played stingy for the rest of the game. Classical was able to end a few more English possessions with interceptions, including one inside its own 10-yard line.”Classical played well,” said Newton. “It was an evenly matched game.”Jolenne Mastropietro picked off Regan’s pass and brought it to the Rams’ 25. Biondi took the next handoff to the Rams’ 5. Four plays later, the Lady Bulldogs were stopped at the 10.After Classical got to its 31, the Lady Bulldogs defense stopped the Lady Rams on downs. On Classical’s final possession, Lauren Pohlmeyer intercepted a pass from Regan that was intended for Connolly.”I saw the ball was going right to her and I figured I could just take it,” said Pohlmeyer. “There were only two minutes left in the game, so it was clutch.”Ferreira ran out the final minute and 54 seconds to give the Lady Bulldogs the win.”They made a few more plays than we did,” said Smith.”This is a nice prelude to the Thanksgiving game,” said Newton.