Prowlers Come Back Strong but Fall just Short in 1^st Round

The Phoenix Prowlers took their undefeated record into St. Louis to face the 7-1 St. Louis Slam.  Despite numerous obstacles the Prowlers made the playoffs as the first team of the NWFA Western Conference to be included in the playoffs.  However, despite an undefeated record they were seeded at the bottom of the NWFA Southern conference bracket placing the top ranked St. Louis Slam in the 1^st round. 

Intermittent thundershowers rolled through a St. Louis making conditions wet and slick on the artificial grass field.  Both team started off sluggish until the Slam took advantage of a couple tipped passes and made very athletic catches to pull ahead.  The Prowlers struggled to get in sync in the first half and missed several opportunities to even up the score but did get on the board with a long pass the #83 Elecia Kruise.  Elecia also ended the half with an interception in the endzone to stop another Slam drive.  Sending the Prowlers into halftime down 21-7.

This game turned out to be a tale of two halves.  Although down two scores, the Prowlers kept scratching away and after giving up another score on a long pass the Prowlers finally started to narrow the gap late in the 3^rd Quarter.  #16 Angel D’Rossi hit #7 Brandy Marcus with a laser beam across the middle for another touchdown strike bringing the score to 27-15 after the 2 pt conversion.  The Prowlers still trailed though as the 4^th Quarter ticked down.  But the last 2 minutes were the most explosive.  After another Prowler mistake allowed another Slam touchdown, the Prowlers finally started to put up the kind of offense they have week after week exploding for two touchdowns in less than 1 minute.  Turning to perennial All-Star #22 Amy Lewis. With 1:30 left in the game and the Slam all but counting the victory, Angel D’Rossi launched a 30 yard touchdown strike to Lewis.  Grabbing the ball over her outside shoulder and sliding just into the corner to hit the pylon and score.  The Prowlers then set up for the kickoff and again Lewis nailed the onside kick off of a Slam player to be recovered by #15 Mary Quintana.  Then it was back to Lewis again when #7 Brandy Marcus took the pitch and hit Lewis in stride on the halfback pass for a 55 yard touchdown pass.  Unfortunately, the Prowlers waited too long to get within striking distance and simply ran out of time.  A second onside kick could not be recovered and the Slam were able to take a knee and run out the clock.

The Prowlers mounted a terrific frist season in the NWFA and showed they are on the same level with the best teams in the NWFA pushing the Slam, easily one of the top 4 teams in the NWFA to the last play with a 4 point difference and one tipped pass away from mounting a 3 touchdown comeback to win.  The Prowlers are already setting up their off-season conditioning and recruiting program and intend to be right back in the playoffs again next year with the top seeing they deserve.

Prowlers Conquer West in Short Order and take Western Conference Crown.

The Phoenix Prowlers did not even need all of the scheduled games to take the Western conference crown this year.  The Prowlers traveled to Orange County, CA for a re-match with the defending Champion, OC Breakers for a chance to win the West outright 3 weeks before the end of the regular season.  In a tough and hard hitting contest, the Breakers came out to show that the last game, a 36 – 0 Phoenix victory was a fluke and they started hitting at the first whistle.  Despite sometime to rest, OC found itself still depleted by key injures to superstars like #87 Suzanne Linn injured in the first Prowler game and #50 Erin Dunbar injured earlier against the Attack.  Despite those two significant losses, the remaining Breakers stepped up to play a tenacious game against a Prowler team also hampered by some key injuries. 
 
The Prowlers came out with that home town Phoenix heat cutting through the cool CA breeze and never slowed down.  Starting with their dominant running game featuring the league’s leading rusher #33 Jennifer “JC” Calusine following the powerful Prowler offensive line.  Due to AZ Venom forfeits, JC is leading the league despite having 3 less games in which to gain yards.  Coming off of a 301 yard performance against the All Valley Attack last week, JC picked her way through gaps for a TD and 4 PAT’s following All-Star FB #42 Desiree Belliard who continuously knocked OC defenders to the ground with explosive blocks.  Belliard put more OC defenders on the turf when running the ball using one of the strongest stiff arms in the Women’s game scoring her own touchdown as well.  The Prowler passing game was back in form after an off week with several new stars emerging to compliment All-Star #22 Amy Lewis who had another great game adding 6 catches and another TD to her season total as a top 10 receiver.  Rookie #3 Becky Stewart fighting through some nagging injuries started the passing off taking a deflected pass away from the OC defender for a critical 30 yard gain putting the Prowlers deep in OC territory for their first score.  Stewart also added several other key catches throughout the game and added a TD of her own later in the game.  This games other breakout performance came from veteran Brandy Marcus who shared offensive MVP honors with Stewart and who matched Lewis with a game leading 6 catches but with Lewis consistently drawing double coverage, Marcus found the gaps to haul in 3 TD’s from #16 Angel D’Rossi.  D’Rossi again had plenty of time in the pocket to find the open receiver as the entire Prowler offensive line put up a wall of protection that was rarely broken.  Clearing establishing themselves as one of the most dominant lines in Women’s football.  Despite the key losses to the OC linebacker corps, the Breakers stepped up with several rookie and veteran players to take on everything the Prowlers threw at them.  Showing strong pursuit and relentless energy to take on the larger Prowlers, OC never let down and the score was certainly not a reflection of the level of play and heart of the Breakers who slowed the Prowler running game in the second half shifting back to an 8 man front.  However, the Prowlers showed why they are one of the top offenses in the league, mixing in more passing to take advantage of single coverage and continuing to move the ball at will all night long. 
 
The Breakers offense also showed great heart and tenacity facing the 1400 lb Prowlers defensive line for a second time.  Again, hampered by injuries, OC had several first downs and nice drives that it took the Prowlers a while to stop.  Led by the play of the “Julies” #30 Julie Ciccareli and #20 Julie Briggs, the Breakers threw everything they had at the Prowlers.  Again, led by veterans like #75
Selina Canty, #63 Shonna Bell and #44 Charlene Canty, the Prowler defensive line stymied most of the OC offense leaving Phoenix’s crew of League leading linebackers to shut down anything OC came up with.  With not one but two 60 tackle LB’s in #65 Angie Darnell and #41 Kyi Drago, the Breakers had no place to go.  If they tried the other side, 40 tackle and Defensive MVP, Kelly Brown was there to take them on with 17 tackles on the night.  Substituting at FS #42 Desiree Belliard nabbed an early interception to put the Prowlers in scoring position again.  The Prowlers have yet to be scored on even though weathering a tremendous effort late in the game from the Breakers who made it down inside the Prowler 20 at the end of the game.  As the ONLY team to not allow a score, the Prowlers did not want allow a single point.  As time wound down, the Breakers went to an outside pass that was broken up and then intercepted by Rookie #83 Elisa Kruse who took it back 45 yards to end the game.
 
By rolling through the Western Conference in dominant fashion, the Prowlers have established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the NWFA.  The Prowlers have amassed league leading stats in every category despite having 3 less opportunities to perform.  They have outpaced almost every other team in the league and are without doubt one of the teams to beat in the NWFA.  The Prowlers now look forward to being given the opportunity to travel east to take on the rest of the leagues best teams to establish an undisputed champion and in search of an NWFA title for the city of Phoenix. 

Phoenix Prowlers Pounce OC Breakers

April 28th
Phoenix, AZ.- The Phoenix Prowlers continued their domination of the Western conference taking on the previously undefeated Western Division Champion Orange County Breakers.  After an ominous sand storm coated the city in dust, the Breakers and Prowlers hit the field to determine who would take the lead in the Western Division and show to be the team to beat in the West. After the dust settled, for the second time of the night, the Prowlers had held the Breakers scoreless for the first time ever and had again scored a solid 36 points despite dropping a TD pass late and failing to convert on another trip deep in the OC red zone earlier in the quarter. OC relied on their strong and reliable running game and had intermittent success. Led by #87 Suzanne Linn and #30 Julie Ciccarelli, the Breakers pounded away at the 1,350 LB Prowler Defensive line led by #92 Kim Hoke, #56 Falonia Edenburgs and #54 Karmen Hawkins and its 2 All-star LB's #65 Angie Darnel and #41 Kyi Drago.  Despite several good runs and one breakaway big gain, the Breakers could never get on track against the suffocating Prowlers defense. 

The Prowler Offense started out strong, passing at will to #22 Amy Lewis and running behind #33 Jennifer Calusine, #24 Arlene Locklin and #42 Desiree Balliard.  The Prowlers put together another solid game accumulating 300 yards in offense behind their massive O Line led by #61 Amy Arnold, #70 Becky Gamble and #74 Michelle Munksgard. #16 QB Angela D'Rossi put up another set of impressive numbers to keep her 116 QB rating #1 in the league.  However, the biggest star on offense for the Prowlers was its defense. The Prowlers defense started the scoring when Shonna Bell #63 broke through line to block an OC punt which went into the endzone and recovered by OC for a safety. Kyi Drago took interceptions back 70 and 80 yards for Touchdowns. The Breakers showed their Championship spirit throughout the entire game and never slowed down and fought for every single yard.  Orange County's defense was tenacious and the Prowler backs had to fight through multiple tacklers on every play. This match-up looks to be a strong and heated rivalry in the West between two strong and determined teams.  With these two teams meeting three times this season it promised to be a war each time.  The Prowlers know OC will come out next time with renewed determination to regain the top spot in the West and that they are fully capable of doing so.  The Prowlers have set their sites on the Western Division championship and don't plan to let anyone get in their way.  

AV Attacked by Prowlers Again

May 19th
Phoenix, AZ.-
The rematch with the All Valley Attack took place Saturday but the result was very much the same as the first game. The Prowlers defense never let down from the last game and held All Valley to less than 50 yards of total offense for the second time. Standout play was again provided by the
entire defense. #54 Karmen Hawkins played through several nagging injuries to provide a complete shutdown on the left side and receive defensive MVP honors. #41 Kyi Drago also added to her interception tally snagging her 3rd pic of the year and barely missing two others. The entire defense provided another night of stifling play, completely shutting down the entire All Valley running game. All Valley did complete a couple of very nice pass plays for good yards and took advantage of a pass interference call to get within the Prowler 5 but the Prowler defense sent them backwards about 30 yards and finished with #61 Amy Arnold breaking through to block the All Valley Field goal attempt. That keeps the Prowlers as the ONLY team in the NWFA to not be scored upon.

On offense, the Prowler passing game was not as lethal as it has been in past weeks but did have some good completions and an amazing catch in triple coverage from #16 Angle D'Rossi to #22 Amy Lewis for a TD. However, the Prowler passing game was not the dagger it usually is. As much as the passing game was off a little, the running game was on big time!!! #33 JC Calusine posted the biggest single game rushing total in the NWFA in the last two years with 301 yards rushing. JC slashed through the AV defense well past her blockers breaking tackles and getting 10 or 20 more extra yards all on her own second effort. All that second and third
effort added up to post more yards rushing than all but one other NWFA TEAM!! as of the stats posted this week. A tremendous accomplishment for JC and the entire Prowler offensive line and her FB #42 Deriree Belliard clearing the way. All of that adds up to another stellar performance as the Prowler offense tallied up almost 600 yards of total offense for the game.

The Prowlers head to California this weekend to attempt to wrap up the western conference with a second win against the defending champion OC Breakers. Their first game was a hard fought battle with the Prowlers claiming a victory but the Prowlers know that OC will not be the same team and will fight to the last play to stay alive in the western conference chase. The time off has given OC time to recover injured players and they will be coming out full strength to try and even the score in the west. With the Western Conference championship on the line, this promises to be a great battle between two of the top teams in the league.