St. Louis SLAM Live Up to their Name in 48-23 Defeat of the Columbus Comets

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – The St. Louis SLAM took the field Saturday night with one goal in mind, a victory that would give the team its first undefeated season in its history.  NWFA North Conference powerhouse the Columbus Comets took the field to avenge its only loss of the season at the hands of the SLAM.  When the dust settled, the SLAM achieved its goal and a third straight playoff birth by pounding the Comets 48-23.

A determined Comets team won the opening toss and scored on the opening drive of the game.  SLAM defensive back Laure “Frenchy” Gelis-Diaz intercepted a pass to set the SLAM’s first touchdown of the night.  Caroline Ogunware scored on a 7 yard run and Frenchy knotted the score at 7 with the extra point.  The first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie.

The SLAM exploded in the second quarter scoring 21 unanswered points. Wide receiver Gail Graff started the scoring barrage hauling in a 15 yard pass from quarterback Liz Lacy.  Running back Pat Riggins broke tackles and spun away from defenders for a spectacular 30 yard run, and Toya “Turtle” Brown ran around the right end for the 2-point conversion to put the SLAM up 21-7.

With less than a minute left in the first half the Comets went for a first down conversion on fourth and one.  SLAM nose guard Myrt Davis forced a fumble on the quarterback sneak.  Defensive end Elizabeth Williams came out of the pack with the football and rambled 69 yards for a defensive touchdown.  Frenchy kicked the extra point to put the SLAM up 28-7 at the half.

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The Comets closed the scoring gap in the 3rd quarter with a field goal.  On the kickoff, Graff returned the just past mid field.  On the first play from scrimmage Riggins took the hand off and exploded up the middle into and beyond the Comet secondary for a 49 yard touchdown run to push the SLAM lead to 35-10.

In the 4th quarter Chris Hampton scored by powering over the right side of the line on fourth and goal from the 2 yard line. Rookie Danielle Cullen topped off the SLAM scoring with a 10 yard run.  Behind an aggressive offensive line, the SLAM was able to roll for 292 rushing yards.

The defense, led by middle linebacker Kelly “Koz” Kozlen with 12 tackles, forced the Comets to turn the ball over 4 times on the night.  Linebacker Tiarra Pettis had 11 tackles and hauled in her first interception of the year while Frenchy had 11 tackles to go with the early interception.  Jarius Miriama recovered a fumble while Robin Morrow and Ogunware had 2 pass deflections each.

The SLAM has a bye the 21st of June, the last week of regular season play.  The playoffs begin Saturday June 28th and it is possible the SLAM will have a first round bye.  Playoff information will be announced once it is posted by the league.

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