| | Bob Barker's Beauties Show Up Nick Kelly's Squad
On the gridiron of Swaim Park in Blue Ash, the football game between
Bob Barker's Beauties and Nick Kelly's squad lived up to the hype. The
night before the game, it was found, Kelly's squad had practiced their
playbook. Quite clearly, the Kelly squad was therefore better prepared,
coming to the line with everyone knowing what to do. Furthermore, for
show, his team wore shirts with their names and some slogan on
them, such as Jenna Heaton's "Heaton Can't Be Beaten" taunt, and
McGrath's "Eat My Shorts" written on the lower part of his shirt. BBB
showed up with a green/black uniform. All the preparation in the world,
however, cannot overcome skill and hustle.
Early on in the game, it appeared that Nick Kelly's squad would have
their way. The playbook proved to be very effective. Due to Meiner's
inability to pass, there were many runs and halfback passes. Heaton
proved to be an underestimated force. Her ability to run forcefully
made her difficult to tackle. She also completed a few of the
relatively effective halfback passes. Terry McGrath was made
innefective due to good coverage. He did not make to many catches. D.
Thaler was ineffective due to his lack of
hustle, according to Ken Schwieter. He had only one big play in which
he made a nice catch over the middle, and then beat the coverage in a
sprint for the touchdown. That was it, however. Perrino's small size
certainly limited her, but she still made a few catches, but more
importantly, hustled hard to make key blocks on the half back passes.
Meiners was too underpowered and undersized to be an effective
quarterback. She was able to execute the hand offs, but her lack of
size made her an easy target for the two bulldogs Brad King and John
Tillotson. On the initial series, she was sacked twice by Tillotson. To
the credit of Kelly's squad, they were able to pick up the blitz and
make it ineffective by means of Heaton stepping up to block and
Meiners' short passes.
Kelly's squad was the first to score, but the game did not continue
that way. Hasse proved to be the dominant quarterback. His superior
range gave BBB the threat to go deep with the flood pass. Indeed, in a
play reminiscent of the second play of the Bengals-Vikings game, Hasse
went deep on the second play of BBB's first possession to Tillotson,
who had beaten Terry McGrath in coverage by a step or
two. Tillotson, however, proving why he was not on the hands team,
could not reel it in. But things did not always go so. Brad King proved
to be a very effective runner, breaking many tackles after a short
pass. The teams went back and forth, swapping touchdowns. Midway
through the first half, Koening left the game due to a knee issue. She
did not return and is listed on the IR. Further examination by the team
therapist found that she had a sprained or torn ACL.
As the end of the first half wound down, the only controversial
play of the game occurred. Meghan Moore made her first
catch of the game on a quick throw out to the left and was quickly met
by Terry McGrath. As Nick Kelly came in to finish off the tackle,
the ball came out, and Kelly's squad recovered. An argument ensued
between Kelly and Tillotson, with Kelly graciously giving in and
allowing the play to be redone. The next and last play
of the half ended in a pass out to the flats to John Tillotson, who
then shook off Terry McGrath's tackle, and then out sprinted the
remaining defender, Jenna Heaton in a race to the end zone.
The second half continued as the first, slow and grinding. Meghan
Moore, a rookie tackle football player, started to find her game in the
second half. She was able to make solo tackles on Perrino, a receiver
of comparable size. However, with the boys, she needed help. She did,
however, stop a touchdown by slowing McGrath down in the open field,
which then allowed Tillotson to finish McGrath off, thus saving a
touchdown for BBB.
The momentum shift in the game occurred deep in Kelly's territory,
with Kelly's team holding the ball. Meiner's took a short drop into the
pocket and threw over the middle to Perrino. However, Meiner's arm
strength did not get the ball there fast enough, and Moore slid in to
pick the pass off and return it for a touchdown. This put BBB up 5-3.
Each team scored once more before the end of the game. The final score
was 6-4.
After the game, teams met together to congratulate each other, and
team pictures were taken. Terry McGrath commented to the man he was
supposed to cover, "You have proven that the disciple is not greater
than the master." He then referenced a game of volleyball, which
excited Moore and will perhaps lead to the next team game.
Injury Report:
Koenig, BBB: ACL, IR. Tillotson, BBB: Hamstring, probable. King, BBB: Shirt, wearable. |
