The sun shined down on Florham Park on Sunday morning, and the Westfield girls flag football team dominated Elizabeth at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
This past year, the New York Jets, in partnership with Nike and Gatorade, announced the expansion of their nascent girls flag football league, adding 100 teams in the tri-state area. Not only was Westfield one of those teams, but the Blue Devils are one of the best, as they moved to 3-0 in their inaugural season after beating Elizabeth, 34-7, on the Jets’ home turf.
(For an inside look at Hi’s Eye Sports‘ experience on Sunday, click here.)
The game got off to a quick start. The Blue Devils started with the ball, but on the second play of the game, after a promising 10-yard run, quarterback Cara Van Allen’s pass was tipped up in the air and intercepted. The Minutemen possession did not last long, however, as Ava Burke stepped in front of a pass and picked it off. The Blue Devils had gotten the ball back, and never looked back.
After her early mistake, Van Allen was nearly perfect, tossing three touchdown passes, two to senior Annie Ryan and one to sophomore Priscilla Dayon.
“I think my teammates made good plays, making catches and running good routes. They made it really easy for me to be successful out there,” said Van Allen.
The Blue Devils’ offensive plan was too much to handle for Elizabeth, which had trouble stopping Van Allen in either her passing attack or her patented read options.
“I was just trying to get everyone involved that maybe hadn’t been the rest of the game and I just kinda listened to my team and chose plays based on that,” said Van Allen.
Van Allen’s partner in that read option was Paige Gorzyca, who scored Westfield’s first touchdown of the day with a 5-yard rush. She would add to that total throughout the game.
As halftime came to a close, Elizabeth took possession. The Minutemen marched down the field for their first and only touchdown of the day. Westfield continued to pile it on as Van Allen threw for her third touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, the Blue Devils overwhelmed Elizabeth with their aggressive man defense, which allowed Ryan to pick off another pass and return it for a touchdown. The Blue Devils were now up 27-7 and running the Minutemen back to Elizabeth.
“We have quite the playbook, including a few trick plays that we are hoping to throw in,” said assistant coach Sara Liptack.
To seal the game the Blue Devils would do just what coach Liptack had planned, a trick play. With a minute left, Van Allen received the ball off the snap and pitched it to Dayon on her left, who wound back and tossed a pass that found Ryan wide open in the endzone for yet another score. The Blue Devils were now up 34-7 as the final seconds disappeared off the clock.
“Let’s keep rolling! These girls can play some ball,” said head coach Matt Andzel postgame with a grin on his face. He knows exactly what the Blue Devils can do.
As the sport gains traction, Liptack explained the hope that girls flag football becomes a varsity sport. “Right now, we are just a club team, but it’s looking like it will be approved as a varsity sport sometime in the next two years,” explained Liptack (more information about girls high school flag football can be found here).
As for what’s ahead, the Blue Devils will turn their sights to Wednesday, where they will travel to undefeated Hillside, an important stepping stone toward eventually hoisting the state title at Metlife Stadium later this spring.
1 comment
Great article! Really gives a great look into the entire time spent at the facility. Well written!