The Girls Flag Football team suffered its first defeat of the season with a 14-0 shutout loss to Maine South. The Kits’ offense struggled to find any rhythm against the top-ranked team in the state. Despite an impressive defensive effort for most of the game, the Kits couldn’t hold off the Hawks in critical moments.
“I thought our defense was solid throughout the game. However, on offense, we kept finding ourselves in non-favorable situations early in drives that stopped us from gaining any momentum,” reflected Head Coach Carlton Rosemond.
Neither team found much success in the first quarter, trading punts without gaining or losing field position. Early in the second quarter, Maine South started to move the ball, driving inside the Kits’ 20-yard line. However, the Kits’ defense came up with a huge stop on fourth down, as junior linebacker Emma Reese pressured Maine South senior quarterback Aribella Spandiary into an incompletion intended for senior center Maria Korovilas.
But the momentum was short-lived. The Kits immediately went three-and-out after a sack and turned the ball over. Once again, Maine South drove deep into Kits territory, only to be denied by another fourth-down stand from the Kits’ defense. Unfortunately, the Kits couldn’t capitalize.
On their next possession, senior quarterback Maggie Conforti threw an interception on third and long, lobbing a pass into double coverage that was picked off by Hawks junior Emerson De La Cruz.
“We generated some massive plays on defense, but that doesn’t really matter when you can’t get anything going on the other side of the ball,” said Rosemond.
The turnover gave the Hawks possession at the Kits’ 40-yard line with two minutes remaining in the half. They capitalized quickly. Spandiary escaped a blitz and delivered a perfect strike to junior Nellie Ossmo in the endzone, giving Maine South a 7-0 lead at the break.
The Kits managed only one first down in the first half but came out of the locker room with renewed energy, driving to the Hawks’ 35-yard line. Yet again, the drive stalled when Conforti was sacked by junior rusher Kristen Sumang.
Maine South then put the game away with a crucial touchdown on fourth down. Spandiary connected with Amelia Fernandez from eight yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 14-0.
The Kits had one final chance to respond, but a dropped fourth-down pass by KyNia Hunt sealed their fate.
“Our lack of execution ultimately cost us the game,” remarked Rosemond. “We simply dropped too many passes and snaps.”
The Kits will look to bounce back in a tournament matchup against Solorio on September 5th.
