No, this isn’t about LeBron James, but it does involve a team making it to the playoffs, and showing everyone that they belong.
Behind a creative offense, the Passion rolled to a victory over the Erie Illusion. The final score was 63-7.
Lisa Horton hit Wilma Walton for a 73 yard touchdown on the opening play of the game. It was all downhill from there for the Illusion.
Score at the end of the first quarter: 28-0.
Halftime score: 49-0.
It was actually 49-0 with about 7 minutes to play in the first. And this was against an Erie team that only allowed 33 points all season. I looked at my buddy and said, “Every time the ball is snapped, Erie doesn’t have a chance. When they’re on offense, the Passion have 3 defensive line (wo)men in the backfield before the ball is handed off. On defense, the Passion are just having their way with the ball.” He wanted the Passion to score 63 before the half was over.
And before the half, Torina Henley got her Reggie Bush on. At their own 49, Lisa Horton handed off to One-Two. Henley ran to the right sideline, coming face to face with several Erie defenders. Stopping on a dime, Torina cut back around the left side, picked up a key block from Horton, and turned a sure-fire loss into an 11 yard gain.
She finished the game with 133 yards on only 6 carries. She also scored twice.
Horton was a major bright spot, completing 7 of 22 passes for 210 yards and 5 touchdowns. She also scored a touchdown with her feet. Horton started the game with 3 touchdowns on her first 3 pass attempts.
In the 3rd, Kate Sullivan trotted out onto the field and lined up on the right side. My buddy looked at me and said, “Touchdown.” Sure enough, Horton took the snap, waited, and fired a perfect pass over Sullivan’s right shoulder. It was pretty much the icing on the cake.
Erie finally managed a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but only after all the Passion first-stringers were out of the game.
Being a 2 seed, the Passion will play at least one more playoff game at Cupples Stadium.
2 more wins, and the team will play in the championship game in Nashville, Tennessee. Next week’s game will be against the Western Michigan Mayhem, who went 6-2 in the regular season. They defeated the Baltimore Burn 33-14 yesterday.
CORRECTION. Lisa Horton went 7 for 11. Damn 1s and 2s are so close to each other on the keyboard.
