The Lady Sharks and CrossFit 7Mile Scorpions served notice of their championship intentions.
After roller coaster regular season campaigns in the 2014 Digicel Premier League, put on by the Cayman Islands Flag Football Association, both clubs produced riveting upsets in the women’s playoffs. Now the 6-6 sides tangle with the frontrunners in the second round on Sept. 27 at the Ed Bush field in West Bay. The No. 1 seed Domino’s Lynx tackle the No. 6 Scorpions at noon before No. 2 Androgroup Killa-Panthers, the reigning champions, battle the Sharks at 2:15 p.m. Both top seeds had first round byes, with the Lynx boasting a 9-1-2 record while the Killa-Panthers were 7-2-3.
Joshua Pawlik serves as the head coach of CrossFit, while Andrew Wisdom leads the Sharks. Both said self-confidence is the key to their success on Saturday.
“We’re happy to be playing this week, we feel that we left a lot of points on the field, offense and defense,” Pawlik said. “Now, we got a really good Lynx team. Our confidence is at an all-time high. We finished the season beating the Lynx, Anytime Fitness Wolverines, Sharks and Caledonian Killa B’zzz. We’re coming in, we feel like we’re the hottest team. We know the Lynx are the No. 1 seed for a reason.
“They’re a great team, so much athletes. We just got to come out, play our game and the biggest thing is we got to have fun doing it. We lost a little bit of the fun [against the Wolverines] and it showed. If we’re having fun, we can beat anybody.”
“Right now, our team, our weakness is ourself,” Wisdom said. “When we beat ourselves, that is our downfall. If we keep it together and keep our composure, no team in the league can stop us.”
Both top seeds have the talent to book a finals berth. Androgroup relied on Christina Hefner, Alicia Dixon and Becky Lucas while Domino’s featured Saneata Smith, Alex Terry and Lolita Hanna.
CrossFit advanced to the next round in dramatic fashion, beating Anytime Fitness, 19-13, on a touchdown catch in overtime by Cassandra ‘Cat’ Bodden – just over the finger tips of Wolverine defender Amber Watson. The Scorpions had the lead most of the game as quarterback Jessica Pawlik hit her receivers down field, with the likes of Camille Solomon and Maggie Ebanks making receptions. The Wolverines made two of the biggest plays in the contest, as Renee Thompson returned an interception for a TD to tie the game and Martina Bodden caught a Nekita Saintvil pass and weaved her way to the pylons to force overtime.
Anytime Fitness went into the contest as the No. 3 seed with a 6-3-3 record. The Wolverines played without a number of their star players – such as first string QB Antoinette Lewis, all-arounder Jahzenia Thomas and defensive force Carrie Barnett-Carter.
Pawlik said Cassandra Bodden was lucky to grab the winning score.
“Well, in the first half, we played really well. We had it,” Pawlik said. “They’re a great team as they showed by jumping a route and tying it up. We know every time we play Wolverines, it’s a great team with great coaching – with Phil Brown, David Taylor and Adrean Russell. Seriously, all respect to that team – they played great. The girl at corner [Watson] that played there on that last play, it just went over her fingers by an inch. She was there all day and knocked them down all day. Instead of doing a bullet, we tried to lob it more over her head. It worked.
“I told her after the game she played one of the best games I’ve seen all year by a corner and don’t let that get her down. Cat was there, as she is every game, every week. She never leaves the field for offense and defense. She’s right there, she grabs it and game over.”
Meanwhile, the Sharks toppled the Zulu Warriors, 7-0, in a defensive battle. Both squads made offensive possessions tough as Ileann Powery and Krystle Barrett of the Sharks and rose to the occasion. QB Dionne Whittaker of Zulu had problems finding receivers deep down field while Sharks hurler Bobeth O’Garro worked short routes to the likes of Serena Yates before hitting Scimone Campbell in the end zone for the decisive score.
Zulu went into the playoffs at 6-1-5. Behind head coach Will Peguero Jr, the Warriors boasted the sort of athleticism – with Jessica Ebanks, Shenel Gall and Renee Chisholm – to be a title contender.
Wisdom said the victory was a result of hard work in practice.
“This game really meant a lot to us. It’s win or go home so we really had a good practice last week. The ladies came out and dedicated themselves, we put the work in and it paid off in the end with the win.”
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