Coming home after their first defeat many wondered if Thee Toledo Reign could put the letdown behind them and march forward into a major divisional matchup with the Detroit Dark Angels.
Mission accomplished.
In an even matchup with strong defenses and first place in the North Central 2 division on the line the Reign defeated the Dark Angels 19-6. The Dark Angels scored on their first drive, but the Reign answered back immediately with an 80-yard kickoff return by Erica Lipstraw. The Reign scored 12 more unanswered points to clinch the victory. Lipstraw, one of the league leaders in rushing had a difficult day on the ground gaining only 14 yards on 8 carries but was still a force in the game with the kick return touchdown and two interceptions.
“You have two choices in a game, one to leave something and regret it, or two to leave nothing and come out on top” said Lipstraw. “We knew it would be a tough game going into it, and that we needed to pull together in order to capture that 'W'. Nothing comes without a price, and we all sacrificed something for this win.”
The Reign were held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, but timely runs by Kasey Clark (36 yards) and Jacki Clark (15 yards, 1 TD) proved to be enough offense to back up a dominant Reign defense.
After surrendering a touchdown on the opening drive the Reign defense locked down the Dark Angels offense and held them scoreless the rest of the game. Brittney Rupert led the way on defense with 13 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Forcing an amazing seven turnovers (four interceptions, three fumble recoveries) the Reign defense put a difficult West Michigan game well behind them and regained the form that produced back-to-back shutouts to start the season.
“We came out there with heart knowing it was gonna be a battle” said Kristi Lillie, defensive captain of the Reign who recovered one of the Dark Angels fumbles to go with 9 tackles and one sack. “Hats off to Detroit, they are a great team, but we pulled together as a team and we fought our way through for the win.”
The Reign improved to 3-1 on the season while the Dark Angels fall even at 2-2. The Reign are tied with the Indy Crash of the North Central 1 for the overall lead of the North Central division. The Reign welcome the Dayton Diamonds this Saturday, May 7th to Gallagher Stadium for a return matchup of the season opener.
Thee Toledo Reign is a member of the Women's Football Alliance, a full-contact American football league comprised of over 60 teams across the United States and Mexico. From Florida to Oregon and from New England to California, the WFA is the largest and fastest growing league in America.
For more information, please contact Thee Toledo Reign at 419-654-5799 or email: TheeToledoReign@aol.com.
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