Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Reign Falls to Comets in First Round


Thee Toledo Reign opened the playoffs with a trip to Columbus looking to avenge one of their two regular season losses.  Unfortunately they could not find redemption as the Reign fell to the Comets 22-0.

The first half was a back-and-forth defensive battle highlighted by a 65-yard fumble return by Brianna "Bugg" Patman to the Comets 5-yard line.  The Comets defense stood strong and denied the Reign the early lead. Rookie defensive back Sarah "Dozer" Stephens hauled in two first-half interceptions including one on the goal line to keep the Comets off the board.  Both teams remained scoreless until the Comets struck with less than a minute remaining in the first half to take an 8-0 lead.  The Reign had opportunities throughout the game but was unable to put points on the board while two second half scores by the Comets put the game out of reach.  The Reign fought all game long and though the result was better than the Week 6 48-0 loss in Columbus, the Reign are still on the losing end and are eliminated from the WFA playoffs.

Brianna "Bugg" Patman showed once again why she was chosen as a WFA First-Team All-American.  Along with the fumble return she also rushed for 54 yards on 8 carries including a 27-yard scamper out of the shadow of her own end zone.  Including playoffs, Patman rushed for 539 yards and five touchdowns on the season and racked up an incredible 1,043 all-purpose yards with eight total touchdowns.

Marabeth "Mama Red" Lewis led the charge defensively with 13 tackles and one tackle for loss.  Lewis finishes the season with a team-leading 47 tackles (3 for loss) with veteran Defensive Tackle Maegan "Beast" Applegate just behind with 42 1/2 tackles (8 for loss).  Rookie linebacker Sarah "Swaggz" Wagner was on her way to a dominant game with 7 1/2 tackles and two tackles for loss before exiting the game very early in the second half due to injury.

The Reign finish the 2014 season with a 6-3 record, matching the record for most wins by the Reign in a season (6-4 in 2005).  The Columbus Comets (5-4) will travel to Washington D.C. June 21st to face the D.C. Divas (4-3) in a Mid-Atlantic Division rematch.

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