Reign Victorious In Season Opener!

Thee Toledo Reign began the pursuit of a Women’s Football Alliance Division 3 Championship on Saturday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Reign were successful on the first step of that journey with a resounding 32-0 defeat of the Grand Rapids Tidal Waves.

The Reign’s (1-0) rushing attack, a calling card of the offense in recent years, was on full display. Seven ball carriers combined for 257 yards of rushing offense. #4 Melissa “Crash” Boraggina and #25 Brianna “Bugg” Patman led the way with 59 and 44 yards respectively and two touchdowns each. #21 Brittany “Speedy” Stenson logged 49 rushing yards and punched in the Reign’s 5th rushing touchdown.

The Reign defense was nothing short of dominant, holding Grand Rapids (0-1) without a first down for the game. #43 Octavia “Tae” Griswold brought the fire that earned her a First Team All-American nomination last season, recording 8 solo tackles, 5 assisted tackles, and an amazing 7 tackles for loss. There were several other standout defensive performances, including #21 Brittany “Speedy” Stenson (4 tackles, 3 assisted tackles, 1 tackle for loss), #42 Lynn “Blue Shirt” Eubank (3 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack), #47 Marabeth “Mama Red” Lewis (4 tackles, 3 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), and #66 Nikki Broshious (2 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 3 tackles for loss).

The Reign will stay on the road to take on the Flint City Riveters (0-1) on Saturday, April 14th. Grand Rapids will regroup and try again to claim their franchise’s first victory on Saturday, April 14th when they welcome in the Cleveland Fusion (0-1).