Cavanaugh defeated Breen-Phillips on Sunday with a little help from its defense.
The Chaos secondary intercepted Babes quarterback Traci Kazmerski four times and Cavanaugh made the most of its opportunities as two of the picks led directly to touchdowns for a 12-6 victory.
The Chaos wasted no time in getting started as they intercepted Kazmerski's first pass of the game. Quarterback Lisa Ruffer threw a 20-yard touchdown to Betsy Simon one play later to put Cavanaugh on the board. The ensuing 1-point conversion fell incomplete.
Cavanaugh's defense went right back to work by getting their second interception only three plays into Breen-Phillip's next possession.
However, the Chaos offense stalled and they were forced to punt.
The Babes' offense seemed to show some signs of life on their next possession as Kazmerski threw consecutive 15-yard passes to get the ball across midfield.
But Cavanaugh's secondary came up with their third interception of the first half to take the football right back.
The vocal Cavanaugh bench celebrated as Ruffer threw what she thought was a 15-yard touchdown pass on third down. But the Chaos were called for an illegal motion penalty and the ball was brought back. A sack, an incompletion and a false start stopped Cavanaugh as Breen-Phillips forced them to turn the ball over on downs.
In the second half, after receiving a long Chaos punt that sailed through the end zone, the Babes took over at their own 20-yard line with 10 minutes left in the game. Breen-Phillips quickly gained a first down. After an incompletion and a two-yard run, Kazmerski dropped back to pass but threw the ball right to Cavanaugh defensive back Lauran Williamson, who sprinted 40 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
The 1-point conversion was batted down by the Babes but the Chaos' 12 points were enough for the victory.
Cavanaugh running back Megan Land said the whole team played well.
"Everyone is a strong player on our team," she said.
The Babes did mount a comeback effort with four minutes left in the game. Freshman wide receiver Tara Johnson caught a 10-yard pass, her third reception of the drive, on fourth down to move the ball to the Chaos 3-yard line.
Kazmerski made the score 12-6 the next play on a quarterback sneak with three minutes remaining.
Welsh 7, Pasquerilla West 6
Last Sunday's game between Welsh and Pasquerilla West was one of the most even matches of the season, something that shouldn't be a surprise to a Pasquerilla West team which has already tied twice this year.
During Welsh's first possession, senior running back Megan Markey worked off the option to run in a touchdown for her team. Sophomore quarterback Melissa Sands, who completed roughly 63 percent of her passes, threw to Markey to score the extra point for Welsh.
Soon afterwards, freshman Brittany Scott of Welsh intercepted a pass by PW's senior quarterback Leslie Schmidt, who completed over half her passes.
With less than a minute left of the first half and Pasquerilla West within five yards of scoring, Scott intercepted another pass thrown by Schmidt and ran the ball back 17 yards. Almost immediately following this interception, Pasquerilla West junior Abby Nerlinger retaliated with an interception of Sands' pass.
In Pasquerilla West's next possession, sophomore running back Alyssa Howell caught a launch from Schmidt in the second half to finally put her team on the scoreboard.
Although Pasquerilla West did not come through with the extra point to at least tie the game, they had several impressive possessions.
Despite Pasquerilla West's several advances towards goal in the second half, Welsh Family's defense still prevailed to come away with the 1-point victory. The game ended with Welsh Family within four yards of scoring.
"It was a really hard played game. Things didn't go our way, but we played really hard and we should be proud of that," Powell said.
Walsh 13, Farley 6
With intense defense, Walsh propelled themselves back into the winner's column with a 13-6 victory over Farley Sunday afternoon at the McGlinn fields.
After losing their past three games, Walsh showed they are back and, as coach Dave Brenner said, "ready to play with some enthusiasm."
It was an even battle for the majority of the first half with both teams working their way down the field. Their respective defenses, however, played strong and prevented any scoring opportunities.
Then, with two minutes left in the first half, Walsh's Kat DiPietro and quarterback Carrie Campbell tricked up the Farley defense with a reverse and DiPietro proceeded to make a 30-yard run into the end zone.
"It was encouraging," DiPietro said of her touchdown. "It felt good to take the lead."
The Wild Women were up 6-0 going into the second half when Walsh's Aileen Kelley picked off a Farley pass at the 35-yard line in the second play of the new half.
The Wild Women scored on a quarterback sneak several plays later.
Not to be discouraged, Farley looked to be gaining their offensive rhythm but their catches were repeatedly declared out of bounds and Walsh regained control.
Farley safety Diana Duran intercepted the ball soon afterwards, however, and was able to run it to Walsh's 30-yard line.
Megan Spokes caught a touchdown pass and Farley was back in the hunt with the score 13-6.
As the game was winding down, Farley looked to even out the score but Walsh's defense held them and Walsh ultimately came out with the victory.
"It was very disappointing. We came in with very high expectations," Farley captain Angelina Zehrbach said. "We gave up some big plays and couldn't get the job done on offense and when that happens, you lose."
Zehrbach represents a frustrated Farley team that is longing for its first win in over two seasons.
"We don't want to end the season without a win," she said. "We got close so many times to getting touchdowns; we just couldn't put it away."
Farley plans to put this difficult loss behind them as they move on to play Pangborn on Tuesday while Walsh needs a strong showing against Breen-Phillips to secure their spot in the playoffs.
"BP is a tough team but it will be a good game," Brenner said. "It will be good to come in off of a win. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the next game."
