Somers Goes Both Ways in First Round Victory

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When the flag football preseason began, Coach Vinny DiFilippo refused to be bogged down by having two capable quarterbacks in Ava Schmidberger and Julia Goulart. “There wasn’t a doubt in our minds that both were going to be splitting time,” he said. But cutting the playing time in half for Goulart still leaves plenty room to shine. Going both ways, the signal caller proved she didn’t need the ball to have a huge impact.

“Bella made a tremendous play. A three step route, she undercut and took it to the house,” said the coach. So the tone set on the opening drive, the Tuskers went onto a 13-0 victory over Panas on Wednesday, May 13.

Unfortunately for Panas, they opened strong at the high school, Three big plays put them 27 yards away when Goulart stepped in.

The Rebels kept their heads up nonetheless. The quarterback scrambled for a first down at the 25 and then hit a pass play to the Somers 31. The bending Somers defense didn’t break, though, and three plays later, the offense finally got on the field.

The first turn to Schmidberger, the sophomore had no problem showcasing her running back. “I trust (Natalie) D'Ippolito,” said the QB, and Panas was forced to bear witness to the first three explosive runs by the elephant.

The drive stalling at the 27, there was no denying what Panas was up against. On defense too, the sophomore had a sack and tackle to help cue up the Somers offense. At 9:01, the defender explained the basics. “Just getting around the block can be tough,” D'Ippolito said, “but you have to execute and have the right timing.”

On the docket, Goulart gave her teammate a breather. The QB rolled right, cut in and got across midfield. First down at the Panas 38, D’Ippolito’s fuse was lit. “She has lightning speed, and has the ability to cut and make people miss,” boasted DiFilippo.

Two D'Ippolito runs gave Somers a first down on the 19 but a high snap set up a third and goal from the 27. So Goulart dropped back and into a crowd didn’t look good. That is until Morgan Sabanosh pulled in the deflection and got Somers within reach. At the nine, Goulart rolled right, and in the chaos, Sabanosh was left open in the end zone.

The QB didn’t see, and the tackle gave Panas the ball back. On the other hand, front line pressure, a fumble and another D’Ippolito sack put the field position game in play for Somers. The Panas punter had other ideas, though. She kicked the ball over Goulart’s head, and Somers started at their own 15.

The momentum shift gave Somers only three plays, but after more good defense, the second quarter closed with the six point lead intact. A half to go, D’Ippolito continued to gobble up gridiron and beat the clock. After Schmidberger got outside for a first down to the 30, the QB flipped the option to the sideline, and D’Ippolito exploded and eluded past midfield.

Three more plays left 5:48 in the third, and despite the Somers punt, Panas didn’t do themselves any favors. A high incomplete screen pass, a fumble and another incompletion brought out the punt team.

Shanked, the Tuskers took over at the Panas 38, and the home team put aside having time on their side. Schmidberger rolled left and connected with Angela Roane on the sideline.

Second and three, Panas couldn’t keep D’Ippolito from soaring. A bad thing in this sport, the running back was flagged for diving, and the girls faced a third and ten from the 30.

Of course, staying on her feet wasn’t such a great thing for Panas either. Schmidberger ran the option right, and on the flip, D’Ippolito did the rest. She bolted past the first line of defense and evaded the secondary for a first down at the 15.

Then the running back was a two way street. Schmidberger sent her left for a five yard gain, and next, the handoff went right to the end zone. Still, D’Ippolito assigned credit to her teammates. “Great blocks, great execution, they give me space to run,” said the Tusker.

12-0 with 26 seconds left in the 3rd, D’Ippolito wasn’t done. She caught Schmidberger’s conversion attempt in traffic and pulled in the extra point for a 13-0 lead.

Hurt on the play, D’Ippolito was forced to watch her teammates do the rest. Maggie Mancini had a couple of big pulls to help derail the last two drives, and with Yorktown on the way, D’Ippolito foresaw the field. “I’m ok, I’ll be back in shape,” she concluded.

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