Badin's upset bid falls short
By JASON KROMPINGER
Sports Writer
After eight minutes of play Sunday at McGlinn Field, it looked like Badin was poised to knock off Welsh and move on in the playoffs.
But in the second half, Welsh brought out a potent aerial attack and put up 24 unanswered points, cruising to a 24-8 victory.
"We were able to recover from our first-half mental mistakes and make some key adjustments for the second half," said co-captain Katie Rak. "We played with a lot more confidence once we started moving the ball."
At the start of the game, the Bullfrog's defense looked unstoppable as they racked up five sacks on Welsh's first two possessions.
After Welsh punted following their first drive, Badin's offense took all four downs to pick up a first and move to the Welsh 20-yard line. The very next play, Badin quarterback Priscilla Clements unleashed a bomb which was caught in the back of the end zone for Badin's first score.
Badin's next score came after a Welsh player intercepted one of Clements' passes at her own 1-yard line. Following an incompletion, the Whirlwind tried a quarterback keeper to the outside which was stuffed in the end zone by Badin's swarming defense. The safety gave the Bullfrogs two points, the ball and the momentum they needed.
But the pendulum started to swing the other way at the end of the first half when a Badin pass was picked off and returned to the Welsh 20. From there, Welsh took the ball downfield with a couple of long connections to Vanessa Lichon and Sarah Lett. Lett scored on Welsh's third first down of the drive, and Welsh narrowed the gap to 8-6 as the half closed.
At the start of the second half, the teams traded punts. Welsh's next possession started out with an incompletion and the sixth sack of the day for the Badin defense. On third down, Lett hauled in a long completion for the first down.
A rare end-around got Welsh its second touchdown on the next play, as it broke ahead 12-8.
"At that point we just kind of looked at each other and said `Let's go there isn't much time left'" Rak said.
Following a Badin punt, Welsh was promptly intercepted, and it seemed Badin was poised to retake control of the game. But on the first play, Clements was picked off. Two plays later, Welsh stuck again, scoring on another bomb to Lett to take an 18-8 lead. They later tacked another touchdown in the game's closing seconds on a pass to Lichon.
"Right now we have made a commitment to practice every day of the week," Rak said. "We know that [Breen-Phillips] is undefeated and to take them out would be huge."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 2, 1999
