MONCTON - The Maritime Women's Football League SupHer Bowl championship game turned into the Alex Black Show yesterday.

Black, the Capital Area Curves Lady Gladiators' speedy 16-year-old quarterback, led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to stun the Moncton Vipers 15-14 at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

The Gladiators captured the Judy Upward Trophy for the second straight season. They beat the Halifax Xplosion 20-8 in last year's league final.

"We worked really hard for this. We practised hard, we played hard and I'm so proud of my teammates," said Black, who also quarterbacked Capital Area to last year's championship.

"I know Moncton worked just as hard as us, but we were able to come out on top and I'm so proud to be a Gladiator right now."

The Gladiators and Vipers each went 4-2 during the regular season (Capital Area was awarded first place with less points against) and split their two regular season meetings. Yesterday's game went down to the final few seconds.

Moncton entered the fourth quarter with a 14-0 lead following a 52-yard touchdown run by running back Justine Barter and looked to be on the way to its first ever league championship.

The Gladiators had another idea.

Black cued the comeback with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when she ran for a 16-yard touchdown. She also kicked a two-point convert to pull Capital Area within 14-8.

The Vipers then got into penalty trouble. They were called for no yards and facemask penalties on the same play following their own punt -- a combined 30 yards in penalties -- to give the Gladiators the ball on their own 42-yard line and a victory in sight with 1:15 left to play.

Black marched Capital Area down the field and finished the drive with another touchdown on a 12-yard quarterback keep with just three seconds remaining to tie the game 14-14.

Black then put the finishing touches on the comeback when she found Kristina O'Brien in the end zone on a one-point conversion pass.

"That was one of those things called a TSN fourth-quarter comeback. It was a big adrenaline rush," said Black, who is from Yoho Lake, just outside of Fredericton, and is a multi-sport athlete at Harvey High School.

"We scored that first touchdown late, but our defence and everyone just fed off that and we went from there."

Moncton's hard-hitting defence, led by linebackers Tara Keohan and Tina Theriault and defensive back Jill Forbes, was able to keep the rest of the Gladiators in check, but it still wasn't enough.

Black, who was selected last year's top offensive player in the league, has been playing football for nine years. She suited up for the Fredericton Black Kats bantam team last season."I've played with boys and it gets competitive out there," she said. "Playing with this team, I have to bring up what the guys do to make it more competitive for our girls ... so they can get that competitive feeling.

"The girls league is getting more and more competitive each year. We work just as hard as the guys do and we've proven we can play football just like them."

Jenny Miller, on a one-yard quarterback keep, scored Moncton's other touchdown.

The Vipers lost in the league final for the second time in three years. They fell 24-14 to the Saint John Buccaneers in 2005. "It's a tough way to lose, but we knew it would be this type of game. It was hard-fought to the final three seconds," said Moncton head coach Gilles Lavoie."We're still happy with our season. We were confident we could get to the final game and we came up against another good team and just ran out of time."

The Maritime Women's Football League SupHer Bowl championship game turned into the Alex Black Show yesterday.

Black, the Capital Area Lady Gladiators' speedy 16-year-old quarterback, led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to stun the Moncton Vipers 15-14 at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

The Gladiators, of Fredericton, captured the Judy Upward Trophy for the second straight season. They beat the Halifax Xplosion 20-8 in last year's league final.

"We worked really hard for this. We practised hard, we played hard and I'm so proud of my teammates," said Black, who also quarterbacked Capital Area to last year's championship.

"I know Moncton worked just as hard as us, but we were able to come out on top and I'm so proud to be a Gladiator right now." The Gladiators and Vipers each went 4-2 during the regular season (Capital Area was awarded first place with less points against) and split their two regular season meetings. Yesterday's game went down to the final few seconds.

Moncton entered the fourth quarter with a 14-0 lead following a 52-yard touchdown run by running back Justine Barter and looked to be on the way to its first ever league championship.

The Gladiators had another idea.

Black cued the comeback with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when she ran for a 16-yard touchdown. She also kicked a two-point convert to pull Capital Area within 14-8.

The Vipers then got into penalty trouble. They were called for no yards and facemask penalties on the same play following their own punt - a combined 30 yards in penalties - to give the Gladiators the ball on their own 42-yard line and a victory in sight with 1:15 left to play.

Black marched Capital Area down the field and finished the drive with another touchdown on a 12-yard quarterback keep with just three seconds remaining to tie the game 14-14.

Black then put the finishing touches on the comeback when she found Kristina O'Brien in the end zone on a one-point conversion pass.

"That was one of those things called a TSN fourth-quarter comeback.

It was a big adrenaline rush," said Black, who is from Yoho Lake, just outside of Fredericton, and is a multi-sport athlete at Harvey High School.

"We scored that first touchdown late, but our defence and everyone just fed off that and we went from there." Moncton's hard-hitting defence, led by linebackers Tara Keohan and Tina Theriault and defensive back Jill Forbes, was able to keep the rest of the Gladiators in check, but it still wasn't enough.

Black, who was selected last year's top offensive player in the league, has been playing football for nine years. She suited up for the Fredericton Black Kats bantam team last season.

"I've played with boys and it gets competitive out there," she said.

"Playing with this team, I have to bring up what the guys do to make it more competitive for our girls ... so they can get that competitive feeling.

"The girls league is getting more and more competitive each year. We work just as hard as the guys do and we've proven we can play football just like them." Jenny Miller, on a one-yard quarterback keep, scored Moncton's other touchdown.

The Vipers lost in the league final for the second time in three years. They fell 24-14 to the Saint John Buccaneers in 2005.

"It's a tough way to lose, but we knew it would be this type of game.

It was hard-fought to the final three seconds," said Moncton head coach Gilles Lavoie.

"We're still happy with our season.

We were confident we could get to the final game and we came up against another good team and just ran out of time."

Don't make any plans for Sunday dinner.

Instead head out to watch the Moncton Vipers chase a Maritime Women's Football League championship.

For the first time in the team's history, the Vipers are going to the big show against the defending champions, the Fredericton Capital Area Gladiators, and they're hoping to come out with a trophy.

"It's obviously very exciting and quite an accomplishment," said Moncton running back Mandy Mallais.

"The players have a lot of heart and we're certainly not going in with 100 per cent confidence we're going to come out with a win, but we have a good team."

The Vipers and the Gladiators met twice in the regular season. Fredericton won the first game 13-0, but Moncton answered in the second game with a 12-8 win.

Both teams finished with four wins and two losses after the regular season, but the Gladiators came out with a first place standing because they had less points against.

"They beat us in our first game of the season," said Mallais, "and I don't think we were really focussed.

"After the second game our confidence went up and I think that they will be surprised."

The game, billed as the Sup-Her Bowl for the Judy Upward Trophy, is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

Mallais thinks spectators will be surprised at the calibre of football being played.

She said fans can expect four full quarters of football where the players leave everything on the field.

"I think people expect to see a little bit of hair-pulling and no hard hits," she said.

"That's not the case. We play four quarters of football."

The team finished third last year.

Mallais credits the coaching staff's dedication for the team's success this year.

With mostly new players they were certainly working from the ground up, but they turned the Vipers into a winning machine who are friends on and off the field.

Mallais said the team is just trying to prepare themselves mentally, this week and are holding extra practices.

She's being transferred outside the province next year so this is her last game and after being with the team since the beginning three years ago, she's ready to walk away with a championship.

"We know they (Gladiators) are a good and strong team," she said.

"But right from the get-go, I knew we had a championship team, this year. I think it will be a very close game, for sure, but hopefully we can come out with a victory."

The Capital Area Curves Lady Gladiators will try to defend their Maritime Women's Football League title on enemy turf.

The Gladiators take on the Moncton Vipers in SupHer Bowl IV at 4 p.m. Sunday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

The teams appear evenly matched heading into the rubber match.

Capital Area shut out the Vipers 13-0 in the season opener June 10 at Rocky Stone, but Moncton won the rematch 12-8 July 8 at Oromocto.

Both teams finished with 4-2 records and are coming off convincing semifinal wins. The Gladiators routed the Saint John Storm 46-6 while the Vipers blanked Halifax Xplosion 20-0.

The Gladiators will have one surprise in store for the Vipers: Heidi Erdle, who joined the team in mid-season and plays fullback and cornerback.

"They'll be a surprise to me but I'll be a surprise to them, too,'' she said. "I've heard Moncton is pretty tough, but it's a funny league because everyone can beat everyone. The parity makes it good.''

Erdle, better known for her wrestling success with Fredericton High School and the University of New Brunswick, has a summer job planting trees for Irving. One of her co-workers, Gladiators all-star linebacker Julia Coleman, asked her to give football a try.

Football wasn't foreign to Erdle, though. The 18-year-old played for the FHS Junior Varsity Black Kats in Grade 10 and for the varsity Kats in Grade 12 in the fall of 2005.

She made her Gladiators debut in a 12-0 win against Halifax July 14 "and I stuck with it, because it's pretty fun,'' she said.

"I like the contact and the fact that everyone has a role to play,'' Erdle said. "We have to put it all together to make it work. It's such an adjustment from wrestling, where you're on your own. One player can be very good, but if we all don't do our part the team struggles.''

Erdle's late touchdown helped Capital Area edge Saint John 15-14 in her second game and she had a pair of TDs in the semifinal rematch against the Storm two weekends ago.

"I've got a couple good runs in,'' she said, "but I think everyone is doing pretty well. Our quarterback, Alex Black, is really good. She impresses me all the time.''

Erdle, who lives in Mactaquac, says she wishes she had played for the Gladiators earlier.

"I should have started playing right from the beginning when the team was formed,'' she said. "I was busy with wrestling in the summer, so I never bothered, but I'm glad I'm doing it now. I'm really impressed with how the program has come along.''

Playing football with the boys was a different, but not regrettable, experience.

"JV was much better than varsity because I was still their size,'' she said. "I actually managed to be pretty competitive with those guys. But varsity was a little out of my league. It was a challenge to keep up and, in the back of your mind, you're thinking 'These guys are big and I'm going to get hit hard.' It's different playing in the women's league because I know I can be comfortable with anyone.''

The Lady Gladiators range in age from 16 to mid-40s, she said.

"The mix of players is awesome,'' she said. "The camaraderie is great.''

Sunday's football final will be Erdle's last sporting event in the east for a while. She's transferring from UNB to the University of Calgary, which boasts "a pretty good women's wrestling program.''

"I need to train with more girls and go somewhere new,'' said Erdle, who heads west Aug. 30.

She won juvenile nationals and was MVP in 2006 and finished third at both junior nationals and the CIS championships this year.

UNB wrestling coach Don Ryan "has been great'' about her decision and she said she's enjoyed her time training with the V-Reds.

"The guys are hard on you,'' she said, "so you kind of rise up a bit more than if you were just training with girls.''

Long term, Erdle is thinking about the 2012 or 2016 Olympics, "but that's going to take a lot of work. I'll have a better idea as I get closer to it.''

Saint John and Halifax -- 20-8 losers to Capital Area in last year's final -- were supposed to meet in the third-place game Sunday but Xplosion has too many injured players to field a team.