Maritime Women's Football League
2009 Game Summaries

Week 8: July 25 "Finals"

SAINT JOHN - The Moncton Vipers captured the Maritime Women's Football League SupHer Bowl VI after downing the Saint John Storm 30-24 Saturday at Millidgeville field.

It was the Vipers first championship after three previous efforts, including two title loses to the Storm in 2008 and 2005.

"We worked so hard all season to prepare for this and today we really came together as a team and were able to come out on top," Justine Barter, a third-year Viper, said. The running back led her squad to the win with two touchdowns.

"For a lot of our girls, it's their last year playing, so it's a big win," Barter said.

Tara Keohan put Moncton on the board early in the second quarter after receiving a pass from quarterback Jenny Miller and driving to the Storm's doorstep. She was tackled by Lori Boyles, but punched it in the following play. Darby Thibodeau had the convert for two points and an 8-0 lead.

The Storm answered with two minutes left in the half thanks to an interception by centre back Sherry Rowe at the Vipers' 35-yard line. Boyles broke loose from the scrimmage line and reeled in a pass from quarterback Lisa Harlow, evading three defenders for a 30-yard touchdown run. Terri Shannon kicked the conversion.

The Vipers weren't long regaining the lead, though, with Jillian Forbes recovering her own team's kick off after the pigskin bounced off a defender's chest. Barter ran it 25 yards to the end zone, then charged through the middle on the next play for her first touchdown of the game with 20 seconds remaining in the half. Thibodeau's kick was blocked by defensive end Trina Graves for a 14-8 Vipers advantage.

"We're always slow off the start," Storm coach Larry Harlow said, "but they pushed us into some poor field position right off the draw."

"It really came down to a couple of key plays," Harlow said.

The Storm stole the lead momentarily in the third quarter when Lisa Harlow punched it in following an eight-play drive. Shannon nailed the convert for a 16-14 game.

But Moncton had another late-quarter score as Miller found Tina Heatherington all alone at the Storm's 37-yard line for an easy touchdown sprint. Thibodeau's kick was good.

Saint John rallied in a seven-play offensive but was stone-walled by the Vipers defence just six inches shy of a first down at mid-field.

The Metro squad widened the gap in their next series, using a 10-yard dash from Barter and conversion by Thibodeau to make it 30-16.

Michelle Young-Mather returned the kick at her own 35-yard line to start an impressive and hard fought 13-play series that resulted in a touchdown from running back Kendra Jones with nine seconds left in the game.

"They were coming back strong, with a little more time on the clock they maybe could have hung in there," Gilles Lavoie, the Vipers coach, said.

"We didn't mind that they were driving the ball, and they made some really great plays but it was also eating the clock which was in our favour.

"We figured we could hold them off, they might score one touchdown but they weren't going to score two on us, that was our mindset," Lavoie said.

And so it went, the clock running out to clear way for the Vipers emotional celebration at mid-field. Several girls collapsed with joy to the soggy turf as their teammates formed a circle around them, cheering and jumping in the air. After the medals ceremony, coach Lavoie and his Vipers proudly hoisted the long-sought Judy Upward Trophy to the sky.

Earlier Saturday, the Fredericton Gladiators captured the Friendship Bowl after defeating the Halifax Xplosion 18-0 at Millidgeville Field.

Moncton Vipers coach Gilles Lavoie believes the time has come for his players to win the Maritime Women's Football League title, but he's not putting any pressure on the team to bring home a championship.

Vipers have competed in the SupHer Bowl league championship game in three of the last four years, but have not captured the title.

"Everyone wants to win so winning is important, but it is not as important as having fun," Lavoie said last night.

"We've met our goal of having fun and building friendships. I'd be happy for our team if we could complete the task and win the title. Some of these girls have been with us since the start and it would be great for them to win the championship." Vipers visit the Saint John Storm in the league final today at 4:30 p.m. at the Millidgeville Field in Saint John. Halifax XPlosion and Fredericton's Capital Area Gladiators meet in the league's third-place game at 1:30 p.m.

"We lost a heartbreaker in the dying seconds a couple of years ago and last year the game was closer than the score indicated so we've been close," Lavoie said.

"This year, I think we've got the team to win it. It's been fun to coach this group because they've worked hard and meshed together as a team very well."

Vipers and Storm each posted 5-1 records this season. They also split their season series with the home team emerging with victories in the two games.

"We match up very well," the coach said. "We've got a solid offence and they've got a solid defence, but our defence can also come up big, too.

Lavoie hopes the success of the Vipers this year will promote the sport in southeastern New Brunswick. Moncton Football Association will run a six-player league for 15-18 year-old girls this fall.

"It's a format that has worked well in Saint John and Fredericton so we're expecting the same in Moncton."

SAINT JOHN - Lisa Harlow knows her role as the Saint John Storm women's football club aims to capture its second consecutive league championship this weekend. The veteran quarterback can snap a pass or run the ball alongside any other in the circuit, but her greatest weapon against finalists the Moncton Vipers can't be found in a playbook.

"I'm looking to lead this team to a championship on Saturday; be the general, see the field, communicate with the coaches and defend our championship," Harlow said.

The Storm will need Harlow's six years of experience in the Maritime Women's Football League when they square off against the Moncton Vipers today at 4:30 p.m. at Millidgeville field for SupHer Bowl VI.

The match promises to be a thriller. Both squads gave each other their only regular season loss for a 5-1 record heading into the playoffs, and their points for and against ratios are so close it's eerie; the Storm recording a 212-28 spread to the Vipers' 212-44.

"If we're both on our game, then Saturday is going to be a really tough battle," Storm offensive liner Tracy Rector said.

In her four years with the Storm, she's met the Vipers twice in a championship contest; last year, when the Storm won 24-14, and in 2005, when Saint John won by the same score. Rector said she knows what to expect in round three.

"They're not going to give us any room and they're going to come at us hard the entire game," she said from the sidelines at Millidgeville Field. The Storm took advantage of a mild Thursday evening to get in one final practice before the championship game.

"It's the trenches that are going to win this game, whoever can win the battle on the scrimmage line will take the game."

But, as running back Kendra Jones points out, physical prowess alone won't guarantee a victory at this level.

"It's going to be more about the mental game because we're so closely matched in skill this year," Jones said.

"We need to keep our cool on the field, even though we'll be playing as tough as we can," the Storm sophomore added.

This will be the Vipers fourth championship game in the league's six years of existence. Moncton coach Gilles Lavoie said his team is due to hoist the Judy Upward Trophy.

"We felt we've had a strong team in the finals but we came up short each year. This time, we're hoping it'll be the one to get the monkey off our back and win it," Lavoie said.

"We have an opportunity to maybe redeem ourselves."

Having lost two SupHer bowls at the hands of the Storm, Lavoie said there's no shortage of motivation for his squad to perform.

"Once we got through the first round of the regular season we were pretty confident it would be us and the Storm in the final," he said.

"And we relish that."

Harlow is well aware of the target on her team's back. Ironically, she said she owes that sense of urgency to the Vipers.

"We're not taking them lightly. The loss to them at the start of the season was great for us; it really brought us back down to where we needed to be," Harlow said.

"We remembered 'yes, we're the championship team, but now everyone is out to get us."

"I know Moncton is hungry for (the SupHer Bowl). They're going to come with their game, and I'm fully confident that we're ready to defend our championship," she said. If they're successful, it will be the Storm's fourth league title.

The Friendship Bowl third-place game will take place at 1:30 p.m. at Millidgeville Field today. The festivities begin around noon, however, with a barbecue and tailgate party to celebrate women's football. A fundraiser for P.R.O. Kids will happen during halftime at each game, where spectators have a chance to win a range of prizes.

"It's going to be a great day for fans, and a true Maritime championship," Harlow said.