Spitfire Opens Regular Season in Cincinnati

By: Deb Wallace

April 16, 2005 - CINCINNATI, OH - The sun was shinning, with a cool breeze blowing across the field and not a cloud was to be found anywhere in the sky. It was a great day to play football. The Toledo Spitfire started the regular season on the road in Cincinnati playing the Sizzle. The Sizzle is an expansion team in the NWFA and is coached by former Bengal Ickey Woods.

The game started out well for both teams with the Sizzle scoring the first touchdown of the day. On the kickoff, Jessie Torda received the ball and ran 64 yard for the one and only touchdown for the Spitfire. Torda also had a 25 yard carry besides an almost interception. She had intercepted a pass in the endzone, but with a penalty on the Spitfire, the ball went back to the Sizzle. She played well on offense and defense all day. Besides Torda making plays on defense, Joy Youster made her presence known several times throughout the game with strong hits and a few timely tackles. Also on defense, Denise Thompson recovered a fumble in the second quarter.

With several injuries, the Spitfire dressed only 16 players, compared to 49 for the Sizzle. With such a small number available to play, everybody but quarterback Cathy Youngman played on both sides of the ball, with a few subs on the sideline to rotate into the game. Eventually the disparity in numbers showed as the Spitfire started to wear out. Regardless of this, the team fought hard, but with a good passing game from the Sizzle, it proved to be too much with the Sizzle winning handily. With a bye week coming up, the Spitfire hope to improve on their play and hope that some of their teammates can return to the field with them.

The home opener is April 30 against the Baltimore Burn at 7pm at Rossford High School. More information about the Spitfire can be found at www.toledospitfire.com.