Off to a great start to the season, the California Quake of the Independent Women’s Football League headed off to Vegas to face the hometown Showgirlz.  Here’s how it happened, it their own words…

Thursday, Last Practice Before Game Day
By: Erica “Hyper” Morgan #74

So today is the last practice before our game against Las Vegas. This is a huge game for us because we are tied with Vegas for the first place in our division. For the first time in Quake history we have a chance to go 4 – 0 which means we will have a 4 game winning streak with no losses. Going into practice we’re concerned that the rookies are too confident but a little too cocky; they are losing their hunger. We had to tell them that even though we are dominating our division we are the underdogs in the league. The teams we have to face in the playoffs are a lot better than the teams we are going against now. We finally have the management, the coaches, the players; we have the team to take this to the top. I want to win, I want the trophy, I want a ring, I want it so bad I can taste it, I can feel it! So I feel I have to prepare these rookies. Help them keep the fire in their eyes. Help them stay hungry and focused for the big prize. We will shock the world. Show ‘em something they’ve never seen before. We are the QUAKE!

Friday, Traveling to Las Vegas
By: Jennie “McNutty” McNulty #22

We meet the bus at 1pm for the road trip to Las Vegas.  Or, should I say, “rooooooaaaaaad triiiiiiip.” “ Hyper,” our incredibly energetic linebacker, leads that rallying cry on the bus every away game.  Our bus rides can be pretty crazy.  But, the bus is strangely sedate today.  No one seems down but, not as excited as you would expect a team heading into a game determining sole possession of first place and the first 4-0 start in team history.  Maybe the rookies just expect to win now.  They haven’t experienced anything else.  They haven’t suffered through the 0-2 and 2-6 seasons that we have.  But, the vets are pretty mellow too – myself included.  I hope the enthusiasm returns for gameday.

We’re on our own once we get to Vegas with a 12:00am bed check.  Hopefully, we won’t make too many donations at the casinos.  Personally, I think I will wait until after the game Saturday night to gamble as my money usually, “stays in Vegas.”

And, we need to get focused to beat the Showgirlz.  The “Showgirlz.” Okay, I have 2 questions: One, who said, “Hey let’s call our team ‘The Showgirlz” and, two, who the hell answered, “Yeah, great idea.”  ‘Cuz ya know, nothing says intimidation like “Showgirlz.”  You know the little stickers that players get on their helmets for good plays?  Theirs are pasties.  And that’s another reason we really need to get pumped up to win.  We cannot go home and say “we got beat by the Showgirlz.”  THAT would have to stay in Vegas.

 
Saturday, Game Day
By: Monique “Wheels” Zaky

Game day. The moment I open my eyes my heart starts pounding. I grab my phone to look at the time and it reads 7am. I look to my left and my full back Kristin Nicholas aka “Bulldog” seemed to be having the same feelings.  Laying my head back on my pillow, thoughts of the half-back pass began to haunt me.  Pressure mounted as I thought of the possibility that we could actually achieve a 4 – 0 record, and how uncomfortable I was sharing a full size bed in a hotel called Arizona Charlie’s…in Nevada.

3:15 pm the bus arrives to the field. They directed us to our locker room and told specialist that we had 10 minutes to get ready and get out on the field. The aura of excitement that we usually have on game day was awkwardly absent.  The specialist got dressed and ready to go in silence. I took one last look at my things and around the locker room before leaving and I couldn’t tell if my team was ready to play or not. I was ready. I was ready to take home the 4 – 0 record. I had the feeling in my body that the rest of the team was ready as well. This was a different kind of game. This game meant more to us then just a ‘W’ in the win column. We were nervous and we had good reason to be.

It’s 6:00 and the weather is dry. Makes for a great game with cottonmouth and chapped lips.  We’ve lost the coin toss which means defense takes the filed first. Most people would be bummed about not receiving the ball first, but it calms my nerves. I like to see my defense take the field first. Once I know our defense can stop the other team from scoring, it’s all about putting up points on the board. It gives me a sense of confidence and our defense did just that. Defense stops LV on the first offensive drive. It is now time to see what the offense is made of.  There is no feeling like going up against a defense you have never seen before. We had no idea what to really expect. With our nerves going crazy, the first play of offensive drive ended with a loss of yards. We had a lot of making up to do and all I could think about was how we cannot let our defense down and we cannot lose. The second play of our first offensive series we scored. We showed our Defense that we are a team. We are going to work together no matter how hard this game is going to be. And we did just that.

We started off the second quarter on defense. The defense once again showed what they are made of when #80 Esther McGee and the rest of her defense caused a safety. In the same quarter our offense drilled the ball right up the middle until we found ourselves on the 3 yard line. The play came in and everyone was ready to score again. “Bulldog” # 40, found herself with the ball in her hands and the offensive line pushing like there was no tomorrow. Bulldog gave it her all and before we knew it we had 6 more points to call our own.  Next thing I know we are up 18 – 0 and we have all the momentum. Just when I thought we could calm down a bit, LV receives a kickoff and returns it for a touch down. After a successful 2 point conversion by LV this made the score 18-8.  This definitely shifted the momentum to the opposing team. All I could think about on the field was that we had to keep driving ourselves into the end zone every time we have possession of the ball. Obviously this team is capable of scoring but so are we. I wasn’t going to let anything the other team did cause me to play any different then I would if we were winning by 60 points. I kept telling myself that we could do it… and that we will do it no matter what it takes. 

Halftime came as fast as it went. The score now is 18-14. We are still in the lead, but not by much. The Showgirlz were not going to go down easy which made our jobs that much harder. All I could do at half time was try to regain some energy. I closed my eyes and envisioned how good it would feel at the end of the game and that the pain I was feeling at that moment would certainly disappear with the mere sound of that last second horn and us walking off of the field with a victory. Nothing seems to hurt when you win, and we needed that.

The third quarter started off by a quick touchdown by us. At this point we had a 10 point lead with the score of 24-14. When defense was on the filed all I could do was pace the sidelines. I kept saying to myself “please don’t let them score, please don’t let them score”. As the Showgirlz took the field they continued to pass because that was all that was working for them. They passed the ball and everyone on the sidelines gasped because we didn’t want them to score again. To our advantage #24 Michelle Friezen Aka “Freezus” intercepted the ball and returned it about 31 yards down the field. This defiantly gave us the momentum we needed to finish this game strong.

By the time the fourth quarter came around it felt like we were trading touchdowns because the score was now 24 – 20. It felt like we couldn’t get a big enough gap to secure us the game. All we needed was one last touchdown to secure a win.  The most memorable play for myself was when they called a 29 pitch in the fourth quarter. As I was running with the ball a million things were jumbling through my head. I thought, “get her Bulldog. Please get her. Thank God, here we go! Squeeze through that gap. Keep running. The outside is open. Get to the outside. She is coming for me. She is going to get me. Straight-arm her. She didn’t get me. Run. Touchdown!” After that touchdown, I think we could all taste the win. We made it to the end zone and I’m hoping we’ve done all that we can to secure this victory. After the 2 point attempt I’m taken out of the game because of an injury. The score was now 30 – 20 and once again there was a 10 point gap. There’s 2:30 minutes left when LV got the ball for the last time. They score on an absolutely lucky play making it 30-27.  1:52 left when offense takes the field. LV only has one timeout left.  I’m wishing I could be on the field. I’ve never been a part of a team who poured out their hearts and souls for a victory. We had injury after injury but no one stopped for a second to put their heads down. There was no time for that. We had a game to win and moping was not an option. Our offense did a great job finishing the game. I was right everything felt amazing and nothing hurt. It was worth every bump and bruise. The final score was 30 – 27 with the California Quake taking home the victory and the 4 – 0  record, the first time in Quake history!

Sunday, After the Game
By: Catherine “Squeaks” Vivo #12

We’re back from Las Vegas and as I lay in bed I realize that we’re 4-0! Oh my god we did it, we made history. I’ve never been more proud as the owner of the team and as a player, I’m completely overwhelmed. The Showgirlz are a competitive team but only one team can walk away with a win. Both teams fought until the end and it was an exciting game for everyone, especially our fans who traveled with us to see us WIN. I’m excited we came home undefeated! This is why I bought this team and this is why I believe in this organization. I put my life into this organization, my time and dedication to do what I can to get this team to the top, to push ourselves to our expectations and beyond. People didn’t give us a second thought to be a competitive team and now, as our head coach, Josh Penn, stated in an email to the team, “We have the target on our back now and all the teams want to be us.” Wow, that gives me chills. We’re a winning team and there are teams in our league that are talking about us; trying to find a way to beat us.

In the 5 years I’ve been playing women’s tackle football these group of players, coaches and staff members have the best chemistry and best teamwork I’ve ever seen and experienced. We all put our hearts and soul out on the line wanting a win, after another win, to eventually be on the gridiron battling it out with another team for that championship title. We want it so bad but during a speech at one of our practices the question was “How bad do you want it?  How much more do we want it than those other teams?”  Well after playing this past game with the Showgirlz the Quake obviously wanted it more. We played like a team with discipline and technique.

After we celebrate this weekend, come Tuesday at practice we forget about what we did and move on to prepare ourselves for our next game against the Tucson Monsoon at Downey high school, in our house. We forget about the pain, the bruises, the injuries, the win…we leave it behind us to move forward to prepare for our next battle. We made history this past weekend, well it doesn’t stop there. Our season has just begun and we’re ready for it! Quake on three… 1…. 2….. 3…. QUAKE!!