OBSERVER Photos by Tim Frank
Fredonia’s Elizabeth Morris pressures Pioneer quarterback Gretchen Rumfola during Monday’s Section VI Division 2 crossover flag football game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
ORCHARD PARK – Throughout this spring’s flag football season, Fredonia dominated nearly all of its opponents.
Sixteen of the 17 succumbed to the Hillbillies.
The one that did not?
Pioneer.
So it was fitting that Fredonia – the Section VI Division 2B champion – had to go through the Panthers to continue its season.
OBSERVER Photo by Tim Frank
Fredonia’s Ella Koopman looks for running room.
Unfortunately, Pioneer was superior again.
Gretchen Rumfola threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another, and the Panthers defense stymied the Hillbillies to the tune of 178 total yards as Pioneer won the Section VI Division 2 crossover game 26-12 Monday night at Highmark Stadium.
“They are tough. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. They are very well coached and play extremely hard,” Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando said. ” … When they spread you out, you have to respect that because of their speed and ability to get to the edge. When we started packing it inside, they started going to the outside.”
The Panthers dominated the first half Monday, jumping out to a 20-0 lead despite throwing an interception on their first play from scrimmage.
Fredonia started with a first-and-goal from the 19-yard line, but couldn’t move the ball and on fourth down from the 14-yard line, a pass fell incomplete to hand possession back over to Pioneer.
OBSERVER Photo by Tim Frank
Fredonia’s Natalia DiPalma gains yardage during Monday’s Section VI Division 2 crossover flag football game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
“If we had scored on that first possession, I think it’s a totally different dynamic,” Bertrando said. ” … There were multiple opportunities where we had them deep and distance, and we just couldn’t come away with it.”
Two possessions later, the Panthers took the lead as Rumfola capped an eight-play, 47-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cora Hirsch on a fourth-down play-action call. Jayden Leederman added the point-after run to make it 7-0.
Following a three-and-out from the Hillbillies, Pioneer marched 59 yards in nine plays, this time with Rumfola running in a touchdown from 3 yards out to make it 13-0 with 6:47 left in the first half.
Another failed Fredonia drive gave the Panthers the ball at the Hillbillies’ 33-yard line. Six plays later, Ella Spielvogel wrestled the ball away from a Fredonia defender in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown from Rumfola, which made it 20-0 after Rumfola’s conversion run.
Despite trailing 20-0 at halftime, Fredonia still felt it was in the game, largely due to the fact that the Hillbillies had scored 131 points in their previous three playoff games.
“At halftime, we said: ‘If this is going to be our last 25 minutes of football, let’s leave it all out there on the field,’” Bertrando said. “I know that’s cliche and probably everybody says that at halftime, but it was really the girls who were sending that message.”
Pioneer made it 26-0 on its first drive of the second half when Leederman scored on a 1-yard run.
“I can’t say enough about their quarterback-running back duo. They are two dynamic players who are really special,” Bertrando said. “I think they are going to carry that team pretty far in the playoffs.”
Fredonia’s offense finally got going on its next possession, earning its first first down of the game with 16:17 remaining in the second half. Eight plays later, on fourth-and-goal, Ella Koopman ran for a 5-yard touchdown to break up the shutout.
After a Panthers punt, the Hillbillies went 61 yards in eight plays, capped by another Koopman touchdown – this one of the highlight-reel caliber as she weaved between several Panthers defenders to score from the 19-yard line.
“Both games we gave up 26 points to this team. We had multiple possessions where it was third-and-short, we had a couple of fourth-down plays where we couldn’t get the defense off the field,” Bertrando said. ” … We had some miscues in some inopportune times that gave them that cushion, which in the second half was too deep to come back from.”
Despite Paige Elliott’s second interception of the night that ended Pioneer’s next drive, Fredonia would get no closer as it saw its season come to an end.
“We’re really looking to establish this with the other strong sports we have at Fredonia. It starts with the culture and having better people than players,” Bertrando said. ” … We already have plans for, hopefully, adding a modified team next year along with some other schools in Section VI … to hopefully take this thing to where we’d like to see it in a couple of years.”
Fredonia 0 12 – 12
Pioneer 20 6 – 26
Pio-Hirsch 6 pass from Rumfola (Leederman run)
Pio-Rumfola 3 run (pass failed)
Pio-Spielvogel 9 pass from Rumfola (Rumfola run)
Pio-Leederman 1 run (run failed)
Fre-Koopman 5 run (pass failed)
Fre-Koopman 19 run (run failed)