By Josh Ballou
The Minnesota Vixen hosted the DC Divas in week 4 of the WFA regular season. The Vixen are coming off a hard-fought 34-27 loss against the St. Louis Slam May 10. Minnesota (1-1) will take on DC (2-0) in what many are calling the matchup of the week in the WFA. Looking to get back in the win column, the Vixen will watch out as the Divas look to continue their hot start to the season.
The defense went up against a high-powered DC offense, which scored 71 points in week 1 and 38 points in week 2. After a big kick return for the Divas to start out the game, Vixen defense responded with a big 3 and out, followed by a turnover on downs on 4th down.
1st Quarter
The Vixen offense came out swinging on the first drive.Quarterback Erin Kelley and Wide Receiver Amanda Dvorak connected for a 33-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage while beating excellent coverage. After a missed third down, Kicker Michaela Ďurišková and the Vixen special teams cashed in on a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Conditions at Kuhlman Field played a factor – with a chill in the air, the temperature at kickoff was 52 degrees, combined with a wind gust of 11 mph, not ideal for football in May. However, the weather was an advantage early on for the Vixen. The DC Divas had 3 dropped passes, 2 of which came on 4th down.
The Vixen capitalized on the Diva drops. After a 4th down drop for the Divas offense, the Vixen offense took over at the DC 37-yard line. On the first play of the drive, running back Shi Rhodes burst out to the left sideline and capped off a stellar 37-yard run with a touchdown to take a 10-0 Vixen lead.
Kicker Michaela Ďurišková was unaffected by the weather as well, with her first kick setting a Vixen record at 30 yards. After a stalled out Vixen drive on offense, Ďurišková matched her own record with another 30-yard field goal to take a 13-0 lead.
On what was so far a dominant opening quarter for the Vixen, DC finally responded quickly. What looked like a broken kickoff return for the Divas, DC kick returner Siena Britt picked the ball up from the 1-yard line and turned it into an impressive 99-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to 13-7.
2nd Quarter
The Divas offense had a chance to take the lead on their next offensive drive, DC Quarterback Amanda Congialdi was picked off by defensive back #6 Jocelyn Tanner as she ripped the ball out of the hands of the DC receiver for her second interception of the season.
The rest of the second quarter was a mix of frustrating offense and strict defense from both teams. Linebacker Emily Sampson forced a fumble in the red zone, recovered by defensive back Chloe Anderson, to prevent a Divas touchdown with a minute left in the second quarter. The Divas’ defense responded by forcing a safety on the Vixen offense to cut the deficit to 13-9 to close out the first half.
3rd Quarter
After an exchange of 3-and-outs by both teams to start the second half, the Vixens’ second offensive possession of the half was dominated on the ground, with contributions from the Vixens’ offensive line and running backs Shi Rhodes and Paige Kuplic. The drive was capped off by an RPO pass from quarterback Erin Kelley to wide receiver Jackie Radford for Radford’s 5th touchdown reception of the season. The following PAT was missed due to a bad snap, as the Vixen extended their lead to 10, at 19-9.
4th Quarter
The first drive of the 4th quarter for DC was finally met with success in the air. The Divas were able to complete passes down the field against the Vixen defense; however, the Minnesota red zone defense forced DC to a 4th and goal. The Diva offense turned down the field goal attempt and converted a touchdown to get the first points allowed by the Vixen defense. 19-16 Vixen.
The Vixen offense returned the favor from their defense on the following drive. Minnesota methodically moved down the field through a healthy balance of yards gained through the air and on the ground. Running back Shi Rhodes ran in her second touchdown of the game, making a nice cutback to the right and bursting up the middle for the score – 26-16.
The name of the game is to bend, not break. DC’s ensuing drive looked like it was about to be another scoring drive, pushing their way back into the red zone. The Vixen denied another score by DC by getting their third takeaway of the game. Defensive back Hannah Eckhardt intercepted Congialdi in the end zone, which set up the offense to take over with less than 4 minutes remaining. The offense drained out the remaining time on the clock, but that wasn’t enough to stop Rhodes’ big day. She got another hole and took it to the house for a 55-yard touchdown gallop. Rhodes returned for more on the next and final drive and caught a touchdown pass from Kelley, finishing her huge day with 4 total touchdowns.
Coach’s Unsung Hero Performance
Running back Johanna Vermöhlen is used to taking the lead in the backfield for the Vixen. Today, she was met with a different assignment. Coach Connor Jo Lewis used Vermöhlen in the tight end position, a position that Vermöhlen is not used to playing. Her contributions setting up blocks, along with the offensive line, helped facilitate a masterful performance on the ground.
The Divas were not able to conduct a comeback as time ran out, as the Vixen gained their second win of the season in commanding fashion. The Vixen totaled 314 rushing yards, with 158 yards from Rhodes and 105 yards from Kuplic. The Vixen will have the next week off for Memorial Day weekend, but they will return to Kuhlman Field May 31st for a rematch with arch-rival St. Louis.
Photo credit Wendy Nielson