Somers Flag Football Pounds Panas, Falls to Lakeland

SOMERS, N.Y. - The Somers flag football season began with injuries and a string of losses.

So the team figured an attitude adjustment couldn’t hurt. Dinners and off-field get togethers, said Julia Schmidberger, “built our chemistry as a team.”

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And the results revealed with a berth in the sectionals on May 9 at home versus Panas. But the Tuskers did more than show up.

The girls won a resounding 32-0 victory and moved on to face Lakeland in round two on Saturday.

The Tuskers did stall in their first drive, though. Two completions and a run got Somers across midfield but they surrendered the possession on downs.

No problem, the defense had Panas punting three plays later, and the stampede was ready to begin. Still, a third and 12 looked to say otherwise.

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Natalia Antonecchia dropped back and threw toward the sideline. Sailing a bit, Khloe Harris matched the throw in kind. The freshman leapt high, made the two handed grab and employed a little amore upon coming back down to earth.

“I love to run,” she said, and the receiver cut through for a first down at the 33.

A play later, Somers gave Panas some more pass and run. Only with a twist, Antonecchia quickly hit Julia Schmidberger on the right, and she flipped to Cara Persico.  Razzle, dazzle, the running back hit the sideline, cut in, and Somers led 6-0 at 15:58.

The conversion failing, the defense was not deterred. A sweep right going nowhere and two passes falling incomplete had Panas punting again.

Taking over at the 20, Somers kept the weapons coming. Chloe Gabriele took the hand off, cut inside, burst to the outside and spun her way past midfield for the first down.

Fourth down would come due nonetheless, and the Tuskers hit the rewind button. This time Schmidberger reached high for the first down, and she revealed that there was no problem passing on her previous quarterback duties.

“I like the thrill of it,” she said. “I like catching the ball.”

The junior also feels very comfortable ceding the role to Antonecchia. “She’s calmer than me and very composed,” said the receiver.

Two plays later, the duo hooked up for the touchdown, and the starting QB revealed the decision-making process. Reasoning with the coaches, said Antonecchia, “The best possible position for Julia was receiver, and the possible position for me was quarterback.”

Doubling down, the QB’s connected on the conversion too. 13-0 with 8:35 left in the half and the defensive tone was immediately set by Angela Roane.

Cassidy Pisani attempted to hit the hole so Roane kept her eyes peeled.

“I’m always looking at their hips to see where they are moving,” said the defender, and she had the flag pulled before the line of scrimmage was breached.

A fumble and a short completion later would prime the Somers offense again. Not this time, the defense picked up the slack anyway.  Pisani dropped back at the 40 with 38 seconds left in the half, and Gabriele stepped in front for the interception.

A lot of real estate ahead, she almost bought it all. Her flag pulled at the three, Antonecchia delayed on the quarterback draw, and Somers led 19-0 at the half.

25 minutes to go and the teams each gave the ball up on downs to start the second. The ball back to Panas, the visitors threatened past midfield, but Panthers were about to be impaled by EvaMarie Mastrantoni

She stepped in front for the pick at the 35 and then showed she had hands on offense too. The senior got open over the middle, pulled in the pass and didn’t get stopped until reaching the 18.

Deja vu, Somers faced another fourth down. Sorry Panas, these Tuskers made it look easy.  Antonecchia kept her focus left and Persico meandered right.  All alone, the running back made the catch and with a strong Lakeland team to face on Saturday, Persico says her girls will simply stay the course. “Working together, concluded Mastrantoni, “we’re going to keep doing what we are doing.”

Unfortunately, Somers ran into a tough Lakeland team on Saturday, ending their season with a 27-0 loss.

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