Day one of the IFAF Americas Flag Football Championship is in the books and what a day it was.
In the women’s competition, powerhouses the United States and Mexico each posted a 3-0 record, but something will have to give when both are in action again as they clash on the championship field at 10.30am on Thursday.
The Americans got the tournament off to a blistering start in the opening game against Panama. The opening possession ended with a fourth down interception by the USA defense and after Vanita Krouch had found Joann Overstreet at the one-yard mark, Marlee Grace Marquez hit Kennedy Foster for the first touchdown of the IFAF Americas championships.
The relentless American defense came up with four straight interceptions as they shut down any hope Panama had of scoring in the first half. The second set up Krouch to hit Madison Fulford with a stunning precision pass, Ashley Edwards ran home a pick six and then Amber Clark’s interception led to Krouch and Overstreet connecting for a fourth touchdown.
Foster reeled in her second six-pointer of the game and the US held an unassailable 33-point halftime lead.
“It was awesome just to be out there with everyone after everything we’ve built and put together and to be one team and one nation is wonderful,” said Foster. “It’s something I never dreamed could be possible.”
Team Canada player trying to evade Chilean defender Photo: Wes Lorenz / USA Football
Amber Clark, representing her nation in her home state of North Carolina, said of the dominant defensive performance: “I love our defense and we have a great chemistry. We’re ball hogs and we want to get the ball and we want to create deflections and we’re just out there trying to win.”
The United States then cruised past Chile 54-2 and Brazil 41-8 to end the day as top scorers with 134 points and only 16 points conceded.
Mexico were pushed all the way in their opener by Canada in a game that was close throughout. The contest ended in a narrow 27-25 victory for the team led by the explosive passing talents of IFAF NFL Global Flag Football Ambassador and star of the NFL’s ‘Run With It’ Super Bowl commercial Diana Flores. Mexico then beat Brazil 51-14 and Panama 28-6, while putting up 106 total points.
Panama went winless on day one, but were faced with the toughest schedule, losing to USA, Mexico and to Canada, who currently sit in third place in the standings, by a score of 33-20.
“It’s been a tough day and we lost, but I feel like it was really hard and we could have done better, but it’s okay because we’re still going to play for the third or fourth place,” said wide receiver Tatiana Dos Santos. “It’s been frustrating, but I trust my team forever and I know we’ll rise from this point.”
Frustrated by a narrow two-point loss to Mexico, Canada recovered to beat Panama and moved to a 2-1 record with a 40-12 win over winless Chile, to set up a must-win meeting with the United States if they are to advance to the championship game.
Brazil currently sit in fourth place in the standings having beaten Chile in a 40-point shutout in one of the day’s opening games. Chile and Panama meet at 10.30am on Thursday, both seeking their first win.
Results
Panama 6 USA 39
Canada 25 Mexico 27
Chile 0 Brazil 40
Canada 33 Panama 20
USA 54 Chile 2
Mexico 51 Brazil 14
Panama 6 Mexico 28
USA 41 Brazil 8
Chile 12 Canada 40