(ST. LOUIS, MO) As defending national champions of the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) Pro Division, the St. Louis SLAM are fully aware that they have a target on their jerseys this season.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
And if they wanted to keep their current undefeated streak intact, then they would have to play a “full sixty” on the grass Saturday night at St. Mary’s High School against divisional rival Minnesota.
The process wasn’t easy but they pulled it off.
Trailing by a solo point at intermission, the SLAM churned a 21-0 second-half rally to claim a 34-27 victory over the Vixen to keep their record spotless (3-0) midway through the five-time champs’ regular season.
Veteran multi-specialist Keyonna Smith snared three touchdown passes during the stretch in a topsy-turvy nailbiter that saw Minnesota surge late that made the final differential tight.
St. Louis quarterback Jaime Gaal threw five touchdowns strikes as the SLAM – winners of twelve straight contests – sits atop the eight-team WFA Pro American standings.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Minnesota had the game’s opening possession but the SLAM’s stubborn defense – paced by Smith, Ciara Morgan, Mary Altepeter, Myah LeFlore, Jasmine Yandell, Tay Johnson, Samantha Smiley, Jennifer Perkins, Brooklyn Devitt and others – forced the visitors to punt and the hosts started their first offensive series at their own 44-yard line two minutes deep.
The SLAM quickly cracked the goose egg two plays deep as Gaal connected with wide receiver Kerri McMahan with a 45-yard touchdown pass at the 12:57 mark. Kaylee Neutzling added the PAT kick that pushed the score to 7-0.
To their credit, Minnesota countered with a strong kickoff return from Erica Rhodes, whose scramble finished at St. Louis’ 22. Six plays later, the Vixen standout plunged from four yards out while place kicker’s Michaela Duriskova perfect PAT kick tied the score 7-7 at the 9:45 mark.
Both teams traded ensuing possessions, and the SLAM held post at their own 20-yard line with about three minutes left in the opening frame. They proceeded to cobble a clock-chewing scoring drive that resulted in the game’s lead swinging back to their favor.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Thanks to the offensive front line work of Caitlin Erickson, Pamela Green, Antonnia Washington, Marion Ball and Tamikka Brents, a 16-play, 80-yard drive ensued, and McMahan claimed another touchdown pass from Gaal, this time from one-yard out, with 9:13 left in the half that pushed the score to 13-7.
The SLAM’s attempted PAT kick afterwards sailed a few inches to the left of the goal posts and the lead remained at six points.
And as impressive as that lengthy drive was, the Vixen performed one notch above and finished with a halftime lead.
Starting from their own 22, Minnesota’s 15-play series was punctuated by quarterback Erin Kelley’s six-yard touchdown pass to long-time teammate Jackie Radford with :22 remaining that tied the score 13-13.
Duriskova’s successful PAT kick afterwards gave the visitors a 14-13 edge, which marked the first time this season that the SLAM had trailed on turf.
St. Louis made the most of their opening possession of the second half and began to showcase the type of firepower on both sides of the ball that truly defined the WFA’s top team.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
The SLAM’s eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive launched the third quarter half with Smith’s first touchdown catch of the season, a 16-yard haul from Gaal, that flipped the scoreboard five minutes deep. Neutzling’s successful PAT kick afterwards pushed St. Louis’ lead to 20-14.
The duo connected for another end zone strike later in the quarter as Smith scored from 28 yards out with 2:31 remaining. Neutzling’s PAT kick through the uprights extended the SLAM’s advantage to 27-14.
Thanks to the SLAM’s “D,” the Vixen offense sputtered again in the opening stages of the fourth quarter and turned the ball over to the hosts one minute into the final frame.
This led to St. Louis’ third straight uncontested touchdown. Smith’s trifecta from Gaal resulted a 35-yard endzone trip with 11:45 remaining. The SLAM’s 21-0 rally blossomed the locals’ lead to 34-14.
And at the time, all seemed reasonably secure of a third straight victory by the defending champs.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Well, not quite. Minnesota displayed moxie that added drama down the stretch.
Trailing by 20 points with under five minutes left, the Vixen quelled their scoring drought with Radford’s second touchdown snare of the game, a 49-yard bullet from Kelley with 4:05 left, that shored the score to 34-20 and Duriskova’s kick afterwards sliced the deficit to a baker’s dozen.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Minnesota’s squib kick was fielded cleanly by Lindenwood University grad Emily Sampson, resulting in a SLAM turnover at midfield.
The Vixen quickly hustled and tightened the score to 34-27 with 1:54 left as Kelley hit Radford with a 10-yard touchdown pass. The attempted PAT kick afterwards failed and Minnesota attempted another onsides kick, which was cleanly fielded by the SLAM’s McMahan.
St. Louis could not ice the victory with their next possession and were forced to punt with minimal time on the clock.
Minnesota attempted late-heroics but failed to convert on fourth down with :34 left.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Albeit in a comfortable position earlier in the final quarter, the SLAM survived a late scare and held on to a 34-27 win to stay undefeated on the season.
Whew!!!
Gaal finished the night completing 11 passes for 213 yards and five touchdowns. The SLAM veteran now has 12 TD passes on the season.
Smith three-score output resulted in 79 yards claimed while McMahan finished the night with seven catches for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Humphrey, in her third season with the SLAM, had another impressive showing with 130 yards off 17 carries.
The SLAM has a bye next weekend and returns to WFA play at home Saturday, May 24 vs. Derby City Dynamite.
Minnesota (1-1) will have the opportunity to gain revenge when they host St. Louis May 31.
Always solid at home, one can assume that the Vixen will be primed for that one.
And after this close scare, safe money says that the SLAM will be ready as well.
For more information on the SLAM, go to their official website.
(Recap constructed from online footage provided by LiveStreamSTL).
ST. LOUIS SLAM STATS (Unofficial)
PASSING: Gaal 11-19, 213 Yds. 5 TDs. 0 INT
RUSHING: Humphrey 17-130. Cooksey 6-13. Hay 3-6. McMahan 1-3.
RECEIVING: McMahan 7-122, 2 TDs. Smith 3-79, 3 TDs. Richardson 1-12.
KICKING: Neutzling 4-5 PATs
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Litehouse Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews. Finally, he prefers Diet Ski over coffee.
