With two of games left in their regular season, the St. Louis SLAM have a very clear missive Saturday in a road trip against a long-time rival.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Post victory and do it in a very convincing fashion.
The SLAM (4-0) meets the Minnesota Vixen (2-1) at 6 p.m. at Kuhlman Field in Edina, Minnesota.
The supreme squads of the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) Pro American Division tussled at St. Mary’s High School in St. Louis three Saturdays ago and the SLAM edged the visitors, 34-27.
Currently as the only undefeated team in the eight-team division, St. Louis looks to sweep the home-and-home series and take a commanding lead in securing the post-season’s top seed.
Seems simple, right? Far from it.
In the prior meeting, the Vixen held a one-point lead at intermission and churned a late rally that made the final differential single-digits.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Minnesota will also be motivated by playing on home turf, where they have won five straight games dating back to last season.
The last time the Vixen lost at Kuhlman Field was against the SLAM at their 2024 home opener, 41-40.
The hosts plan on revenge and upend the current divisional standings.
“It’s going to be a battle,” projected SLAM co-captain Pamela Green. “It’s going to go down to the end. World War III.”
As defending WFA Pro national champions, St. Louis kept their season unblemished – and pushed their current winning streak to 13 games – with last Saturday’s 46-0 home rout of Derby City Dynamite. FULL RECAP
With a powerful offensive game paced by the line work of Green, Tamikka Brents, Marion Ball, Antonnia Washington and Caitlin Erickson, the SLAM churned a dominant 31-0 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Quarterback Jaime Gaal finished the night with five touchdowns passes and paces the WFA with 17 overall this spring while veteran Keyonna Smith caught a pair that pushed her total to five.
Receivers Kerri McMahan (6 TDs this season), Aaryana Cooke (3 TDs) and Amanda Richardson (2 TDs) also had solo end zone trips against Derby City.
Rushing will be paced by Jada Humphrey and rookie Robin Cooksey, who have combined for seven scores through four games.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Meanwhile the SLAM defense recorded their third shutout this season in the Derby City romp. The steady work was paced by Ciara Morgan, Jasime Yandell, Jennifer Perkins, Brooklyn Devitt, Mary Altepeter, Taylor Hay, Tay Johnson, Raven Williams, Kinnaudy Daniles, Jennifer Tussey and a host of others.
“Football is a game of highs and lows,” reflected Smith, who also plays defense. “When we hit our lows, we do a great job of picking each other up. I love how my team really rallies each other and rises to the challenge.”
The SLAM will need to play a “solid 60” against the team that has been a fixture of the division’s post-season championship game the last four seasons.
Minnesota immediately rebounded after the SLAM loss the ensuing weekend and picked up a very impressive 40-16 road victory over D.C. Divas, a projected finalist in the WFA Pro National Division title game later this summer.
The Vixen turnaround was impressive and they’ll have their full roster ready to go Saturday night.
Quarterback Erin Kelley, running back Erica Rhodes and receiver Jackie Radford propels an offense that has collectively outscored opponents by a 2:1 ratio (109-50) through three games.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
The defensive unit led by Emily Sampson, Marilla Lahr, Kandace Bostick and others has already notched a shutout this season.
Per custom, Minnesota will have a full fan base cheering them on and many that follow the league nationally will give close watch to the anticipated re-match.
St. Louis – who are on a quest of a sixth national title this summer – wants to prove that they should be considered the most-dominant team in women’s tackle football this season.
A huge road “W” will push that narrative ahead.
“I expect my team to show up and do what we’re supposed to do,” said the SLAM’s Smith of the assignment.
“We know we have a big test,” added Brents. “We’re looking for Minnesota.”
Saturday’s game can be seen for free online by going to this link.
For more information on the SLAM, go to their official website.
Litehouse Media will have a full recap posted Sunday afternoon.
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.
