(ST. LOUIS, MO) For the third straight season in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), the St. Louis SLAM will be a part of the league’s Pro Division title tilt held in Canton, Ohio.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
The defending national champion topped the Minnesota Vixen, 38-13, in the WFA American Conference finale held at St. Mary’s High School Saturday night.
The 25-point duke pushed the SLAM’s record to 8-0 and continued a winning streak that has now reached 17 games.
St. Louis battles the D.C. Divas (6-2) – the WFA National Conference winner – July 26 at Tom Benson Stadium within the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The SLAM’s 14-0 sprint in the opening five minutes set the tone for the contest, their third against the stubborn Vixen (4-4) this season.
The trifecta proved to be their best collective effort on the gridiron so far this summer…and perhaps a foreshadowing of things to come two Saturdays from now.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Thanks to Vixen penalties during the opening kickoff, the SLAM inevitably launched their first possession at the opposition’s 38.
Things were progressing smoothly until quarterback Jaime Gaal – who had yet to be picked off this season – had a red zone bullet intercepted by Minnesota defensive back Hannah Eckhardt at the one-yard line and returned for 17 yards. It was Gaal’s first interception snared against after 87 completions and 30 touchdowns thrown through eight games.
The vital turnover wasn’t able to provide much momentum for the Vixen offense, who quickly punted after their first few snaps from scrimmage and handed the ball back to the SLAM at the Minnesota 28.
Unfazed by the earlier miscue, Gaal quickly returned to form and helmed a three-play, three-pass drive that was punctuated by Kerri McMahan’s 18-yard snare with 11:40 left in the first quarter. McMahan successfully added the PAT kick afterwards to push the SLAM’s lead to 7-0.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, a carom off the leg of a Vixen player was quickly pounced upon by rookie Julia Kempff, which handed possession back to the locals at the Minnesota 36.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
Anchored by the front five of Caitlin Erickson, Marion Ball, Pamela Green, Tamikka Brents and Antonnia Washington, the SLAM went on another aerial attack, punctuated by Gaal’s six-yard touchdown pass to multi-specialist Jada Humphrey, with five minutes elapsed. McMahan’s PAT afterwards widened the score to 14-0.
Minnesota – who was aiming to reach the WFA Pro finale for the first time since 2022 – regained composure and started a nice, sustained drive that covered 60 yards of turf and possessed a first and goal situation with the ball at the St. Louis 2.
The SLAM defense – helmed by Brooklynn Devitt, Jasmine Yandell, Raven Williams, Tay Johnson, Kinnaudy Daniles, Ciara Morgan, Mary Altepeter, Jennifer Perkins, Stephanie Moore, Kinnaudy Daniles, Jennifer Tussey and a returning Myah LeFlore – trapped the Vixen with four straight stops and kept the goose egg intact in the waning stages of the opening stanza.
The defensive unit would make another strong statement late in the first half. With the SLAM still holding onto their 14-point edge within the two-minute warning, the Vixen implemented a blazing West Coast offense that started at their own 18 and quickly advanced the chains.
The push was stifled with under a minute left as SLAM veteran Keyonna Smith intercepted quarterback Erin Kelley’s intended pass and returned it to the St. Louis 28.
Gaal’s third touchdown pass of the game came with nine seconds remaining with a 15-yard completion to Sydney Bloch. McMahan converted another kick and the defending champs held a 21-0 lead at intermission.
Minnesota smartly cobbled an eight-play drive that finally resulted in their first score collected at the 10:20 mark. Kelley’s one-yard zipper to Jackie Radford sliced the SLAM’s advantage to 21-6.
For as much as St. Louis’ ledger was bountiful with first half receiving, a clock-chewing ground attack was the ear mark of the back half.
A 13-play, 75-yard drive was finished by Humphrey’s untouched seven-yard touchdown waltz seven seconds deep into the fourth quarter. Returning place kicker Kaylee Neutzling’s PAT afterwards extended the score to 28-6.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
With time becoming a factor, Minnesota was forced to play hurried football and were successful as Kelley connected with receiver Solveig Lundberg from 35 yards out, making the contest 28-12 with 13:48 remaining. Michaela Duriskova’s successful PAT afterwards whittled the differential back down to a reachable 15 points.
However, the SLAM churned another run-based drive and with Neutzling’s 25-yard field goal with 9:23 remaining, they pushed the score to 31-13.
Rookie Robin Cooksey capped St. Louis scoring with a 20-yard romp – her fifth touchdown of the season – with 4:24 remaining.
Photo Credit: Gerald Affeldt
The SLAM outscored the Vixen in the second half 27-13 to claim their Pro American conference title, their third straight, with the 38-13 triumph.
Unofficially, Gaal completed the evening with 22 completions for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
Bloch topped receiving with fourteen catches for 176 yards while Humphrey collected 123 yards on the ground.
The SLAM returns to the turf in Canton, Ohio in two weeks in hopes of claiming back-to-back WFA Pro titles and sixth championship overall.
The D.C. Divas – a three-time national champion – notched a 35-34 come-from-behind road victory in the final minute over the top-seeded Pittsburgh Passion earlier Saturday night in the National conference trophy game to reach their fourth WFA finale.
The July 26 game will be seen live on ESPN 2.
For more information on the SLAM, go to their official website.
SLAM OFFENSIVE STATISTICS (UNOFFICIAL)
PASSING: Gaal 22-35, 281 Yds, 3 TDs, 1 INT.
RUSHING: Humphrey 11-123, 1 TD. Cooksey 11-93, 1 TD. Fitzpatrick 2-34. Hay 19-23.
RECEIVING: Bloch 14-176, 1 TD. McMahan 2-75, 1 TD. Humphrey 4-31, 1 TD. Richardson 3-14.
KICKING: Neutzling 1-1 FG (25), 2-2 PATs. McMahan 3-3 PATs.
(Story constructed remotely via online coverage provided by LiveStreamSTL.)
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.
