Fillies Football Game Determined in Final Seconds

With Barrington’s Fillies football game tied at 41 with just seconds remaining, senior Kathryn Avedon wasn’t even aware that she had scored the game winning two point conversion that would eventually give the seniors a 43-41 late victory over the juniors. She was just doing her job on an improvised play.

“I’m not going to lie, when I scored (the two-point conversion) I didn’t even know it was the game winner,” Avedon said following the senior victory that pushed their win streak to 13.  “The play was supposed to be a pass, but (my teammate) was covered, so I just had to run.”

“A (junior) girl almost got my flag as I crossed (the end zone),” she went on to say.  “Then everyone was celebrating so I knew I had scored.”

Avedon’s successful game winning conversion followed senior Sarah Condon’s 80-yard scamper down the west sideline with just under two minutes remaining that had tied the game at 41.  The juniors, who had scored moments earlier but missed the pivot extra point, were unable to stop the long touchdown run, an unfortunate theme on the day for the juniors that allowed 4 different 80 yard runs.

The first long touchdown run for the seniors came right after the juniors had scored (but missed the extra point) in the opening minutes of the game.  Senior Kelsey O’Neill, and a convoy of seniors, would tie the game at six and then take the 7-6 lead moments later on their successful extra-point.

“It was a pretty big moment for us,” O’Neill said of her 80-yard run.  “My friend Amanda (Tihinen) was running with me; she was what kept me going and I was just happy we scored.”

After another senior touchdown minutes later that left the juniors trailing 14-6, Molly Pfeiffer scored with a long touchdown run of her own to cut into the lead.  A member of Fillies Varsity Soccer, Pfeiffer had a seamless transition to this “football field” as the juniors relied on trickery to score their next touchdown and the design for the play came from an unsuspecting source.

“Molly (Pfeiffer) just grabbed it from the quarterback’s hand and kept running,” said junior Liz Diamond about the Statue of Liberty play that was pulled off to perfection.

“Molly’s little brother plays football and gave us all our plays,” Taylor Witczak went on to say of the play.  “(The Devil’s Team) practiced really hard and even had practices on the weekend; we were really set.”

But the seniors would respond quickly with their second 80-yard touchdown run on the very next play.  The seniors capped off the one play drive with a two point conversion pass to Nicole Collins that gave the seniors a 22-13 lead.

The seniors would add another touchdown minutes before the first half ended to stretch their lead to 29-13, but the juniors would have an answer right as the half ended and headed into the break trailing 29-20.

In similar fashion to how the game opened, the second half started with the juniors striking first and pulling even closer after the extra point. 

The seniors, now with the slimmest of margins at 29-27, would reel of another 80-yard run, only to see the juniors do the same on the very next play.  The quick alternating touchdowns, with a junior two pointer included, left the game tied at 35 and set-up one of the most dramatic Fillies Football endings in year’s past.    

“It was nice to have a close game,” Avedon said.  “No one wants to be blown out like last year.”

Avedon, and the rest of this year’s seniors, was on the losing side of a 60-13 final last year.