Passion Advance to World Championship Game

PSaMP, your official unofficial Passion blogger, has already told you the score. Now its time for the details.

The 49-15 win over the Cleveland Fusion came on Torina Henley's 36th birthday. What a way to celebrate!

One-Two scored twice, and was helped on the rushing attack by Lyndsi Hughes (above) and backup Jenine Suprano.

Lisa Horton, the Sportscenter Top Plays extraordinaire, finished with 9 of 12 passing for 176 yards and three touchdowns. She threw two second-quarter bombs, connecting with Wilma Walton on a 48 yarder and with Lori Johnson on a 53 yarder. And these were after shaking off an early deficit.

Cleveland received the opening kickoff, and used only 9 plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh's defense, which has been nothing short of stellar all season, needed to regroup after dropping the team into a first quarter hole.

"We were a little nervous to start, but we regained our composure. This defense might bend, but it doesn't break," said Melissa Yeck, who lead the team with 12 tackles against the Fusion.

Henley countered with an 11 yard scamper, which tied the score at 7. Hughes put the team up for good with a 5 yard run later in the quarter.

The Passion took a 29-7 lead into halftime and never looked back.

Now its time to look forward.

The season concludes on July 21st in Nashville, Tennessee. There, the Passion will take on the Columbus Comets, who finished the regular season 6-2, in the 2007 World Championship Game. Despite the inferior record, the Comets have only allowed 15 points throughout the playoffs. And they knocked off the Chattanooga Locomotion, who went undefeated before only putting up 8 points against Columbus. The Comets defeated the Oklahoma City Lightning, 9-7 to advance to Nashville.

These playoffs provided a lot of firsts for the Passion. The team had never before beaten the Fusion, which has now happened thrice in the 2007 season. This was the first year in which the team made the playoffs. Ultimately, each playoff win was a first as well. First playoff win, first playoff win streak, first Conference Championship game, first Conference Championship win, first World Championship game...

Now its time for First World Championship win!

PSaMP has been proud to bring you Passion updates throughout the season, and hopes to bring better news come July 21st. I won't go so far as to say the Passion are the team to beat, because I will give tons of credit to the Comets. Looking at the records and win margins, however, and I will say that the Comets are going to have their hands full. The Passion showed early nerves against Cleveland, and that will no doubt be the case in Nashville as well.

Once the game starts, though, the Passion will be there to win.

Passion Beat Fusion for Third Time This Season!

Your Pittsburgh Passion defeated the Cleveland Fusion 49 to 15 to advance to the 2007 World Championship Game! It was the team's third win over their rival from Cleveland this season. The Championship game will be held in Nashville on July 21st. The Passion will take on (beat) the Columbus Comets. PSaMP, your official unofficial Passion blogger, will have more extensive coverage of this historic win, as well as comments on the upcoming Championship tomorrow. As you can tell from the timestamp, its late. I'll get you better coverage when I'm not dog tired. I just wanted to get the score to you. But now its time for bed for PSaMP. You, however, need to stay up and read.

Passion Defeat Mayhem, Land in Semis

PSaMP, your official unofficial Pittsburgh Passion blogger, is proud to report that the team has won their second consecutive playoff game, with a convincing 34-6 win over the Western Michigan Mayhem.

Lisa Horton stole the show, completing 10 of 18 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. When she wasn't using her arm, Horton turned to the ground, scoring two rushing touchdowns.

The two other members of the 3-H rushing group of Lyndsi Hughes and Torina Henley, combined for 180 yards on the ground and two scores. Hughes had 13 rushes for 91 yards, while Henley rushed 18 times for 89 yards. Hughes scored both touchdowns.

This end of the bracket's top team, the Mass Mutiny, who went undefeated in the regular season, dropped their playoff game to the Cleveland Fusion, 12-7. This leaves the Passion, the 2 seed, as the highest-seeded team left. By way of the Mutiny's loss, next week's semifinal game against the Fusion will be played at Cupples Stadium. Home field advantage, baby!

Although the team swept the season series versus the Fusion, PSaMP expects a tough game out of Cleveland. They held the top team to only 7 points, so the 3-H group will really have to turn it on.

The best thing about the Passion? The fans. This poster (above) just barely demonstrates the level of enthusiasm present at Cupples. Last week, I saw what could be my favorite fan sign of all time. It read, Torina Henley is my Aunt! How many Duce Staley is my Uncle signs have you seen at Heinz Field over the past few years? Nada. Family, friends and fans of all sorts come to the games, and that fan base will only continue to grow along with the team's success!

Know Your Role, Sizzle

Congrats to the Pittsburgh Passion, who extended their win streak to 6 games, easily defeating the Cincinnati Sizzle 55-7. This win concludes a season sweep of the 2 Ohio franchises, the Cleveland Fusion and the Sizzle. The teams were really no match for the Passion, who used key contributions from a wide assortment of players, including star RB Torina Henley and QB Lisa Horton.

Henley averaged 11.8 yards per carry, with 118 yards on 10 rushes. She also scored 2 touchdowns on the ground. Henley is 6th in the league with 707 yards on the ground. She is 3rd in the league in scoring, recording an unbelievable 78 points for the team.

Horton didn't need to throw the ball a lot, but she made the best of her tosses. She finished 4 for 8 for 56 yards and a score. Her QB rating average for the season stands at 131.5, which is 2nd to the Mass Mutiny's Allison Cahill. She's also 3rd in the league in passing yards, racking up 771 of the like. Backup QB Kara Prentice completed all 3 of her passes for 71 yards and a score.

Jen Moody, conjuring up a little "Slash magic," exerted her influence on the game early and often. I hesitate to use a "Slash" reference, because I don't want her to call herself a QB and fall out of the favor of the fans. However, Moody (above) had 1 rush for 10 yards. She also caught 3 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. With the Passion holding the Sizzle to 7 points, Moody was called upon to run back only 2 kicks, but she did average 25 yards per return. Jen attempted a pass as well, which wasn't completed.

Wilma Walton caught 1 pass for 47 yards and a score. No one can cover her. I will firmly stand by that fact. The Passion should automatically start out with a 7 point lead, because Walton will eventually burn any opposing team's defense for a long score. Its science. You can't argue with it.

Walton is 7th in the league with 351 yards, despite only recording 11 catches. Her 31.9 yards per catch average is 2nd in the league.

Olivia Griswold added another 10 tackles to push her team-leading total to 70. Those 70 tackles are good for 5th in the league, and only 28 behind the league leader. JoJo Warner, who didn't need to punt at all this week, added 6 tackles of her own.

The Passion have 2 games remaining. Next week, Pittsburgh takes on the Philadelphia Phoenix, who the Passion have already defeated 53-7 this season. An unblemished 7-0 record will look good going into the final game against the Central PA Vipers, who the Passion blanked earlier this year. As long as the team remains focused, and plays each team (no matter how bad they are) with a steadfast intensity, there is no doubt in my mind that the Passion should finish 8-0.

Way to go, Pittsburgh. Keep making us fans proud!

Lyndsi Hughes and the Passion (5-0) Beat Cleveland

Your Pittsburgh Passion kept up their undefeated ways this weekend, beating the Cleveland Fusion for the second time this season. I am always a fan a Pittsburgh team sweeping a season series from a Cleveland team. The Fusion got within 14-12, but were unable to put anymore pressure on the outstanding Passion, who rolled to a 40-18 victory in Cleveland.

The 3H trio, Torina Henley, Lisa Horton and Lyndsi Hughes (above), combined for 252 yards on the ground. Henley carried the ball 21 times for 88 yards, ending her streak of 4 straight games in which her yards per carry mark exceeded the previous game's total. However she did score on a 2 yard run as well as a 6 yard run. Hughes racked up the most rushing yards, gaining 123 yards on only 16 carries.

Pittsburgh started the game by pulling out the bag of tricks. QB Lisa Horton lined up as a wide receiver. She took a toss from backup QB Kara Prentice, before unloading a 59 yard touchdown to Lori Johnson. Somewhere, Mike Mularkey smiles.

Horton finished 10 for 19, with 180 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Peyton Manning and his fivehead have nothing on Lisa Horton. She also provided a stellar 4th and 8 conversion with a well-timed scramble.

Olivia Griswold had 12 tackles, which is a standard number for such a great defensive player. Tia Montgomery added 8 tackles. Kim Zubovic had 6 and a fumble recovery. Ava Nickens brought a sack to go with her 6 tackles.

June 2nd, the Passion return to Cupples Stadium to put their undefeated record on the line against the Cincinnati Sizzle. PSaMP is hoping for another win over the Sizzle, which would bring a 2nd consecutive season series sweep. The Passion are really bringing the heat to the 2 Ohio franchises. The Fusion should think about trading up to the 22nd pick to take Brady Quinn. She should help them out a bit.

Can Anyone Stop the Passion? Rhetorical Question. The Answer Is No.

The Northern Division is beginning to get competitive, but your Pittsburgh Passion are clearly the team to beat. With an overpowering 53-7 win over the Philadelphia Phoenix on Saturday, the Passion now sit at an undefeated 4-0. Erie and Cleveland are both 3-1, but both teams’ quest for perfection were marred by the unstoppable Passion.

Torina Henley never ceases to amaze PSaMP. She has surpassed her previous week’s yards per carry mark in every game, and it seemed impossible for her to continue the streak, after averaging an astounding 17.3 yards per carry last week. However, Henley quieted any critics, and continued her dominance by averaging 17.4 yards against Philly. Her 9 rushes went for 157 yards. She also added 4 touchdowns. Henley is 5th in the league, with 501 yards on the ground.

Lisa Horton completed 7 of her 13 pass attempts for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. Her passer rating of 123.7 was absurd again. She has passed for 535 yards on the season, good for 4th in the league. Her passer rating for the season stands at 137.8, a full 21.8 points above Phoenix’s Angela D’Rossi. Wilma Walton, an obvious deep threat, caught one pass for 53 yards and a score. With only 7 receptions on the season, Walton is 5th in the league with 261 receiving yards. Her yards per catch average is an unheard-of 37.3 yards per.

Defensively, the Passion are emitting shades of the Steel Curtain (Yeah, I said it). Olivia Griswold recorded 4 solo tackles among her 18 total tackles. The Steelers should have drafted her in the first round. She’s 5th in the league (I sense a trend here) with 48 tackles on the season. Almost more impressive this week was Kim Zubovic. This is PSaMP’s first mention of Zubovic, but she deserves it. All 12 of her tackles were of the solo variety. Incredible!

The Passion didn’t need to punt at all. Compare that to Philly’s 9 punts.

Pittsburgh is 2-0 at home and on the road. The team’s 2nd bye is this weekend, depriving Pittsburgh’s NWFA fans of their favorite team, but play in Cleveland against the Fusion on the 26th. The Passion defeated Cleveland 28-14 in their season opener, and will look to duplicate that feat when the teams meet again.

The Passion also have their own Dance Team! Rockin’!

Haven't met the team? Then check out this video.

Move Over, Willie Parker. Make Way For Fast Torina Henley

In all fairness of this being a Pittsburgh Sportsblog, I like to occasionally update on some bizarre/non-popular sports happenings in the 'Burgh. I've mentioned the Xplosion, Pittsburgh's CBA team that is headlined by the one, the only, Kevin Pittsnogle. So with the NFL Draft only days away, football is starting to overwhelm my subconscious.

With the Steelers' season still months away, only the Pittsburgh Passion can fill the "lack of football in the 'Burgh"-void. What? You didn't know that Pittsburgh had a women's full-contact football team? The NWFA (National Women's Football Association) has been around for awhile, and the Passion opened their 5th season in Pittsburgh yesterday. It was fitting that the Passion opened against a Cleveland-based team, the Fusion. Pittsburgh won (Of course), and are 1-0. Their record puts them atop the Central Division of the Northern Conference, ahead of the Erie Illusion (1-1), Cleveland (0-1) and the Central PA Vipers (0-2).

Torina Henley (above) rushed for 113 yards on only 17 carries in Pittsburgh's 23-14 win at Cupples Stadium on Carson Street. That's a 6.7 yards per carry mark for Henley, easily eclipsing the 4.4 yards per carry mark that made Fast Bill Parker a Pro Bowler last season. Just as I expect all Pittsburgh teams to win their respective championships each year (Yes, even the Buccos), I will be disappointed if the Passion fails me and doesn't reach the title game, which is in only 89 days, according to the NWFA's website.

Good win, Torina and the Passion. Keep it up and continue protecting your house (Cupples Stadium, below).