Passion Beat Mayhem, Advance To Eastern Conference Finals!

The win streak has reached 22 games.

The Passion destroyed the Orlando Mayhem in their first-round playoff game, 41-6. Thanks to loyal reader smarchit for the info.

Despite heavy rain, Lisa Horton threw two long touchdowns to deep-threat Lori Johnson. The TDs were 48 and 63 yards respectively.

Longtime PSaMP friend and Passion running back Torina Henley doubled her season totals by rushing for 3 touchdowns. While not as prolific as last season, and even through contemplating retirement after last season's championship, Torina showed she still has game, finishing with 92 yards in the rain.

The Eastern Conference Finals are in two weeks, and the Passion will travel to Chicago to play the Force. Success in that game will pit the Passion against either the West's Seattle Majestics or Dallas Diamonds on July 26th.

Also, thanks to Torina for emailing me the above picture (from an older game against the Cleveland Fusion of the NWFA) as well as the link to this video. My skills fail to let me embed this video, but click the link to check it out.

Go Passion!

Passion Beat Hurricanes, Push Winning Streak To 20 Games

20 games.

20 wins.

Your Pittsburgh Passion beat the Holyoke Hurricanes this past weekend to up their record to 7-0 on the season. It was the team's 20th consecutive win. 54-6 was the final.

If you've never heard of Holyoke, you're not alone. The Passion website mistakenly has Columbus on the schedule, a mistake that I ran with last week. The Western Massachusetts team is new to the league this season. Not new as the Passion (who played in the NWFA before) is new to the IWFL, but new as in brand new.

Lisa Horton was firing the ball everywhere, with TD passes on the second play of Pittsburgh's first two possessions.

Trumane Rogers was an absolute star on D, collecting ten tackles and a fumble recovery.

Next week, the Passion travel to D.C. to take on the Divas. For those of you with short memories, we barely pulled out a win against D.C. earlier this season. While already in the playoffs, the Passion need a win to extend their streak to 21 games, and to host a home playoff game in the first round.

Oh, and congratulations are in order for Passion owner and co-head coach Teresa Conn, who was inducted into the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame this past Saturday. Conn is only the third female in the Hall.

PSaMP applauds you, Teresa!

Pittsburgh Passion Sportscenter Clip. Finally

I've been trying to find this clip for a while, but to this point, it had been unavailable on this fascinating World Wide Web. Crazy information superhighway was denying me access to see Lisa Horton as Sportscenter's play #6 in the top plays.

Yes, this isn't from the Cleveland game. Its from the game prior, when the team beat the Western Michigan Mayhem to advance to the Conference Finals. My sister saw this during the original airing and told me about it, but before I saw this clip, it hadn't reached my eyes. That's fixed.

Passion kicker Christy Laudadio uploaded the video to YouTube, so a huge Thank You must go to her. Also, a bigger shout out must go to reader smarchit, who emailed the awesome vid to PSaMP. Without their work, you wouldn't be able to see this. Simple as that.

One more day...til Nashville...

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 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!

PSaMP is a Witness

No, this isn't about LeBron James, but it does involve a team making it to the playoffs, and showing everyone that they belong.


Behind a creative offense, the Passion rolled to a victory over the Erie Illusion. The final score was 63-7.

Lisa Horton hit Wilma Walton for a 73 yard touchdown on the opening play of the game. It was all downhill from there for the Illusion.

Score at the end of the first quarter: 28-0.

Halftime score: 49-0.

It was actually 49-0 with about 7 minutes to play in the first. And this was against an Erie team that only allowed 33 points all season. I looked at my buddy and said, "Every time the ball is snapped, Erie doesn't have a chance. When they're on offense, the Passion have 3 defensive line (wo)men in the backfield before the ball is handed off. On defense, the Passion are just having their way with the ball." He wanted the Passion to score 63 before the half was over.

And before the half, Torina Henley got her Reggie Bush on. At their own 49, Lisa Horton handed off to One-Two. Henley ran to the right sideline, coming face to face with several Erie defenders. Stopping on a dime, Torina cut back around the left side, picked up a key block from Horton, and turned a sure-fire loss into an 11 yard gain.

She finished the game with 133 yards on only 6 carries. She also scored twice.

Horton was a major bright spot, completing 7 of 22 passes for 210 yards and 5 touchdowns. She also scored a touchdown with her feet. Horton started the game with 3 touchdowns on her first 3 pass attempts.

In the 3rd, Kate Sullivan trotted out onto the field and lined up on the right side. My buddy looked at me and said, "Touchdown." Sure enough, Horton took the snap, waited, and fired a perfect pass over Sullivan's right shoulder. It was pretty much the icing on the cake.

Erie finally managed a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but only after all the Passion first-stringers were out of the game.

Being a 2 seed, the Passion will play at least one more playoff game at Cupples Stadium.

2 more wins, and the team will play in the championship game in Nashville, Tennessee. Next week's game will be against the Western Michigan Mayhem, who went 6-2 in the regular season. They defeated the Baltimore Burn 33-14 yesterday.

CORRECTION. Lisa Horton went 7 for 11. Damn 1s and 2s are so close to each other on the keyboard.

Passion End Season, Look to Playoffs

The Passion defeated the Central PA Vipers on Saturday. I've already told you that. However, you finally have a chance to check out the stats for the 77-0 beat-down.

Torina Henley, the best running back in the history of the world, gained the 166 yards necessary to eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season. Her line against the Vipes: 11 rushes for 176 yards. She also scored 5 touchdowns on the ground, according to the stats website. Henley finished the season with a 10.4 yards per carry mark. She scored 20 rushing touchdowns for the team.

Lori Burkholder added a rushing touchdown and Lyndsi Hughes scored 2 of her own. Hughes scored 11 rushing TDs this season, while Burkholder added 2 of her own.

Deep threat Wilma Walton grabbed 2 passes for 76 yards. Both catches went for touchdowns. She led the team across the board in receiving stats this season. On only 15 catches, Walton racked up 448 yards and 6 TDs. Her yards per catch average stands at an incredible 29.9 yards per. Her longest catch of the year went for 53 yards.

Lisa Horton went 3 for 7 with 93 yards and a score. Her QB rating for the game was 129.5. Burkholder also completed her only pass attempt for a touchdown. For the season, Horton passed for 13 touchdowns, and her season-long QB average was 122.7. Ridiculous.

The defensive stats are not currently available online, so PSaMP guesses that Olivia Griswold had 7,000 tackles against the Vipers. Ava Nickens probably added 4,500 of her own with 17 or 18 sacks. Seems likely.

The team is seeded #2 in the Northern Conference. Their first round playoff game will be against the 7-1 Erie Illusion at Cupples Stadium. A win would bring another home game for the Passion.

One more thing. June 23rd is officially Pittsburgh Passion Day in the city of Pittsburgh. Honestly! That rules.

Congratulations on a successful season, Pittsburgh! Keep up the determination/dedication and there is nowhere to go but up!

Say It With Me. 8 And 0

The Passion finished their regular season undefeated, with a 77-0 drubbing of the Central PA Vipers. There aren't any stats up at the link, which is par for the course with the NWFA.

The Passion finally got some love from the local media, with a nice article by the Post-Gazette. It really exemplifies Pittsburgh football, whether of the male or female variety. The team had no party or celebration as they concluded a perfect season in which they won the Central Division. Instead, the team remains focused on the impending playoffs, and the NWFA Championship, which if the team makes it, will be played on July 21st in Nashville, Tennessee.

Torina Henley gained the 166 yards necessary to finish with 1,000+. Her 11 carries went for 176 yards and 4 scores. And all her damage was done in 3 quarters. She finished the season with 1,010 yards rushing. Awesome!

Lisa Horton completed 3 of 7 passes for 93 yards and 2 scores. She finished the season with 1,012 yards passing. Horton is an original member of the Passion, who began play 5 years ago with a winless season. The times, they are a changing.

PSaMP will get a full breakdown of the game, including stats for the team as soon as they are posted.



UPDATE: Many thanks to reader Smarchit, who caught PSaMP in a downright lie. The Passion went 2-6 in their first season, not 0-8 as I foolishly reported. I wrote this in a bit of a hurry. I confused the Vipers' current winless season with Pittsburgh's 1st for some reason. Gotta slow down. (Still, 8-0 is a huge improvement from 2-6).

If it happens again, I'll cut off my hands, which would render PSaMP unable to update on your Pittsburgh Passion. But it would also keep me from typing blasphemous lies.

A better recap will be up tomorrow! I apologize for my stupidity.

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.

Central PA Vipers Stood No Chance Against Your 3-0 Pittsburgh Passion

This past weekend (Sorry that this is a little late. I'm consumed in finals week), your Pittsburgh Passion absolutely man-handled (woman-handled?) the Central PA Vipers, 52-0. Wilma Walton (above) led the game off for the Passion with a 49 yard touchdown, which was way too much for the Vipes to handle. Walton is 5th in the league with 208 yards receiving on the season.

PSaMP's favorite Passion player, Torina Henley, completed another game in which her yards per carry mark exceeded the previous game's total. She only rushed for 70 yards, but those yards were gained on only 4 carries! That's 17.3 yards per! She also scored a touchdown in every game, leading the Passion with 5 TDs. Her yards per carry average on the season stands at 11.2. Shelley Zoelle also amassed 70 yards on the ground on 7 carries. Still impressive, Shelley.

Lisa Horton finished 3 for 4 for 101 yards and a touchdown. Sticking to the game plan and keeping the ball on the ground, Horton gained 55 yards on 4 rushes, also adding a touchdown with her feet. Lisa is 3rd in the league in passing with 419 yards on the season. Her passer rating leads the league at an unheard-of 139.4.

Aside from Horton's league lead in passer rating, Pittsburgh punter Daniel Sepulvelda...I mean JoJo Warner, leads the league with her 39 yard average per punt. With Pittsburgh's unbelievable offense, Warner has only been called on to punt twice, but she's made those punts count. And hell yeah, I will celebrate any Pittsburgh player who leads the league in any stat.

Impressively, the Passion have scored 137 points trough 3 games, only allowing 21 points against. Their scoring marks are only bested by the 3-0 Chattanooga Locomotion, who have scored 160 points and only given up 7. In 3 games. Some of these stats are ridiculous!

Next week, the Passion host the Philadelphia Phoenix (1-2).

Updated Passion/Sizzle Stats

So when I first posted this link, there were no stats available. Nothing but a bunch of zeroes. But now, with the help of modern technology, we have actual stats from a game that took place this past Saturday!

The score itself was remarkable. 62-7. Torina Henley was dominant again. Her 6.7 yards per carry average from last week looks paltry to the 16.3 average she worked for with 163 yards on only 10 carries. She also scored 3 times. Her season average is now a remarkable 10.3 yards per carry. She's 7th in the league in rushing with 278 yards.

Olivia Griswold was unstoppable, recording 14 total tackles. She is tied for the team lead of 7 solo tackles on the season with Ava Nickens.

Lisa Horton finished 8 for 12, with 231 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's a touchdown for every other completion! She put up more yards than Dallas' Jennifer Hull, who attempted 42 passes!

The undefeated Passion's next game is in Harrisburg against the Central PA Vipers (0-2), the Central Division's current bottom-feeder, on May 5th.

Passion Defeat Sizzle

PSaMP, your unofficial official Pittsburgh Passion Blogger, is back with yet another stunning update about your hometown NWFA team.

Behind the stellar play of QB Lisa Horton, the Passion easily dominated the Cincinnati Sizzle, 62-7 (These stats look a little misleading). The 2-0 Passion, the only team above .500 in the division, are looking good, and clearly are the team to beat in the Central Division.

Its pretty much impossible to find any more information about the Passion and how they dismantled the Sizzle, so that's all you get.

Cool undefeated Pittsburgh team, though.