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!

Torina Henley Leads Passion Over Philly

Yes, I already told you that the Passion won. However, I figured I'd hit you up with some more cool facts about the game, as well as where your favorite players stand against the rest of the league.

Torina anchored the offense, rushing for 127 yards on 15 carries. She averaged 8.5 yards a touch, and scored twice on the ground. Her 834 rushing yards are good for 3rd in the league. PSaMP is hoping that Torina is able to muster 166 rushing yards in next week's game, in order to break the 1000-yard mark. She is also 3rd in the league in scoring, with her ridiculous 90 points accumulated.

Lisa Horton, Pittsburgh's star QB, completed 9 of 15 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. Like Henley, she is 3rd in the league...but for passing (obviously). Her passer rating stands at 121.9, behind Allison Cahill's 134.8. Cahill has attempted 21 fewer passes, though.

Kara Prentice, who proved her worth as a more-than-capable backup QB throughout the season, completed one of her 3 pass attempts for 9 yards.

Olivia Griswold failed to lead the team in tackles. Her 5 tackles were 2nd to Ava Nickens and Michelle Brevard, who both had 7. Nickens also recorded 2 sacks.

I mistakenly wrote that the team finished undefeated. However, the team has one more game. The 7-0 record looks to be unchallenged, as the team plays the Central PA Vipers next weekend. Central PA is 1-6. PSaMP thinks an un-Passion-like performance can still be good enough to finish undefeated.

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.

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.