Images courtesy of @bostonrenegades (IG)

The Renegades were partying like it was, well, 2022 on Saturday night.

For a fifth straight season, Boston captured the Women’s Football Alliance Pro Division National Championship, beating St. Louis 35-7 at the pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon. Every year, head coach John Johnson has said that he’ll enjoy everything when it’s over, and every year during this 40-game winning streak, he’s been able to do just that thanks to his incredible team.

Here’s some more postgame reaction from Canton, Ohio before the party really got started. Check out our game story while you’re at the site as well…

ALLISON CAHILL WITH WHITNEY ZELEE ON WHAT THEY’RE FEELING POSTGAME

Zelee: “So sore, but so freakin good. So good. We just won a championship. You (Allison) just won your eighth championship. Eighth. Last year, she was on a scooter at this championship and now she’s a (National Conference) MVP.”

Allison: “And she (Whitney) was in the stands. This is her first since 2014. I’m just feeling proud and grateful. Just trying to soak it in, be in the moment. Whitney was by my side for five years watching me leave the house to go do something I love, that she loves that she wished she could be doing. Some hard conversations and an incredible amount of hard work, physically and mentally got her back and this is where she belongs. And I’m back to being the second best football player in my house.”

ON ZEELEE BEING NAMED GAME MVP

Cahill: “The quarterback…if you’re on the best team and you play decent, your name is always going to be in the conversation, but I was like, I hope they get this right. This woman (Whitney) impacted the game like no-one else. That’s what the MVP is and that’s who it should go to. I was just like, get it right, get it right, get it right. I don’t think (Whitney) gave them much choice, it was a layup.”

Zelee: “League MVP, 20 years of just sustained excellence. If you know the Renegades, you know we are the Renegades because of Allison Cahill and the standard she sets and holds herself to. The rest of the team follows because that’s what type of leader she is, let alone the player that she is. So, I am honored to get to share this with you once again and watch you get your league MVP trophy once again. I’m honored to celebrate this with you.”

Cahill: Most important, we’re champions.

ON THE MINDSET WHEN BOSTON WENT DOWN 7-0

Cahill: “I don’t think there was anything to turn around. That’s a normal trajectory of a football game, just not necessarily a Renegades’ game. Having played them last year, have a ton of film, of course they’re going to make plays and they’re going to give us a fight. It was more just about kind of feeling out what they were doing for us on offense. Like ok, what are they trying to stop, what are giving up? Kind of getting in a groove and getting the ball in the right people’s hands. There was no adjustments, it was just a normal football game. They were the first team to score, but it’s not the first team that scores that wins. It’s who’s up at the end of the fourth quarter. I think we knew that and just stayed the course.

Zelee: “On defense, St. Louis is a great team. We watched a lot of film. We felt prepared. Certainly, they’re going to make plays, but we have answers. We just kept communicating. We go against the best offense all week long, so we’ve been down before. We just had togo back to our basics, go back to our principles, communicate and we fought really hard. We stayed strong. We kept battling, offense kept battling. It was a great win…special teams, yeah.”

ON CENTER AMANDA ALPERT COMING BACK TO WIN A TITLE AFTER CONTEMPLATING RETIREMENT 

Cahill: “She was game day captain earlier this year and I said ‘I know there was a time in my career when we weren’t teammates and she wasn’t my center, but I just can’t even picture it. I can’t picture it looking back and I can’t picture it looking forward. To play 20 seasons at quarterback is one thing, to play 19 years on the offensive line is another. She’s a legend. She’s a legend. I’m going to miss her as a friend, as a teammate, as a center, as a roommate. She’s going to stick around and coach us up which is the next best thing, but she’s earned her retirement. I’m so grateful for every freakin snap I’ve played with that woman. She’s a legend.”

Zelee: “Not just you (Allison) as a quarterback, my running back was behind Alpo, so I’m honored to have gotten to know her and take the field with her once again and to get to be here for this special moment for her. Well deserved and definitely a legend, absolutely a legend. A lot of people don’t have careers without Alpo. She’s a coach on the field always, so the rest of the O-line just follows suit. We have our O-line because of Alpo. Congratulations to her on her retirement, I know it’s bittersweet. We’re excited to still have her around. She’ll always be a part of the Renegades family.”

AMANDA ALPERT ON WINNING FIVE STRAIGHT AND COMING BACK FOR THIS EXACT MOMENT

“F’n amazing. This is…football is everything. I’ve been playing football since I was 21 years old. This is all I know in my adult life, so this team is my family. It’s always been my family. It’s the one thing I know that will always be there for me. It’s just something special and I’m really lucky to be a part of this place.”

ON WINNING ANOTHER RING WITH THIS O-LINE

“I told them after the game tonight, this is my favorite O-line I’ve ever played with. No offense, I’ve played with 19 different offensive lines, but there was just something special about this group of people. Something to be said when there’s six of you and you’re dong it day in and day out…there was something…I don’t even know, magical?…about this group, we really do love each other. To be a good offensive line, to be a great offensive line, you need to trust each other. You need to be in-synch and you need to love each other. We had all of that this year and it made it that much more amazing.”

ON PLAYING WITH CAHILL AND WATCHING HER GET ANOTHER MVP

“I’ve played with Allison since 2008. There was two years that I wasn’t able to be her center, one year for some reason they moved me to guard, I don’t know. Then, one year I came back after having my daughter and I couldn’t play. I couldn’t have asked for a better quarterback. Allison is everything you want in a QB, in a teammate, in a friend. She’s smart, she’s strong, she’s passionate. She’s the most hard-working person there is. I’m so lucky to be her center and for her to be my quarterback, to call her a friend and to call her family.”

ON HER FAVORITE PART OF HER FOOTBALL CAREER

“The default answer is winning championships, but I think that comes from the love of the game and the love of the people next to you, behind you. The people I battle against every Tuesday and Thursday at practice. It’s the people. The people make this game what it is. It made me want to come back. It makes me want to come back and I just can’t imagine my life without football.”

CLOSING REMARKS FOR THE RENEGADES

“Thank you. Thank you for so many laughs, some tears, som stitches, but thank you for being a family. One year, the O-line called themselves misfits and that’s what we were. I feel like football truly is a sport where, if you’re willing to work hard and put in the time, the sweat, the dedication, people will accept you for who you are and love you for who you are. That’s what we need. Thank you. Thank you for being there for me.”

DARCY LESLIE ON HER FEELINGS AFTER ANOTHER TITLE WIN

“I’m grateful. It’s just been such an honor to be in this organization. Coming back from not playing five years of football, I’m just so grateful I was able to help my team bring home that win.”

ON ALSO COMING BACK ALONGSIDE ZELEE

“It’s funny. Whit and I, we’re both coming back from being away from the sport for five years. So, it’s been kind of a special moment for us. Seeing her thrive, seeing her ball out this season, it kind of made me up my game a bit. I was like okay Whit, I see you, let’s do this…just playing alongside her has been an absolute honor. It’s been a privilege to play with Whit and she’s helped me elevate my game this season, so thank you Whit.”

ON MOMENTUM SHIFTING AFTER THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN

“We never got nervous. I commend St. Louis for showing up and giving us a fight. Kudos to them on their season. We bend, we don’t break. That’s what we showed today. We had some adversities, things weren’t going our way. We could have imploded. That just goes to speak to what kind of team we have. The mental grind we have. We were able to get some things together, make some changes and start making plays. Things were going well and we’re now the fifth year of being National Champions, so hell yeah, Boston.”

ON HER INTERCEPTION

“It’s funny. I’ve watched a lot of film on St. Louis, so I knew that ball…I had saw them run that play several times. I was ready for it, honestly. Last game, I had an interception that I dropped, so I was like, I cannot do that again. I was in the right position. I had some new gloves that stuck. It was nice to catch that ball and run it back and kind of change the tone for our team. I’m grateful.”

ON WHAT SHE’S MOST PROUD OF FROM THIS SEASON

“I’m just so proud of myself, honestly. It’s been five years since I’ve been in this sport, it’s been 10 years since I played in a national championship for the WFA. I’m just grateful my body was able to do this, honestly. I’m grateful for my wife, for being my dog by my side. You see me out there playing doing my thing, but the back of it…I couldn’t do this with out Brit. She’s held the house down, took care of the kids when I’m not in Chicago, coming into Boston to play. Going to Ohio to play a National Championship, so honestly, this win is for her and my kids too.”

DANIELLE FOURNIER ON HER FEELINGS AFTER WINNING FIVE STRAIGHT

“I feel great. It was awesome to have some players back who had to miss out last season. We were determined  to get Al and them back to the big stage. Couldn’t be happier with how this season turned out, can’t wait to do it again.”

ON THE DETERMINATION BEHIND GETTING OTHERS TO THE TITLE GAME

“Not only did we have newcomers coming in who played a huge part on this team this year, but we had some big role players and some huge contributors out last season, even all of last season. Some big names coming back like Whitney Zelee, our MVP, so it’s just so amazing to feed off them. It just brought such an amazing energy. It was so fun to have them back.”

ON SETTING THE TONE WITH HER ENERGY EVERY GAME

“It takes all of us. We just feed off each other. When you’re not making the hits, you listen to friggin Selena behind you just hyping everybody up. You look down the line and everyone’s got each others’ backs. You don’t have to make every play, you just have to make your play. Own your position, do your job and we’ll all take care of each other. Trust that the person next to you is going to do the same.”

ON THE WORK PUT IN DURING THE OFFSEASON

“I have a quote I always like, ‘preparation breeds confidence,’ and when we went to UConn earlier this year, they had a similar quote on the wall. It was in Latin I think, but it said ‘victory loves preparation,’ so it’s the same thing. We dial in at practices, we dial in at film every other night. We had the highest attendance at captains’ practices this year, we really try to earn our right to be here. It’s an absolute privilege to be here. Pressure is also a privilege and we’ve earned it.”