Image courtesy of Boston Renegades
Never in doubt, right?
Ok, so maybe a few people started to jump off the bandwagon after a two-loss season, but the Renegades never flinched. Now, Boston is heading back to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Women’s Football Alliance Pro Division National Championship game for a seventh consecutive season.
The Renegades avenged one of their losses during the regular season with an absolute beatdown, 41-0 on the road in Pittsburgh, handing the Passion their only loss of the season.
The Renegades (6-2) will have a chance to avenge the other loss when they face St. Louis in the title game at Tom Benson Stadium on Saturday July 27th. The game will air live on ESPN2 (2:00 p.m.).
Despite the missing faces – including legendary quarterback Allison Cahill – the championship DNA was always in the locker room and it’s the reason why the Renegades have a couple more weeks of practice and a chance to start adding rings to the other hand.
“The coaches are phenomenal,” said wide receiver Adrienne Smith, who had five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. “The biggest thing was after that loss, it exposed our weaknesses. So, (the staff) could really, really understand where we needed to sure up and what we needed to improve upon and then they focused on that. Then, they repped and they repped and they repped.
“So, they ingrained it in us and thank goodness we all bought in and we all started to believe.”
Boston built a 27-0 lead at halftime after scoring just 21 points total against the Passion a few weeks ago. The defense was also dominate as the Renegades out-gained Pittsburgh 438-155 for the game and held the black & gold to a 2-14 clip on third down.
Cahill’s replacement Megan McFadden had arguably her best game, going 21-28 for 298 yards and three touchdowns. She did have two picks as well, but the defense rendered those meaningless. Ruth Matta led the way on the ground with 67 yards on 15 carries. Katie Falkowski was the only other back to get double digit carries (10) for 24 yards and a touchdown. As usual, Steph Pascual was a highlight reel waiting to happen at receiver, going off for 147 yards and a touchdown on seven grabs. Smith had her big performance and Kyshani Dummott had nine catches for 64 yards and a TD as well.
Defensively, Darcy Leslie had two interceptions and Briannah Gallo added one. Spring Gamble had a fumble recovery and 16 different players had at least one tackle.
“We were just doing our job,” said Gallo. “Coaches had us prepared for what to expect and it was just about believing in each other and trust. We played our game, we did our job, we trusted each other.”
A two yard TD run for Matta and a Maggie Barden PAT made it 7-0 early. Boston led 14-0 after one thanks to a Pascual 23 yard touchdown reception. Dummott had a four yard TD grab and Gamble rumbled in from four yards out to make it 27-0 at the break. Smith had the lone score of the third quarter with a seven yard TD grab. Falkwoski capped the scoring in the fourth with a three yard run.
Regardless of how the rest of the league felt, playoff time is a different animal when facing the Renegades. Championship heart and experience trump all other factors, and now, Boston is one win away from extending the dynasty feeling as confident as they have all season long.
It would probably be the sweetest one yet given the adversity the team has faced in a fork-in-the-road type of season for the franchise.
“I think we’re hitting our stride,” added Smith. “Honestly, I think we’ve found who we are. We have a new identity. The Boston Renegades of 2024 is a different team than any of the others that preceded it.
“We now know who we are. We now know how we can play and we’re just going to lean into that. It’s going to be high intensity and a lot of mental focus and we’re going to be violent. Period.”