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The Sacramento Sirens overcame a lackluster first half to take a 33-13 come-from-behind win against the Tier II Bay Area Bandits. Early, the Bandits had success both with sweeps and fly routes against the Sirens' starting right cornerback. Halftime adjustments eliminated the sweep threat, and the Bandits oddly never went to the fly route again. Halfback-kickoff returner Julie Shockley returned from a five-year retirement to score a touchdown on the ground and gain huge yardage in the return game. Halfback Ashlee Sharp and big fullback Jennie Ann Quan also scored. Quan's tough, bulldozing running style sealed the game in the second half by eating tons of clock. Safety Denise Grandison turned in the hit of the game in the second half.

Coupled with this win was the incredible egg turned in by Pacific Northwest perennial leader Seattle Majestics, who were trashed by the California Quake (Long Beach) 50-14. This opens the door for the Sirens, who have only three countable games in the Independent Women's Football League, which uses complex Massey Ratings vice overall records to determine playoff qualification; Tier II teams such as the Bandits either don't count at all or count less than Tier I teams like Seattle.

Next week, Sac travels to face the hated Majestics. In the past, this game has been played on the Seahawks' field, but I don't know if that will happen this year. This game could determine the division title as early in the 8-game season as it is, though the LA Amazons will likely have something to say about that. It seems that the Quake may be having a bit of a resurgence this year, as well, given their win against Seattle. Keep in mind also that a Quake kicker holds the IWFL record FG of 44 yards (would have been good from over 50), though I don't know if she's still around. Second-year Sirens kicker Jennifer Bloom is a match for her (40 yards at halftime of the home finale last year) when the snap is true.

IWFL games in other areas:

KC Tribe 77, Iowa Crush 0
Dallas Diamonds 34, Houston Energy 12
Chicago Force 42, Wisconsin Warriors 0
Clarksville Fox 36, Tennessee Valley Tigers 6
Pittsburgh Passion 32, Erie Illusion 0
New England Intensity 28, Southern Maine Rebels 0
Jersey Justice 32, Manchester Freedom 0
Atlanta Xplosion 65, Chattanooga Locomotion 0
Boston Militia 56, NY Nemesis 6 (NY fans must be seething!)
Tucson Monsoon 3, SoCal Breakers 0
Baltimore Nighthawks 54, Philadelphia Firebirds 0
Miami Fury 40, Palm Beach Punishers 9
Carolina Phoenix 26, Carolina Queens 2
Montreal Blitz 76, Binghamton TigerCats 0
Wisconsin Wolves 73, Minnesota Vixen 30
LA Amazons 37, SoCal Scorpions 26

kind of interesting to see all those lopsided blowout scores (77-0 and the like),
and then there was one game that ended up 3-0.

Weather may have been a factor. The West Coast has had some nasty storms the last week or so.