Warbirds lose on final play of game
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, February 2, 2002
Herald Staff
KIRKLAND – The Seattle Warbirds’ inaugural season came to a sudden and dramatic end Saturday night, leaving the only unbeaten team in the Women’s American Football League two games short of its goal.
Kim Corbett and Angela Reyes connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass as time expired to give the Arizona Caliente a 22-16 victory in a WAFL quarterfinal game at Juanita High School.
Seattle’s first female professional football team refused to call the season a failure despite its unfortunate end.
“I’m in shock,” said Warbirds running back Sara Keys, a 23-year-old running back and Lake Stevens High School graduate. “I’ve made so many friends and had so many memories. Whether we won or lost, it was still awesome. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The Warbirds (9-0-1 during the regular season) had a chance to break a 16-16 tie with less than a minute remaining, but kicker Angelique Bredice missed a 31-yard field goal with 43 seconds left. As it turned out, Seattle coach Michael Stuart had used his final timeout too soon, giving the Caliente (7-3) enough time to drive 87 yards in six plays for the game-winning score.
Reyes finished with 181 all-purpose yards, including 146 rushing, and two touchdowns for the Caliente. Arizona advances to the WAFL semifinals, where it will face the California Quake on Saturday.
The Warbirds battled back twice from eight-point deficits. Keys scored Seattle’s biggest touchdown early in the fourth quarter, catching a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kim Walden. Keys then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the score at 16.
The Warbirds’ defense shut down the Caliente on its next two possessions and drove into Arizona territory twice. But those two drives culminated in an interception – Seattle’s third turnover of the game – and the missed field goal.
After a 10-play, 43-yard drive yielded no Seattle points, Arizona took over at its own 13-yard line in the final minute. On third-and-10, and with just 29 seconds to go, Reyes broke a 30-yard run. The stadium clock never started on that play, and officials had to stop play and take six seconds off the clock. After an incompletion, Arizona completed two passes in the final eight seconds – including the game-winner.
Keys finished with 83 yards on 15 carries. Walden, an attorney who lives in Lake Stevens, completed four of six passes for 45 yards – with all four of her completions going to Keys.
Snohomish County products Kasey Rivas of Everett (seven tackles), Heidi Ellis of Bothell (four) and Jamie Taylor of Everett (four) led Seattle’s defense. The Warbirds gave up 348 yards, which was very uncharacteristic for a defense that had shut out seven of 10 opponents during the regular season.
At Juanita High School
Arizona – Reyes 6 run (Reyes run)
Seattle – Warner 60 run (Keys run)
Arizona – Garner 4 pass from Corbett (Garner pass from Corbett)
Seattle – Keys 16 pass from Walden (Keys run)
Arizona – Reyes 35 pass from Corbett
