SOMERS, N.Y. - When the flag football preseason began, Coach Vinny DiFilippo refused to be bogged down by having two capable quarterbacks in Ava Schmidberger and Julia Goulart.
“There wasn’t a doubt in our minds that both were going to be splitting time,” he said.
But even while splitting snaps, Goulart still found plenty of ways to shine. Playing both ways, the signal caller proved she didn’t need the ball in her hands to make a huge impact.
“Bella made a tremendous play. On a three-step route, she undercut it and took it to the house,” DiFilippo said.
With the tone set on the opening drive, the Tuskers went on to a 13-0 victory over Panas on Wednesday, May 13.
Unfortunately for Panas, the Rebels opened strong at the high school. Three big plays moved them to the Somers 27-yard line before Goulart stepped in with the interception.
The Rebels kept their heads up nonetheless. Their quarterback scrambled for a first down at the 25 and then completed a pass to the Somers 31. The bending Somers defense, however, didn’t break, and three plays later the offense finally took the field.
On Schmidberger’s first series, the sophomore had no problem showcasing running back Natalie D’Ippolito.
“I trust Natalie D’Ippolito,” said the quarterback, and Panas quickly witnessed the first of several explosive runs by the standout back.
Although the drive stalled at the 27, there was no denying what Panas was up against. D’Ippolito also made her presence felt on defense, recording a sack and a tackle to help set the tone for Somers.
“Just getting around the block can be tough,” D’Ippolito said at the 9:01 mark, “but you have to execute and have the right timing.”
Next up, Goulart gave her teammate a breather. The quarterback rolled right, cut inside and raced across midfield. After picking up a first down at the Panas 38, D’Ippolito’s spark ignited once again.
“She has lightning speed and the ability to cut and make people miss,” DiFilippo said.
Two D’Ippolito runs gave Somers a first down at the 19, but a high snap set up third-and-goal from the 27. Goulart dropped back and fired into traffic, where Morgan Sabanosh hauled in a deflected pass to keep the drive alive.
At the 9-yard line, Goulart rolled right again, and amid the chaos Sabanosh broke open in the end zone. The quarterback, however, never saw her, and the ensuing tackle gave Panas the ball back.
On the other side, pressure from the Somers front line, a fumble and another D’Ippolito sack continued to swing field position in the Tuskers’ favor. The Panas punter briefly flipped momentum with a booming kick over Goulart’s head that pinned Somers at its own 15-yard line.
The momentum shift limited Somers to three plays, but more strong defense allowed the Tuskers to close the half holding onto their 6-0 lead.
With one half remaining, D’Ippolito continued to chew up yardage and the clock. After Schmidberger got outside for a first down to the 30, she flipped an option pitch to the sideline, where D’Ippolito burst into the open field and sped past midfield.
Three more plays drained the clock to 5:48 in the third quarter, and despite a Somers punt, Panas again struggled to capitalize. A high incomplete screen pass, a fumble and another incompletion forced the Rebels to punt once more.
After a shanked kick, the Tuskers took over at the Panas 38 and wasted little time taking advantage. Schmidberger rolled left and connected with Angela Roane along the sideline.
Facing second-and-three, Panas once again had trouble containing D’Ippolito. The running back appeared headed for another big gain before being flagged for diving, setting up third-and-10 from the 30.
Keeping her feet proved just as dangerous for Panas.
Schmidberger ran the option to the right and pitched to D’Ippolito, who did the rest. She burst through the first line of defense and outran the secondary for a first down at the 15.
Then the running back finished the drive herself. Schmidberger sent her left for a five-yard gain before handing the ball back to her on the next play for a touchdown run to the right side.
Still, D’Ippolito credited her teammates.
“Great blocks, great execution — they give me space to run,” she said.
With 26 seconds left in the third quarter, D’Ippolito added the extra point by hauling in Schmidberger’s conversion pass in traffic to give Somers a 13-0 lead.
D’Ippolito was hurt on the play and had to watch from the sideline the rest of the way. Maggie Mancini came up with a pair of key pulls to help derail Panas’ final two drives.
With Yorktown next on the schedule, D’Ippolito remained optimistic.
“I’m OK. I’ll be back in shape,” she said.
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