June 5, 2021
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Boston Renegades posted their third shutout of the 2021 season by defeating the D.C. Divas 70-0. Boston’s defense and special teams shined, collecting four turnovers and scoring three times. Wide receiver Stephanie Pascual and running back Chanté Bonds each scored two touchdowns on offense.
Before the game, the teams observed a moment of remembrance and recognition for Renegades Assistant Coach Alan Lockhart. D.C. Divas Public Address Announcer Marc Goldman delivered a touching tribute to Coach Al who passed away on May 29 at age 65. Lockhart was a staple in Boston’s local football community, including Boston Women’s Football. He coached defensive line for the Renegades, the New England Intensity, and the regions first women’s football team, the New England Storm.
Defense and Special Teams Shine
The Renegades defense and special teams ravaged the Divas from whistle to whistle. Boston’s first score — a 13-yard rush by Bonds — was set up on a punt blocked by defensive end Danielle Fournier. On D.C.’s second series, linebacker Allie Genereux scooped up a fumble forced by defensive end Erin Diette and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown. On the Divas’ third series, linebacker Spring Gamble jumped on a fumbled long snap in the end zone. It was the first fumble recovery and defensive touchdown in Gamble’s career. Boston was up 21-0 before taking their second snap on offense.
Sami Bloom recovered an onside kick on special teams and Tee Creech collected her second interception of the season, creating two more scoring opportunities for the Renegades.
To cap off the first half in which Boston scored 56 points, linebacker Shannon Singletary made her first career touchdown return after picking off a pass attempt by Divas quarterback Silvie Aibeche.
Changes for D.C.
The game was Aibeche’s first as the Divas’ starting quarterback. She stepped in after Amanda Congialdi fell with an ACL injury in the previous game. Aibeche was under duress all night by Renegades pass rushers and she was sacked five times. Defensive end Erin Diette and linebacker Lisa Swanson each collected two sacks and linebacker Hannah Jennings also had a sack. The rookies Swanson and Jennings made their first career sacks.
Also stepping into a new role for the Divas was Allysea Marfull who took over the Head Coaching duties from Barry Thompson. Better known by her nickname “Ghost”, Marfull played 9 seasons in D.C. on the offensive line and is a D.C. Divas Hall of Famer.
Matta joins in
On the offensive side of the ball, Bonds led the way with 125 combined yards and two touchdowns. British speedster Ruth Matta made her 2021 debut with 72 yards and a touchdown on 12 rushes. Quarterback Allison Cahill made 13 passes for 137 yards and three scores, two to Pascual and one to Adrienne Smith. Smith led all receivers with 45 yards on 4 catches, followed by Pascual who had 40 yards on 5 catches. Quarterback Heather Marini, who relieved Cahill in the fourth quarter, rushed for her first touchdown since coming to the Women’s Football Alliance from Gridiron Victoria.
Boston’s kickers were perfect on the day. Vanessa Aukshunas kicked eight PATs while Mariette Martinez kicked two.
For the third time in as many meetings, the Renegades handed the D.C. the largest margin of defeat in their history. With a 46-point margin of victory on June 29, 2019, Boston broke an 18-year record for margin of victory against the Divas set by the Philadelphia Liberty Belles on April 28, 2001. The Philadelphia Liberty Belles posted a 40-0 shutout in the Divas’ very first game. The Renegades then topped their own record with a 50-point margin three weeks ago. With the 70-0 victory, the record now stands at 70 points.
Outlook
After a bye week, the Renegades travel to Detroit for a rematch with the Dark Angels. It will be the regular season finale for Boston who anticipate a first-round playoff bye before hosting the conference championship July 10 in Revere.
Box Score
| Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria, Va. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Boston Renegades | 35 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 70 |
| D.C. Divas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring Log
| Q | TIME | TEAM | SCORING PLAYS | DC | BOS |
| 1 | 12:11 | BOS | Chanté Bonds 13yd ruTD (Vanessa Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 10:47 | BOS | Allie Genereux 7yd FUM retTD (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 14 | |
| 9:00 | BOS | Spring Gamble 0yd FUM retTD (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 21 | |
| 7:59 | BOS | Stephanie Pascual 15yd reTD from Allison Cahill (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 28 | |
| 0:42 | BOS | Ruth Matta 15yd ruTD (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 35 | |
| 2 | 7:27 | BOS | Stephanie Pascual 1yd reTD from Cahill (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 42 |
| 2:07 | BOS | Bonds 10yd ruTD (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 49 | |
| 0:31 | BOS | Shannon Singletary 45yd INT retTD (Aukshunas kick) | 0 | 56 | |
| 4 | 13:58 | BOS | Smith 10 yd reTD (Mariette Martinez kick) | 0 | 63 |
| 7:02 | BOS | Heather Marini 1yd ru TD (Martinez kick) | 0 | 70 |
Game Notes
Game Day Captains: #24 Briannah Gallo and #11 Sarah Tully
Players of the Game: #23 Spring Gamble (Defense), #21 Chanté Bonds (Offense), #56 Nicole Gordon (Spotlight)
Milestones: #13 Shannon Singletary scored her first career touchdown. #6 Heather Marini scored her first touchdown since joining the WFA from Gridiron Victoria. #23 Spring Gamble made her first fumble recovery and defensive touchdown. #56 Nicole Gordon made her first career start. Both #46 Hannah Jennings and #57 Lisa Swanson made their first career sacks.
Previous game vs. opponent: Boston Renegades 56, D.C. Divas 6, 5/15/2021
Previous game at site: None (Boston Renegades 37, D.C. Divas 32, 4/27/19 at The St. James, Springfield, Va.)
Renegades record vs. opponent: 10-6
Odds status (Massey) : favorite (-9)
Win probability (Massey) : 60%
Photos: Douglas Charland
Video: D.C. Divas Official Facebook Page
Statistics
TEAM TOTALS
| BOSTON | DC | |
| Total Plays | 44 | 53 |
| Total Yards | 329 | 16 |
| Passing Yards | 137 | 19 |
| Rushing Yards | 192 | -3 |
| First Downs | 20 | 6 |
| Third Downs | 3-4 (75)% | 2-10 (20%) |
| Fourth Downs | - | 0-5 (0%) |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Penalties | 4 | 7 |
| Penalty Yards | 45 | 55 |
OFFENSE
| PASSING | YDS | CMP | ATT | PCT | AVG | TD | INT | LNG | RTG |
| #7 Allison Cahill | 137 | 13 | 17 | 76.47% | 10.5 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 138.24 |
| #6 Heather Marini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| RUSHING | YDS | ATT | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM |
| #21 Chante Bonds | 103 | 9 | 11.4 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| #22 Ruth Matta | 72 | 12 | 6.0 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| #31 Alison Gauvin | 10 | 1 | 10.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| #20 Katherine Falkowski | 8 | 1 | 8.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| #6 Heather Marini | 2 | 1 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| #7 Allison Cahill | -3 | 1 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| RECEIVING | YDS | REC | LONG | AVG | TD | TGT | DROP |
| #10 Adrienne Smith | 45 | 4 | 21 | 11.25 | 1 | 5 | |
| #3 Stephanie Pascual | 40 | 5 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| #21 Chante Bonds | 22 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 1 | |
| #8 Lauren Yung | 20 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 2 | |
| #87 Emily Beinecke | 10 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
DEFENSE
| SOLO | AST | COMB | TFL | SCK | PD | INT | FUM | FF | BLK | TD | |
| #52 Allie Genereux | 6.5 | 3 | 9.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| #57 Lisa Swanson | 4.5 | 1 | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| #30 Erin Diette | 4.5 | 5 | 9.5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| #46 Hannah Jennings | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| #24 Briannah Gallo | 3.5 | 3 | 6.5 | 1 | |||||||
| #84 Megan McFadden | 3.5 | 1 | 4.5 | 0 | |||||||
| #68 Samantha McKay | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | |||||||
| #2 Carolyn Da Cunha | 2.5 | 1 | 3.5 | 0 | |||||||
| #70 Danielle Fournier | 2.5 | 3 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| #23 Spring Gamble | 2.5 | 1 | 3.5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| #56 Nicole Gordon | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.5 | |||||||
| #89 Christina Riggieri | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.5 | |||||||
| #4 Kyshani Dummott | 1.5 | 1 | 2.5 | 0 | |||||||
| #36 Charlene Casey | 1.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 0 | |||||||
| #13 Shannon Singletary | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| #28 Latoya Saulters | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| #44 Samantha Bloom | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| #5 Shantia Creech | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| #53 Deanna Walsh | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | |||||||
| #42 Jennifer Tamilio | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 |
SPECIAL TEAMS
| EXTRA POINTS | XPM | XPA | XP% | |||
| #40 Vanessa Aukshunas | 8 | 8 | 100% | |||
| #81 Mariette Martinez | 2 | 2 | 100% | |||
| FIELD GOALS | FGM | FGA | FG% | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| KICKOFFS | KO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TB | IN20 |
| #81 Mariette Martinez | 11 | 457 | 41.5 | 60 | 0 | 0 |
| PUNTS | P | YDS | AVG | LONG | TB | IN20 |
| #80 Ash Beckham | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | RET | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | FUM |
| #21 Chanté Bonds | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | RET | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | FUM |
| #5 Tee Creech | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 | 0 |