Chicago Bliss Give Seattle Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th and Seattleites have a bad case of it.  The fine folks of the Pacific Northwest have a good reason to fear Friday the 13th.  On Friday, June 13 at 9 p.m. at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, the Chicago Bliss will vanquish the Seattle Mist.

This Legends Football League matchup features two teams tied for first in the Western Conference.  Despite both teams being 1-0, the Bliss is clearly the better team.  The LFL team rankings have the Bliss at #1, with the Mist at #4, in the 10 team league.  The Bliss earned their ranking by beating the always tough Los Angeles Temptation (who are now 1-1), while the Mist squeaked into #4 by barely beating the Green Bay Chill (who are now 0-2).

Individually, the Bliss are loaded.  Starting quarterback Heather Furr is coming off of her second MVP season.  In the first game, she was 4-7 with 2 touchdowns.  Oh and she also contributed on defense with 2 assists.

Furr has several offensive weapons.  Receiver Alli Alberts, who should have been the 2013 Rookie of the Year, scored a rushing and receiving touchdown.  Running back ChrisDell Harris gained 90 yards on the ground and 21 in the air.  Nneka Nwani and Deena Fagiano each had one carry for 15 and 8 yards respectively.

The defense was a team effort.  Yahshi Rice, Shari Onley, Dominique Collins, DiA'ndra Frye, Chantell Taylor, Kim Perez, Lindsey Mikulecky, Alberts and Furr each had at least one tackle and one assist.  Perez also added a crucial interception.

I did not forget special teams either.  Rookie Jess Price returned a kick for 39 yards, setting up the first Bliss touchdown.  Defensively, the Bliss held L.A.'s Monique Gaxiola to 22 yards on her only return.

The Bliss were down 21-19 at halftime, but I was not worried.  A coach from another LFL team had a different opinion though.  In the press box, he declared an L.A. victory.  I knew Coach Keith Hac is the master of second half adjustments (and locker room speeches).

Perez's interception killed L.A.'s first possession.  The Bliss marched down the field and scorerd to take a 25-21 lead.  On their next possession, L.A. gained 23 yards, before turning over the ball on downs, essentially ending the game.  The Bliss ran out the final 57 seconds for the win.

The Bliss were happy with the win, but quickly got back to work in practice the next week.  They will not be truly satisfied until they capture their second straight LFL title in September.  Seattle is the second step in that journey.

The good news for Seattle is the blood bath will be over in a few hours.  For their sake though, I hope they don't have a fear of second place!