Behind six touchdown drives in the first half, the Fredonia ‘Billies ran over the Dunkirk Marauders, 64-6, in a Division 2 South girls flag football game Tuesday night.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling,” said Fredonia co-head coach Tim Kachelmeyer. “The girls have worked hard. We talked about making history, first time in the Orange Bowl playing, and they rose to the occasion.”

Fredonia (2-1) began the game on defense, as Dunkirk (0-2) took the ball first. On the fourth play, the Marauders turned the ball over on an interception by Fredonia’s Rosaliz Aponte to set the ‘Billies up near midfield.

It didn’t take long for Fredonia’s offense to get going.

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia’s Francesca Pucci finds room to run during Tuesday’s Division 2 South girls flag football game against Dunkirk at the Orange Bowl.

The ‘Billies got on the board with a 9-yard touchdown carry from running back Francesca Pucci. After Pucci then converted the extra point, Fredonia led 7-0.

The ‘Billies got the ball right back after a sack on third down by Lily Runkel forced Dunkirk to punt. Fredonia then quickly cashed in with another Pucci touchdown, as quarterback Ella Koopman pitched the ball to Pucci on an option that guided Pucci down the Fredonia sideline for a 38-yard touchdown run. Koopman kept it herself for the extra point to put Fredonia up 14-0.

“It’s just an adrenaline rush for all of us,” Koopman said of the quick start. “This was a big win. Rival games are always really fun, really energetic, and there is a lot of emotion. Coming out that big in the first half was a huge energy boost for us.”

The seniors continued to lead the way for Fredonia throughout the first half. Fredonia added four more touchdowns before the first half expired, including a 58-yard explosion from Koopman down the Fredonia sideline.

She also found senior Keiliany Diaz with three touchdown passes, including a bobbling catch Diaz completed laying on her back in the end zone, as well as a reception in the right corner of the end zone with just three seconds left in the first half. The duo’s third connection of the half gave Fredonia a 40-0 lead at the intermission.

Fredonia’s 11 seniors played a key role in the win, which included Koopman, Diaz, Pucci, and Runkel, who led the team with three sacks and seven flag pulls. Pucci had 78 yards and two touchdowns; Diaz had four receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown; and Koopman had five passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

“I think it’s a testament to these young ladies. For the past month and a half, they have been really getting after it. We had the two-week spring break and a lot of them decided even on spring break if they weren’t going to be out of town, that they were going to come here and get better,” Fredonia co-head coach Nick Bertrando said.

Koopman added two more touchdown passes in the second half, one of which was to Diaz, the other to Natalia DiPalma. Diaz also added a touchdown run the length of the field down the Dunkirk sideline with just under six minutes remaining in the contest. Juliana Snyder, a freshman, finished the scoring with Fredonia’s tenth touchdown of the contest.

“Our coaches are amazing, we have a really strong program. Last year, we were super successful,” Koopman said. “We want to continue that throughout this year and let every other team in our league know that we’re coming.”

Dunkirk finally got on the board with 6:42 remaining in the game, down 52-0. Quarterback Molly DiCara connected with Shyla Karin on a 7-yard touchdown pass to break up the shutout and give the Marauders crowd a highlight to celebrate.

Tuesday’s game was the first of its kind at the Orange Bowl, which has been the host of local football pride for many decades. Fredonia was unable to play a home game at the Orange Bowl in its inaugural season of flag football last year because of poor field conditions, but Koopman and her fellow seniors were thrilled to have the opportunity last night to become the first girls flag football team to win at the Orange Bowl.

“I loved coming to the boys games, and I wanted to play here last year, but this was like a dream for all the seniors this year. I’m just so glad that we were able to play here under the lights with the crowd. It’s perfect, and the rivalry game made it even better,” Koopman said.

Bertrando hopes Fredonia-Dunkirk on Tuesday is the first of many showcases for the sport at the Orange Bowl and beyond.

“This is a fast-emerging sport. I think it gives young women, who maybe don’t have another sport in mind in the spring, an opportunity to really showcase their athletic talents,” Bertrando said. “We’ve seen it with the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, we’ve seen it with the WNBA, the emergence of women’s sports in general is long, long overdue. I’m excited for these young women and for everybody that has a flag football team to be able to experience this.”

While the Fredonia bleachers were more than half full, the same could be said for the much smaller visiting bleachers. The Dunkirk crowd was respectable, but for Dunkirk head coach Edwin Gomez, he wished it was larger. Gomez is also the varsity football coach in the fall at Dunkirk, his alma mater, in the community he calls home. He contrasted the crowd on Tuesday to a Dunkirk-Fredonia crowd at a fall football game and hoped for more.

“To be honest, I kind of wished we had a bigger crowd. Girls’ sports don’t get as much of a following as they should,” Gomez said. “Compared to the boys, it’s kind of upsetting to see the difference.”

While there is still a long way to go for Dunkirk, both on the field and in the stands, Tuesday was not demoralizing for the growing Marauders program.

“I’m glad that we’re in the right direction with flag football in Western New York. It’s tough because it’s the first two years of these programs. We’re still learning. A lot of these girls, I give them all the credit, a lot of them have never touched a football,” Gomez said. “The trend is there in a positive way. I think that the future of flag football is going to be bright.”

For Fredonia, the present is pretty bright, too.

“I’m just super excited and proud of them to open up at home for the first time, with the emerging sport underneath the lights, against another proud community with a lot of sports history. To come out on top is a pretty good feeling,” Bertrando said.