With only a few weeks left in the season, even a downpour could not keep the Billies off the Orange Bowl field any longer. Despite weather-related postponements throughout the county on Thursday — puddles of mud be damned — Fredonia was going to play, and the hometown girls sure did show up.

“We want to establish ourselves in rain, sleet, snow, sunshine or anything else. We want to play our game,” Fredonia co-head coach Nick Bertrando said after the game. “I think tonight, on both sides of the ball, we did that.”

The defending Section VI champion, Fredonia defeated visiting Williamsville North 38-7, in its 2025 home opener.

While the game didn’t officially begin until 8:05 p.m., following a modified game and a rain delay, Fredonia wasted no time pulling ahead once things were underway.

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia’s Sophia Utegg looks for room to run during Thursday’s nonleague flag football game against Williamsville North at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia.

“We try to come out quick and hard to set the tone,” Bertrando said.

Juliana Snyder did just that, as she picked off a pass on the opening possession from Williamsville North (3-7) to set Fredonia (5-1) up in positive field position. Three plays later, the Billies were on the board after Natalia DiPalma took a pitch down the Fredonia sideline and into the end zone. An extra-point completion to Madelyn Polhamus gave Fredonia a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

Less than five minutes later, Fredonia added to its lead. Snyder and DiPalma put the Billies in position to score with big runs down the visitors’ sideline. Then with 18:22 left in the first half, quarterback Sophia Utegg ran it right up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. Fredonia’s lead increased to 13-0.

The Fredonia offense continued to roll throughout the first half. DiPalma added her second touchdown of the first half on an 18-yard run with 14:51 left in the opening period. Utegg connected with Nora Polhamus with 2:31 left in the half for the game’s first passing touchdown to extend the Fredonia lead to 26-0. A defensive stand in the final minute of the period preserved the first-half shutout and kept Fredonia’s four-touchdown lead intact.

The Billies added a fifth touchdown with 11:08 remaining in the game, as Utegg took it in from 4 yards out. Fredonia’s lead increased to 32-0.

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia’s Natalia DiPalma carries the ball during the Hillbillies’ nonleague flag football game against Williamsville North on Thursday at the Orange Bowl in Fredonia.

Determined to leave the field with one more play on her highlight reel, DiPalma scored her third touchdown of the night on a stellar run. She took a direct snap, started toward her own sideline, then planted her feet in the mud and cut back across the field, showcasing uncommon speed and agility in the challenging conditions. The score was 38-0 once she crossed the goal line.

Finally, Savannah Markins got Williamsville North on the scoreboard with 3:02 left in the contest after reeling in a deep ball down the Fredonia sideline and taking it all the way for a 78-yard touchdown. Fredonia ran out the final three minutes for a 38-7 victory.

“It’s a testament to these young women,” Bertrando said of the dominant final result, less than 24 hours after a rescheduled contest Wednesday. The team watched film to prepare for Thursday’s game after school, then held a walk-through in the gymnasium during a lightning delay of the preceding modified game.

Challenging field conditions or not, DiPalma shined. She finished with 200 rushing yards on only 15 carries, including three rushing touchdowns.

“She’s been part of this since the start,” Bertrando said of DiPalma, a senior captain. “Her nickname is ‘Turbo’ because she has that little turbo kick, and she made a couple moves that just were amazing under the Orange Bowl turf monster.”

Bertrando said that DiPalma’s performance was impressive even judged against the bar she has already set as one of the program’s founding members.

“She looked exceptionally quick tonight, even under these conditions,” Bertrando said. “It’s a testament to her, and it’s a testament to the other six young women on the field who set some amazing blocks to give her that opportunity to get to the edge. Once she got to the edge, she kicked in the turbo and did the rest.”

Prior to the varsity contest, the Fredonia modified team won the first game in the program’s history 7-0 thanks to a touchdown from Peyton Wallace. The modified team is coached by Drew Brown and Kayla Wiskup.

The modified game was delayed at the start because of Williamsville North’s late arrival due to the weather. A lightning delay during the contest impacted play, as well. The game concluded under the lights just 10 minutes before 8 p.m., with the varsity game starting 15 minutes later.

“We talked about how special it is to play down here, and to defend our turf. Hopefully this is a route that teams are going to have to take in order to advance in the playoffs,” Bertrando said.

Fredonia has a day off for the girls — and the field — to recover before a Saturday afternoon contest with Health Sciences, set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.