Girls flag football: Cloverleaf shows improvement in loss to Amherst

AMHERST — Fresh off its first two wins, the Cloverleaf girls flag football team continues to make progress. On Friday, the Colts went wire-to-wire with Amherst, one of the deepest and highest-scoring teams in the Northern Ohio Girls Flag Football League Orange Division. While they limited the Comets to one score, their offense was unable to convert as host Amherst prevailed 7-0. Black River (0-6) was on a bye and will return to action April 26 at Avon Lake. Medina (3-4) lost to Strongsville 27-14 in the second slate of games. Against Amherst (5-2), Cloverleaf's defense recorded three sacks and had an interception negated by a penalty. The Colts turned the Comets over on downs on 6-of-7 drives. "We did really good at defense today," said Lucy Mandato, who recorded a key sack in the second half to help Cloverleaf get the ball back at the 10:00 mark. "When we put more effort into it, we can do better. We can read the game, watch the quarterback and see where they're going." Amherst's only touchdown came on its second drive, facing a fourth-and-long after Cloverleaf's Rylee Winkelman sacked Olivia Ford. Ford shook that off and connected with Liana Del Valle for a touchdown on the ensuing play. The Colts (2-5) almost answered when quarterback Ellie Marshall evaded a sack for a big gain, but the Colts threw an interception the next play. Mandato's sack helped stall Amherst's second drive of the second half. The Colts promptly converted a first down and were flirting with the red zone when Amherst's Paige Miller came up with her second interception. Two plays later, Kayla Schempp came up with an interception, but a penalty nullified the play and allowed Amherst to waste more time. Cloverleaf went four-and-out on its next drive and Amherst milked the clock to the point where the Colts' final attempt had to go the length of the field. "We've grown a lot since the first couple of games," said Mandato, who is one of 13 freshmen listed on the roster. "We won games by talking more in the games. I think that's what helps build our team more and helps us win." Contact Chris Sweeney at sports@medina-gazette.com.