The inaugural season of UW-Oshkosh flag football has come to a close, with the Titans picking up their second win ever against Wittenberg University (Ohio) 32-7 at the Purdue University Northwest (Indiana) Triangular on May 2.
UWO faced the home team Purdue Northwest earlier in the day and lost 43-20.
In the game against the Tigers, freshman Joely Schelfhout kicked off the scoring for the Titans, cashing in a 39-yard pick six in the second quarter. The successful point-after pass made the score 7-0.
“I just kept hearing people on the sideline, they’re like, ‘run, run’ and I was like, ‘okay,’ so I just ran,” Schelfhout said in an interview with WRST-FM on May 4. “Then it happened. I mean, it was super cool. Like, it was the first and only one of our entire season.”
Anika Roush capped off the next drive with a direct-snap touchdown to give UWO a 13-0 lead at halftime.
With possession of the ball out of the halftime break, junior Marin Bell tossed a pass to Schelfhout, who caught it for a 26-yard touchdown in the end zone. Schelfhout would find the end zone for a third time, with freshman Aaliyah Lathrop also scoring, as the Titans cruised to a 32-0 entering the fourth quarter. The only points given up by the black and gold were on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the fourth.
The matchup against Purdue Northwest saw the Titans trailing 25-6 at halftime, with the lone score being on a touchdown pass from Bell to Schelfhout. Freshman Jamaya Mariner notched 19- and 16-yard touchdowns for Oshkosh, but the Pride sealed the victory on a pair of interceptions that led to points on the scoreboard.
UWO’s inaugural season saw a lot of firsts for the program. The first game was held on Feb. 25 against Aurora University (Illinois), with freshman Kyana Williams scoring the first-ever points for UWO on April 2 against Rockford University (Illinois). One week later, the Titans picked up their first win by defeating the Regents 19-15 at Smith Field in Fond du Lac. The Titans were able to put points on the scoreboard in their final eight games after going scoreless in their first three, with six of them being double-digit outings.
After the first three games, things need to change gameplay-wise for the Titans.
“We met as a staff, and it was like, ‘Okay, Coach, what you’re doing isn’t working. What are you going to change?’ So, I appreciated that (the) girls were really flexible and made the adjustments that we needed to, but we still hadn’t hit that mark,” head coach Deante Jefferson said. “Each week, you saw them answer the call for what we needed them to do.”
Being a part of the first-ever season will be a big part of both the player’s lives, and their athletic careers.
“(It’s) great to be part of history, and just everyone on the team is amazing,” Mariner said. “Like, the environment is incredible, and I just wouldn’t change it for the world.”
With the gridiron going quiet for the summer, the countdown begins for the next season of UWO women’s flag football to take the field and build upon the legacy they’ve started.
