The Texas Elite Spartans defeated the Kansas City Glory 34-14 on June 9 in the first round of the Women’s National Football Conference playoffs. The victory marks the third time this season that Texas has defeated Kansas City and sets up a showdown against the Atlanta Phoenix for the Atlantic Conference Championship game on June 11.
Texas entered the match against the Glory defending a third consecutive undefeated season and looking to return to the IX Cup Championship which Texas has won in back-to-back seasons. The Elite Spartans entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the conference, while Kansas City was ranked fourth after finishing the 2022 season with a 4-2 record. The only team to defeat the Glory this season was the Elite Spartans.
Texas opened the game attacking Kansas City at the line with runs by Rasan Gore to quickly move into Glory territory. League-leading quarterback Brittany Bushman connected on short passes to get the Spartans into the red zone on the first possession. Rookie halfback Jelani Kelly took a fake pass handoff from Bushman inside the 10-yard line and bulldozed into the endzone to get the Texas Elite Spartans on the board first.
After giving up a touchdown, Kansas City’s offense got its first chance of the night. The last time these two teams met was in Week 7, the game went down in history as the narrowest victory in Elite Spartans team history, with Texas winning 21-20.
Glory quarterback Lauren Crouch had her first pass batted to the ground by Elite Spartans defensive lineswoman Fannie Robinson. Her second pass was even more disastrous as the ball fluttered in the air and was picked off by Jessica Collins, who returned the interception for a touchdown. Spartans kicker Shelby Ternus missed only her second PAT of the season to give the Elite Spartans a 13-0 lead.
Kansas City was unable to pick up a first down on the ensuing drive and nearly gave up more points as the long snapper overshot the punt kicker. Kansas City was able to recover and kick the ball nearly to half field. In one scamper, Texas running back Tiffany Hill took a handoff over 30-yards to set the Elite Spartans up with first-and-goal at the Glory 7-yard line.
Bushman hit her first passing touchdown of the day on the drive, connecting with Gore, who lined up as a blocking tight end, then slipped free and caught an easy pass to extend the Elite Spartans’ first-quarter lead to 20-0.
Things continued to go wrong for Crouch and the Kansas City offense. The next drive ended in another interception, this time going to the league-leader in interceptions, Eshombi SIngleton. Singleton had five picks during the regular season. For the first time all game, the Glory defense managed to get a stop and the Elite Spartans turned the ball over on downs.
The Texas defense returned the favor, shutting down Kansas City on a fourth-and-one attempt with a tackle for loss in the backfield. The Elite Spartans offense immediately went back to work with Bushman hitting Liz Landry downfield to get into the red zone yet again. A holding penalty took another Texas touchdown off the board before the first quarter ended.
Texas then made an uncharacteristic mistake as Bushman tried to connect with Brittany Satterwhite, but the pass was off her hands. The referees ruled that the pass was backward, and therefore a loose ball. Kansas City recovered to prevent another Texas score.
The Texas defense once again shut down Kansas City, pushing the offense back six yards on three plays. Liz Landry returned the punt 17 yards and set the offense up just outside the red zone. Penalties continued to plague Texas, and a false start penalty derailed the short-field drive. Kansas City was able to take over at their own 19-yard line.
After Kansas City picked up their first first downs of the game on penalties against Texas, Crouch missed her receiver, instead connecting with Elite Spartans Denesha Richardson who returned the third interception of the day for a Texas touchdown, the second pick-six of the contest.
Later in the second quarter, Texas running back Kesz Wesley took a short handoff to extend the Texas lead to 34-0 with two and a half minutes remaining in the half. From there, most of the starters for Texas hit the bench, giving second and third-string players an opportunity to play.
Kansas City scored a touchdown in the third and another in the fourth, but the damage had already been done, and the massive lead Texas built in the first half proved to be insurmountable.
On June 11, Texas will face the Atlanta Phoenix, a team they have not faced since the 2021 season. Atlanta defeated Alabama in a close game earlier on June 9. The winner between Texas and Atlanta will play against the winner of the Pacific Conference Championship at the Star in Frisco for the IX Cup Championship on June 26.
