Fresh off a bye week, the Texas Elite Spartans exploded back into action on April 23 with a dominant 49-14 victory over the Mississippi Lady Panthers on the road. The Texas Elite Spartans are now 3-0 and in command of the Atlantic Conference mid-way through the third Women’s National Football Conference season.
“We knew we’d face a physical team with offensive and defensive threats, so we were excited and ready for the opportunity to compete,” said Elite Spartans coach and starting center Elizabeth Jenkins in an interview with The Dallas Express. “Our defensive line was dominant. The front four controlled the line of scrimmage and got into the backfield all night long, forcing big plays and making big stops.”
Among the big plays on defense, safety Eshombi “Kash” Singleton recorded an interception to continue her league-leading season, while Janice Mitchell recorded another. Singleton also had a fumble recovery and two pass deflections in the game.
Despite the dominating performance, Mississippi managed to do something that no team has done since the inaugural season: score points on the Spartans’ defense during the regular season. In the second quarter, the incredible scoreless streak was broken when the Lady Panthers executed a trick play, completing a pass to their regular quarterback, who scored on an 85-yard touchdown.
“Our defense hates getting scored on, but the defensive coaches have been preparing them for this moment all season,” Jenkins said. “We had our defense on the field a lot and left them in a vulnerable position a few times. But, they pushed through and continued to dominate despite the points scored.”
Jenkins said that getting scored on may even benefit the team in the long run, but it was never a milestone that the team expected to hold forever.
“Every week, we come in ready to compete; every week is a new opponent that we prepare for,” Jenkins said. “We don’t take any team lightly. I do think the scores will give us the opportunity to break down the film and learn from them.”
On offense, the Texas Elite Spartans continued to put up enormous numbers that resulted in the impressive final score. Quarterback Brittany Bushman is having a career year and recorded 252 yards passing, hitting five touchdowns against two interceptions. She finished with a QB rating of 103.2 on the day.
Her top target was Maria Jackson, who reeled in 97 yards on four catches and one touchdown. Brittany Satterwhite continued her comeback season in style, catching touchdowns on both of her receptions and finishing the day with 58 yards on the stat sheet. Satterwhite also returned a kickoff 50 yards.
The Elite Spartans’ leading rusher was Rasan Gore, who picked up 39 yards on six carries and caught a 48-yard touchdown pass. Elizabeth Landry also caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for a touchdown as the Elite Spartans dominated in all three phases of the game.
The Texas Elite Spartans return to North Texas next week to take on the Washington Prodigy. It will be the first meeting between the teams in WNFC history and is one of the games Jenkins said she was most excited to play.
