Fighting Fillies make quick work of Tacoma in opener

Portlands Latasha Mitchell rushes for more than 250 yards and scores three times in the 42-0 win

MILWAUKIE — The drizzly weather put up more resistance than the opponent Saturday night, as the Portland Fighting Fillies ran over the Tacoma Trauma 42-0 in the Women’s Football Alliance season opener.

The Fillies took the lead on their second possession with receiver Christy McAtee slicing across the field on 3rd-and-10. She gave a quick wave between the hashmarks, and rookie QB Rebekah Chee found her with a high dart that beat a Tacoma double team.

The team moved into scoring position when running back Latasha Mitchell broke around the left side for a big gain that put the ball inside the 5-yard line. The drive almost fizzled when Tacoma’s Zakiya Shaw delivered a hit in the backfield that popped the ball loose. Portland’s Ashley Kondziela pounced on it to maintain possession for the Fillies.

Two plays later, Chee sent a low pass through the middle on third down. Once again, McAtee was the target. And once again she came up with the grab, this time dropping to the turf and catching the ball at the goal line.

The Fillies wouldn’t waste much time finding the end zone again.

Portland got the ball back after linebacker Holly Custis delivered a jarring hit on the Tacoma QB, and Sonya Doolittle recovered the fumble near midfield.

Two plays later, Mitchell broke free 36 yards down the left sideline to make it 13-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Mitchell also scored on a pair of 62-yard breakaways in the second half and finished with 16 carries for 247 yards.

Mitchell found the Fillies after playing flag football in Washington D.C. the past five years. The fast start puts her on the radar for the league’s Rookie of the Year honors — an award that went to Fillies running back Lauren Robideau in 2012. She is not with the team this spring.

Fillies’ kicker Melanie Allen was perfect on four point-after attempts, but suffered misses on a pair of mid-range field goals.

Tacoma managed only two first downs and ran only a handful of plays on Portland’s side of the field.

The Fillies host the well-established Seattle Majestics at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at Milwaukie High School. The Majestics defeated the Utah Jynx 47-18.

View a photo gallery from the game at ...

http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/april6_fighting_fillies_v_tacoma

Scoring summary

TACOMA 0 0 0 0 — 0

PORTLAND 13 8 7 14 — 42

First quarter

PRT — Christy McAtee 10 pass from Rebekah Chee (Melanie Allen kick), 3:51

PRT — Latasha Mitchell 36 run (pass failed), 1:19

Second quarter

PRT — Ashley Kondziela 2 run (McAtee pass from Chee), 5:26

Third quarter

PRT — Mitchell 62 run (Allen kick), 13:59

Fourth quarter

PRT — Tori Lopez-Redford 2 run (Allen kick), 14:40

PRT — Mitchell 62 run (Allen kick), 13:30