Divas to face Atlanta in playoff game

Tide eliminated by Rochester in indoor postseason contest

The Divas have won 19 consecutive games after completing their fourth consecutive perfect regular season. Still, the team will embark on a 12-hour bus ride to Atlanta beginning at midnight tonight. Following Tuesday’s long practice at warm, muggy Sasscer Field in Upper Marlboro, the players were planning to use the trip in order to get some rest before Saturday’s 6 p.m. kickoff.

‘‘I’m actually looking forward to the drive down,” said linebacker Trigger McNair, a Laurel resident who has been with the team since its inception in 2001. ‘‘I’ve been working a lot of double shifts lately at the D.C. juvenile correctional facility, then coming here to practice. I’m going to plan on sleeping the whole way down. I’m confident that we’ll do well. Defensively, we’ve played well all season. Every game has been a highlight.”

Saturday’s contest between the Divas and Atlanta at Roswell High School pits the defending champions from two different women’s leagues against one another. The Divas moved to the IWFL this year after six seasons in the NWFA.

‘‘It’s really like a double-edged sword,” said Divas’ quarterback Allyson Hamlin, an Eleanor Roosevelt High and University of Maryland graduate. ‘‘We had another undefeated season and we start the playoffs by facing the defending league champions. They’re kind of in the same boat. They’re undefeated and they have to open with another undefeated team. Their defense is fast and their schemes are built on speed.”

Longtime Divas’ wide receiver Nikki Williams, a Laurel resident, has yet to see the Atlanta squad on film, but said she’s heard from the Divas’ coaching staff that the Xplosion are fast and aggressive. Williams and her teammates say they’re prepared for Atlanta, having beaten the Detroit Demolition, 24-22, earlier this season. The Demolition’s defense is also predicated on speed.

‘‘It’s going to be up to our offensive line to give our running backs some holes and give our quarterback time to throw,” Williams said. ‘‘They like to blitz and they’re probably more aggressive than Detroit. I was surprised that Detroit didn’t blitz us more, but once we got our running game going that kind of slowed them down. Atlanta presents the same sort of challenge. They’re young, athletic and they’re playing with a lot of confidence.”

While the past year could not have been much better for Divas’ coach Ezra Cooper, who guided his team to a championship and witnessed the birth of his son, Payton, this weekend’s game presents a challenge. The Divas will make a long road trip to face an undefeated opponent they have never met. Atlanta will be well rested. The Xplosion have not played a game since June 16, gaining their last two regular season victories via forfeit.

‘‘It’s going to be hot and they have that field turf, which plays to their speed,” Cooper said. ‘‘We’ll make sure the girls are well hydrated before the game. We have the size advantage up front, so maybe we can lean on them a little bit. It should be a great game. They’re definitely a run-oriented team, so we’ll have to contain their running backs and force them to throw more than they want to.”

Tide’s season ends

Saturday evening, the expansion Chesapeake Tide indoor football team’s inaugural season came to an end against the Rochester Raiders. The Tide (7-6) suffered a 76-43 setback against the Raiders in a Continental Indoor Football League Atlantic Division semifinal. Rochester (11-2), which reached the championship game last season, will host the New England Surge (9-4) in the division championship this weekend.

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.