REVERE MA — Boston scored five touchdowns on the ground and five more through the air to snuff out the Tampa Bay Inferno 69-0. The Renegades recovered five loose balls, four on special teams, to keep the Inferno at bay and notch their third shutout of the season. 

Boston’s special teams performance was an eye-popping turnaround from last week when the squad gave up two touchdowns to D.C. Divas returners. Carolyn Glynn sparked the kickoff unit in the first quarter by recovering a loose ball fumbled by Inferno kick returner Bri Roberts. Maggie Barden recovered her own kick that careened off Tampa’s Jennifer Marshall in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Kara Gailiunas jumped on a fumble after teammate Meghan McFadden ripped the ball loose from Inferno returner Shontia Holmes. And Gameday Captain Shani Dummott recovered Boston’s only onside kick attempt of the game in the fourth quarter.

“On special teams, I have one goal to get down field as fast as possible and get to the ball,” explained Gailiunas. “So when the ball popped out, same mission: get to the ball, do what I had to do, and come up with it in the end. I had my teammates fighting to give me room to get on top of the ball. It was great.”

“[I’m] Particularly happy with our special teams performance,” said Renegades Head Coach John Johnson. “They did a good job, especially from our last game. All in all it was a pretty good complimentary football game, offense, defense, and special teams. “

Boston’s defense also notched its own fumble recovery in the third quarter. 2021 WFA Defensive Player of the Year Donny Fournier pounced on a ball knocked loose by a textbook helmet-on-the-ball tackle by team captain Christina Riggieri. The Renegades forced the Inferno to relinquish possession on downs in Boston territory three times to maintain the shutout.

“We worked really hard, just a cohesive defensive unit today. Everyone was picking each other up,” continued Gailiunas, who turned in 8 combined tackles. “We had a lot of different people out on the field and it was such a cool feeling to have everybody come together and shut them out. I’m really proud of this one.”

Renegades rushers hit paydirt five times with Ruth Matta notching two TDs, and Katie Falkowski, Stephanie Pascual, and Latoya Saulters each scoring once. Falkowski lead all rushers with 84 yards on eight carries.

Wide receiver KD Ellison continued her breakout season with two more spikes. Chanté Bonds and Adrienne Smith had touchdown grabs with Bonds leading all receivers with 94 yards. Pascual also added a receiving touchdown.

It was the third time this season that Renegades Quarterback Allison Cahill tossed five TD passes but only the first time she surpassed the 300-yard mark. Cahill finished with 307 passing yards before making way for quarterbacks Jackie Lane and Heather Marini in the third quarter. Lane completed three passes and Marini rushed for a 33-yard touchdown to cap the game.

“We achieved our goal, we won the game, we held them to zero. We got off really healthy and we’re looking to build on that for the rest of the season,” said  Johnson. “But it’s going to be the same mantra. We have to get better and then we have to get into the game plan, which is now Pittsburgh.”

The Road To Canton

For Tampa Bay, the 69-0 loss extinguishes all hope for a third consecutive playoff berth. The Renegades will visit the Pittsburgh Passion in the final week of the regular season on Saturday, June 10. Pittsburgh (3-2) looks to recover from a Game Five loss against D.C., while Boston (5-0) hope to remain undefeated.

The Renegades aim to return to the WFA Pro National Championship on Saturday, July 22 in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN 2.