Hot off the back of their scrimmage victory in Brockport, the SUNY Cortland Women’s Flag Football team prepares to do “Battle in Buffalo” this weekend.
The Red Dragons defeated Brockport 13-6 in snow and frigid conditions, getting their first taste of NCFFL competition against a team they will be playing again this weekend.
The defense came to play, holding Brockport to just 6 points and only 2 first downs, with starting safety Jess Tennant taking an interception straight to the house to help secure the win.
Now, the team are only looking ahead to their first competitive tournament in Buffalo this weekend.
The “Battle in Buffalo” will be held at the ADPRO Training Center, otherwise known as the training facility of the Buffalo Bills, causing yet another reason for excitement among the players, who will be taking the field on the same turf that the reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen practices on.
Junior Defensive Coordinator Robert Haberger is confident and excited after watching his defense shut down the Golden Eagles.
“From where we stand, I feel very comfortable with the defense. Based off the scrimmage where we held Brockport to two first downs and zero touchdowns, we feel ready to go cause problems for every team,” said Haberger.
And after holding their first opponent to just 6 points, they have every reason to feel confident heading into the tournament.
It was a less productive day for junior Offensive Coordinators Brandon Munk and Harrison Sussman, but they feel good knowing they were able to do enough to get their first win.
“The offense is well prepared and beyond excited to perform in Buffalo this weekend for the ‘Battle in Buffalo’ regular season debut. To say that the team is eager to hit the field on a competitive stage is truly an understatement,” said Munk, with Sussman echoing a similar sentiment.
The preparation has been consistent in the weeks leading up to the game. The women continue to drill their plays and spend time watching film for all 3 of their opponents this weekend.
They will be playing 3 different teams in 4 games, and because of that, there were many hours of film the players and coaches watched together to best prepare for each opponent.
“We have been practicing hard and watching film multiple times a week to prepare for the tournament but overall, I’m really excited to see how our club team compares to the varsity teams we will be competing against,” said Haberger.
The tournament will take place this Saturday and Sunday, with the Dragons taking on Villa Maria in their first game at 12:40 PM on Saturday, followed by their first meeting against Brockport at 2:00.
They will then play Geneseo on Sunday morning at 10:00, followed by Brockport again at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, all tickets to this event have sold out but the NCFFL will be streaming live coverage of every game from both days of competition.
Look out for a link to the stream and find the full tournament schedule on their Instagram page @nc.ffl