You can add flag football to the list of sports that Abbey Patterson has tackled, quite successfully.
The Grade 10 Lasalle Secondary wide receiver teamed with quarterback Jena Ethier, creating a virtually unstoppable tandem, especially through the opening half as the Lancers improved to 3-1 with a 17-0 whitewashing of the Lively Hawks.
Patterson, who has played for years as a member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves organization, as well as starring with Northeastern Public School in both basketball and track and field, hauled in at least 10 passes on Monday, including a 22 yard strike to open the scoring.
"I thought she (the Lively defender) had my flag, so I looked down for half a second, but I realized I had better keep going," said Patterson.
"That's my third touchdown of the season, but that was my first "second point" (the equivalent of a two-point conversion, for the uninitiated)."
One of the best natural slingers in the league, Ethier was airing it out again in the second half, finding Caresse Couture on the receiving end of a 40 yard touchdown pass, and adding another two point conversion with a completion to Jenna Miller.
With Ethier at the helm, Patterson is not the least bit surprised by the Lancers aerial proficiency.
"We've won three out of four games, and in all of our games, we've been good at passing," she said. "We miss a few catches every now and then, but it's really our strong suit."
Despite growing up within a naturally athletic family - her older sister Marley was a member of the Lady Wolves Midget "AA" team that captured bronze at the Esso Cup Nationals in 2014 - Patterson remained oblivious to her football receiving skills until just recently.
"I was never into football, never wanted to play catch with my dad or anything," she said. "But a friend asked me to try it, her dad is coaching, and I fell in love with it. I love everything about it."
As for the keys to her success as a wide receiver, Patterson is quick to deflect the praise to Ethier, adding that her role is fairly straight-forward.
"I just try and get open," she said. "It's not always about being nice, it's just about getting the yards so that we get our points."
Sydney McBain closed out the scoring in the game, drilling a fourth quarter punt through the end zone. The contest also featured three interceptions, as Alexandra Baxter (Lively) and Lara Watson (Lasalle) traded picks on back to back plays, with Emma White of Lasalle snuffing out one final late game Hawks drive in the dying minutes.
The second half of the flag football double-header also featured a shutout, as the Lo-Ellen Park Knights blanked the Bishop Carter Gators 16-0. The Knights also rode their passing game to victory, as both Mercedes Roy (4 yard pass) and Sammi Whitehead (22 yards) registered receiving majors courtesy of Lo-Ellen quarterback Faith Lahti.
Terri Dempsey added a two point conversion, also on a pass from Lahti, and was credited with a safety touch, as the Knights led 8-0 at the half, but only pulled away by doubling that score in the final three minutes of the match.
SDSSAA football action on Tuesday features a junior boys encounter (Lockerby Vikings vs St Benedict Bears), following by another flag football double-header.
The Marymount Regals (2-0) continue their hunt for a seventh consecutive city crown, battling the Confederation Chargers (2-0) at 5:30 p.m., while the Horizon Aigles (1-1) and Macdonald-Cartier Panthères (0-1) go toe to toe at 8 p.m. in a Division "B" tussle.
