The defense stopped 28 of No. 9 Tonawanda’s 44 offensive plays for 3 or fewer yards in a dominant 21-6 Section VI Class C prequarterfinal victory at an unseasonably cold and damp Charles A. Lawson Field.

“Success builds success,” Southwestern/Frewsburg head coach Jake Burkholder said. “Hopefully in the future we can get more girls to play and kind of build off of this.”

Next up for Southwestern/Frewsburg is a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Depew on Saturday at 10 a.m.

“They are the overall No. 1 seed. We have to go up there and take care of business. Obviously they have some athletes, and they were decent last year,” Burkholder said. “We haven’t had to travel two hours, so we have to factor that in as well.”

Abery Harvey returns a touchdown for Southwestern/Frewsburg. P-J photo by Tim Frank

While Southwestern/Frewsburg experienced a slow start offensively, the defense was ready from the get-go. Sophomore Bailey Fuller, junior Kenzie Rogers, senior Abery Harvey, sophomore Elysse Gruber and company stopped the Timberwolves for negative runs six times in their first three drives, buying time for the offense to come to life.

“They got a ton of pressure and were able to corral the quarterback and keep her in the pocket. I don’t know if they completed more than one or two passes,” Burkholder said. “Getting pressure really takes a lot off the back end of the defense. Those girls up front did a heck of a job today.”

Finally in the second quarter, Southwestern/Frewsburg put together a 10-play drive that covered 62 yards. Sophomore quarterback Jaden Jimerson connected with Harvey for 16 yards and freshman Lucy Moore for 11 yards, setting up a first-and-goal at the 19-yard line. Four plays later, Jimerson found Gruber in the front corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead after a Jimerson-to-freshman Charlie Lombardo conversion pass.

“It’s huge to be able to spread the ball around. Getting the pass game going opens up the run. We had a couple of nice runs after we started completing some passes,” Burkholder said. “It’s nice to be able to be a dual threat like that, especially in the flag game where you want to create some space.”

Harvey ended the first half with back-to-back sacks of the Tonawanda quarterback as the hosts took a 7-0 lead into the break.

Southwestern/Frewsburg’s Elysse Gruber looks to get away from a Tonawanda defender after making a catch during Wednesday’s Section VI Class C flag football prequarterfinal at Charles A. Lawson Field. P-J photo by Tim Frank

Jimerson returned a punt 25 yards after the Timberwolves’ second drive of the third quarter stalled, which started a quick, six-play 21-yard scoring drive. On second-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Jimerson’s pass was deflected, but fell into the waiting arms of Harvey deep in the end zone as time expired. After Jimerson ran in the conversion it was 14-0 Southwestern/Frewsburg.

“It takes us a little while to get going. We have a good group of girls that are confident in their abilities. … We know it’s coming,” Burkholder said. “The slow starts at times can be a little frustrating, but we know the opportunity is there to really get going.”

Burkholder’s team let a 12-0 lead slip away last Thursday, so it felt like one more score might be needed. Southwestern/Frewsburg got it five plays into Tonawanda’s next drive when Harvey rushed the passer, jumped with her arms in the air, and stole a pass from the quarterback’s hand before returning it 25 yards for a score.

“She’s a great athlete. I think that’s her second pick-6 this year,” Burkholder said. “She’s a leader for us defensively and is always giving 100%. It’s nice to see her rewarded for that effort.”

The score made it 21-0 after Jimerson completed the conversion pass to Harvey.

Southwestern/Frewsburg’s Lucy Moore makes a catch. P-J photo by Tim Frank

“You want to build as many points as you can, because things can change quickly,” Burkholder said. “They could’ve had a pick-6 or something like that and it’s a whole different game.”

All that remained for Southwestern/Frewsburg was its defense posting a possible shutout. That remained until Tonawanda’s final play of the night when freshman Rylee DeLuca ran for a 4-yard score with 29 seconds remaining.

Southwestern/Frewsburg’s win was bittersweet as Gruber left the game with an apparent injury after rushing the passer early in the fourth quarter.

“It’s going to be tough if she’s not able to go. I feel terrible that she went down with an injury. We’re going to have to have somebody step up and fill her role as best as we can. We’ve got a bunch of girls who are willing to do that,” Burkholder said. “We are all here to support Elysse and Elysse is more than happy to give them as many pointers as she can. She’s been doing a great job this year and hopefully we can continue that.”