D.C. Divas Open Historic 15th Season in Columbus
Washington, DC – The D.C. Divas will kick off their 15th season of women’s football and attempt to win their 99th game in franchise history Saturday night when they go on the road to meet the Columbus Comets.
As is the case every year, the new season brings both new and familiar faces to the Divas sideline. Perhaps the most notable arrival for the Divas in 2015 is a coach who is both new and familiar. Eric Evans, the Divas’ offensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013, returns to the team as the co-offensive coordinator alongside Greg Gaskins, the Divas’ former offensive line coach. D.C. Divas head coach Alison Fischer isn’t worried about having two coaches jointly guiding the Divas’ offense.
“It’s good to have Coach Evans back,” Coach Fischer said. “[Coach] Greg Gaskins will primarily handle the running game, while Eric will handle more of the passing game. The two of them have a really good relationship and work very well together. Having co-coordinators is sometimes hard to do with coaches, but they mesh so well together that they really complement each other.”
The past few years, the Divas have had one of the most explosive yet balanced offenses in women’s football, one that is equally comfortable passing or running the football. This year looks to be no different. Coach Evans’ work in the passing game will be made easier by quarterback Allyson Hamlin, the nine-time all-pro who has amassed over 10,000 career passing yards and 184 career passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Coach Gaskins can rely on Kenyetta Grigsby, who has racked up over 5,000 rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns with the Divas the past five seasons.
“We expect to still have a balanced offense, a good mix of run and pass,” Fischer noted. “We did lose a couple of outstanding players, but we’re definitely more veteran on offense with most of our key players coming back this season. We have a little more depth now at both wide receiver and running back – Kentrina [Wilson] and Ashley [Whisonant] are outstanding players, and Lillian Cherry was really coming along last year as a rookie, so we’re excited for her second season. We have a few other receivers coming back, too, and we have a little more depth at running back as well. I think that’s going to help us quite a bit over the course of a long season.”
Defensively, Coach Fischer is hoping that a young unit will make great strides under second-year defensive coordinator Willie Bennett. “The veterans are still getting used to his schemes and his defenses. There was kind of a growing process last year where it took some time for them to learn it, but they really settled in with it toward the end of last year,” Coach Fischer explained.
“Our goal is to be faster and more aggressive on defense this year,” she continued. “We have a lot of rookies and first-year Divas on defense this season, and we’re going to ask several of them to do a lot and contribute right away. But the vets are doing a great job of helping them get up to speed.”
The Divas will be tested in their season opener by the Columbus Comets, one of the most storied teams in women’s football. The Comets are entering their 13th season of play this year and are aiming to make their tenth playoff appearance in 2015. With 79 victories, the Columbus Comets are one of the winningest teams in the sport.
There’s a reason why the Comets have had so much success over the years, as Coach Fischer explained. “They always play hard. We know what to expect from them – they’re going to come out and come after us and be very physical. We have to set the tone and match their intensity, and hopefully that will dictate how the game is going to go,” Fischer said.
Offensively, the Comets are led by quarterback Amanda Herbst, who was a second-team WFA All-American selection as a rookie. Herbst took over the Comets’ starting quarterback job midway through last season from Comets great Crystal Davis, and Herbst finished just outside the top ten in the WFA in passing as a rookie.
“We saw a little bit of Amanda Herbst in our playoff game last year,” Fischer observed. “She’s very mobile, and that gives their offense a little bit of a different dimension with a mobile quarterback.”
The newcomer Herbst is surrounded by several terrific, veteran playmakers. Columbus' Shelly Gates is one of the top running backs in women’s football history, having totaled 6,339 rushing yards and 73 rushing touchdowns in her storied career. Standout wide receiver Deasha Talley ranked second in the WFA in receptions and third in receiving yards last season, and she was named a league All-American as both a wide receiver and a punt returner.
On the other side of the ball, safety Dietra Sherwin stands out for the Columbus defense. Sherwin earned first-team WFA All-American honors last season after finishing in the top 15 in the league in tackles, and she returns for her 13th year with the Comets organization this season. Linebacker Lindsay Rice was also named a first-team All-American for the Comets defense last year after she placed in the top five in the league in pass deflections and in the top ten in interceptions.
“They have some very good veterans on their team. They definitely have some athletes,” Coach Fischer acknowledged. “As I said before, the Columbus Comets play hard, they don’t quit, and they never give up. They’ll just throw everything they have at you all the time.”
Because of Columbus’ talent and experience, Coach Fischer will use the Comets as a measuring stick to see how the 2015 D.C. Divas stack up against elite opponents. “We’re looking forward to it,” Fischer said. “This should be a great year for us. We have a very good mix of vets and rookies and first-year players, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do on Saturday. This game will really show us where we are as a team.”
The Divas play their first two games this season on the road before their home opener on April 25 against the Central Maryland Seahawks. Get your season or single-game tickets today athttp://dcdivas.com/gameday/
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