(Ontario, CA) August 25, 2014 Michael Gibson II

Saturday night on August 23^rd at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA was the Western Conference Championship played between the Chicago Bliss (3-0-1) vs. Los Angeles Temptation (2-1-1) in a highly anticipated rematch, but this match held greater significance than their regular season showdown, which saw the Bliss as the victors with a score of 25-21. A Legends Cup berth is at stake and the winner will advance to play in the LFL championship game against the undefeated Atlanta Steam (3-0-1) while the loser season will be over and will have to wait until next season to see the field once again.

The Los Angeles Temptation led by All-LFL quarterback Ashley Salerno received the opening kickoff and started off their first offensive drive on a bad note. The first play of the game was a botched handoff by the running back Carmen Bourseau and a dropped pass a couple plays later on 3^rd down by Ogom Chijindu, which led to a overthrow on 4^th by Salerno. Chicago Bliss was quick to take advantage of the turnover on downs with a touchdown on a quarterback sneak by Heather Furr followed by a successful two-point conversion that brought the score to 8-0. On the next drive, Salerno led the Temptation on a long drive, which ultimately ended on a turnover on downs inside the ten-yard line in opponent’s territory. Once again the Chicago Bliss took advantage of the turnover on downs with a touchdown screen pass from Furr to running back Chrisdell Harris followed by a one-point conversion that gave the Bliss a 15-0 lead with just under a minute left in the 2^nd quarter. The Temptation finally had a response of their own with a long touchdown pass from Salerno to Wide Receiver Nastassia Hall that brought the score to 15-6 going into halftime.

Chicago opened the second half strong and had a quick drive that resulted in a touchdown run by Nneka Nwani followed by a one point conversion that put the bliss up by double digits once again 22-6. With the clock ticking late in the 3^rd quarter and with Los Angeles needing a score with the game getting out of hand, Salerno threw a touchdown pass to Sherri Awagah to cut the lead to 22-12 at the end of the 3^rd quarter. A minute into the critical 4^th quarter running back Chrisdell Harris scored her second touchdown of the game but this time doing it on a long touchdown run where she broke away from multiple temptation defenders to increase the lead to 28-12 with 6:45 left in the game. In an act of depression wanting to make a big play for her team Salerno threw a interception to Heather Furr on the following drive. To put the game away to increase the Bliss lead even further Harris ran in a touchdown from five yards out to score her third touchdown of the day to put the Bliss up 34-12. The following drive Salerno threw her second interception of the day to Alli Alberts which sealed the game and to add more salt in the wound the Bliss scored again by a long touchdown run by Harris who had an unforgettable performance with her four touchdowns. The final score of the game was 40-12 and the Bliss advance to the Legends Cup to play against the Eastern Conference champions the Atlanta Steam.

The Legends Cup will feature two undefeated teams in the league and will more than certainly be a pleasure to watch these ladies duel it out for the championship. The LFL leading rusher in yards and rushing touchdowns Chrisdell Harris who had a historic game tonight against the Temptation will look to continue her dominance in the Legends Cup. As for the Temptation, they will have a whole offseason to think about their defensive woes they showed today in letting Harris run free and not being able to stop the Bliss from scoring at will.

The Legends Cup will be played on Saturday September 6^th at 7:00pm PT in Ontario, CA at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.