CARTERET (NJ) – In front of an appreciating crowd, the Jersey Justice kicked off the era of professional football played by women in Carteret. The opponent, the Carolina Queens, entered the game undefeated, outscoring their opponents 125-0 in their two wins. The Justice matched the Queens play for play before falling 28-20 in an exciting game.

The game opened up with both teams feeling each other out in the first quarter as the teams presented contrasting offensive styles. The Carolina depended on a powerful running game, led by the talents of running back Jarica Hinson. The Justice countered with the single-wing attack, triggered by quarterback Maegan Larsen.

Carolina opened the scoring late in the first quarter when Hinson broke loose on an electrifying 66-yard jaunt through the Jersey defense. Definitely not intimidated, Jersey responded by driving to the 6-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Pinned deep on their end of the field, Carolina turned to Hinson once again, but this time the Justice was up to the task forcing a fumble and recovering deep in Carolina territory.

After having the drive extended by a roughing the passer penalty, Larsen put Jersey on the board with a 5-yard sprint around right end.

Momentum is a funny thing, if it is on your side it is the best thing in the world. When on the receiving end of a momentum swing it is often hard to recover. Carolina grabbed the momentum away from the Justice immediately, with a 63-yard return of the ensuing kickoff placing the ball at the 7-yard line. Two plays later, Hinson scored her second touchdown of the game from a yard out.

Trailing 14-6, the Justice made another push for points before the half. After recovering a muffed punt, Jersey pushed the ball to the 12-yard line before the drive stalled and Carolina took the 8-point lead into the break.

Carolina returned from the break determined on continuing the power running game that pushed them to their lead. On a physical 8-play-56-yard drive, Carolina kept the ball on the ground until Jannatta McCoy burst through from the one.

Undaunted, Larsen took matters in her own hands, rushing the ball into Carolina territory. As fate would have it, the tough running of Larsen led to the only turnover for the Justice as she fumbled struggling for yardage at the Carolina 33-yard line.

Hinson converted the turnover into Carolina points with her third touchdown of the game on a 16-yard run extending the lead to 28-6, early in the fourth quarter.

With time now a factor, Jersey began opening the offense and connecting on big plays through the air. Larsen connected on two consecutive passes, the second being a 35-yard strike to Leslie Busch for a touchdown.

The Justice defense stood strong, holding Carolina to a three-and-out forcing a punt. The punt rolled dead at the Justice 12-yard line, leaving a long field for the Justice. Larsen marched the Justice the 86 yards, connecting with three different receivers, before finally hitting Michelle Burke with a 10-yard bullet bringing the Justice within eight points.

The rally by the Justice fell short as the onside kick squirted out of bounds and the Queens ran out the final ticks on the clock.

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Queens (3-0)	7	7	6	8	28
Justice (1-2)	0	6	0	14	20
		1st Quarter
Q - Hinson 66 yard run (Mills kick) 2:21
		2nd Quarter
J - Larsen 5 yard run (pass failed) 8:54
Q - Hinson 1 yard run (Mills kick) 7:08
		3rd Quarter
Q - McCoy 1 yard run (kick failed) 9:31
		4th Quarter
Q - Hinson 16 yard run (Herron run) 14:50
J - Busch 35 yard pass from Larsen (Larsen pass to Byrne) 11:04
J - Burke 10 yard pas from Larsen (pass failed) 1:09

		Passing
		Comp	Att	Yds	Tds	Int
Queens	Herron	0	3	0	0	0
	Team	0	3	0	0	0
Justice	Larsen	8	21	112	2	0
	Team	8	21	112	2	0
		Rushing
		Att	Yds	Ave	Tds	Fum
Queens	Hinson	19	192	10.1	3	1
	McCoy	9	64	7.1	1	0
	Herron	5	-8	-1.6	0	0
	Team	33	248	7.5	4	1
		Att	Yds	Ave	Tds	Fum
Justice	Larsen	21	134	6.4	1	1
	Byrne	1	3	3.0	0	0
	Busch	1	-7	-7.0	0	0
	Jones	1	-9	-9.0	0	0
	Team	24	121	5.0	1	1
		Receiving
		Rec	Yds	Ave	Tds	Fum
Queens		0	0	0.0	0	0
	Team	0	0	0.0	0	0
		Rec	Yds	Ave	Tds	Fum
Justice	Busch	5	74	14.8	1	0
	Byrne	2	28	14.0	0	0
	Burke	1	10	10.0	1	0
	Team	8	112	14.0	2	0
Return Yards Queens 3-65 Justice 5-91
Penalties Queens 5-34 Justice 4-25
Turnovers Queens 3 Justice 1