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By Derek Fleming, staff writer, WNFC
It took three touchdowns and an amazing display of grit for the Texas Elite Spartans to defeat the Alabama Fire in Week 7, and the victory might not have happened without a clutch performance from Elite Spartans quarterback Brittany Bushman. For the second time in 2022, Bushman has been named Player of the Week for the Atlantic Conference.
Bushman said that the key to her performance was the way the offensive line conducted themselves throughout the game.
“We did a lot better picking up the blitz, you can tell through the course of the season that is what teams want to do to us and our line did a wonderful job and our backs understood their responsibilities,” Bushman said. She also gave credit to her receivers who got open and made it possible to hit big plays to keep offensive drives moving.
“I had my first touchdown to Maria Jackson on a go route. She's been balling out this season,” Bushman said. “I just saw that she had one-on-one coverage and I tried to get the ball out as quickly as I could. She's a great athlete and made it an easy catch there.”
Bushman explained that her second touchdown of the day came about as a result of a defensive blitz. When the called play broke down, it was again Jackson who shook coverage and gave Bushman a target.
I saw her kind of start to break down on her route, and I was like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Bushman said. “I got the ball up ready and I threw it on the run, and then that was that one.”
Bushman’s third touchdown was a play she has made several times throughout the season. Starting in a trips-left formation, Bushman targeted Liz Landry, also a Player of the Week recipient this season. The three scores and three successful PATs were just enough to edge out a feisty Fire team.
"Brittany is a talented quarterback. Her ability to navigate the pocket and fire the ball down the field with the accuracy and velocity that she does makes her special. Last Saturday, she took the pressure of needing to make a play personal, and that spilled over to the rest of the offense. I was impressed by the toughness that she showed in the face of adversity" - Odessa Jenkins, Head Coach - Texas Elite Spartans
Bushman threw for 201 yards and had a QB rating of 121.7 on the day. She threw a total of 13 completions, hitting five receivers, and made key completions on the team’s final drive of the game that left almost no time on the clock for Alabama to attempt a comeback.
“There was definitely a lot of adversity throughout the whole game, but one of the things that I tried to do was to remain as calm as possible,” Bushman said. “I tried not to get flustered and one of the things I'm constantly saying on the field, especially to the line, just keep grinding, let's go, we have to keep pushing and we have to go and get the next play.”
Bushman continues to lead the WNFC in passing yards and passing touchdowns. She will lead the Elite Spartans against the Kansas City Glory for the Elite Spartans final home game of the regular season this week as the team looks to earn the number one seed in the division going into the playoffs.
