Running back Jennifer Welter made history after becoming the first woman to play in an Indoor Football League game in a position other than kicker.
Welter, 5'2” and weighing 130 pounds, took her first handoff in the third quarter when the Texas Revolution, her team, was two yards away from scoring a touchdown.
She got crushed for a one-yard-loss by 245 pound defensive lineman Cedric Hearvey of the North Texas Crunch.
“I said, ‘Is that all you got?’ “ Welter said she told Hearvey, before carrying twice more in the game. “They (Crunch players) were getting all alive, and I had to say something. I didn’t want them to think I was intimidated.”
Her second carry was also a one-yard-loss and the third was a no-gainer.
The Revolution did end up winning the preseason game 64-30.
Hearvey echoed feelings from some other players when he yelled at the Revolution coach to take the woman out of the game.
“Honestly, it was very weird,” Hearvey told Dallas News after the game. “Part of me wanted to let her score, but part of me had a job. So I was like, ‘Can y’all please take her out?' ”
Hearvey added that Welter told him not to take it easy on her.
“Honestly, I really have a lot of respect for that lady over there,” Hearvey said.
“I’ve been impressed with her grit and her desire,” Revolution coach Chris Williams said. “And even, in some cases, in the beginning I thought even delusional thoughts that she had about being able to play the game. But as I watched her, I’m impressed with how she comes to work every day.”
He’s not sure yet if she'll make the roster before the actual season starts.
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