Ireland: Rebels Rebound & Vipers Strike the Stags – AFI Week 6 Round Up
Well, you cannot beat a bit of American football in the sun! The weather gods blessed us with two stunning days over the weekend and as we cross the ⅓ way mark of the season, it bodes well for a good summer! Another four fascinating duels featured on our slate of games in week 6, as the Trojans made the long trip down to Cork, Mullingar and Cill Dara duked it out at the top of Division One, the Vipers hosted the Stags and the Rebels and Panthers clashed in a Dublin Derby. You know the score at this stage: keep reading for all the juicy details from this weekend’s games!
Dublin Rebels 42 – South Dublin Panthers 12
Let it be known that Pete McMahon is officially back. And he’s got a point to prove. So much so that he came up to me on the sideline to make sure I mentioned him. Alright Pete, calm down. Now arguably one of the oldest active AFI players and fresh off a 5 year professional stint in Europe, Pete opened the scoring in sunny Stepaside with an impressive 40 yard run in what would be a long day for the Panthers. Their already depleted squad suffered a major blow in the first quarter when starting Quarterback Conor Murphy was forced off with an injury. Conor Hoskins filled in admirably, but the offense was limited to runs, making it easy for the Rebels defense. The Rebels, adorned in their new 30 year throwback uniforms, doubled their lead in the 2nd quarter on a Sam Doran pass to Jason Kolokithas, and we were beginning to wonder if it would be a rout. Shane Brady gave the Panthers a little bit of hope before the half with his first of two interceptions, but a blocked field goal attempt foiled any chance of points.
A brief glimmer of hope appeared at the beginning of the second half when Luke Carey punched the ball into the endzone, but this was immediately extinguished by the easiest pitch and catch you will ever see from Sam Doran to a wide open Jack Cronin. Jason K then claimed his second score of the day to extend the hosts lead, and it was starting to look bleak. The Panthers did pull a score back in the fourth quarter on a passing touchdown, but back to back scores on runs from Sam Doran and Andrej Barlafa snuffed out any slim chance of a comeback. The Rebels needed to make a statement in this game, and boy did they ever. They might not be quite back at full strength, but they certainly look a hell of a lot better than they did in week one.
Photo: Jimmy English
Northwest Vipers 34 – Antrim Stags 8
Speaking of teams that needed to make a statement, the Vipers came out with renewed venom (get it?) after a defensive slug fest last weekend saw them on the losing end of an 8-0 score line. Christian Grobler was an absolute force for the home side, racking up 4 total rushing TD’s to go with a pick six from Josh Reed. After jumping out to an early 18-0 lead, they eventually conceded a score to the stags, which came from a Jordan Foster rushing touchdown, converted by Scott McClean. The Vipers are evidently tired of falling short of their own expectations, and having spoken with Head Coach Paddy Maguire on the Out of Bounds podcast last week there is no doubt in my mind that they are on a mission to claim the Division One title. And if they keep playing like this, they could be very hard to stop.
Photo: Paul McIlwaine
Belfast Trojans 13 – Cork Admirals 8
The Trojans just about got away with that one eh?Talk about a close call! Cork capitalised on an early Belfast 3 & out by driving down the field with catches from Michael Halliday, Adam Jere, Eamonn O’Leary and Aaron Hogan before Jake Kennedy punched in what would be their only touchdown of the day. Imagine our surprise when we saw the half time score and Cork were leading! An upset in the making! Alas, it didn’t last long before brothers Dom and James Lynn scored on the ground and in the air to keep the green machine undefeated at 3-0. Both sides swapped interceptions as well – Adam Jere for the hosts and Brandon Falconer the guests respectively. To their credit the Admirals defense kept the Trojans previously potent offense bottled up for most of the game, bar the two scores.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game was a key fumble recovery by Belfast’s Jose Orozco to nullify a late Cork comeback surge towards the conclusion of this nail biting tilt. And so Belfast retain their perfect record, while the Admirals will rue a missed opportunity to knock off one of the country’s top teams and continue searching for their first W of the season.
Westmeath Minotaurs 34 – Dara Crusaders 18 (We checked)
There was some contention regarding the final score in this game, but rest assured that the relevant authorities were contacted for confirmation. By all accounts the Minotaurs were well up and cruising in this game with a handy 21 – 0 lead, before the wheels started to come off a little bit. Scores on the ground early on from Sean McCormack and Rafa Monteiro, along with Jack Walshe’s first career touchdown in the air gave the away side an early advantage, but Wello had other ideas and clawed back a pair of touchdowns to set up a tense final couple of quarters. Then things got a bit scrappy, as flags started flying and all sorts of takeaways and turnovers were called back. Nathan Purcell of the Crusaders had one stand though on a fumble recovery for a TD, while Kyle Dooley snagged an interception on defense and Greg McNamara claimed 1.5 sacks. Westmeath eventually closed the game out with scores from Shaun Dalton and Chris Gilbert. In games like this it comes down to fine margins, and despite some silly and potentially costly penalties the Minoutaurs still came out on top. And I may have to revise my picks for the Division title match up!
