St. Ouen l’Aumône Cougars stay unbeaten, still slip to 2nd in France
The injury-depleted St. Ouen l’Aumône Cougars, seemingly still enjoying last week’s victory over the defending champion La Courneuve Flash, were brought down to earth with a thud Sunday by the Asnieres Molosses who tied them 7-7.
Missing starting running back Isaac Amoako and a slew of other players, and facing a tough Molosses defense, the Cougars could only muster a total of 82 yards in total offense, 73 in the air and nine (??) on the ground.
Molosses quarterback Jordan Moore engineered the game’s first touchdown on the opening drive hauling in an option pass from Camille Thouary.
Cougars QB Jonathan Baker getting set to pass
It took St. Ouen a full quarter to find the end zone with Brandon Crawford capping a drive with a one yard plunge to tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.
After that, defenses ruled the rest of the way.
Cougars quarterback Jonathan Baker took a solid hit midway through the second quarter and after throwing an interception on the next series, remained sidelined the rest of the game.
Backup quarterback Patrick Botela took over in the second half but without having taken any snaps all week at practice, he struggled against the very physical defense of the Molosses.
Neither team could gain any offensive momentum after that. Asnieres managed to reach the Cougars 21 yard line but came away without a point.
Molosses QB Jordan Moore leaps into the end zone for his team’s only TD
Then, with three seconds left and Molosses camped on the Cougars 10 yard line, the St. Ouen special teams stepped up, as William Saint Julien blocked what should have been the game-winning field goal and preserving the Cougars unbeaten record.
In other action in France, the Thonon Black Panthers defeated the upstart Marseille Blue Stars 18-6 to stay unbeaten while the La Coruneuve Flash rolled over the Rouen Leopards 47-0 and the Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons recorded their first win of the year, beating the Aix-en-Provence Argonautes 22-8.
With the tie, the Cougars, although still without a loss, slip to second place in the standings, trailing the undefeated Thonon Black Panthers.
Photo credits: Thomas Savoja and Nicolas Robert
