Game MVP
Josh Fletcher
(picked by referee) Adam Donald
(picked by Dragons)
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The Dragons opened in offence, but the Tigers
defence caused them problems. A combination of good defensive
positioning and poor handling led to a turnover. In contrast the Tigers
moved the ball relatively easily to within scoring distance in two
possessions before Brian found Josh with a short pass, but
we just failed to convert on the 2 PAT attempt. The Dragons again failed
to move the ball, after some good play. They managed to find players
open, but poor handling again let them down. Neither team managed to
score with their next possessions. On their next series of plays the
Tigers moved the ball with a combination of short passes and runs,
before Adam broke free on a reverse to run it in for a TD.
However, the Tigers failed to convert on a 2 PAT.
This remained the position for most of the half. With
the clock running down and on their 4th down, a missed tackle
on the Dragons #99 let him through for a TD. The Dragons failed to
convert their 1 PAT attempt. With only four seconds on the clock the
Tigers broke free on a run but Adam was stopped just before the 5 yrd
line.
Half Time: Tigers 12 Dragons 6
The
Tigers opened the 2nd half on offence and moved the ball to
within a few yards of the first down. On the next possession Brian
hit Adam on a deep pass for the TD. The 2 PAT attempt
was tipped. The Dragons quickly recovered. A change of tactics
saw them move the ball for a short gain. On the next play their #2 broke
free from a blitz by Brian, supported by Josh, to find the sideline and
run it in for the TD. Their 1 PAT was successfully completed. The Tigers
next possession was stopped just short of the 1st Down, after
Connell broke free in midfield. On the Dragons next possession
Brian put pressure on their QB who quickly dumped off to the
RB. They attempted to repeat their play when under pressure from
Brian the QB dumped the ball off, the RB ran back into their end
zone, and was tackled by Josh for a 2 point Safety. On the
Tigers next possession, everyone helped move the ball for the first
down, before Adam pulled in another deep pass for the TD.
The 2 PAT attempt just failed. The Dragons next play was intercepted by
Adam. Liam took a the short pass to the half way line before
Brian found Josh open for the TD and Adam
pulled in the 2 PAT. The Tigers again prevented the Dragons
progressing as Darren forced the receivers outside for Josh
to tackle for the turnover. On their next play the Tigers
found Connell and Liam before Josh broke free on
the reverse with Adam, to run it in from 33 yrds for the TD,
before repeating this for the 2 PAT. The Dragons were stopped on
their next possession, but there was not enough time for the Tigers to
set themselves before the referees whistle halted play.
Final
score: Tigers 42 Dragons 13 |
COACHES COMMENTS:
This match saw the Tigers get back to their winning ways.
After a shaky start to the day, which saw the Dragons arrive late, the
original Referee Andy Chapman (Hornets) having to leave due to the extent of
the delay to fulfil another commitment and the game finally starting thanks
to SFFA President Mark Fletcher stepping up one more, it looked as if the
Tigers were in for a battle. The Dragons were all taller than the Tigers.
The game was close throughout the first half, with the Dragons unlucky not
to make more of their possession, but the Tigers stepped up a gear, sensing
a victory and in the end came away comfortable winners. The Dragons
inexperience showed as the game progressed, but they stuck to the task, and
always looked like posing a threat on offence.
The
Tigers bounced back from last weeks game, with the most noticeable
difference being that Josh and Adam once again led from the front. Although
they once again dominated the scorecard, they didn’t have it all their own
way, with Connell and Liam determined to show that they can play. Our
tackling and defensive positioning enabled us to adapt against the Dragons
height, with both their scores coming from runs.
The
coaches were impressed by the way everyone played their part, Brian
connected well with his receiver set for a number of 20 yrd plus receptions,
Connell moved the ball well from slot and Liam was always there to assist
his QB and had a number of important plays to secure first downs. Darren had
the difficult task of marking players much taller and faster than him, but
managed to break up a number of important plays.
Josh
was the Referee’s MVP choice and the Dragons nominated Adam.
The Tigers awarded their MVP to the Dragons #2, who proved to be a flexible
player for them, running a number of options and scoring from a 33 yrd run.
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