After a thrilling Shamrock Bowl in Dalymount Park between the Belfast Trojans and Trinity College, the Trojans got the victory by beating the students 28-14 and earning their fourth Championship in a row.

This was the second consecutive year that these teams met in the final, in what was the first ever American football game in the historic central Dublin stadium. The game was played in close to ideal weather conditions and on front of a very enthusiastic crowd. Running back David Colvin won the Terry Lynch MVP Award after scoring two touchdowns in the game. Lord Mayor of Dublin, Criona Ni Dhalaigh was the special guest and took part in the coin toss ceremony along side International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Presidium members Robert Huber and Janice Ward. The standard of football on display was extremely high with both teams giving their all.

 

 

Belfast were stopped by Trinity on their opening drive. Then Rob McDowell, who was Trinity’s outstanding player of the game and revelling in his new role as a running quarterback, opened the scoring in the first quarter with a very impressive 48 yard run. The Trojans responded shortly afterwards with a 13 yard pass from quarterback James McKelvey to Colvin. Some good defensive plays stopped any further scoring in spite of both offences being able to run the ball. Trinity came close to scoring just before the half, but were intercepted in the endzone by Trojans cornerback James Gallagher. The score at halftime was 7-7.

The intensity of both teams appeared to increase in the second half, with both offences putting together a number of impressive drives. There were some impressive plays on both teams, but the Trojans experience appeared to give them an edge in capitalising on moving the ball. Belfast took the lead for the first time early in the 3^rd quarter with Colvin scoring his second touchdown – a 24 yard pass from McKelvey. Trinity got their first scoring opportunity of the quarter after defensive back Brian O’Driscoll intercepted the Trojans. However, they failed to capitalise on the interception when Belfast’s Neil Graham recovered a fumble.

Early in an exciting fourth quarter of play, the Trojans extended their lead with Matt Armstrong scoring from 10 yards out following an impressive series of downs. However, Trinity fought right back with McDowell leading them on a long scoring drive capped off by a 2 yard touchdown run by Alex Gurnee to make the score 21-14. What followed was one of the most impressive plays in Shamrock Bowl history. Trojans kick-off returner, Johnathan Siri scored on a spectacular 85 yard kick-off return to make the score 28-14 in favour of the Trojans.

But Trinity were still fighting hard. On their next drive, McDowell, who was a close second to Colvin in the MVP balloting, led Trinity on another impressive drive to give them first and goal with 1:56 remaining in the game. Both Mick O’Shea and Alex Gurnee were stopped a couple of inches from the goal line on 3^rd and 4^th downs respectively to seal the win for the Trojans.

The Trojans will now travel to the GFL International Atlantic Cup tournament in the Netherlands next month where they will attempt to win a European title as Ireland’s representative in the competition.

The Shamrock Bowl was not the only national title decided at Dalymount. Earlier in the afternoon, the Mullingar Minotaurs defeated the Dublin Vipers 19-13 in Emerald Bowl I, the inaugural Flag Football National Championship game.

Belfast Trojans v Trinity College Dublin

The Belfast Trojans and Trinity College Dublin will meet in Dalymount Park next Sunday to decide who will be Ireland’s National Champions in American football. In spite of meeting in last years final, both teams have had to make big improvements to stay at the top of the increasingly competitive Shamrock Bowl Conference (SBC) – Ireland’s elite American football league. One exciting aspect of this years game is the fact that these teams did not meet during the 2015 regular season. So there is no head to head form book to go by. Indeed, the notional form book was upset when they last met – in the 2014 Shamrock Bowl, with the Belfast Trojans narrowly defeating a Trinity team which had been unbeaten all year.

Route to the Shamrock Bowl:
The Trojans finished the regular season as the best team in SBC North with an 8-0 record. They defeated the University of Limerick Vikings in their Semi-Final to reach Shamrock Bowl XXIX. They were the top scorers in the SBC, averaging 43 points per game and conceded only 30 points all season.

Trinity College Dublin finished the regular season as the best team in SBC South with a 7-1 record. Their only defeat was their season opener against UL Vikings. They defeated the Dublin Rebels in their Semi-Final to reach Shamrock Bowl XXIX. They scored an impressive 202 points including 28 touchdowns during the regular season, conceding only 92 points on defence.

The Teams:
Belfast Trojans are led by veteran quarterback James McKelvey, who topped the SBC passing charts in 2015. His receiving corps will be depleted this week due to the suspension of the team’s top wide receiver David Richardson (ejected in semi-final). Their backfield includes Neil Montgomery –a very physical running back who loves contact. The Trojans are equally capable of passing and running on most downs. Like most successful teams, they have an exceptional offensive line which has plenty of depth –Vance, Bradford, Ramadan, Davidson & McGrath will probably start, with former NCAA star Jeroen Egge (1st team all-ACC at Duke University) playing on key downs. The Trojans defence has strength in all departments including Chris Mikhael, Connor Whitla and Chris Weir.

Trinity College’s Rob McDowell is probably the best athlete in the SBC at the moment. Known in the league as ‘the highlights reel’ due to his uncanny ability to make impressive plays. This season has seen him change roles from being a pure running back to taking snaps under centre as a running quarterback. This has given the Trinity offense a new more versatile look this year – last season they used a pure pocket passer at QB. McDowell will be joined in the backfield by running back Ola Bademosi, who is a power runner. The Trinity passing game is still strong, with wide receiver Alex Gurney, who is versatile enough to also line-up in the backfield. Trinity has an impressive offensive line, which is very athletic. Five of the following six will start on Sunday – McKenna, O’Hara, Coughlan, McCarthy-Edwards, Tamas and Lysaght. On defence, they have a lot of speed and athleticism and includes cornerback Brian O’Driscoll and defensive end Thomas O’Hara.