Dublin Rebels 6-12 Belfast Trojans

Defending Champions, Dublin Rebels lost their first game in nearly 2 years when IAFL newcomers, the Belfast Trojans, defeated them in a close game at Brownlow Sports Campus. Both of the Trojans touchdowns came from passes by ex-North Central College (NCAA Division III) quarterback Kai Ruggeri.

The first half of the game was a tense defensive affair. Both defenses played well. Chris Weir, Marty Devlin and Carl Ward all had good games for the Trojans and Ross McCooey, Steve Archibald and Marcus Naylor played well for the Rebels. Both teams attempted to move the ball on the ground, but were stopped before getting into scoring range. Midway through the second quarter, the Trojans got a break, intercepting the Rebels in their own half. Later in the quarter, they put together a drive and with 35 seconds remaining in the half, Ruggeri threw a 15 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jason Larson to give the Trojans a 6-0 lead.

The Trojans got their second score of the game in the third quarter from a 20 yard pass from Ruggeri to receiver Chris McKeown. Throughout the remainder of the game, both teams managed to move the ball effectively. The Rebels running game had some success with Sam Hodgins picking up first downs and receivers Michael Kresowaty and Henry Wasserman catching passes, however, they were blighted by turnovers and three key drives halted by Trojans interceptions. Throughout the remainder of the game, the Trojans ran the ball effectively, with running back Erin Wagner, who had over 100 yards rushing in the game, moving the chains and keeping the clock running.

Late in the fourth quarter, after stopping the Trojans on 4th and goal, the Rebels offense got into gear, driving to mid field before quarterback Andrew Dennehy picked out receiver Michael Kresowaty along the sideline. Kresowaty out sprinted the Trojans secondary for a 50 yard touchdown reception to make the score 12-6 with only 1:45 left on the clock. The Rebels tried an onside kick on the kick-off, but the ball was recovered by the Trojans. However, the Trojans were unable to run out the clock and the Rebels got the ball back with only 10 seconds remaining. Two plays later, the game ended when Rebels running back Sam Hodgins was tackled by the Trojans secondary deep in the Trojans half after making a valiant effort to tie the game, breaking a number of tackles.