VIKINGS WIN SHAMROCK BOWL.

CORK ADMIRALS 14-22 UNIV OF LIMERICK VIKINGS

Venue: UL Sports Grounds, Limerick.

Scoring:
1st Quarter: CA-Keith O’Callaghan 3yd run, Alain Pezeron 2xpt (8-0); UL-Seamus Hogan 5yd run, Chris Bassitt 2xpt (8-8).
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: CA-Dominic MacHale 30yd pass from David Lomasney (14-8); UL-Seamus Hogan 10yd run, 1xpt (14-15).
4th Quarter: UL-Seamus Hogan 5yd run, 1xpt (14-22).

The University of Limerick Vikings defeated the Cork Admirals in Shamrock Bowl XXI, the Championship game of the Irish American Football League, in Limerick. Vikings running back Seamus Hogan won the Most Valuable Player award by scoring all three of the Vikings touchdowns. The result of the game, which was noted for its hard hitting football and high standard of play, was not decided until late in the 4th quarter when the Admirals, who held the lead twice during the game, had two drives stopped on 4th down by the Vikings defense.

Cork got off to a great start when kick returner David Barry took the opening kick-off back deep into Vikings territory. The Admirals threatened to score, but were stopped on the 15 yard line by the Vikings defense. The Admirals defense held the Vikings offence on their first possession of the game, forcing them to punt. The key play for the Admirals on the ensuing possession was a 40 yard draw play by full back Alain Pezeron which got them a first and goal on the Vikings 3 yard line. Two plays later, Cork’s Keith O’Callaghan got the first score of the game on a 3 yard run to the left of the Admirals offensive line. Pezeron got the 2 point conversion to make the score 8-0.

Cork Admirals Keith O'Callaghan (#34) - scorer of the games first touchdown.

The Vikings got back into the game shortly afterwards. Quarterback Chris Bassitt led them down field on helped by running backs Andrew Gordan and Seamus Hogan, before Hogan scored a touchdown on a 5 yard run up the middle. Bassitt got the 2 point conversion to level the scores at 8-8. Both defenses dominated the second quarter in which there were a number of good defensive plays on both sides of the ball. Vikings defenders Eoin O’Sullivan, Declan O’Donnell, Damien Laffan and Alan O’Carroll made a number of key tackles. On the other side of the ball, the Admirals defensive line of Marcus Gates, Ross McCullough and Barry Rea forced some tackles for loss. With less than 5 minutes to go to half time, Vikings defensive back got the first turnover of the day when he intercepted an Admirals pass at mid field. However, the Vikings missed a field goal and the score remained 8-8 until half time.

Vikings defense gang tackles Admirals ball carrier.

The second turnover of the game came on the first play from scrimmage after half time. Admirals linebacker Martin Mulvey recovered a Vikings fumble to give the Admirals the ball on the Vikings 20 yard line. The Admirals scored shortly afterwards on a pass from David Lomasney to receiver Dominic MacHale to give them a 14-8 lead. The Vikings then drove into scoring range getting a 1st and goal on the Admirals 5 yard line. However, a defensive stand by the Admirals prevented a score after they stopped the Vikings on 4th down. The Vikings defense then ensured that their offense got the ball back in good field position when they forced the Admirals to punt after not picking up much yardage on the ensuing possession. This gave the Vikings the ball at mid field and, through runs by Bassitt and Gordan, they got to the 10 yard line. Then Seamus Hogan scored his second touchdown, running up the middle on a draw play and pushing the ball over the goal line as Admirals defenders attempted to tackle him. The single point conversion gave the Vikings a one point lead.

Game MVP - UL Vikings Seamus Hogan breaks the plane to score his second touchdown .

The Vikings defense stopped the Admirals again, forcing them to punt early in the 4th quarter. This time the Vikings went to the air with a long pass from Bassitt to receiver Marc Ashworth who was stopped on the Admirals 5 yard line. On the next play, Hogan sealed the MVP award with his third score of the day, a 5 yard sweep to the right, which was also converted to give the Vikings a 22-14 lead. However, the game was far from over. Admirals quarterback Alan Lomasney led the Admirals on a long drive, during which O’Callaghan and Pezeron both contributed yardage. After O’Callaghan was tackled just short of the endzone, the Admirals looked like they would be sending the game into overtime with a first down on the Vikings 2 yard line. However, the Vikings defense came up with their best defensive performance of the afternoon and held them out on all four downs. The Vikings then tried to run out the clock on the ensuing possession, but were forced to punt after only picking up one first down. With just over 2 minutes remaining, the Vikings got off a great punt, pinning the Admirals back inside their own half. But the Admirals still had more than enough time to score. They picked up a couple of first downs, but were stopped on 4th down with less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock. The Vikings then kneeled out to win the first ever Shamrock Bowl.

Seamus Hogan (#2) en route to his third touchdown.

Both teams contributed to a very successful game through their entertaining and sporting play. The attendance at this year game was higher than the previous two Shamrock Bowls. It was played in a specially constructed venue at the UL Sports Grounds with banked spectator stands on one side and temporary seating on the other.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES

RETURN TO SHAMROCK BOWL XXI MENU