Week 2 Game Reports

This article has been syndicated from Double Coverage and any opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinion of IAFA. Any references to non-IAFA websites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those websites.

Last Sunday saw three games take place in the SBC and the opening fixture of the IAFL1 division.

Shamrock Bowl Conference

Carrickfergus Knights 13 – 28 Belfast Trojans

This wasn’t the blowout some people were expecting. In our article previewing the Belfast Trojans’ season, chairman Barry Keil predicted that the Knights opener was going to be tough and require a lot of work to get the win, and he was right!

The Carrickfergus team has clearly been proactive in its offseason, recruiting hard and getting a good number of new players, and the hard work paid off early. At the end of the first quarter the home team led 7-6, as Aaron McNaughton picked off a James McKelvey pass and took it to the house, counteracting an Alex Newton rushing score for the Trojans.

Shamrock Bowl MVP Neil Montgomery would help the Trojans regain the lead, running in a TD in the 2nd quarter before McKelvey linked up with receiver David Richardson for the 2-pt to take a 7-14 lead, but the Knights would hit back almost immediately. Paul McKillop, taking over from Head Coach Adam Devenney at quarterback, found wide-out Chris Ireland deep for the score. The PAT was blocked by Belfast.

The game was still tight late into the 3rd quarter with just a point in it, before McKelvey used his experience, and his offensive line, to rush one in. Alex Newton followed up with the 2-pt before McKelvey added another quarterback sneak for a score late in the game, giving the Trojans a 13-28 victory.

Trinity College Dublin 27 – 0 West Dublin Rhinos

The issues with putting points on the board are still seemingly haunting the Rhinos in what was a closer game than the scoreline suggests.

The Rhinos looked strong on defence for long periods, as we’ve come to expect of them, but in the end this dynamic Trinity side stretched the game, and the scoreline.

Photo by Louise Lawless

Running back Rob McDowell notched up his third and fourth touchdown of the season, with two rushing scores before Dan Finnamore continued his fine start to his Shamrock Bowl Conference career by finding receiver David Lunn for six points.

The Trinity defence got some glory too as Alex Gurnee scooped up a fumble for a score before a mix up on the Rhinos’ offence led to a safety, sealing the win for TCD.

The West Dublin side will want to bounce back from this loss as they head to Limerick to face the Vikings in a fortnight’s time but they must put points on the board to do so.

Meanwhile Trinity are really banging on the door of the top two teams in our Power Rankings with this victory. They’re proving early that they’re here to win, and impress doing so.

Waterford Wolves 6 – 12 Dublin Dragons

A rematch of the IAFL-1 fixture last year brought the same defensive battle we’ve come to expect from that division. The two sides cancelled each other out for long spells during this game but the Dragons made experience tell in the second quarter as running back Dave Edwards broke loose for the first score of the game.

Eoghan Whelan returns a pick for 6 – photo courtesy of Your Photography

And it would be defence that added the next score as Eoghan Whelan, Dragons’ cornerback, picked off the Wolves and took the ball to the house for another six.

The Waterford side would hit back almost immediately in front of their home fans as Ryan Byrne returned a kickoff all the way for a touchdown.

IAFL1

Mullingar Minotaurs 0 – 26 UCD

UCD made a flying start to their IAFL-1 campaign as they shutout the Mullingar Minotaurs at Harbour Fields.

Quarterback Colin O’Meara was a notable absentee, and work commitments could see him miss a lot of time this year, but his replacement Dave Murphy had a game to remember.

Linking up with receiver Paul Geraghty for three touchdowns and passing for 230 yards as well as running in a score and a 2-pt conversion himself, the quarterback set an early benchmark for the division to keep up with.

But the team looked more than solid on defence as well as linebacker Colin Harper had a standout game. With double digit tackles, a pair of sacks and a huge fumble recovery, the UCD man will be looking to repeat this form throughout the year.

The Minotaurs should again take heart from this win. UCD are off the back of an impressive year in the Shamrock Bowl Conference where they pushed UL all the way in the playoff Wildcards. They have the experience compared to Mullingar’s lone year of competitive football. But the team in purple will want to step up and get points on the board sooner rather than later this year. Look for a backlash as they head to Drogheda to face the Lightning in a fortnight’s time.