Carrickfergus Knights 16- 19 Trinity College
Sunday 18th March 2012 – Trinity College Sports Grounds.
By Trinity College Reporter.
After two heartbreaking losses in their opening fixtures, the Trinity College American football team welcomed Northern Ireland’s finest, the Carrickfergus Knights, to Santry. The sides met last year in a tough encounter, as Trinity were beaten 39-0, due to significantly depleted numbers. The Knights had a stellar season last year, but the DUAFC believed in their ability to overturn their rivals and get their season back on track. Trinity made their intentions clear very early on in the game. A few minutes into the first quarter a poorly gauged throw from Adam Devenney landed in the hands of cornerback Imar Coleman. The lightweight defender scurried back towards goal before being brought down, and earned the plaudits of his teammates. This fantastic piece of play gave the home team a shorter field to work with, and within a few moments quarterback Dan Flynn combined with target-man Alex Gurnee for a well worked touchdown. With this play Gurnee is continuing his outstanding form, and the team set the tone for the day. A two point conversion was unsuccessful, making the score 6-0.
The offence didn’t have to wait long to get the ball again; last year’s player of the season, Brian O’Driscoll, came up with another interception after a few more passages of play. This drive ended when kicker Peter Quinlan’s effort, into the wind, fell just short. Trinity had made an early impression on both sides of the ball, quelling opposition pressure, and countering with some big hits. Flynn made progress through the air, and the offence ticked over quite successfully. The landmark play of the quarter was another huge catch from Gurnee, who brought the collegiate offence to within five yards. Trinity turned to their talismanic halfback Rob McDowell, and he fought his way into the endzone, and won six more points for the team. Again, the two point conversion was missed.
The momentum was carried into the second quarter, as linebacker David Barker forced a fumble around midfield which the Trinity defence recovered, and Andrew Redmond forced another fumble close to the Carrickfergus goal line. The latter effort was a bruising blindside hit which caught the visiting quarterback by complete surprise. The rich vein of form carried through to the end of the half, an excellent completion to wide receiver Craig Marron was a standout play. Trinity’s first real scare came with an injury to their starting quarterback Dan Flynn after some great pressure from the Knight’s defensive line resulted in a huge sack. Flynn had been marshalling the play exceptionally well and his loss could be detrimental to Trinity. The half arrived with Trinity leading 12-0.
Perhaps sensing that this game was slipping away from them, the Knights came out looking very strong in the exposition of the second half. They began to connect on offence and made some good ground as they progressed to the Trinity goal line. Ultimately, it was the home defence who had the last laugh, as a wonderful goal line stand forced the ball to be turned over on downs. Trinity were in a tight spot, as they had to begin from their own goal line and were without Flynn, who was too injured to continue. McDowell was entrusted with the ball from a direct snap and the resulting play was magic. The blockers opened up a huge gap for McDowell and he bolted the full length of the pitch for a touchdown. The team opted to kick on this occasion, and Peter Quinlan neatly dispatched the point. Again the visitors came back strong, and they finally managed to get through the combative Trinity defence for a score. They successfully kicked an extra point, to bring the margin back to twelve points.
Despite the best efforts of Rob McDowell and Josh Megan, the offence couldn’t produce any momentum, and the Knights were beginning to gather momentum on both sides of the ball. In the final quarter, Carrickfergus marched down the field and were only stopped short by some more heroics from Brian O’Driscoll, who recorded a second interception. This turned to disaster for the college side, as they were pinned down at their own goal. A short series was brought to a halt when an uncharacteristic fumble gifted Carrickfergus possession yards from the endzone. This was duly recovered and carried over the line for 6 points, and an extra point, leaving the score at 19-14. No matter their effort, Trinity’s unorthodox running offence could not come up with enough yards to guarantee safety on the scoreboard.
The Knights ploughed on, and gave the home side cause for worry as they approached the goal line. However, O’Driscoll rose above the rest again to claim his third grab of the day when it mattered. With a very short field to work with and time running out, Trinity made a gutsy decision to sacrifice two points in the form of a safety, and give their opponents the ball back. The game then resumed with Trinity leading 19-16. Peter Quinlan took the free kick, and in a calamity of errors for Carrickfergus, Trinity pinned their rivals in their own half. Trinity had only a nervous few minutes of defensive work to play in order to claim their first victory of the season, and their defensive rigidity, a trademark of the team, proved to be enough.
The win brings Trinity’s record to 1 win and 2 losses, and will help kickstart the DUAFC’s season. The club now has five games before the playoffs, and will expect to improve its record significantly in the run-in to summer.
Report by Conor Bates