Scoring
Q1
0-6 UCD: Colin O’Meara, run.
Q3
0-12 UCD: Shane Kenny, 30 yard reception from Colin O’Meara.
0-18 UCD: Larry Doyle, 1 yard run.
Q4
0-26 UCD: Colin O’Meara, run. 2 PAT: Paddy Duffy, reception from Colin O’Meara.
Game Photos
Photos by Jeff Dowling
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Game Report
Game Report by UCD:
The Dublin Dragons travelled over to the North side of the City to play UCD American football in ALSAA. This was an encounter of two teams who moved up from the DV8s league from the season previous. UCD beating the Dragons both times last year. This game was about revenge for the Dragons and pride for UCD.
The first quarter was a defensive battle. Both offenses slowly trying to move the ball and both defenses making life hard for either team. UCD had problems on offense when starting centre Paddy Buttner suffered an injury to his good hand forcing Coach Collins to change his centre, with Niall Daniell stepping in.
5 mins into the 1st quarter UCD’s defense came up trumps when Larry Doyle stripped, and recovered, the fumble by the Dragons QB Griffen Soule. This put UCD in good field position on the Dragons’ 30 and UCD rookie QB Colin O’Meara fired a ball on 4th and long to Darragh Mooney who acrobatically made a catch on the Dragons’ 6 yard line. O’Meara’s confidence was growing and after a couple of attempts to drive the ball in O’Meara held onto to the ball for UCD’s first TD of the game and season.
The Dragons fought back and late in the 1st O’Meara was picked off by Alex McGuirk. The first quarter ended with a Dragons player being carted off to the hospital with a suspected shoulder dislocation.
After the delay, the ambulance returned and the rain poured. UCD struggled to keep hold of the ball. Daniell, in at centre, had never snapped a ball in the rain. The 2nd quarter was a defensive battle throughout. The Dragons offensively making better strides, with Soule finding WR Paul Keane a couple of times. But the UCD defense held on. UCD’s biggest drive of the 2nd quarter saw Darragh Mooney fumble the ball after a 25 yard run. Mooney was on fire since the first quarter already pushing treble digits in yards total. With the clock winding down the game went into half time at 6-0 UCD.
In the 2nd half UCD started the stronger and, after a couple of short drives, drove downfield and QB O’Meara threw a 30 yard pass into the endzone to WR Shane Kenny making it 12-0 UCD; Kenny making his second catch of the game. The Dragons again moved the ball but failed to capitilise. With a few injuries the difference in numbers began to show. Soule’s first interception of the game came in the 3rd as free safety Kevin McFadden, a native of New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, picked off Soule and returned it for near 50 yards. Unfortunately for McFadden the good yardage was brought back due to a block in the back. This interception led to UCD’s 3rd TD with RBs Darragh Mooney and Larry Doyle making some huge gains to drive back downfield with great blocking from their O-line rookies. OL Eoin Heffernan, WR Emmett Travers and veteran Vitaly Levdonski making some great blocks downfield to open up running lanes. Doyle eventually ran it in from a yard out for his 1st TD and UCD’s 3rd making it 18-0.
The 4th quarter the Dragons battled on with 10 men and Veteran John Durrad and his defense battled to hold off UCD as long as possible and they put up a brave fight. Finn O’Dwyer Cunliffe had two long punts putting the Dragons within their own 10 yard line, one of which put the Dragons on their 2 yard line. UCD’s defense had 2 more turnovers in the 4th with New Zealander Finn O’Dwyer Cunliffe picking off Soule for a second and third time. Tom Lenihan, the Dragons RB, had a solid game throughout but the UCD defense forced a fumble from him, with four of the UCD D-linemen making the tackle to bring him down and get the takeaway. UCD got their final TD with a long scramble by QB Colin O’Meara. The 2 point conversion was scored by Paddy Duffy on a pass from QB O’Meara. UCD’s second QB Dave Farrell, who normally starts, saw out the game and ran down the clock to give UCD their first win of the 2010 IAFL season.