Shamrock Bowl Conference
Carrickfergus Knights 26-24 Craigavon Cowboys
A fine battle of a game that saw the winning team change throughout saw the Carrickfergus team come up with a close win.
It would be the Cowboys that opened the scoring though, with running back John Murray scampering in for the score, before quarterback Peter Loughran hit his receiver Luis Alberto for the 2-pt.
The Cowboys’ defence then took centre stage with a couple of picks, from James Trouton and Loughran respectively, to close out the first quarter. The Knights offence would not be halted forever though, as Eoin Heatley scampered 90 yards for the score. Marty Caskey made light work of the PAT. The score remained 7-8 Cowboys at the half.
The Knights would take a 14-8 lead early in the 2nd half though, as quarterback Paul McKillop hit John Wayland for a short TD. But the lead wouldn’t last long as Cowboys’ all-rounder Loughran would run in a score, followed by a successful Mark Hill 2-pt rush.
Gareth Millar would retake the lead for the Carrickfergus team, though, and continue his fine year with another touchdown. This time the Knights went for the 2-pt but failed so led 20-16. That lead was then stretched as McKillop hit Caskey for a 33 yard catch and run.
The ‘Boys would ensure a tight finish though as Hill pounded in a score, followed by a Murray 2-pt, with a minute to go but the score would remain 26-24.
The match was marred by a few injuries, with Cowboys’ running back John Murray suffering what looked like a serious leg injury resulting in an ambulance run to hospital. All at Double Coverage wish John the speediest of recoveries.
North Kildare Reapers 9 – 12 West Dublin Rhinos
Well, we didn’t expect that. The West Dublin Rhinos come away from the on-form North Kildare Reapers with their first win of the season after hitting a successful PAT with less than a minute on the clock.
The West Dublin side would get the scoring started in the first quarter as quarterback Arun Mooney kept the ball himself for six points before Paul Hossford kicked the successful PAT.
A defensive battle ensued, and wouldn’t be broken until the 3rd quarter when North Kildare’s Sean Leamy continued his scoring streak by breaking into the end zone. The chance to tie the game was missed though, and the PAT was blocked and then returned by Rhino’s linebacker Adam Skelly, resulting in a 6-9 scoreline in favour of West Dublin.
Ciaran Heneghan did tie the score up with his next chance though, kicking a successful field goal.
Then began a cagey 4th quarter where defences would reign. However, with 21 seconds remaining on the clock, the Rhinos would go for the field goal, which Hossford slotted in for the 3 points and the 9-12 win.
UL Vikings 35-6 Waterford Wolves
The Vikings posted up another win as their run continues, whilst the Wolves suffered yet another defeat in the SBC.
It was the home team’s impressive defence that got the ball rolling as they scored on the first two Wolves’ offensive drives. Firstly, defensive tackle John Mullen caught a punt, which was blocked by Eoin Whelan, and returned the ball for six before Craig Switzer forced a fumble, scooped it and returned it 60 yards for another score. Adrian Garvey slotted both PATs away successfully.
The defence continued it’s fine form as defensive end Whelan would dive on another fumble, on Waterford’s 6 yard line. Veteran quarterback Marc Ashworth scuttled across the line himself for the touchdown before catching the 2-pt attempt thrown by Garvey.
Garvey would then scamper in for a score himself in the second quarter, but would miss the PAT. Ashworth would then hit receiver Alvaro Martinez, who had a fine game on offence and defence, for a huge gain before the quarterback again ran the ball in for 6. Garvey would round the score off for UL with a successful PAT.
The home team’s defence was the real star of the show though, with the D-Line particularly impressive, as Darren Gleeson picked up 2 sacks whilst game MVP Ian Cahill picked up a further 3, including one that would knock starting Wolves’ quarterback Eoin Reinhardt out of the game, in what was a brutal day for the Wolves’ offensive line.
There was one bright moment for the away side though, as backup quarterback Ryan Byrne found space and shot off for a 70-yard rushing score but the Vikings come away with a comfortable win.
IAFL-1
UCD 20-0 Mullingar Minotaurs
UCD went into the game with a banged up team of players that had to play both offence and defence but came away with another solid win.
The Minotaurs had trouble moving the ball the entire game and struggled to contain UCD quarterback Dave Murphy on defence. Murphy came into the game with an injured elbow but managed to break out a rushing touchdown, a rushing 2-pt, a passing score to Michael Sykes and a pick six when he was playing on defence, to continue what has been a stellar year for him.
Mullingar’s powerful run game stuttered, whilst their defence’s tendency to repeatedly stack the box was picked on by UCD today. They’ve had a decent year thus far and cannot allow this defeat to bog them down and stop them picking up more wins.
UCD meanwhile solidify their status at the top of the IAFL-1 and continue to fend off the challenge from Cork.
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.