![]() News04.07.2011 London Blitz EFAF Cup 2011 Game Report
The Blitz came out firing on all cylinders with Paul Summers recovering a fumble on the Wild Boars 2 yard line to give the home offence excellent field position. Led by quarterback Fred Boyle, the Blitz offence chalked up their first points of the game thanks to a run from veteran back Gareth Dauley. The extra point was successful kicked by kicker Jimmy Wyatt making the score 7-0 to the Londoners. On the next series the Wild Boars tried to pass their way out of more poor field position and a Stan Bedwell pass was intercepted by Martin Ray who took the ball back all the way to the endzone for another Blitz touchdown. The extra point was missed and the score remained 13-0 to the Blitz after the touchdown. Bedwell and his offence answered back quickly, driving down the field to eventually hit wide receiver Jeremy Payton to make it 13-7. The next score came as the Wild Boars offence stalled and were forced to punt from their endzone. The Blitz special teams unit exploded into the game as Aaron Sanders spectacularly blocked the punt which was recovered by Lennox Johnson in the endzone for a touchdown. Jimmy Wyatt added the extra point to give the Blitz a 20-7 lead and bring an end to a breathless first quarter. The second quarter was dominated by both defences performing superbly and dictating the game. The only score came as Jimmy Wyatt kicked a 32 yard field goal to give the home team a 23-7 half time lead. The second half continued in the same vein as the first ended with both offences struggling to move the ball against two aggressive defences. Mid way through the fourth quarter Blitz safety Joe Coultate hit Wild Boars quarterback Stan Bedwell as he threw resulting in an incomplete pass. Unfortunately, however, the hit resulted in broken leg for the American quarterback. Although Bedwell manfully returned to the field late in the fourth quarter the damage was done and the Blitz offence sealed the victory with a late touchdown run from Gareth Dauley adding his second. The final score was 29-7. The win is the first EFAF title won by a British team since 1999. Head Coach Mark Moss was thrilled by the result: 'This is a huge result for the club. When we entered European competition for the first time last year people said that you couldn't win in Europe without a major sponsor or import players. We have proved that this is not the case and that dedicated amateur players can compete at this level. I'm proud of the whole organisation and where we have got to.' |