MMU Eagles won their first Varsity at the fourth attempt after snatching victory late in the 4th quarter in a tense, defense-dominated encounter. Rob Eden brings us the lowdown from Sunday.
The University of Manchester Tyrants’ failed to capitalise in their recent varsity
match against Manchester Metropolitan Eagles, losing 13-6 in what can be
described as an exciting and hotly contested affair at Burnage RFC.
The Eagles started the game brightly launching a 70-yard drive to within 10-
yards of Manchester goal line. However, a superb Tyrants defence blocked all of
the Eagles attempts to finish their drive with a touchdown, instead forcing them
to accept a field goal at fourth-and-goal.
It was now a question of how the Tyrants’ would react to the intensity that the
Eagles had demonstrated in their upbeat start. In most instances this season,
the answer would have been the same – poorly. However, Tyrant running back
Anthony Eiliazadeh, led by example, using a combination of speed and power
to drive the ball into Eagle territory. He then finished the drive by accelerating
around two Eagle defenders to run the ball in for a touchdown with ease on the
far left hand side. Speaking to Eiliazadeh afterwards, he commended his wide
receivers stating, “That score was all down to the wide receivers making their
blocks, running it in was the easy part.” The Tyrants missed their field goal
attempt, meaning the Tyrants led by six points to three.
The second and third quarters provided no points other than a field goal for
the Eagles which brought the game to six-six. From a defensive standpoint,
the Tyrants had been excellent. When it looked like the Eagles were about to
make a play, the defensive unit collectively stepped up. Defensive linemen Matt
Scott claimed on the sidelines, “I must be on about twenty tackles.” Although
this was an obvious over-exaggeration, it is comparably accurate with the total
domination shown by the Tyrants’ defence.
The fourth quarter brought everything you can hope for in an American football
match – drama. The Tyrants began the fourth quarter by taking the ball to the
Eagles’ 10-yard line. A particular highlight of this drive was Tyrants’ quarterback
Chris Payne’s superb throw to wide receiver Ben Fowles. The ball entered
Fowles’ hands perfectly on the run for a gain of twenty yards.
Tyrants Running Back Lawrence Sarpong also capped a formidable drive, with
his blistering run down the left hand side of the field, which consisted of him
knocking over a few tacklers in the process. But it was Sarpong’s ability to
accelerate after the hit that really impressed spectators, with comparisons being
made amongst the Tyrants’ sideline to NFL players such as Adrian Peterson and
Marshawn Lynch.
However, the Tyrants could not seem to force their way over the line for a
touchdown, prompting the Tyrants’ coach into implementing a risky fourth
and goal attempt. Quarterback Chris Payne, rounded pocket pressure from the
Eagles’ defensive line, but unfortunately could not get the pass off. Eventually
he was stopped on the Eagles’ 4-yard line whilst scrambling for a touchdown
himself.
The Eagles responded to the Tyrants’ long drive. Still finding it difficult to utilise
their running game, the Eagles quarterback faked a handoff to his running back
and played a screen pass out to his receiver on the left hand side for a gain of 30-
yards.
Nevertheless, the Tyrants’ defence continued to dominate, cornerback Chris
Walsh provided the biggest hit of the game on a man twice his size, forcing the
Eagles to punt on fourth down. However, this backfired for the Tyrants’ as the
Eagles made a superb punt to peg the Tyrants’ to their own 5-yard line.
A time check revealed that there was less than two minutes remaining in the
game. With the scores tied at 6 points apiece, the Tyrants began their offensive
drive needing to air the ball out to gain quick yards. Unfortunately the Eagles’
forced a pick-six - Intercepting the ball and returning it from 20-yards out for the
game-winning touchdown.
Offensively, it just wasn’t the Tyrants’ day. A few dropped catches and
unfortunate interceptions at critical points of the game proved costly for the
Tyrants.
Defensively the Tyrants were incredible, they prevented the Eagles from scoring
a single offensive touchdown, successfully limiting them to two field goals for
six points. Defensive captain James Bowyer played exceptionally well at strong
safety, making crucial tackles as the last man. Whilst Bowyer singled out Rufus
Daw for having a great second-half, which included recovering an Eagles’ fumble.
Next up for the Tyrants is a trip to UCLAN Rams. With the Tyrants’ now 0-5,
they will be entering the game as underdogs. Although if the recent Super bowl
shows anything, it is that the tag of underdog does not really matter in American
Football.
The University of Manchester Tyrants’ failed to capitalise in their recent varsity
match against Manchester Metropolitan Eagles, losing 13-6 in what can be
described as an exciting and hotly contested affair at Burnage RFC.
The Eagles started the game brightly launching a 70-yard drive to within 10-
yards of Manchester goal line. However, a superb Tyrants defence blocked all of
the Eagles attempts to finish their drive with a touchdown, instead forcing them
to accept a field goal at fourth-and-goal.
It was now a question of how the Tyrants’ would react to the intensity that the
Eagles had demonstrated in their upbeat start. In most instances this season,
the answer would have been the same – poorly. However, Tyrant running back
Anthony Eiliazadeh, led by example, using a combination of speed and power
to drive the ball into Eagle territory. He then finished the drive by accelerating
around two Eagle defenders to run the ball in for a touchdown with ease on the
far left hand side. Speaking to Eiliazadeh afterwards, he commended his wide
receivers stating, “That score was all down to the wide receivers making their
blocks, running it in was the easy part.” The Tyrants missed their field goal
attempt, meaning the Tyrants led by six points to three.
The second and third quarters provided no points other than a field goal for
the Eagles which brought the game to six-six. From a defensive standpoint,
the Tyrants had been excellent. When it looked like the Eagles were about to
make a play, the defensive unit collectively stepped up. Defensive linemen Matt
Scott claimed on the sidelines, “I must be on about twenty tackles.” Although
this was an obvious over-exaggeration, it is comparably accurate with the total
domination shown by the Tyrants’ defence.
The fourth quarter brought everything you can hope for in an American football
match – drama. The Tyrants began the fourth quarter by taking the ball to the
Eagles’ 10-yard line. A particular highlight of this drive was Tyrants’ quarterback
Chris Payne’s superb throw to wide receiver Ben Fowles. The ball entered
Fowles’ hands perfectly on the run for a gain of twenty yards.
Tyrants Running Back Lawrence Sarpong also capped a formidable drive, with
his blistering run down the left hand side of the field, which consisted of him
knocking over a few tacklers in the process. But it was Sarpong’s ability to
accelerate after the hit that really impressed spectators, with comparisons being
made amongst the Tyrants’ sideline to NFL players such as Adrian Peterson and
Marshawn Lynch.
However, the Tyrants could not seem to force their way over the line for a
touchdown, prompting the Tyrants’ coach into implementing a risky fourth
and goal attempt. Quarterback Chris Payne, rounded pocket pressure from the
Eagles’ defensive line, but unfortunately could not get the pass off. Eventually
he was stopped on the Eagles’ 4-yard line whilst scrambling for a touchdown
himself.
The Eagles responded to the Tyrants’ long drive. Still finding it difficult to utilise
their running game, the Eagles quarterback faked a handoff to his running back
and played a screen pass out to his receiver on the left hand side for a gain of 30-
yards.
Nevertheless, the Tyrants’ defence continued to dominate, cornerback Chris
Walsh provided the biggest hit of the game on a man twice his size, forcing the
Eagles to punt on fourth down. However, this backfired for the Tyrants’ as the
Eagles made a superb punt to peg the Tyrants’ to their own 5-yard line.
A time check revealed that there was less than two minutes remaining in the
game. With the scores tied at 6 points apiece, the Tyrants began their offensive
drive needing to air the ball out to gain quick yards. Unfortunately the Eagles’
forced a pick-six - Intercepting the ball and returning it from 20-yards out for the
game-winning touchdown.
Offensively, it just wasn’t the Tyrants’ day. A few dropped catches and
unfortunate interceptions at critical points of the game proved costly for the
Tyrants.
Defensively the Tyrants were incredible, they prevented the Eagles from scoring
a single offensive touchdown, successfully limiting them to two field goals for
six points. Defensive captain James Bowyer played exceptionally well at strong
safety, making crucial tackles as the last man. Whilst Bowyer singled out Rufus
Daw for having a great second-half, which included recovering an Eagles’ fumble.
Next up for the Tyrants is a trip to UCLAN Rams. With the Tyrants’ now 0-5,
they will be entering the game as underdogs. Although if the recent Super bowl
shows anything, it is that the tag of underdog does not really matter in American
Football.