Trojans, Eagles Claim Final Postseason Spots – AFI Week 15
The final weekend of the Irish American Football regular season arrived with a flourish and lots on the line, as the final playoff berth was still up for grabs in both divisions. Up in Belfast it all came down to a rematch between the Trojans and Admirals, while down in Gorey, the Giants were attempting to snatch a semi final spot from the Eagles. It couldn’t get much more dramatic than this! Keep reading to find out the results from all the weekend’s fixtures!
Belfast Trojans 27 – Cork Admirals 18
This game was without a doubt the most anticipated matchup of the weekend. After they escaped MTU Stadium with the slimmest of victories earlier in the season, it was almost as if fate had conspired to have the Trojans rematch against the Admirals for the season finale with a final semi final spot on the line. If they had drawn, a tiebreaker would have come into play, but ultimately that wasn’t necessary. The home team jumped out to an early 27 point lead, and then hung on to stave off a late comeback rally. Scores for the Trojans came on receptions from James Lynn and Michael Ferris, with Niall Mullin and Adam McIlwee adding a brace of touchdowns on the ground. The latter came on an 80 yard burst from McIlwee, while Maks Dimitrov was in top ballhawking form, adding a pick on Defense. The Admirals didn’t make it easy by any means though, with the fearless Jake Kennedy spearheading a late surge at Quarterback. Kennedy accounted for 3 total touchdowns on the ground, while throwing in excess of 300 yards. A strong defensive effort saw the unit put in 31 tackles, 3 of which went for a loss. Sadly, it was too little too late for the Leesiders, who now go into the Shield semi finals, while the Trojans march on to take a crack at Shamrock Bowl title number 6.
Louth Mavericks 30 – West Dublin Rhinos 00
There wasn’t much on the line for either side here really, aside from the all important home field advantage going into the playoffs. Perhaps that explains the real lack of firepower on show, particularly from the Rhinos. They’ll meet again in two weeks time with a lot more at stake, but in this bout it was very much the Mavericks who laid down the law. Despite throwing an interception on the first play of the game, the Louth lads managed to build a 21-0 lead in the first period. Stephen Traynor got the ball back on a fumble recovery shortly afterwards, and Hearty atoned for his earlier transgression with a rushing TD, followed by a pass to Oisin Finn, with Gerry Lawless converting both PAT’s. Dan Finley added a score on the ground before the 1st 15 minutes were up, with Lawless doing the honours once again. Things went a bit quiet then as they tend to do, until Brendan Simms snagged an INT in the 3rd quarter. Stephen Traynor struck again with a safety in the 4th quarter, before Declan Mulvihill put the game to bed, scoring a rushing touchdown on a Tight End sneak. At that stage it was all over but the shouting, and the Raging Bulls will most definitely have the advantage for round two.
Dublin Rebels 27 – Mullingar Minotaurs 00
Despite being almost a foregone conclusion, the Minotaurs gave the Rebels a hell of a fight in what was most likely their final game in the Premier Division for a while. And while the score may not have been that surprising (only that it wasn’t more) what was slightly disconcerting was seeing Ty Henry at Quarterback, only a week removed from a nasty neck injury. You already have a spot in the postseason guaranteed, why not let the body rest? Yet, in defiance of only having one working knee, Henry still managed to throw 4 touchdown passes to the dynamic duo of Dan(3) and Greg(1) AKA the Flying Johnson Brothers. The win sets up a semi-final dust down with the South Dublin Panthers in two week’s time, and I know who I’ll be cheering on in that one!
South Dublin Panthers 20 – UCD 62
Yeah, this was only ever going to go one way, wasn’t it? The 2019 runners up have been severely lacking numbers for weeks now, and in the face of losing their head coach, are dealing with a crisis as they enter the postseason. UCD went up by 24 unanswered points before the Panthers were able to respond with a score from Matty O’Meara. The students scored 5 touchdowns in total throughout the first half, to just 13 points for the home team. Darragh Mooney got the onslaught underway for UCD with a receiving TD on a pass from his brother, opening the gates for Brandon Atwell (2 rushing TD’s & 6 x 2pt) Pete Masterson (TD) Cian Lawlor (TD & 2pt) Joe Carroll (1 TD Rush) and Tom McEniff (2 TD Rush). This was truly a battering, and has set the tone for UCD’s upcoming semi final encounter with the Trojans. In fairness to the Panthers, they never gave up. Conor Hoskins and Matty O’Meara pulled back a couple of scores each in the fourth quarter to make the result a bit more respectable, but deep down we know that UCD are more than likely headed back to the Shamrock Bowl.
Belfast Knights 26 – UL Vikings 00
So apparently this year there’s another mini post season tournament for the teams that don’t make the semi finals. Wouldn’t it be nice if that had been widely communicated? It’s a great idea, and offers the opportunity for more football. It has been dubbed the Premier Division “Shield”, and with their shutout victory over the Vikings on Sunday, the Belfast Knights find themselves through to the final. Old Man Millar was reliving his glory days running the ball, mowing down Vikings on his way to two rushing touchdowns. Daitihi McShane added a receiving score on a pass from Liam Moores, but it was the defense that really won the day. 4 different Knights picked off the Vikings on Sunday afternoon, with Johnny Headley,Ryan Stewart, Aaron Black and Josh Harvey all snagging interceptions. They weren’t the only ones causing chaos. William Boal acted like a one man wrecking crew, racking up a sack, forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Robbie Alexander, Cathair Harpur, Spencer McDowell all had sacks. The Vikings will be disappointed with how the season has ended, but nonetheless still have one more bite of the cherry when they face the Cork Admirals in the Shield semi final on July 14th.
Wexford Eagles 19 – Causeway Giants 00
After their surprising loss to the Rhinos a few weeks ago, the Eagles found themselves battling to the bitter end to get their hands on a ticket to the postseason. And they did just enough, coming good on a scoreline of 19 to nothing. Luke Fitzpatrick had a pair of receiving touchdowns on the day from Kyle McLaughlin, while Cillian Hayward added a rushing score on the ground. Defense played their part as well, with Denis O’Connor and Terry Carey earning a pair of picks. The Wexford men now face the daunting task of an away semi-final against Craigavon, where they’ll undoubtedly need to play a perfect game if they want to have any chance of making the Bowl game on July 27th.
Craigavon Cowboys 61 – Antrim Jets 06
Another 60 point game, and it probably could have been more but for the fact the Cowboy’s largely played their backups. Are we really surprised by the score line? Absolutely not. Is there a problem in division one? Most definitely. But that’s a story for a different day. The Boys firmly stamped their authority with an emphatic victory on Sunday, leaving no doubt as to who the top dogs are. Eoin Hughes largely handled Quarterback duties, completing 8 out of 15 passes for 5 touchdowns in relief of Peter Loughran. Before being pulled, Loughran himself contributed 3 scores, with Odhran O’Kane, David Radford and Matthew Walsh. Defensively, Shaun Breen earned an interception, while Jason Duddy and Owen O’Neill had a forced fumble each. The Jets eventually mustered a score on a pass from Scott McClean to Jay Burton, but it was merely a consolation prize. It’s going to take a lot to stop the men in orange from taking the title this year, as it almost seems like their destiny.
