Friday, 29 May 2015

Hastings fall just short as Bobcats survive last second drama

Report by Ree Dawes
 
WOW! What. A. Game!

After two unfortunate score lines to start the season, the Conquerors were determined to prove those scores did not define them as a team. There was a different atmosphere and attitude surrounding the team, confidence and determination; it was uplifting to be around.

Unfortunately, whilst Mother Nature was on my side in the Kent game, I wasn’t so lucky this week, I might have jinxed it by putting sun cream on pre-game. It was dark and gloomy and grey, which isn’t ideal for photo taking.
 

The game started with Hastings’ offence taking the field first, but Bournemouth’s defence held them off despite some good runs from the Conquerors. After the Conquerors' defence held strong, with an interception from Jon Cole, the offence were back on, but a bad injury on a Bournemouth player early in the second quarter meant an hour delay in the game for an ambulance to arrive. (The Bournemouth player is now out of hospital and on the mend following a very serious ankle injury.)

After the delay, the game got underway with the Hastings defence keeping Bournemouth from scoring, giving the Conquerors’ offence the opportunity to move downfield. It wasn’t long before Sam Vernon made his way into the end zone for six points. The PAT failed but the Conquerors were leading for the first time.
 

After a quick half-time, both defences were playing well once more, forcing the opposition to punt the ball away, not allowing for many yards. Late in the third quarter, the Bobcats found a hole in the Conquerors defence and put seven points on the board after a successful point after, putting them up by one point.

Things got exciting in the fourth quarter after a touchdown from Conquerors’ Aaron Woods had Hastings in front again, but Bournemouth weren’t giving up and after a long pass and run also found themselves in the end zone. Their PAT was also unsuccessful, meaning the score was 13-12 to Bournemouth.

After a huge pass downfield from Jake Beale to Carl Alsop on third down, the Conquerors had a great field position and went for a field goal for the win with mere seconds to go. With the clock on zero, the ball was kicked and went just wide of the posts, leaving the score 13-12.
 
Video of our amazing Hail Mary pass here: 
 
 
The Macron Store Hastings MVPs for the game were: Joel Westguard for his solid performance on special teams, Ryan Gunningham for his strong runs on offence, Jon Cole for helping lead the defence and quarterback Jake Beale as overall MVP.

So that was our exciting game! The players can go into this week’s home game v Portsmouth Dreadnoughts with the heads held high, knowing they left it all on the field, giving it their best shot and I cannot wait to see what they will do to impress us this Sunday!
 
 
 

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