Report by James Dunstan
Photo credits Chris Janes and Jamie Stancombe
The promising 2015 Saints
campaign came to a close last Sunday when Oxford
were knocked out 50-13 in the Division II Quarter-Finals.
Despite the loss to the Brighton team, the Saints are
pleased with the season as a whole and making the playoffs is a remarkable
achievement for a team with many young players, whilst playing in a competitive
conference.
In the build up to the game, the Saints were dealt a blow
when quarterback #10 Ben Denton was
diagnosed with leukaemia, just several days before the contest. Denton was
playing his first season as quarterback for Oxford and his dedication and
talent saw the Saints into the playoffs.
The team wish him well on his road to recovery and the club
showed solidarity behind Denton with #10 helmet decals, worn by all players
during the playoff game.
Fundraising initiatives for the registered charity Leukaemia
& Lymphoma Research will be announced soon and anyone wishing to support
the cause can visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/DentonStrong
Leading the Saints offense was 2nd string quarterback David McCormack, who was also
experiencing his first year at the position after switching from running back.
McCormack has been training alongside Denton throughout the
season and started his first game on 9th August, in a friendly against the Jurassic Coast Raptors. Although the
side from Dorset were outmatched by
the experience of the Saints, McCormack looked at ease and led Oxford to a
comfortable 41-0 victory.
Prior to kickoff at Brighton
Rugby Club, both teams and supporters observed a minute of silence in memory
of the victims from the Shoreham Air
Disaster which happened the previous day. 11 people lost their lives when a
WW2 plane from a nearby air show crashed into a busy road on Saturday
afternoon.
1st Quarter
The Saints offense began with the ball and McCormack led the
team onto the field. With Kev Brooks
lined up in the back field, the ball was handed to the 2nd year running back
but he was only able to pick up a few yards. Sussex’s experience as a former
premiership side was shown early with their great ability to slow Oxford’s
often-dangerous run game. The opening drive ended with little progress and the
ball was punted away.
Sussex Thunder’s
offense began with quarterback Junior
Price under centre. The home team quickly broke out a big run for a gain of
24 yards, but a defiant Oxford defense stood their ground on the following
attempts.
Facing a 4th and 4 yard situation in Saints territory,
Sussex decided to go for it and a completed pass gave them another 1st down.
The first score of the game came on the next play when Roland Williams charged into the end zone from 11 yards out, giving
Sussex a touchdown. Andrew Stone
kicked the extra point and the home team took an early lead of 7-0.
The Saints attempted to establish their run game on the next
drive but faced fierce contest from the Thunder defense. The ball was placed
into the capable hands of Grant Tebb
but he was brought down behind the line of scrimmage for a 1 yard loss.
McCormack attempted a pass to wide receiver Ali Galbraith on 3rd down but it fell
incomplete and the offense were forced to punt again. High winds however
resulted in the punted ball only covering a short distance and gave Sussex
great field position on Oxford’s 29 yard line.
Oxford’s defense looked on form and the Sussex ball carrier
was brought down after just a 1 yard gain by first year player Jonny Little. On the next play, George Wright claimed the tackle for a
1 yard loss.
After picking up a few yards on 3rd down, Sussex went for it
again on 4th and found an uncovered receiver on course for the Saints end zone.
Price’s precision throw ended up in the hands of Adam Fishlock who scored the 2nd touchdown for the Thunder. The
extra point by Stone was good, 14-0 Sussex.
McCormack and the Saints finally began to move the ball with
hard running from James Walter, Grant Tebb and Ryan Kingshott. Picking up several 1st downs, Oxford were marching
down the field but were plagued by penalties along the way, making it an uphill
struggle. The Saints fell short on 4th down as the 1st quarter came to a close.
2nd Quarter
Sussex took over from their own 10 yard line and had a long
distance to travel. A 12 yard run gained them a first down with cornerback Matt Wheldon on the tackle. The offense
were close to picking up another first down but tackles from linebackers Dean
Bryan and Graeme Taylor stopped the
Thunder short and they were forced to punt for the first time in the game.
With Oxford’s offense back on the field, it was all Ryan
Kingshott as he ran hard against the Sussex defense who struggled to contain
him as he picked up 33 yards on multiple carries. Relief came when McCormack
handled the ball to Grant Tebb, who outpaced the defenders towards the sideline
and into the end zone for a much-needed touchdown. Spencer Duffy kicked the extra point, 14-7 to Sussex.
Another strong display by the Saints defense with tackles
from Martin Fitzpatrick, Taylor,
Bryan and Calvin Holmes saw the
Thunder stopped in their tracks, forcing another punt.
McCormack took over from Oxford’s 14 yard line and after a
gain of a couple of yards by Kingshott, disaster struck on the following play
when a big hit was landed on McCormack by Thunder’s Dominic Gould. The unexpected hit forced the ball into the air and into
the hands of Dan De Lucia, who
returned it the short distance for the score.
McCormack required medical attention on the field before
being assisted to the Oxford sideline. He was ruled out of the game with a
suspected concussion, which left the Saints with no quarterbacks after losing
starting quarterback Ben Denton a few days earlier. Stone added the extra point
kick once play resumed, and the Thunder extended their lead 21-7.
The quarterback duty passed to Grant Tebb, who is an
experienced player with previous history of playing quarterback when at
university. However, having Tebb under centre meant that the Saints lost one of
their most dangerous offensive weapons.
As the 2nd quarter came to a close, Sussex scored a field
goal with Andrew Stone kicking the ball through the uprights from 24 yards out,
giving the hosts an additional 3 points. 24-7.
3rd Quarter
Following the interval Oxford kicked the ball off to Sussex
to get the 2nd half started, but an amazing play by linebacker Luke Fry saw him forcefully strip the
ball away from the Thunder ball carrier and recovered possession immediately
for the Saints.
Despite the promising change in momentum, Tebb and the
Saints offense were unable to capitalise in the face of a strong defense and
the ball was soon turned over back to Sussex.
With Jaden Ellis
in at quarterback for the Thunder, a quick drive up field aided by penalties
against the Saints defense brought Sussex within scoring range. Tichaona Chisango crossed the line for
a 5 yard touchdown run. The extra point kick was good, 31-7 to Sussex.
Oxford’s defense held Sussex to just 19 yards on their next
drive, with stops coming from Matt Wheldon and Spencer Duffy, forcing another
punt.
The Saints struck back with an impressive drive up field.
Hard running from James Walter, who broke the 1,000 rushing yard mark earlier
in the season, combined with a continuously strong performance from Kingshott
brought Oxford into Sussex territory.
Tebb handed the ball to Kingshott again who charged through
the Sussex defense for a 31 yard touchdown run. Oxford attempted a 2 point
conversion to try and narrow the divide, but Ali Galbraith was unable to find
the endzone. 31-13 Sussex.
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Photo by Chris Janes – Ryan Kingshott celebrates the TD
4th Quarter
With veteran quarterback Eber Kingston now at the helm for Sussex, he connected with
receivers DJ Ser’Jeanton and
Fishlock for good yards, combined with solid running from Chisango and Ben Chukwu-Onu on the ground. A short
drive ended with Stone running the ball in himself from 1 yard out for the
score. This time it was James Goodsell
who attempted the extra point kick for Sussex but it was missed. 37-13
Oxford continued to rely on the ground game after losing
both it’s quarterbacks and it was Kingshott who continued to see most of the
work. The offense continued to be plague by costly penalties, greatly hindering
their ability to progress down field. A deep pass to Walter over the middle of
the field would have given Oxford a big gain, but offensive pass interference
was called on Walter and the ball was brought back.
On 4th down, Tebb attempted a pass out towards the sideline
to Leroy Holmes but it was intercepted
and returned 37 yards for the score by Dominic
Gould. Goodsell kicked the extra point and the visitors were sitting
comfortably on a 44-13 lead.
Walter took over at quarterback for Oxford and attempted to
find another scoring opportunity on the final two drives of the game, but was
unable to make any considerable gains against a confident and physical Sussex
defense.
A 6 yard touchdown run late in the 4th quarter gave the
Thunder their final score of the day, but they were unable to kick the extra
point. Final score 50-13 Sussex.
Summary
Entering the game with several missing players, most notably
starting quarterback Ben Denton, the Saints remained confident that the hard
running threat posed by Tebb, Walter and Kingshott would keep Sussex under
pressure. After losing quarterback McCormack in the 2nd quarter, the Saints
were unable to move the ball in the air and were continuously hindered by
penalties.
The experience and determination of Sussex was on display
from the opening kickoff right to the end, as they claimed the much deserved
win.
Although the Saints season has come to a close, it has been
an exceptionally successful year for the team. With a large recruitment drive
kicking off 2015, the team is filled with rookies earning starting spots across
the depth chart, most notably on the defense. The club is also developing it’s
own home-grown quarterbacks in Denton and McCormack, who are both Oxford locals
transitioning from other positions.
The Oxford Saints are pleased that they made the playoffs in
a competitive roster and look forward to many rookies returning for their 2nd
year of Saints football in 2016 to develop their skills further.
We wish all remaining playoff teams the best of luck in
their upcoming games. Bristol Apache
are the only team from the same conference still standing in the playoffs,
after a 32-17 victory over the Wembley
Stallions. The Apache now sit on a strong 8-1 record, with their single
loss coming from the Saints.
Recruitment is already in progress for the next season and
our rookie training days at the 3G Dome in Oxford have been confirmed. Find out
more at www.oxfordsaints.com.
The team would like to thank all it’s players, staff and
fans for the commitment to the Saints over the season.
In the meantime, if you wish to show support to Ben, the
Saints and all those across the country affected by Leukaemia, you can donate
through http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/DentonStrong.
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