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London Blitz 21 Bristol Aztecs 14
Shipshape and in Blitz fashion the London Blitz continued
the defense of their National BAFL title this week with a solid win at the
Bristol Aztecs. The Blitz started the game needing to get their season
back on track after a shaky start saw them slip to 2-2.
Bristol kicked the game off in bright July sunshine and
pinned the London side deep in their own territory. On the second play of
the game running back Gareth Dauley scampered down the sideline all the way to
the endzone only for the run to be called back. Undeterred the Blitz offense
regrouped and quarterback Stuart Franklin led the team down the pitch with long
completions to Duncan Aldous and 'ze French connection' Talla N'Diaya. The
drive stalled however when the Blitz fumbled the ball on the Aztecs two yard
line.
The Bristol offense took to the field with their
contrasting brand of smash mouth offense. The drive was snuffed out at mid
field when on a rare Bristol passing play the ball was tipped by the on rushing
Lennox Johnson into the grateful hands of linebacker Lloyd Buxton who returned
the ball to the 16 yard line. Franklin went to the air immediately and
connected with Rod 'Spartan' Bradley who swapped his leather skirt and pugil
stick for football pants and a quick six points. Nathan Holt added the
extra point giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.
The Aztecs took to the trick plays on their next drive
only for Johnson to again come up big with a drive ending tackle on an end
around to veteran Nick Burt. On the ensuing possession history seemed to be
repeating itself as Dauley broke another long run into the endzone only to see
it called back for a block in the back. Franklin and the Big Blue offense again
rebounded and drove the remainder of the field with Chris Onyilogwu's 8
yard touchdown run finishing off the drive. Holt tacked on the extra
point making it 14-0 Blitz.
A highly motivated Aztecs offense came out moving the
ball consistently down the field late in the second quarter only for
quarterback Dominic Westwood to be picked off by Blitz safety Ed Morgan. In the
remaining seconds the Blitz offense went to the no huddle offense in an attempt
to score before the half, but came up short leaving the Blitz two scores
up at the half.
The third quarter saw the skies darken over Bristol only
for the field to be lit up by another sparkling run from Dauley, this time
taking it all the way down to the Aztecs 7 yard line. From this position
Franklin again hit Bradley making it two passes, two completions, two
touchdowns. The ever reliable Holt chipped over the extra point giving the
Londoners a 21-0 lead.
As the heavens opened the Bristol offense seemed to handle
the elements better than the visitors as they managed to run in two fourth
quarter scores. With Bristol only 7 points behind the Blitz offense had to move
the ball and keep the clock running to secure a victory. With the Blitz needing
a first down to maintain control Franklin connected with veteran Marcin Lai who
in a great effort managed to hold on the ball despite being tattooed by the
Bristol safety. This allowed the offense to ‘take a knee’ to end the game as
The Blitz ran out 21-14 winners.
Head Coach Mark Moss said, “This was a very important win
for us and there's been a great feeling around the team all day and in practice
leading up to the game. Whilst I'm pleased with the result we've still got a
huge amount of work to do if we want to defend our national title.”
The win sees the North London side sitting at 3-2,
tied for second place in the BAFL Premier.
With the next two weeks off The Blitz now prepare for
the return match against Bristol on July 27th at Finsbury Park, kick
off is set for 2.30pm.