|
Cambridgeshire Cats 0-6 East Midlands Saxons
The Cats lost a low-scoring inter-conference Cambridgeshire derby on a rain-soaked boggy Saxons field, however the loss of quarterback Ben Mokuaki may prove more costly.
The late kick-off wasn’t to avoid the conditions, which were far more conducive a day to running the football. Whilst the passing game was not negated, the Cats promising start was ended abruptly when Mokuaki suffered a recurrence of a pre-season shoulder injury, which now most likely will end his rookie season after just five quarters of football. With Mike Peters unavailable it was left for wide receiver/player coach Tony Reveglia to step into the pocket. Nerves in the hot seat were evident, and the conditions could not have been worse to blood an inexperienced quarterback, with several fumbles, both lost and recovered in the backfield.
Cambridgeshire struggled to penetrate the Saxons defense during the first period, and when in good field position, inside Saxons territory, the Cats’ ill-discipline cost them yet again, as they topped 50 penalty yards for the third consecutive game. Head Coach Rick Bice was called into duty at the helm of the offense, only to be picked off by the Saxons safety who ran the interception back for a fifty yard touchdown. The Cats strong defense held the 2 point attempt short and went into the half trailing 6-0.
The second half was almost one-way traffic, with the Cats dominating territory thanks in large to the sterling rushing of both Fox and Kibbles, who recorded identical stats of 75 yards from 14 carries each. The Cats defense was almost impenetrable, forcing several four and outs with notable performance from Dave Delozier, with 5 of his 10 total tackles being for loss. Despite the second half seeing the Saxons on their heels for the most part, their defense stood strong and on several occasions stopped the Cats in the red zone.
This loss is a major set-back for the Cats who having resorted to their third and fourth choice quarterbacks this season will be travelling to the Essex Spartans next week, hungry to get their playoff hopes back on track.