Posted in:
London Cobras,
BAFL 2
By Gerry Anderson
Sep 3, 2008 - 12:33:47 PM
Cornish Sharks 3 London Cobras 42
It was a BAFL 2 play off time in West London this past
Sunday and the Cornish Sharks were in town looking to avenge their 18-0 home
defeat to the London Cobras in the regular season. The Sharks finished second
in the South West Conference with a 7-3 record and so were faced with the long
trip to London to meet the 10-0 Cobras.
Juma Woodhouse.
The game started with the opening kick off being returned
by the Sharks to the Cobras 41 yard line.
On their first play from scrimmage a 32 yard run set them up inside the
Cobra red zone.
However, this is as far
as they would get as the Cobra defense dug their heels in and held the Sharks
on third and goal forcing them to settle for a field goal and three points. The
Cobras potent offense then took over with quarterback Jerome Allen at the
helm.
On their first play Allen rolled
to his left and hit receiver Juma Woodhouse for a 28 yard completion.
Solid runs by Kwabena Oteng and Damilola
Alaran lead the Cobras into the Sharks red zone.
This time is was the Sharks defense that dug in, with hits from safety
Ceawlin Hickman keeping the Cobras at bay.
On fourth down the Cobras failed to make the first down marker and the
ball was handed back to the Sharks.
That next Sharks series saw Cobra’s defensive lineman Tanny Fernandez
rip the ball from the Sharks running back and race into the endzone.
A penalty called it back giving the
Cobra offense a first and ten on the fifteen.
First down saw Allen drop back and hit Will
Bryce who made an athletic catch to put the Cobras in the lead 6-3.
Dominic Fevrier-McPherson.
The second quarter started and the Cobras began to show
why they are the number one seed in BAFL 2.
A superb punt by Fernandez accompanied by an excellent effort by Robert
Barns saw the ball downed on the Sharks own 2 yard line.
On second and eight Cobras linebacker Moses
Sangobiyi hit the Sharks running back in the endzone causing a fumble. The
ensuing scramble resulted in Cobras Dominic Fevrier-McPherson recovering the
ball for his fourth defensive touchdown of the season.
The 2 point attempt again failed leaving the
Cobras with a 12-3 lead. On the Shark’s next possession safety, Ariel Mofondo recovered
the first of two for the afternoon retuning it 12 yards and allowing the
offense to take over.
The Cobras
running game then took over, with Oteng finally bursting over the goal line for
the score.
The 2 point attempt was good
with a pass from Allen to Woodhouse and the Cobras went in to half time with a
commanding 20-3 lead.
The second half started as the first ended.
On the first series Allen completed to wide
receiver
Mark McGowan for 16 yards and a first down, then followed
by completions to Bryce, tight end Daniel Pass and finally a 19 yard scoring
pass to Woodhouse.
The 2 point
conversion was good with a pass from Allen to McGowan.
Showing that it’s not just the offense that
can catch, Cobra’s safety Mofondo intercepted the Cornish quarterback for a short
return.
At this point the heavens
opened as Allen threw his final touchdown of the afternoon to Pass.
Late in the fourth quarter as the rain subsided, Cobra’s
running back Jamal Moore ran in for the last touchdown.
The 2 point conversion was again good from
Allen to McGowan, which left the score at 42-3 as the clock expired.
The Cobras celebrated a hard fought victory and
progression to the next round of the play offs.
As news filtered through of Cambridge’s win the coaching staff retreated
to reflect on the game and prepare for next week.
Head Coach Jeff Brown commented, ‘This was a tough victory.
We started slowly but picked it up and did
what we needed to progress to the next round.
Cambridge will be a great game next week and we look forward to the
challenge.’
The Cobra’s will be ready to battle the Cambridge Cats for
promotion on Sunday 7th September at 2.30 at Boston Manor.
