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London Cobras 26-13 Kent
Exiles
The London Cobras maintained their 100% record for
the season with a hard fought victory over the Exiles. The loss means the
Exiles are now locked in a battle for second place in the division with the
Cambridgeshire Cats and Ipswich Cardinals, whilst the Cobras have a clear lead
at the top of the table.
Both teams had several injury problems going into
the game, but that did not stop the battle being intense from the outset, with
both teams playing to their full potential, and providing a bruising encounter
for the 250+ crowd to watch.
The Cobras opened the scoring, when after a short drive Devar Gayle
burst in from the 1 yard line. The 2 point attempt was no good.
At the start of the second period the Exiles drove
well, Stewart Muir with gains on the ground, and Richard McHugh and Harry Innis
making catches, before Aaron Griffiths finished the drive with a 1 yard run
into the endzone, McHugh kicked the point after, and the Exiles led 7-6 at the
half.
With both teams playing near error free football,
both had to work for their points, and at the start of the second half the
Cobras again got a drive going, which was finished by Jerome Allen's pass to
Emmanuel Mokuro for a 25 yard score. Again the 2 point attempt was no
good. Kent
again came back, Paul Samartin rumbled for a gain of 15 yards on the drive,
punctuated by a pair of Sean Starwind catches, before Clive Palumbo snared a 6
yard pass from Griffiths in the back of the endzone. Opting to try and take a
three point lead the Exiles went for the 2 point conversion, which failed, but
the Exiles led 13-12. The
Cobras next drive saw them take the lead again, when Ike Okonkwo found some
room to run, and sprint down the sideline for a 48 yard score, this time the 2
point attempt was converted and the Cobras had taken the lead straight back
20-13
A great kick return from Palumbo took the Exiles
straight back into Cobras territory, and then into the redzone with a Samartin
run. But the Cobras defense stiffened, and finally got some pressure on
Griffiths which bought up fourth down. Griffiths again had to scramble, but
managed to get the pass off, but a diving Starwind could not come up with the
catch in the endzone, and the Exiles had crucially turned the ball over on
downs.
The Exiles defense then stood up for counting, led
by Sacha Conte's 9 tackles, and forced the Cobras to punt, but this led to a
short period where both teams traded possessions for a few drives, and the game
remained in the balance until late in the fourth quarter when Gayle put the
game out of reach with his second 1 yard touchdown of the game.
Following the game Exiles Head Coach Scott Rowe
commented, "Obviously we are disappointed to lose today, but I am very
pleased with the effort level we showed. The Cobras are an outstanding football
team, who are well coached, and with a number of great athletes. The fact that
we matched them for the majority of the game shows what potential our football
team has".
The Exiles now have a weeks rest before travelling
to the Peterborough Saxons on the 4th July, where they will play at the USAF
base in front of a large crowd of airmen and their families as part of the
American Independence day festivities. Full details of the Exiles season can be
found on their website www.kentexiles.co.uk