Oxford Saints 14 Southern Sundevils 13
Oxford quarter back Jay Taylor stole the show with both of Oxfords scores, the second coming minutes before the final whistle to snatch victory for the travelling Saints.
Oxford had the ball first and after an impressive first drive the offense stalled on the Sundevils 15 yard line and turned the ball over on downs.
Oxford's 'Pain Train' defense entered the field and immediately showed the Sundevils that they were in a vicious mood. Saints cornerback Marvin Reyes picked off a pass from Sundevils J.Baynham on their very first play and sprinted 20 yards into the end zone for what was seemingly the first score. The touchdown however was called back for a holding penalty on Saints Lee Hutton. The interception stood and Oxford's offense took over in great field position. Some good running from Chris Taylor took the ball down to Southern's 2 yard line.
With the Sundevils stacking the middle, expecting Oxford to try and power their way in, Jay Taylor dropped back to pass, not able to find an open receiver Taylor took off with the ball and scampered into the end zone for the go ahead score, Adam Newman slotted the point after for a 7-0 Oxford lead.
The game then descended into a period dominated by both defenses. The Saints defense being particularly menacing, shutting down the same high octane Southern offense that ripped through the Ipswich Cardinals a week earlier. Adam Newman and Tyler Amish were immense for Oxford with 7 and 6 solo tackles respectively. The Sundevils had some great field position on a number of occasions in the seconnd quarter but were unable to break down the Oxford defense. The half ended with the Saints 7-0 up. The third quarter was more of the same with both defenses on top.
The fourth quarter was an absolute epic. Oxford had the ball first deep in their own territory when a fumble gave Southern the ball in great field position. A couple of plays later, Baynham rolled to his left dodging a number of Saints tacklers and fired a scoring pass to wide receiver M.Katnik. Southern were looking to go ahead and went for a 2 point conversion instead of the easier 1 point attempt (a decision to prove fatal later in the game). Baynham again dropped back to pass and looked to have found his target in the end zone when a spectacular diving Ben Tolley managed to bat the ball down for Oxford, Saints still had the lead 7-6.
After a couple of changes of possession the Sundevils had the ball back with only 4 minutes left in the game. Renowned for their potent air attack the Sundevils again took the skies in a do or die assault. Baynham launched a long pass to wide receiver Richards who outpaced the Oxford secondary for a 43 yard score, T.Martin kicked the conversion and Southern had the lead 13-7 in front of a jubilant home crowd.
The following kick off saw a good return from Ben Saunders take Oxford up to midfield. With only 2 minutes left it was time for the Saints offense to produce some heroics and try to snatch back victory. Forced into a hurry up offense the Saints needed to find something special and the offense duly obliged. After number of key receptions from Pete Cleaver in quick succession, the Saints found themselves on the Sundevils 11 yard line.
With the Sundevils defense in disarray and expecting another pass, Jay Taylor dropped back as if to pass and then took off on a quarterback draw right up the middle. Taylor scampered untouched into the end zone behind a big block from Clive Russell, to tie the scores. Adam Newman stepped up and coolly slotted the conversion to give Oxford the lead by 1 point. The Saints defense had 1 minute left to hold out. A big fourth down hit on Baynham from Saints linebackers Andrew 'Snake' Day and Ian 'Ice' Harry ended the drive and the Sundevils hopes of victory. The Saints winning 14-13.