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The Norwich Devils difficult season continued with another heavy defeat, this one at the hands of playoff-bound Kent Exiles. The Devils conceded three scores in the first quarter and never really recovered.
The Exiles received the kick off and took just five plays to open the scoring on a four yard pass from quarterback Aaron Griffiths to receiver Richard McHugh. McHugh then kicked the extra point to put the Exiles up by seven.
Two false starts effectively killed the Devils’ opening drive, and Kent took full advantage, going 55 yards on seven plays, with Griffiths and McHugh again combining for the score, this one from eight yards out. This time though, McHugh's extra point attempt went wide.
As the first quarter came to an end, the Exiles added a further score, Griffiths rounding off a 59 yard drive with a touchdown pass to Sean Starwind. The same two combined for the two point attempt to put the Exiles ahead by 21.
Things didn't get much better in the second quarter with the Devils conceding two more scores, the first an eight yard run from Wesley Eversley, which was followed by a 23 yard catch by McHugh. McHugh added the extra point for both scores and Kent led 35 - 0 at the half.
Kent scored again on the first drive of the second half, a 10 yard pass from Griffiths to Starwind, before the Devils finally got off the mark as the third quarter ended, on a nine yard run by C.J. Sanderson. Stuart Utting's extra point kick was blocked to leave the Devils trailing 6 - 42.
Mid-way through the final quarter, the Exiles scored again, on a three yard run from Paul Samartin. On the Devils' next drive quarterback Jonny Steedman was intercepted by Carl Cahoon, who ran it back for a 32 yard touchdown. However, the Devils then put together an 11 play, 47 yard drive which was finished off by Steedman running in from a yard out. A high snap on the extra point attempt was eventually picked up by Exiles' defensive lineman Oloade Balogun, who lumbered all the way to the other endzone for two points to extend Kent's lead to 58 - 12.
Although Kent then tried to add to their tally in the final minutes, the Devils' defence stood firm to prevent any further scoring.
The Devils travel to Ipswich next week to meet their old rivals the Cardinals in their penultimate game, before returning home for the final game, which could be a relegation decider, against the Peterborough Saxons.