In a game that was largely downplayed by the media leading up to it, the Ouse Valley Eagles walked away from the biggest game of the season against Kent Exiles with a win, and have all but confirmed their spot in the playoffs, pushing Kent out of contention.
The Eagles arrived at a searing hot Beaverwood Club in Kent, knowing that only a victory would do. The team was relaxed, and enjoyed the youth game going on before it (where Kent were crowned as division winners, congratulations boys!), but when they came out for warm-ups, they were extremely focused.
The Eagles offense started with the ball and some strong running from Yomi Okuboyejo, behind Full-backs Rick Price and Michael Wilson Sr, set the tempo for the day, the Eagles were going to come out physical, and stick to their game plan.
After a couple of possessions each, it was the Eagles who made the breakthrough first, with QB Stuart Franklin hit WR Chris Cowley running free down the seam for the first touchdown of the day, taking the score to 6-0 after the missed PAT.
The Kent offense run game was keeping them in the game with some strong running from #12 Daniel Exell keeping the Eagles defense on their toes. Indeed it was Exell who got the next score, running to his left, and following some stellar blocking from his WR’s.
The Burden fell back onto the Eagles offense who went back to their game plan and came up with the score, #8 Franklin connecting with #12 Dale Hawes on the slant for the score. An excellent call on the PAT attempt led to #31 Okuboyejo running in the 2Pt conversation on the fake PAT, taking the score to 14-7.
With halftime approaching, the Eagles defense got a quick turnover on downs and set the offense up for a shot at the end zone with 4 seconds left on the clock. Franklin connected with #16 Jack Davis-Fletcher, however, “Sticks” was called down at just the 4 yard line. Instead of being disappointed with the failed attempt, the team went into the half upbeat, knowing a big second half performance would see them out.
At the start of the second half however, it was the Exiles special teams that came out firing, with a great kickoff return taking the ball all the way down the Eagles 9 yard line. The Eagles defense then came up huge, forcing a a 5-yard loss on a 1st down run, then an incomplete pass on 2nd down before Andy Larwill sacked the Exiles QB for a huge loss, leaving them with a 4th and goal on the Eagles 22.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Eagles defense managed to give the Offense the ball back on their own 39 yard line, pushing the Exiles offense back 30 yards in 4 plays. This defensive show buoyed the offense, who skilfully drove the ball down the field, including a 4th and short play to get the first down, before Franklin connected with a wide open Hawes in the endzone for his 2nd touchdown of the day. Hawes kicked the extra point, taking the score line to 21-7.
Later in the 3rd quarter, the Eagles got the ball back on their own 4 yard line, and a well timed blitz by the Exiles Defense forced QB Stuart Franklin to let the ball go earlier than he would have liked, and the Exiles duly walked it into the end zone for the touchdown, the converted PAT took the score line to 21-14.
The 3rd quarter provided the only sour point to an otherwise superb afternoon’s work for the Eagles with team captain Yomi Okuboyejo getting sent off for throwing a punch at an opponent after being choked on the ground after a run. The Eagles have not appealed this decision and Okuboyejo will miss the Eagles next game against the Bury Saints.
The Eagles defense rallied, giving the offense the ball back in the 4th quarter, with nearly 9 minutes left on the clock, and the offense duly delivered, with Franklin hitting #87 Chris Cowley (not Amanda Casey, as the Exiles commentator called, much to the delight of the rest of the Eagles) on a 40 yard pass to the back corner of the end zone. The PAT attempt failed, leaving the score at 27-14.
The Exiles strangely didn’t seem in a big rush to score and continued to huddle and wind seconds off the clock. The Eagles defense forced a 4th down situation with just over 2 minutes left on the clock, and the Exiles decided to punt the ball away, putting it out of bounds at the Eagles 5 yard line. This confusing decision, being 2 scores down, put the Eagles offense back on the field, and the strong running of the evergreen Michael Wilson Sr, interspersed with Exiles timeouts, got the first down, and allowed the Eagles to kneel out the game and take the important win.
Offensive Co-ordinator Neale McMaster said after the game “I’m absolutely delighted, this was a win for the whole organisation. We finessed a win on offense through our passing attack, and our running game set the tone for that, grinding out tough yards all day against a pretty tough defense. Our defense was outstanding once again, and is hands down the best in the league, having only conceded something like 29 points all season, the rest of our PA have came on Special Teams and Interceptions.
I’m really pleased with how our running game has come on over the course of the season, and I think that’s in large part to the progress of our 2 fullbacks. Both Mike and Rick have some fantastic physical skills, and we are utilising them more and more, as you seen today. Rick got an absolutely vital 4th down conversion that led to a score, and Mike finished the game off by running out the clock and getting that vital first down.
We have another game next weekend against a tough Bury Saints outfit, but if we can walk away with a win there, our place in the playoffs is guaranteed, so all our focus is now on getting prepared for Bury and securing our place in the playoffs.”
The next game against Bury will either secure the Eagles playoff chances or destroy them. At this point it’s ‘Win and get in’ for the Eagles, and they will be striving to do just that.
