In what was extremely blustery conditions the Kent Exiles walked away with an impressive 14-13 victory against a strong Eagles side, in a game the hosts will feel they could, and possibly should, have won.

Going with the wind in the first quarter, the Eagles defense set the tone for the day, taking just five plays before forcing the Exiles to punt the ball away. The Eagles offense took the field and immediately got the ground game going, with big runs from Yomi Okuboyejo taking the Eagles to just inside the Exiles half.

After a couple of sure touchdown passes were dropped, the defense took over again, this time taking just one play before getting the ball back to the offense. Some strong passes form QB Martin Day took the Eagles all the way down to the Kent 11 yard line, where a quick pass from to wide receiver #12 Dale Hawes secured the touchdown, and with the PAT good the Eagles held a 7-0 lead.

The ensuing kick off was recovered by Kent, but downed at their own 2-yard line. Sensing an opportunity for safety, the Eagles D attacked and on the second play of the drive, forced and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a defensive touchdown.

In what would turn out to be one of the most critical plays of the game, a high snap on the PAT forced kicker and starting corner back, Vasco Dias to try and run in the two point conversation, but he was knocked out of bounds with inches to spare. There was a brief fracas after the play, and Dias was ejected for his part in proceedings.

Another quick three-and-out by the Eagles defense put the offense back on the field in excellent field position, however an errant throw on third down led to a pick six for Kent, with the extra point reducing their arrears to 13-7 with barely ten minutes of football played.

After several stalled drives from both teams in weather that definitely favoured the defense, Kent managed to find a way through with a 30-yard pass and catch over the middle for the touchdown. The PAT was good which took the score to 14-13 in favour of the visitors going into the half-time break.

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, with the Eagles defense on top, and errors at crucial times from the offense the game remained in stalemate.

Despite some outstanding performances on defense, and the sterling efforts of backup QB’s Enrique Alonso and Stuart Franklin, the offense could not get the final score to win the game, despite being in the opposition red zone no less than five times in the second half alone.

Written by Neale McMaster

The Ouse Valley Eagles hosted their first ever home game in the BAFANL on Sunday, with a pleasing 37-0 victory over league new boys the London Hornets.

The Eagles game flying out the gate with two scores on their first two possessions, with Running Back and Offensive Captain Yomi Okuboyejo power over, through and around defenders for a 32 yard rushing touchdown to kick-start the game. After a quick turnover by the Eagles defense, the offense went back out onto the field, and after a defensive penalty took away a sure touchdown, the Eagles scored on the very next play, with WR Chris Cowley adjusting well to the ball in the air and making the TD grab.

It was then the turn of the Eagles Special Teams and Defense to get on the scoreboard, both times through Chris Parr, who scored on a terrific Punt return and returned an interception to the house for a further 6 points. This gave the Eagles a 24-0 lead with 2 minutes still to play in the first quarter.

The game slowed over the next two quarters as the developmental players on the Eagles squad found their feet, however the defense was on top throughout. The Eagles moved the ball well throughout, but struggled to get the ball in the end zone.

In the fourth quarter the game livened up a little, with rookie corner Mike Edwards getting two interceptions, one of which he returned to the end zone for another six points taking the score line to 31-0. A further interception by fellow rookie corner Darren Jackson gave the Eagles some great field position, which finally resulted in some points, as Martin Day completed a quick pass to Dale Hawes on the slant for what turned out to be the final score of the game, leaving the score line at 37-0.

In what was a much more polished performance by the Eagles overall, the defense stood out once again as a unit to be feared in the National division. Stand out performances from Dale Hawes who had a few superb catches and a touchdown, and Chris Parr who returned one touchdown and intercepted another, were rewarded with a game ball each.

With the withdrawal of Maidstone Pumas from the league with immediate effect, it is expected that the Eagles will receive a pair of 1-0 victories for those game, meaning the team has a 3-1 record at the moment, which shows a good start to the season for the newly formed team.

The Eagles will play the Kent Exiles in two weeks time, on the 11th May at Bedford International Athletic Stadium and are looking to go 4-1 against an opponent they don’t know a lot about, as this will be the Exiles first game of the season. Kickoff is 12pm and admission is £2, with a programme included in the price.

Check out some excellent photo’s of the game day here: http://www.glnphotography.com/galleries/2014-04-27-Eagles-Hornets/

Ouse Valley Eagles started their inaugural season in the British American Football Association National League (BAFANL) with a mistake laden defeat to closest rivals Watford Cheetahs.

It was a two minute spell that put the Cheetahs ahead, and it was a position the Eagles could not claw their way back from. The first two quarters saw both offences fail to make much groud but with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter an interception by the Cheetahs gave them excellent field position. Two plays later and the Cheetahs had put the first points of their season on the board, with the score 6-0.

The Eagles once again put themselves under pressure when failing to field a kick off, allowing the Cheetahs to recover it on the 21 yard line of the Eagles end zone. It didn’t take long for the Cheetahs to double their lead and at half time they led 12-0.

Much like the first two quarters, the third quarter was littered with fumbles and interceptions as both offences failed to get into any sort of rhythm. The final score came in the forth quarter as the Cheetahs returned a punt. Having failed to convert a PAT (point after touchdown) and a 2-point conversion after the earlier touchdowns, the Cheetahs finally put the ball over the upright to make it 19-0.

It was a disappointing start for the newly formed Eagles who have come into existence with Bedfordshire Blue Raiders and Milton Keynes Pathfinders merging at the end of the 2013 season. Head Coach Will White said after the game ‘Overall, D (defence) had a good game, but offence never got into a rhythm and football is all about rhythm.’

The Eagles will play London Hornets next week and Coach White is sure ‘we will come out firing on Sunday (27th April)’.

Check out some excellent photo’s of the game day here: http://www.glnphotography.com/galleries/2014-04-20-Cheetahs-Eagles/