The sun was shining as the 8-0 Southampton stags visited Langstone for a huge rivalry game and it soon became apparent that both teams were going to put up an incredible fight. Portsmouth lost nine players to injuries, an accurate reflection of their valiant effort in the game.
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| QB Ben Clift runs and jumps for some yards (Photo- Dan Chesterton) |
The stags weren’t alone in their visit; they bought along two squads of cheerleaders to rival the Portsmouth Phoenix who were fresh from their championship win the day before, but on this occasion Southampton’s side-line were louder with their cheers echoing throughout Langstone campus and keeping their boys going.
The game started with no hesitation from Southampton and soon they were near Portsmouth’s end zone, but on the fourth down they opted for a field goal which was unsuccessful. However, they soon got the ball back and broke through Portsmouth’s defence to score the first touchdown of the game with no conversion.
Portsmouth’s Brook Ince scored another of his powerful running touchdowns in the second quarter but Southampton had the same idea and soon they had another touchdown on the board leaving the half-time score 12-6 to Southampton.
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| TD scorer #47 Brook Ince (photo- Dan Chesterton) |
Southampton’s defence were denying Portsmouth the yards they needed to make big plays, making sure the wide-receivers couldn’t get their hands on the ball and the running backs couldn’t advance. Portsmouth’s defence had stepped up since last week’s game against Reading but were no match for Southampton’s offence and they, once more, advanced down field and put another 7 points on the board after successfully converting their touchdown. Quarterback Ben Clift was making daring runs with the ball throughout the game, some of which paid off and gained Portsmouth yards but other times Southampton’s defence were quick to figure out who had the ball.
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| Jesse Joseph reaches high for the ball (photo- Dan Chesterton) |
Portsmouth were gaining yards in the fourth quarter but after the two-minute warning, it became apparent that they weren’t going to get the points they needed to win and the final score was 19-6 to Southampton.
The playoffs are dependent on three matches on the 4th March (Portsmouth v Surrey, Reading v BNU and OBU v Imperial). Portsmouth have the home-field advantage against bottom of the league Surrey Stingers.
FINAL SCORE DESTROYERS 6-19 STAGS
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| Portsmouth Destroyers (photo- Me) |
