Destroyers v Burners

For the second game of ‘Hell Week’ the Destroyers travelled to Brunel for a Tuesday Night Lights fixture. Four generator powered floodlights attempted to light the field, but shadows still covered the majority and it was clear these conditions would make for an interesting game.

Brunel started the game with good momentum and soon they were close enough for a field goal which secured them the first three points of the game. Portsmouth’s offense responded strongly with quarterback #3 Ben Clift connecting with #83 James Haggarty for 31 yards and #8 Lewis Popely running for another 17, but the Destroyers couldn’t advance and the ball was turned back over.

Destroyer #41 Matt Doherty had other plans and intercepted Brunel’s first ball and gained 26 yards on top of it and when the ball was turned over once more, Doherty proved himself once again by picking up a fumble recovery meaning Brunel’s offense were denied from the field twice in a row.

Portsmouth’s offense were continuously denied yards and it was the defence who were shining at the start of the game, blocking Brunel’s attempted passes and forcing them to punt. After the punt, #8 Lewis made a huge run of 39 yards but the effort was wasted as Portsmouth fumbled the ball, on the next play, for Brunel to recover. 

Once again, it was the Destroyers’ defence’s time to deliver and certainly they did as #91 Steven Olajide and #74 Lloyd Scott sacked Brunel’s quarterback, once again forcing them to punt. The Destroyers had the ball once more and despite the dark conditions, went for a long pass from #3 Ben to #84 Immanuel Olawale Olaniregun which resulted in a 36 yard touchdown, the PAT failed.

With the score now at 6-3, Brunel responded by making their way down field until they thought they were close enough for another field goal to tie the score. But once again #41 Matt Doherty shone through and secured his chicken dinner by picking up the blocked ball and running it for over 90 yards for the longest touchdown run of the season. 

Passing the ball to #22 Chris Percival, the Destroyers got themselves another two points before the half-time whistle, leaving the score at 14-3 to Portsmouth. After a short half-time break (shortened due to the lights having to be turned off at 9pm) the second half was underway. It was a shaky start for Portsmouth as their offense failed to convert downs and they were forced to punt.

A few drives later the Destroyers once again showed that the dark was no problem for them as QB Ben Clift once again launched the ball, this time to #10 Gus Frazer for a 38 yard touchdown pass. Kicker #9 Glenn Burgess secured the 1 point conversion making the score 21-3 to Portsmouth.

Brunel felt the pressure and stepped up in the fourth quarter, intercepting a Portsmouth ball and driving their way into the endzone for their first touchdown of the game. The PAT failed meaning the score was 21-9 with mere minutes left on the clock. 

However, despite how long was left on the clock, the time was running out for the lights to remain on and the final whistle blew just before 9pm and the teams had to leave the field in the pitch black darkness.

FULL TIME: BURNERS 9- 21 DESTROYERS

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