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| The first National Championship playoff game |
After a week of well needed rest, the Portsmouth Destroyers
were back at their home-ground for their first National Championship playoff
fixture against the Kingston Cougars.
The two teams had faced off at these very grounds at the
beginning of the season with Portsmouth edging out in front against the Cougars
who were new to the league this year. For their first year in the league, the Cougars showed that
they are a team who will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
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| Portsmouth fumble the ball |
Kingston kicked off the game but with both kick-returners
absent, Portsmouth weren’t able to run it very far. On the third possession,
Portsmouth fumbled the ball away for Kingston to recover. But Kingston couldn’t make anything of the opportunity as
they failed to pass and were forced to punt which they fumbled but recovered
for a large lack of yards. Portsmouth weren’t on offense for long as they
fumbled the ball once more which Kingston recovered at their own 20.
Things were then looking up for Portsmouth as RB #8 Lewis
Popely ran the ball for two first downs. But on the next possession, Portsmouth
fumbled the ball away which Kingston recovered.
With Kingston’s offense on the field, they had the end-zone
in their sites and with a long pass; they managed to secure the first 6 points
of the game. The PAT failed.
Penalties pushed both teams back into their own territories
and were forced to punt on occasions. It wasn’t until late in the 2nd
quarter that Portsmouth got a bit of luck. After #32 Billy Thomson (wearing #1)
sacked Kingston’s quarterback the Destroyers were on offense at Kingston’s 41.
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| Lewis Popely runs for a 1st down |
The Destroyers handed the ball to Lewis who gained a first
down and got the ball down to the 13. A penalty on Kingston got Portsmouth
closer and a pass from #3 Ben Clift to #83 James Haggarty tied the score. #9
Glenn Burgess’s one point kick gave the Destroyers the lead.
With the time running down in the first half, the pressure
was getting to both teams who failed to convert on fourth down, despite the
efforts of Ben leaping over Kingston’s defence.
With half-time over and Portsmouth leading by one point,
Kingston’s fight was showing as their running game stepped up and got them
first downs and down to Portsmouth’s four yard line. A short run got them
another six points as their second 2 point conversion attempt failed.
Portsmouth responded strongly with a 34 yard run from #22
Chris Percival and a long pass from Ben to #10 Gus Frazer before Ben took to
running and a ruling on the field stood that there was a fumble which Kingston
recovered.
With only 15 minutes left to decide the game, Portsmouth
showed no signs of crumbling under the pressure as they got through 18
possessions, gaining 73 yards and getting them down to the 10 yard line before
fumbling it away.
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| Portsmouth's defence try to shut down Kingston |
Kingston couldn’t make anything of the chance handed to them
as they were forced to punt it away and only managed to punt the ball for 3
yards, giving Portsmouth an advantage.
A long pass from Ben Clift to James Haggarty to the endzone
was called back by a penalty but it was repeated again and Portsmouth had
another six points. A two point conversion from Chris Percival gave the
Destroyers a lead of 15-6.
But the lead wasn’t there for long as Kingston ran a huge
kick-off return and on the next play they ran it into the endzone and even with
the PAT fail, the Cougars were leading by three points and under two minutes to
go.
Portsmouth weren’t going to let this stop them though and a
long pass from Ben Clift to Gus Frazer got them a fresh set of downs. A pass
interference penalty on Kingston got the Destroyers to the 19 yard line before
a penalty on their side-line got them down into 10 yards of the end zone.
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| Ben takes to the run himself for the final score |
With mere seconds left on the clock, Lewis Popely ran the
ball down to the three yard line before QB Ben Clift took matters into his own
hands and ran the ball into the endzone. Another successful kick by Glenn
Burgess and the Destroyers had the lead 22-18.
All that was left was for Portsmouth’s defence to stop the
Cougars from attacking again, something they managed without hesitation and the
final whistle was blown.
The Destroyers now go on to face Derby for the next game on
the way to the National Championship to Bring it Back.
UPSUDESTROYERS.ORG
PICTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE
