Sebastian Liggenstorfer reports on UEL’s first American Football success…
The UEL Titans won their first ever game against London South Bank University 15-8 after a fantastic display by the defence.
The defence managed to create seven takeaways, by forcing three fumbles and four interceptions. The game was also played with goalposts, which was the first time the home side had participated in a game with field goals.
Despite the defences’ best efforts, the home sides’ offense struggled to move the ball forward, which cancelled out the hard work made by the defence.
It came as no surprise that the Titans’ defence made the match winning play when Cornerback Jack Saunders sealed the victory with just two minutes left, after an interception and a 60-yard return for a touchdown to make the score 15-8.
Positive Start
The match started positively for the Titans, as the defence forced a three and out on the Spartans first drive and then got a safety after a bad snap on the fourth down, giving the home side two points.
The defence managed to stop the LSBU’s offence drive after drive, giving the Titans offence a great starting field position.
The Titans scored their first touchdown on their second drive when quarterback Tom Costello connected with Wide Receiver Adam Gray for a five yard touchdown. The Titans failed to convert the extra point and took an 8-0 lead.
Just before half-time the Spartans managed to score a touchdown. Their quarterback threw the ball which was tipped by two Titan defenders and ended up in the hands of the Wide Receiver, who had a free run into the end zone.
A successful two point conversion saw LSBU tie the game to make it 8-8 going into the second half.
Hard work pays off
The final two quarters saw both defences match each other by not allowing the offence to move the chains. The Titans failed to convert numerous scoring opportunities because of missed field goals.
The game was tied with only two minutes left, when Jack Saunders got his second interception of the game and ran it all the way down field for the game-winning touchdown. This time the Titans did convert the extra point to give the Titans the lead with only a minute left to play.
The UEL defence had to stand up to a series of attacks. They managed to force the offense to run out of time and record the University’s first ever American Football win in the process.
The win puts the Titans back into the playoff picture and secures the team a spot in UEL history.