Match report
From the club's own report · By Christian Steward
The University of Hertfordshire American Football team the Hurricanes, are now on course to be the best team ever to play the sport in the UK. They are on their way to win their third consecutive National Championship, a feat that has never been achieved at any level in the sport in the UK.
On Sunday 13th March, the Hurricanes played the Oxford Cavaliers for the Southern Conference Championship. The game was the decider to see who would go on to contest the National Championship with the Northern Champions, the Leicester Lemmings.
The Hurricanes played a strong game dominating the field from the opening kickoff. The defense for Herts set the tone early on with some great smash mouth football, with linebackers Tony Groden and Mark King both landing some big hits. It was also Tony Groden that retrieved the ball for the Canes, intercepting the Cavaliers on their opening drive. The Hurricanes then started to move the ball downfield with great momentum. A long pass of around 30'ish yds to Polumbo left the Hurricanes just short of the Endzone. Dawid Ostrega blasted his way through several tackles and found his way into the endzone for the touchdown. The Hurricanes then went to Ostrega again for the two point conversion, which he rumbled in from short yardage. The score was now 8-0.
The next quarter saw more of the same from both teams. The Cavaliers were unable to drive the ball downfield against the Hurricane Defense and the Canes offence continued to move the ball. The half saw one more score from Ostrega, the two point conversion attempt was good, making the score at the end of the half 16-0. The second half was dominated by defense. The Force XII, was in top form. The defensive line of Stacey, Steward, Renshaw and Hogben did a great job of stuffing the run and pressuring the quarterback. The Linebackers consisting of Steven Dennis, Neil White, Tony Groden and Mark King did a superb job of making the tackles and stopping the running game.
The third quarter saw Ostrega rumble in for a third touchdown but failed to make the two point conversion. The score was now 22-0. In the final quarter the Hurricanes were put back onto their own 15 yard line after a stupid penalty. The following play, the Cavilers passed to wide receiver Matt Justice for the touch down and then a two point conversion was run in by Broderick Bagert, making the final score 22-8.
Special mentions should go to Kabir the destroyer for excellent special teams plays. Mark King who, on only his second game this season, lead the team in tackles. Oh, and someone called Dawid Ostrega racked up 137 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns. The day was a success and gives the Hurricanes their first ever chance to Three-peat by winning the national championship 3 times in a row. The final is on Sunday 19th March at Saffron Lane in Leicester.