American Football has a way of feeling
special when played under floodlights, but unfortunately for the University of
Leicester Longhorns it was only once the sun had set that they began to play to
their full potential. It’s a tired cliché, but this matchup of Midlands
Athletic Conference foes was truly a game of two halves.
The Longhorns came into the game on the
back of a frustrating game against Nottingham Trent that saw them fall just
short of completing an impressive comeback, and hopes were high for a team with
a lot of first year players and a first year head coach as well. It was a
shame, therefore, that they ran into a Warwick team that was firing at full
cylinders early in the contest. Highlights were few and far between for
Leicester in the first half, though Sam Taylor found enough time to continue
his early season run of interceptions before being forced out of the game due
to injury. Injury also claimed Sam Schoen, whose 4.5 yards per carry were
another bright spot in an otherwise disappointing half. Richard Penn’s presence
on defense was also notable as he amassed 2 tackles including a tackle for loss
and successfully defended 2 passes in the first half alone.
Down 20-0 at the interval, the Longhorns
coaching staff made adjustments that paid dividends immediately. Leicester took
the opening kick-off of the second half and began an effective and methodical
drive down the field on the back of a high-tempo running game that went some
way to negate the advantage of Warwick’s much larger squad. Alex Darcy’s tough
running inside, often appearing to be stopped before driving the pile forward
for an extra 2 or 3 yards, and Stuart Rawlings’ ability to make a man miss on
the edge combined to allow Leicester to pick up large chunks of yardage that
were not there in the first half. First year quarterback Joe McDougall also grew
in confidence, finding Ed Spoerry for a 30 yard catch and Miguel Moore twice
for a total of 40 yards receiving. It was a swing pass from McDougall to
Rawlings that put the Longhorns on the goal line, from where Darcy punched home
the touchdown. Rawlings then converted the 2 point attempt. Darcy would finish
the day with 41 yards on 16 attempts and a touchdown, Rawlings with 30 yards on
9 attempts and the two pointer. This positive momentum encouraged the defense
to also step up, as they held Warwick to only 6 points in the second half,
shutting them out in the fourth quarter entirely. Tony Reeve was particularly
electric, with 4 tackles, one for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble to his
name, all in the second half.
Though the turnaround ultimately came too
late to reverse the result, the Longhorns will be greatly encouraged by the
heart shown in the second half, and the coaching staff will take confidence
from the success of their adjustments. Though their record stands at 0-3 at the
moment, this young team appears to grow every week and will be confident that
they can use the five remaining games on the schedule to make this season a
success. That starts with a game against Lincoln on Saturday 1st
December.
Team MVP: James Newman DL/OL; Offensive
MVP: Alex Darcy RB; Defensive MVP: Tony Reeve LB.
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