Terrapins vs Hornets: Week 7

Written by: Nick Gaudion

Week 7’s second game saw two title hopefuls go head to head in the drizzle. This, the third meeting of these two sides, saw the teams come in with the wins split through the first two games, it was all to play for.

Early on, the defences won the battle with neither team breaking the deadlock with their first drives. Strong defensive play by the Terrapins linebacking duo Josh Kins and Ben Saul held their opponents to short yardage, while on the other side of the ball, Luke Pattimore put in a big tackle for a loss.

When it seemed like another drive might be about to stall out, a forty yard gain by Iaan Erasmus on third down put the Terrapins in position to draw first blood, on a 5 yard slant to Luca Finetti. 7-0 Terrapins.

The Hornets quickly put this behind them to drive back down the field thanks to some great catches made by Stuart Keltie. Unfortunately his TD catch was nullified by a seven second penalty on the QB and the Hornets were unable to recover on the remaining downs.

To round off the half with time expiring, the Terrapins threw a speculative long ball which was gathered by Luca Finetti to add another six points on the scoreboard. Some end-zone acrobatics by James Alderton prevented the Terrapins from taking the extra point as well. 13-0 to the Terrapins as the teams headed into the break.

Game Stats – Terrapins
Passing
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT	Interceptions
Nick Gaudion	4	2	0	0

Rushing
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT

Receiving
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT
Luca Finetti	3	1	0
Callum Hockey	1	0	0
Gary Maclachlan	0	1	0

Defensive Stats
Player Name	Sacks	Interceptions	Touchdowns

Following the intermission the Hornets put in an early stop with some great defence from Jack Romeril. This coupled with an effective drive back down the field topped with a beautiful throw and catch between Jordan Gallienne and James Alderton gave the Hornets the six points that they needed. After a collision on the PAT try, Sam Barrell came away with the ball and the extra point. 13-7.

The very next drive the Terrapins managed to drive the ball once more down the field to Luca Finetti who put the score to 19-7. The extra point being perfectly defended by the Hornets leaving no throws open for the Terrapins.

Hornets took the ball back needing to get a score and after a perfectly thrown long ball, Stuart Keltie came down with the ball in the endzone. Unlike his catch in the endzone during the first half, this one stood and closed the gap to 19-13.

With a big first down conversion by Joe Wilkinson, the Terrapins once again managed to march towards the endzone. Callum Hockey managed to haul in a ball thrown high to claim his first points of the afternoon. After a good rush on the PAT by Sam Barrell, Gary Maclachlan hauled in the extra point.

With the Hornets down 26-13 with 5 minutes left, they drove down the field to score the only running touchdown of the game, from about 7 yards out, courtesy of Mikey Donaldson to bring them within one score of winning at. A perfect toe tap in the corner by Sam Barrell brought the gap down to six points at 26-20.

With two minutes left in the game, the pressure was on the Terrapins to maintain the lead. A couple of pivotal catches by Joe Wilkinson gave the Terrapins the first down and enabled them to manage the clock until the end of the game.

This game was a shootout from the start to finish, both teams showed they have the ability to make plays when they need. With just under half a season to play, the league winner’s trophy is definitely up for grabs.

Game Stats – Hornets
Passing
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT	Interceptions
Jordan Gallienne	2	2	0	0

Rushing
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT
Mikey Donaldson	1	0	0

 

Receiving
Player Name	Touchdowns	1 PAT	2 PAT
James Alderton	1	0	0
Stuart Keltie	1	0	0
Sam Barrell	0	2	0

Defensive Stats
Player Name	Sacks	Interceptions	Touchdowns