May 2011 - Inside American Football 1

MATCH REPORTS
Bristol Barracuda -v- Bath Killer Bees
Barracuda 14 - 20 Barracuda
The Bath Killer Bees came out on the
wrong side of a 20-14 score line to the
Bristol Barracuda in this year’s hotlycontested
“Sting” event.
The Bees won the toss and elected
to receive, and the offense that has
seemed a little sluggish in the past
couple of games suddenly roared into
life, with some long passes from QB
Aaron Linley to Mike Hutchinson
and Estian Schoonraad taking them
into the Cuda redzone. This quality
drive was ended when Trafford Alli
punched it in for a TD from a yard out,
and Hutchinson drilled the extra point
straight and true to make it 7-0 to the
Bees. Unfortunately the Bath defense
were a little slower out of the blocks,
and Cuda’s first drive also went for a
TD to bring the scores level again. The
first quarter ended 7-7.
After the frantic pace of the first
quarter, the second was quite a
different affair with both sides putting
together multiple short to medium
length drives before punting. The Bees
defense settled down a lot, with FS
Liam Emmett and MLB Alex Reilly
putting in some very solid hits. There
was no further scoring in the half, and
as the rain and hail started coming
down the spectators headed for the
burger tent.
Both teams came out swinging in
34 Inside American Football - May 2011
the third quarter, with Cuda striking
first on a nicely-blocked running play
to bring the score to 14-7. The Bees
would not lie down though, and some
superb blocking from Chris Jones
and Estian Schoonraad led to a short
pass to James Samuel turning into
a monster 46 yard gain, with only a
desperate ankle tap from the pursuing
Bristol defender saving the TD.
However the inevitable occurred four
plays later, and the game was tied at
14 going into the 4th quarter with Dan
“Frodo Baggins” Exell being the man
to get himself on the score sheet with a
1 yard rushing TD.
The Cuda offense were looking
extremely dangerous by this point,
and the Bath defense rode their luck a
little when what seemed to be a huge
rushing TD was called back for a block
in the back. The Bees offense also had
a lucky escape, when a mix up in the
backfield led to Trafford Alli being
stripped of the ball, giving Cuda great
field position. However there was an
inadvertent whistle on the play, and the
Bees kept the ball. Unfortunately this
drive ended in a punt, and Bristol came
back with a vengeance, finally getting
a deserved score with another long run.
The extra point was shanked wide left,
giving Bath two minutes to make up
the six-point deficit.
The drive started positively, with Chris
Jones catching and turning the corner
to make 20 yards. The next play ended
in an incompletion, but then came
another 17 yard completion to Jones to
put the Bees within striking distance.
Linley held onto the ball a little too
long on the next play and was sacked
for a loss of 7 yards, and the Bees’ last
time-out ensued to leave 40 seconds on
the clock. Unfortunately Bath couldn’t
manufacture another first down, and
their last chance on 4th and long fell
agonisingly incomplete in the endzone
after a miscommunication between QB
and receiver. Cuda knelt out the clock
and won the game 20-14.
The Bees were extremely disappointed
with the loss, but were also buoyed by
their fantastic performance and look to
carry this into next week’s critical “win
and you’re in” game away against the
Cardiff Cobras for a spot in BUAFL’s
Challenge Trophy. Offensive MVP
went to Aaron Linley, who played