May 2011 - Inside American Football 1

MATCH REPORTS
Hurricanes Win through Hard Fought Battle
April 2011
Hurricanes 28 - 14 Barracuda
Hertfordshire’s unbeaten Hurricanes
fought past their biggest test yet
to reach the National Semi-Finals
last Sunday, when the University of
Bristol’s Barracuda came to Hatfield.
In a tough and entertaining contest,
Hertfordshire eventually ran out
victors, 14 – 28. The National Quarter-
Final match-up, in which Bristol had
earned a spot beating the Kent Falcons
in the first round of playoffs, featured
two excellent defences showing
their worth against two high scoring
offenses.
Hertfordshire, strong favourites going
into the game as National #1 Seeds,
were in for a tough one from the off.
After shutting the ‘Cuda offense down,
the top-scoring Hurricanes offense
came on and were in turn stopped
themselves.
However, after another perfect
defensive series from Captain Richard
Ward and his men, the Hurricanes
found themselves as Quarterback Joe
Thompson let loose a deep pass to
star receiver Dominic Husbands, who
caught the ball in stride before easily
out pacing the covering corner. Goal
42 Inside American Football - May 2011
Kicker Stefan Rivera didn’t miss the
easy PAT. 0 – 7.
Following the restart, the game resumed
interchanging offensive series around
midfield, before a superb Bristol punt
set the Hurricanes offense deep in their
own red zone. A fumble then gave the
Barracuda a perfect start to the second
quarter, beginning it with four downs
and barely a yard to go for their first
score. Thundering it in using their
massive tight-end/fullback hybrid,
Bristol’s sideline erupted as they drew
level, 7-7. The rushing/receiving threat
would continue to lead the Bristol
attack.
The Hurricanes took little time to
respond, and Thompson again linked
up with Husbands, this time taking
advantage of Bristol’s cover two with
a deep corner route into the endzone
to make it 7 – 14. However, the
Hertfordshire ground game continued to
stutter as Bristol’s 3-4 defense delivered
a heroic performance.
After an exchange of interceptions,
Bristol had the ball and half a field to
work through with only a few minutes
remaining in the half. In a display
of sheer determination, the ‘Cuda
offense drove the ball to the endzone
before running it in for their second
touchdown, ending the half all tied up
at 14 – 14.
After an exhilarating first half, in
the third quarter the depth of the
Hurricanes squad began to show.
Bristol’s offense ran out of ideas and
their defense began letting bigger and
bigger gains go as Hertfordshire’s agile
running back Gareth Davies broke
off gains down either sideline. As the