Axemen deliver as Fight fizzle
Jacksonville sit alone in first place as the battle of the heavy weights failed to deliver what was expected to be the game of the season.
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Philadelphia Fight vs Jacksonville Axemen
With temperatures threatening 100 degrees, the game was pushed back by two hours to accommodate heat emitting from the field turf. Off the field, the Fight camp was severely disrupted with the shock announcement that Fight Captain and playmaker Johnny Webber had departed back to Australia only 24hrs before the game.
On the field the Axemen were in control from the get go. Their defensive line was constantly in the face of the Fight forcing a number of dropped balls that could have easily been scoring chances. When the Axemen had the ball they had little trouble getting it out wide to Matt Thorton who terrorized constantly with his barn storming runs. The visiting Axemen dominated the first half putting three back to back scores on the board to end the half at 16-0. Pat Quirk made the first strike for the team to take them out of the shutout deficit to put 6 points on the board to make it 22-6 at the end of the third.
In the fourth quarter, the Fight managed to regroup and began to resemble last year’s Champions through a number of scoring chances but it was too late the Axemen has secured a comfortable lead. Best for the Axemen was tackling machine Brendan Beedle whose physical play wreaked havoc for Fight playmakers.
Final Score: Jacksonville Axemen 32 defeated Philadelphia Fight 12
Boston 13s vs Rhode Island Rebellion
Boston 13s were made to work hard for a 58-22 win by a tough Rhode Island Rebellion side. For the 13s halfback Mick Wilson pulled the strings throughout while their forwards battled hard throughout to establish a platform for him to work from. The Rebellion were strong in the tackle all day with some punishing hits being dished out, tempers even boiled over in Q3 following a Rebellion try with a player from each team earning 10 minutes in the sin bin (Jose Montanez - Rebellion, Trevor McKenzie - 13s). The impressive 13s go into the bye week looking to cement a spot in the playoffs in round 6. The Rebellion will be looking to work hard and secure a playoff spot of their own and on their round 5 performance few would bet against them. Final Score: Boston 13s 58 defeated Rhode Island Rebellion 22
Other scores from Round 5:
Oneida FC 44 defeated New Haven Warriors 20
D.C. Slayers 50 defeated Baltimore Blues 4