Fight out muscle Axemen to sit in first place
Philadelphia sit alone at the top of the ladder after defeating last year champions, Jacksonville Axemen by a score of 34-20.
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Jared Frymoyer intercepts and scores 70 yards
Clear skies delivered near perfect conditions for fans to be thrilled by another classic encounter between these two heavyweights teams. The game started with both teams playing no nonsense football and worked tirelessly to move the ball up through the middle of the field. Chances were few and it looked like the first quarter would end without points until Casey Clark managed to cut across the field and connect with a flying Mike Timpano who scored in the left corner. Timpano also converted from the sideline and was solid all night bagging 5 from 6 conversions.
Going into halftime, the Fight were given a scare when former Axemen, now Fight 2nd rower Matty Clark decided to take the law into his own hands inside his own quarter. Referee Alan Chmielewski reminded Clark who was holding the whistle and was sent for 10 minutes on the sideline. With only two minutes before the half ended, the Axemen couldn’t capitalize and teams went into halftime training to the Fight 10-6.
With an extra man starting the second half, things looked promising for the Axemen with sizeable gains in yardage that had Philadelphia repeatedly on the backfoot until a big tackle by Kevin Wiggins saw a loose ball scooped up by Fight winger Jared Frymoyer who raced 80 meters to score. Jacksonville never recovered and were left ruing a golden opportunity with the Fight team down to 12 men.
MVP halfback Joel Weeks in action against the Axemen
As the game progressed Jacksonville managed to score but Philadelphia were able to answer right back thanks to strong performances by halfback Joel Weeks, Casey Clark and Kevin Wiggins. While the Axemen refused to surrender, the Fight had the edge throughout the night and never really looked like losing. A late try by Matt Clark sealed the win for Philadelphia who were deserving winners on the night.
Philadelphia now sit alone and are likely to remain there with an easier home game next week against a Baltimore Blues that’s 0 and 2 after losing to the Slayers. The Slayers had an easy day at home against the Blues winning comfortably 66-0. In New England, the Rebellion were ambushed by a determined Boston 13s who gave them a reality dose belting them 86-18. Bostons real test will come next weekend when they fly to Jacksonville who haven’t lost two in a row since the USARL was formed.
Round 2 Results:
- (H) Washington D.C. Slayers 66 vs (A) Baltimore Blues 0
- (H) Philadelphia Fight 34 vs (A) Jacksonville Axemen 20
- (H) Rhode Island Rebellion 18 vs (A) Boston Thirteens 86
Next week:
- Jacksonville Axemen vs Boston Thirteens
- Philadelphia Fight vs Baltimore Blues
- Rhode Island Rebellion vs Washington D.C. Slayers