Fight outgun a noisy Rebellion outfit

Lock-forward, Kevin Wiggins hadn’t scored a try this season for the Philadelphia Fight until Saturday’s encounter with the Rhode Island Rebellion in Providence. He made up for it by scoring four of them in an all-round powerful performance for the Fight’s 54 – 22 victory. Wiggins was the Coach’s pick for MVP as the Fight remain undefeated after the 4th Round. Next Saturday they head for Jacksonville for their return encounter with the 2nd place Axemen.

Not far behind Wiggins’ performance was 2nd-rower, Casey Clark with 2 tries. On top of Clark’s attacking performance, he stood out with a very solid defensive effort. Along with other forwards, Matt Webster, Cesare Coscia and James Coleman, the platform was set from the start with an aggressive display of tackling that gave little chance for the Rebellion attack to gain momentum. All four completed 80-minutes of tough Rugby League, with Coleman not taking any relief on the interchange-bench now for the season’s first 4 matches.

John Lyons, in his first season with the Fight, gave an outstanding display in the center position. Lyon’s lion like effort didn’t come un-noticed by his team mates and was voted Players Player. Another in his first season with the Fight, hooker, Cesare Coscia, had a very solid game. Never far from the fray, Coscia made many solid tackles and hit-ups. He was rewarded with a try for his efforts.

Winger, Mike ‘Squirrel’ Timpano picked up a record 9 from 9 attempts at goals, as well as a 4-pointer, finishing with 22 points for the match.

Half-back, Joel Weeks, continued to display his skills with effective kicking throughout the match, none more than in the first quarter, to keep the Rebellion pinned in their own half. His deft running and passing was always a threat to the opposition and was rewarded, not only with a try but, with an early finish in the final quarter.

Other solid performances came from center, Joel Beasley, Captain and five-eighth Rich Henson, fullback, Ben Russell and winger, Matt Scherr.

Beasley found himself in the clear down the right-side of the field on numerous occasions giving the Fight valuable field advantage. Henson’s role, not only as Captain but also at dummy-half, continues to provide valuable direction to the team, along with continuity in the dispatch of the ball early in the tackle count. Fullback Russell, playing out of his normal position at center due to the injury to Pat Quirk, continues to chime into the attack at every opportunity. Scherr continues to improve and occupied several positions when called upon.

The Fight lead 30-16 at the half-time break and kept the heat on to victory with another 24-points in the final two quarters. An ankle injury to Ben Russell had him retire early along with early retirements to Wiggins and Weeks for their efforts. While Mike Kelly spent some time on the side-line with a knee injury, it wasn’t bad enough to stop him from returning to finish the game.

This weekend Philadelphia take on Jacksonville for top spot before going into the July 4 break.