KNIGHTS @ WYVERNS: MATCH REPORT
The Northants Knights Under-19 team made a spectacular Division 1 debut, delivering a dominant performance against the Somerset Wyverns with a final score of 54-6. Let's dive into the match report and relive the highlights of this thrilling victory.
Knights u19 opened their campaign with a strong victory.
First Quarter
After winning the coin flip, the Knights’ offence set out to make a statement to, not only the Wyverns, but the entire division - an aim more than accomplished via a formidable 17-yard rushing touchdown by Aidan Bell to kick off proceedings. This early momentum was capitalised on by the defence, who proceeded to dismantle the Wyverns’ offence before they could get off the ground, pinning down the run game thanks to plays from all three levels, forcing a punt early.
Second Quarter
The second quarter was much of the same story for both sides of the ball, kicking off with GB Lions Quarterback Marcus Cownley finding Rocco Cameron for an 18- yard touchdown that was quickly reinforced by a 2 point conversion, extending the Knights’ lead to 14-0. Although only the second quarter, it was clear that, in order to stop Northants from stretching out an insurmountable lead, the Wyverns offence would have to make an impression. However, this dream was short lived due to the Knights’ ironclad defensive line: with experienced Knight Joe Brown forcing a fumble recovered by the days’ Defensive MVP Jason Paragouidakis. After the short lived offensive possession, the Wyverns’ defence was in dire need of producing a momentum swinging shift, an effort thwarted by the Knights’ Running Back core of Khalil Ahmada and Jayden Lewis, whom continued to operate in top gear, powering down the field in a drive capped off by a 29-yard touchdown by Bell. This successful trend on both sides of the ball remained un-wavered through the half, with Jason Paragouidakis adding another fumble recovery to his portfolio, and QB1 Cownley finding a familiar face in the crowd: connecting with Rocco Cameron for a 22-yard score and closing the books at half with a lead of 26-6.
Third Quarter
Any re-composure by the Wyverns at half time was quickly dissolved by the relentless Northants defence, who picked up where they left off from the second quarter with an all-too-familiar 4 and out to kick off the second half. Once again, Aiden Bell set the offence back off with a 40-yard run in supersonic fashion: bolting down to the 8 yard line where Jayden Lewis took over the charge, running it in for 6 (a tally quickly added to via a successful conversion by Bell). After kindly giving the offence a head start in the scoring department, the Knights’ defence started racking up points of their own, with Team Captain Sammy Yates-McCabe making a 46-yard house call off of an interception - giving the Knights their first pick 6 of the year.
Fourth Quarter
With such a healthy lead, Defensive Captain Ryan Crooks cemented the defences commanding form with another house call, this time from 70 yards out after a characteristically excellent read on a screen pass. In response, Somerset took a muffed punt attempt for a first down, a spark of hope that soon dwindled due to exemplary tackling by both JP Kelikume and Lucas Cooper - efforts that soon lead to another turnover on downs. With all eyes set firmly on 50 points, Marcus Cownley led his offence back to the end zone one last time with a 10-yard rushing touchdown for the last 6 of the day. In a fitting conclusion to the Knights’ D1 debut, Louey Franks wrapped up the final drive with a 2-point conversion in the final play of the game.
Post-match
In response to his teams immensely triumphant season opener, Head Coach Jack O’Berne had this to say: ‘It was a great performance and I am so proud of how this team executed today. We made some mistakes that we willed to fix if we are to reach our ultimate goal, but this group is hungry is so hungry to get better. No points conceded on defence and our offence scored on every possession. I can’t ask for much more’
Confident and focused words by the boss, an attitude undoubtedly reciprocated by his talented legion of young players, who direct all focus towards their matchup away at Southampton against the Solent Seahawks on April 28th.