LIONS UNDEFEATED AND INTO PLAYOFFS

Sydney Uni raced past the Sutherland Seahawks 53-12 to finish the regular season undefeated and storm into the play-offs as the top seed.

The Seahawks came into the match needing to upset the Lions to have any hope of making the play-offs.  This desperation was evident on the opening kick-off when the Seahawks recovered an on-side kick after a surprised front row of the Lions return team failed to gather the bouncing ball.  The Seahawks took full advantage, quarterback Peter Upham catching the Lions' secondary napping with a 41 yard touchdown strike to danger man Brandon Martell for a 6-0 lead.      

The Seahawks tried to go back to the well with another on-side kick on the ensuing kick-off, but this time Andrew Simpson fielded the ball to put the Lions straight onto the attack.  The offence worked the ball down to the goal line, where Matt Croasdaile carried it into the endzone in his first action coming back from an injury sustained in the Predators game in round 6.

The Seahawks' next drive fell apart on the third play when linebacker Nick Baldwin delivered a trademark blow to jolt the ball free from the Sutherland tight end to be recovered by cornerback Kaoru Nakashima.  Dan Kelen hit James Shine for 24 yards and Brad Ryals for 23 yards to bring the Lions into range.  Brad Ryals then robbed his covering cornerback of an interception, reaching over him to steal the ball and a touchdown in the corner of the endzone.  Lions 14-6. 

The Lions secondary had been roused by its earlier wake-up call and was now alive to the dangers of the Seahawks passing attack.  When Upham tried to go long for Martell again on the next drive, safety Ray Romain was in position to take his first interception for the Lions.  Indeed there were several strong games in the secondary from new faces on the 2007 roster, with freshmen John Tamanivalu and Ashan Wijeyaratne also making important contributions.    

The offence wasted no time with the ball, Kelen hitting Mathew Freeman in stride for a runaway  64 yard touchdown on the first play of the drive for a 20-6 lead still inside the first quarter. 

The Seahawks drove to the Lions' 16 yard line on their next possession only to turn the ball over when the Lions secondary forced an incompletion on 4th down.  Liam Erby broke a running play to midfield, but it looked like the Lions' drive had stalled on 4th and 10 on 36 yard line.  Kelen and Ryals had other ideas, however, combining for a 33 yard completion to set up a short range touchdown run to Erby and a 27-6 lead.  

The Seahawks pulled off a fourth down conversion of their own on the next series when Martell out jumped and out ran the Lions secondary for his second long range touchdown of the night.  However, it took the Lions barely two plays to respond - Tristan Cauhepe burning the Seahawks for a 54 yard touchdown reception to move the half-time score to 33-12.   

The second half saw the Lions in total control.  The defence did not allow the Seahawks to gain a single yard in its first three series.  Troy Carrick and Joe Lim recovered fumbles and the Seahawks were shutout in the second half. 

Liam Erby and Matt Croasdaile both ran in further touchdowns and Dan Kelen hit Mathew Freeman on his 5th touchdown pass of the game to build the score to 53-12 at three-quarter time.  Kelen gave way to James Shine at quarterback in the fourth quarter as the Lions cruised to a strong victory, their tenth undefeated regular season and their eighth consecutive play-off appearance. 

Sydney Uni Lions 53 def. Sutherland Seahawks 12

1 December 2007

St George Hockey Field

1Q SS:  Martell 41 yd TD pass from Upham. 2pt pass failed   0:6

1Q SU:  Croasdaile 1 yd TD run. Erby PAT                    7:6

1Q SU:  Ryals 2 yd TD pass from Kelen. Erby PAT            14:6

1Q SU:  Freeman 64 yd TD pass from Kelen. Erby PAT failed  20:6

2Q SU:  Erby 5 yd TD run. Erby PAT                         27:6

2Q SS:  Martell 44 yd TD pass from Upham. 2 pt pass failed 27:12

2Q SU:  Cauhepe 54 yd TD pass from Kelen.  Erby PAT failed 33:12

3Q SU:  Croasdaile 5 yd TD pass from Kelen. Erby PAT       40:12

3Q SU:  Erby 1 yd TD run.  Erby PAT failed                 46:12

3Q SU:  Freeman 14 yd TD pass from Kelen. Erby PAT         53:12