Sydney Uni American Football Club

The Sydney University Lions continued their strong start to the season with a convincing win over the Wollongong Mustangs in their round 4 matchup. Fresh off the bye week the Lions dominated in all aspects of the game, rarely allowing the Mustangs room to breathe.

Nicolai Hansen showing off his vertical.

It all started on the opening kickoff: although Ben Barnes initially fumbled the kick, he made up for the mistake by following the strong block of Alex Watson and flying down the left sideline for the first points of the afternoon. However the Mustangs were not about to let Sydney Uni dominate special teams, with Brad Golledge converting a fake punt on 4th and long, deep in their own half. Characteristically, the Lions defense stiffened and forced a punt, allowing the offense to take over. Wasting no time, Kiernan Dorney led the Lions down the field, capping off the drive with a 2y run to take the Lions up 12-0. A highlight of the drive was a long catch-and-run by WR Marc Biedenkapp, who frolicked through the Mustangs defensive backfield before being dragged out inside the 5y line. The Lions finished on the 1st quarter with a 4y TD pass from Dorney to WR Mac Shine, who ended up with 2 short TD catches on the day.

Kevin Trinh taking a nice pick.

Aided by great field position, the offense continued to pour on the scores throughout the first half. Following a gaping hole created by Cameron Lawrence and David Thode, Dorney followed the lead block of Aaron Carbury for a scintillating 68y rushing TD to put the Lions up by 4 scores. Later in the quarter, Dorney was able to find second-year WR Sam Darcy for his first TD as a Lion on a slip screen. No doubt the young playmaker will score plenty more points in the blue and gold before all is said and done.

With a large panda-sized hole in the middle, the Lions defense could have been expected to lapse against a Mustangs team eager to prove it’s doubters wrong. However, the stellar play of Steve Dabin, Nick Sklandev and Nikolai Hansen at LB meant that the Mustangs would have a tough time on the ground all day. They didn’t fare much better in the air, with the Lions’ defensive backfield snaring four interceptions on the day, including one apiece to first-time captain Andy Eisold and Kevin Trinh. Newcomer Nick Olive and first-year player Anthony  Tuong also chimed in with a pick each against the Mustangs QB. Pitching its third straight shutout, the Lions defense has proven that it can handle everything that it has seen so far. However, there is a long season ahead and teams will be throwing everything they can at the young Lions defense.

Liam Erby cutting back behind James Gifford

The game also highlighted the strong future in store for the Lions squad, with a number of youthful players playing important roles in the victory. The offensive team in the second half relied on key plays from a number of ex-Cubs players, including Harry Granger (3 catches for 44 yards), and Sam Darcy (2 catches for 36 yards and a score). However it was the old guard that finished the game off: Daniel Kelen took off his far-too-large receiving gloves to fire a short TD pass through traffic to WR Mac Shine, finishing the scoring at 60-0.
Final Stats:

Rushing
Lions – 15 carries for 200 yards @ 13.3 YPC with 4 TDs.
Mustangs – 15 carries for -21 yards @ -1.4 YPC with 0 TDs and 1 fumble.
Passing
Lions – 17 attempts for 11 completions (65%) for 143 yards @ 13.0 YPC with 5 TDs.
Mustangs – 24 attempts for 9 completions (38%) for 99 yards @ 11 YPC with 0 TDs and 4 INTs.

Rookie Anthony Tuong flashes the athleticism which has the coaching staff excited about this young man.

Next round, the Lions travel to Pennant Hills Hockey Centre to take on the home team Predators. The Predators have shown glimpses of potential this year and will look to dethrone the Lions with a strong defense and opportunistic offense.