San Francisco 'Clamps the Lamp'
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On Saturday, March 29 the footy season in Northern California kicked off at Nugget Fields in Davis with the Sacramento Suns playing the San Francisco Knights in the annual “Clamp the Lamp” game.
The “Clamp the Lamp” is a game between the reigning Golden Gate Australian Football League Premiers and the Sacramento Suns. The first was played in 2013, also between the Knights and the Suns, with the Suns taking the honors on that occasion.
This year it was the Knights that came out victors from a very hard fought game played in wet conditions. Typically games are cancelled when it rains as the fields are closed, however Nugget Fields, arguably one of the best fields around, remained open.
The game was played a cracking pace, particularly given the conditions and that it was early in the 2014 season. There were also several inexperienced players on the park for both teams, including many first-gamers.
In the first half the Suns had plenty of the play resulting in five shots on goal to one. However, footy is a simple game and you need to take your opportunities when you have them. The Suns kicked five behinds from those 5 shots, whereas the Knights were able to kick a goal from their only shot, therefore leading by one point at half time.
In the second half the Knights were able to kick a further two goals to take an important lead. The Suns continued to battle admirably but could only manage a further seven points, losing the game 1.6.12 to the Knights 3.1.19.
Earlier in the day the Lady Suns took on the San Francisco Iron Maidens, the women’s runner-up at the 2013 USAFL Nationals. They too had the opportunity to play the game in wet conditions and it was great to see plenty of new players out for both teams.
This game was also hard-fought with both teams wrestling to take control of the game. Both teams had their opportunities however it was the Iron Maidens that made the most of their opportunities, kicking 2.3.15 to the Lady Sun’s 0.6.6.
Thank you to both the Knights and the Iron Maidens for making the journey up to Davis. In particular, thank-you very much to Michael Jobling for his assistance in umpiring the men’s game and thank you to the Iron Maidens (Jess & Taylor) for braving the weather and helping with the goal umpiring. Special thanks to the Matt Bishop, Scott Hensley and Justin Bylicki for umpiring the women’s game, Amy Bishop for umpiring the men’s game and to Elaine Schreiber for keeping track of the scores through both games. Finally a big thank-you to all the other Suns mentioned in the game summaries below that helped to make the day a great success.
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