Dallas Buffaloes Tulsa on the Road to Open Season

Tulsa, OK - The 2015 USAFL season got underway for the Tulsa Buffaloes as they hosted The Dallas Magpies. Thunderstorms threatened to ruin the day early in the morning but as luck would have it, sunny skies prevailed. The rain soaked field provided a wet and slippery footy which in turn led to diminished skills and quite a few long lasting scrums.

Tulsa struck first with James Carroll slotting his first USAFL goal and the first goal scored by an Australian for Tulsa ever. James finished with 3 goals on the day. Dallas brought a less experienced side than usual but certainly were not lacking with athleticism. Tulsa's on ballers clearly won most of the possessions in the first quarter but their front line struggled with goal accuracy. 

Dallas stood up to the scrappy Buffaloes and dominated in the second quarter. Goal accuracy and skills were the major factor helping Dallas take the lead into half time. 
The sixty plus fans witnessed a fantastic battle between Tulsa's Full Back, Andrew Sneed and Dallas' Full Forward, Stu Rackham. Tulsa's back line held up surprisingly well given the number of chances Dallas had. 

Tulsa fought hard in the fourth quarter to keep things respectable. Big Chris Cox added three goals and Tulsa's oldest Buffalo, Dustin Brasel, notched two goals in the 4th, rounding out the scoring for the Buffaloes. Ultimately Dallas was just too strong, snatching a solid road win 15.19.109 to 8.10.58. Both sides agreed that the game was probably closer than the score reflected. No moral victories for the Buffs, though. Many new players got to see their first USAFL action, which bodes well for their future.

Dallas will be a strong side again this year as the get to full strength. Missing 4 of your heavy hitters is always challenging but their young guys responded well. 
Post game activities included a brewery tour of Marshall Brewing, a sponsor of the Buffaloes, as well as everyone's favorite stop, Fassler Hall. Just another great footy weekend in Tulsa!

Kudos to Jesse Fletcher for playing the first half and hustling to catch his flight to Italy. 

Best on Ground - Dallas - John Dobbs
Best on Ground - Tulsa - The entire back line

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