Orange County Match Report

Round two of the SCAFL season was held in Riverside at Martin Luther King High School. With sunny skies overhead, a welcomed change from the first round, all four teams looked to further place their stamp on the season.

The first game of the day found the Orange County Bombers facing off with the Inland Empire Fire. After being short-handed in the first round, Orange County made a concerted effort to get all of their players to the game to get a run. The Fire, with a lineup largely made up of rookies, would have a good challenge in front of them.

As the game started, the Bombers came charging out of the gate. Consistently winning the ball through the middle, thanks to the great all around play of Brad “Bradels” Wetherall, the Bombers pushed the ball on offense. Stunned, the Fire’s defense did their best to hold off the onslaught. By refusing to back down, the Fire were able to force several mistakes, evident by the Bombers scoring only 2 goals with 6 behinds. However, even more obvious was the Bombers control of the football, as the Fire were able to manage only 1 behind in the frame.

The second quarter saw the Bombers much more focused on making the most of their opportunities. Led by the stellar play of Kelly Nelson, Ryan “Ryno” Lorseyedi, Chris “Macca” McNeil and Wetherall, the Bombers began to build an insurmountable lead. Using strong passages of play combined with accurate kicking the Bombers were able to rack up 6 goals and two behinds in the quarter. Refusing to go down without a fight, the Fire were able to make several strong pushes down their end of the field. Although they were able to get a goal, off the foot of Andy “Big Country” Lindsey, the Fire found themselves constantly stifled by the stingy Bomber defense. At the half the score stood Bombers: 8 goals, 8 behinds (total 56) to the Fire’s 1 goal, 2 behinds (total 8 ).

The third quarter saw both clubs making major efforts on the field, with the Bombers looking to pull away, while the Fire fought to get themselves back in the game. The result would see a lot of scrappy play between both teams. Again, the Bomber defense would prove to be the difference, refusing to let the Fire stage any kind of comeback. The Fire were able to manage just one behind in the quarter, while the Bombers scored 2 goals and 4 behinds.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with the Bombers piling onto their lead. Highlighted by new recruit Kuroudo’s goal in his first game played, the Bombers scored 5 goals with 3 behinds. Fighting until the final buzzer, the Fire continued to try to move the ball down their end of the field, but were again frustrated scoring only two behinds in the quarter.

Much of the talk after the game based around the stellar play of second year players Kelly Nelson and Ryan Lorseyedi, who really seem to be coming into their own. Also of note is the great play of new recruits Simon Woodhouse and Kuroudo.

For a full report go to  http://www.ocbombers.com/

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