Baltimore-Washington Earns a Win Against New York

On a sweltering day with temperatures well into the triple digits, the Baltimore Washington Eagles hosted the New York Magpies, a rivalry which has become one of the most heated in the USAFL. In this “free flowing game of football” as Umpire Paul Reddacliff commented, the Eagles proved victorious in the last minutes of a brutal game of footy under the sun.

Within a minute of the first whistle, Magpie’s Captain Andy Brennan scored effortlessly after an assist by Assistant Coach and player Shane Batty. However, the Eagles’ battling spirit was not easily deterred. With 8 shots on goal during the first quarter, the Eagles were down by 3 points going into the second.

Photo: Shane Batty takes on the BWE tackler.

In the second quarter of play, the footy was contested constantly on the Magpies’ forward line. In the fiercest match-up of the day, Eagles’ Brandon Bludau tirelessly challenged Brennan to the footy and prevented further movement up the forward line. Although the Pies managed to kick 3 goals, a loss of accountability for match-ups hurt the Pies and gave Baltimore the opportunity to keep the game close with Grant Hughes scoring a huge goal from open space in Eagles’ forward line at the end of the first half.

The hard work in the center of Rob Strange for the Eagles and Ben Squires for New York kept the contest evenly matched throughout the game. Strange had a way of finding Jay Levesque for a quick goal out of the center, while Magpie Sam Mitchell was the king of 3rd efforts, paying off in 2 goals for New York. Although Baltimore-Washington seemed to dominate the initial minutes of the third quarter, the Pies nonetheless were determined to keep their lead. NY’s Chris Georgiou managed to kick it through the uprights for 6 after traveling the length of the oval from his position at fullback. After a break for the ankle injury of Baltimore Washington’s Rich Strayer, the quarter ended in a scoreless 2 minutes with New York up by 7.

The fourth quarter saw extreme physicality and fast play despite the scorching weather. The Eagles struck first and second blood with 2 goals at the beginning of the quarter. Levasque stole the momentum from the Pies, denying the footy from reaching their forward line. With the clock winding down, New York fought viciously for goals; however, missed opportunities with 4 behinds had the Eagles up by 3 with less than a minute to go in the match. Magpie Shane Batty moved the ball within scoring distance for the Pies, but the Eagles stole it near the goal line, rushing it in just before the final horn to win the game by 2.

BWE Head Coach Denis Ryan said, “We were under a lot of pressure from our loss last week,” so the Eagles needed to show their character on the oval. “To the boys’ credit, they came through.” Despite the loss, New York Head Coach Glenn Ormsby was proud of his team saying, “Our guys played their hearts out all day. Unfortunately, skill errors cost us and Baltimore made us pay. Full credit to them, they ran out the game stronger and were the better side on the day.” As Umpire Damian Hill stated, “The game was in keeping with the Baltimore-Washington New York rivalry.” Though both of these teams fought fiercely until the end, one side had to leave the field disappointed that day.

BWE- 3.3 5.4 7.8 9.10- 62
NY - 4.0 7.2 9.3 9.8 - 60

Goalkickers BWE: Jay Levesque 4, Grant Hughes 2, Rich Strayer, Garth Elliot, Brian Skaggs
Goalkickers NY: Andy Brennan 3, Sam Mitchell 2, Sani 2, Chris Georgiou, Walt Lin

Best BWE: 1) Brandon Bludau 2) Ben Mathieson 3) Rob Strange
Best NY: 1) Chris Georgiou 2) Andy Brennan 3) Shane Batty

Umpires: Paul Reddacliff and Damian Hill

Injuries: Rich Strayer(BWE)-Dislocated Ankle

Source: www.usfootynews.com