Back Bay vs. Las Vegas Game Notes (1/22/11)

Written by Carlos Jovel Jr

If taking on Belmont the first match of the season wasn’t hard enough then traveling to Las Vegas to take on the defending National Champions would be a test for sure.

The game began with Vegas putting together a series of backline moves and surprising Back Bay with a quick try in the corner. That try seem to wake up the Sharks as they began to defend and put pressure on the defending champs. The constant pressure lead to two clear scoring opportunities but unfortunately the Sharks were unable to come away with any points. The game continued with both teams defending well and missing opportunities. After 40 minutes of play Back Bay had held the high powered offense of Las Vegas to just five points in the first half. The half time score was Las Vegas 5 and Back Bay 0.

The whistle blew for the second half and Back Bay continued to play solid defense and were making hard tackles, but had very little ball possession. Vegas’ speed, size and more important experience began to take over the match, as they took advantage of missed tackles and poor defensive alignments by the Sharks. This lead to a more open style of play that the defending champions excel in and tries began to ring out. Unfortunately for Back Bay this lead to playing defense for 40 minutes and some very sore bodies. The final score was 45-0 in favor of the Blackjacks.

The second side match helped Back Bay leave Las Vegas with at least one win as Eric Clayton scored in the final minutes to make the final score 12 to 7. Man of the Match honors went to Alex Miles (1^st side) and Eric Clayborn (2^nd side).

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