7th March 2004

IAFL

Dublin Dragons 8-7 UL Vikings

Venue: Lucan Community College, Dublin.

SCORERS:
1st Quarter:UL: James Chandler 20yd pass from Ben Lanser, Patrick Ryan 1xpt (7-0).
2nd Quarter: DUB: Paul Singleton safety (7-2).
3rd Quarter: No scoring
4th Quarter: DUB: Al Burke, 1 yd run (7-8).

The Dublin Dragons defeated the UL Vikings in a very close defensive game at Lucan Community College in Dublin. The Dragons tried to surprise the Vikings on the opening kick-off with an on-side kick, however the Vikings recovered the ball with good field position inside the Dragons half.. After getting a first down, the Vikings then scored on a 20 yard pass from Quarterback Ben Lanser to wide receiver James Chandler. Patrick Ryan made the score 7-0 with the extra point kick. From than point on, both defenses began to dominate the game. In the second quarter, the Vikings got the ball on their own 1 yard line, thanks to an excellent punt by the Dragons. On the following play Dragon's defensive lineman Paul Singleton tackled Vikings running back Thomas Burke in the endzone to score a 2 point safety. Later in the half, the Dragons got a first and goal, but were stopped by a Michael Rusniak interception of quarterback Rob Olwill. Dragon's cornerback James Finlay intercepted Lanser on the Vikings next possession and the half ended with the score 7-2.

Both defenses dominated the third quarter. UL linebacker Adam Culvertey and defensive backs Drew Daniels and Justin Flood helped shut down the Dragons offense. Lez Connolly, Steve Walsh and Franck Hupke were equally strong on defense for the Dragons. Towards the end of the third quarter the Vikings got a couple of first downs, mainly due to passes from Lanser to tight end Patrick Ryan and receivers Niall Moore and James Chandler, but their offense stalled when Lanser had to leave the game due to injury. The Dragons dominated the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball. They got into scoring range twice through a combination of running backs Dave Wheeler and Charlie Kranz and fullback Al Burke. On the first occasion, they were held out of the endzone on fourth down, however after forcing the Vikings to punt on the next possession, they got another first and goal and fullback Al Burke scored on a 1 yard run up the middle with less than four minutes left to play. The Vikings fumbled the ball on their next possession and the Dragons ran out the clock to made the final score 7-8 to the Dragons. The victory is the first for the Dragons under new coaches Marcus Massey and Phil DeMonte.