Wildcats wish AMNRL a Happy Birthday
10 Years Old!

July 14, 2007 – Sea Isle City, NJ – Happy Birthday AMNRL – the day climaxed with a clash of the two unbeatens that did not disappoint. The Connecticut Wildcats played classy - wide open football today to win in convincing style over their long-time arch-rival Aston Bulls. The Cats came out hard and fast and took 5 tackles to the Bulls’ 10 meter line, when Damien O’Malveney engaged yet another weapon from his seemingly infinite arsenal. O’Malveney injected a perfectly weighted grubber through the tiniest of gaps in the Bulls’ line that jumped up just as it reached the goal line – into the charging arms of Captain/coach Tim Gee. (Cats 6-0)

On the ensuing kickoff, Wildcats’ front rower Nick Isbrantdsen, the 19 year-old workhorse from Greenwich, CT. sliced through two Bulls defenders and raced to midfield before offloading to Curtis Cunz who appeared to be tackled by fullback Erik “Easy-E” Hollingsworth 2 meters out from the Bulls’ line. Cunz was ruled not held and he finished the movement. (Cats 12-0) Without delay, the Wildcats held for six and finished the next set at midfield with a bomb from O’Malveney that was misfielded by the fullback on for Hollingsworth. Matt Pittman was the beneficiary of an incredibly fortuitous bounce and he raced in untouched with a funny look on face. (Cats 18-0)

The largest crowd in the History of the War at the Shore was stunned, but that didn’t last long, as the Bulls came charging back to life. If one were to guess who would start the charge – it would have to be “Chief” and it was. Shayne Mains crashed through the Wildcats’ right side, dragging several clinging Cats’ over to get the Bulls on the board and the crowd back into it. (Cats 18 – Bulls 6) Straight away the Bulls forced a turnover and capitalized. Former Wildcat Greg Stelluti, back from a devastating neck injury, crashed through the hole that Chief had blown open in the Cats’ right center and offloaded to another new Bull Conway Maraki who brought the Bulls to within one score. (Cats 18- Bulls 12) Just before the half, Marcus Vassilakopoulos proved why he has been among the class of the League for years. On second tackle from dummy half, Vassy placed a 40-20 kick (under duress) just inside the Cats 3 meter line. Chris Craig finished from 5 out leaving the score at half-time Cats 18 and Bulls 16.

The second half started out as hot and heavily contested as the first, but did not finish that way. The Cats struck first down the right side as Ben Kelly was put into a gap by Tim Gee. (Cats 24- Bulls 16) Tries by Matt Pittman and Rich Portale put the Wildcats well ahead as the pace of the big game seemed to slip away from the Bulls. (Cats 36 – Bulls 16. Vassilakopoulos touched down from dummy half to get the Bulls a start in the second – but aside from that – the Bulls left far too many scraps on the table. Stelluti continued to tear through the Cats’ right side but came away empty on two occasions. On the first, he was met heartily by Curtis Cunz and put down 2 meters out. On the second, Stelluti broke through and had attempted to put one of the Bulls’ new wingers in the corner untouched, but the young lad had quietly attempted a switch and the ball sailed into touch. On yet another almost, David Niu found some daylight on the last tackle from 10 outside the Wildcats’ line and chipped through it, but young Wildcats’ fullback and match MVP Steve Annunziato gathered the pill up running out of his own in-goal and sealed the Bulls’ fate. The Wildcats finished with tries from Gareth Gibbs who loves a dance at the Shore and a second from Tim Gee, who led all scorers on the day with 24 points. At the whistle it was Wildcats 48 and Bulls 22.

Notably, Bulls halfback David Niu left the match with what appeared to be a separated shoulder and Wildcats’ front rower Will Brazier was on hand while serving the first of a three game suspension for a dangerous throw last week versus the Warriors. Wildcats have appealed the sentence as excessive and are awaiting a decision. Debutant Alex Willen took advantage of the nick in the Cats lineup, as he played well in over 40 minutes of time, nearly scoring from over 20 out whilst dragging several Bulls – but he was held up in goal. Others deserving mention for the Bulls were Bucko, Ed Woodbridge and Conway Maraki. For the Cats, Matt Pitmann had no equal on either side of the ball, while Curtis Cunz, Danny Bull and Nick Isbrandtsen were yeomen. It cannot be overlooked that over the past 5 seasons of locking horns/claws – neither team in this rivalry has swept, which if history holds true, puts the Bulls in the driver’s seat for a Final’s Showdown…….

The Wildcats travel to Jacksonville next week to play the Axemen who lost narrowly to the Warriors this week. The Bulls face another test as they travel to the Knights, who are in a must win week. The Knights can jump into the second spot and possible first round bye with a win, yet lose ground to the Warriors (who play the Raiders) and slip into fourth with a loss.

Other action on the AMNRL’s 10 th Anniversary saw the Sharks beat the Fight and Knights narrowly escape a beefed up DC Slayers squad by 2 points.

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