Wildcats Seal the Deal!

Written by: Mike Lee

WAR AT THE SHORE - On a festive day @ Dealy Field in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, hundreds of local spectators were treated to four competitive AMRNL matches, with the Lincoln Conference teams leaving no doubt as to where the power lies in the AMNRL by winning all four. The main event saw AMNRL leading Connecticut Wildcats continue their storybook season with a convincing 36-10 win over the Franklin Conference leading New Jersey Sharks. The game was one of the most heated all year and was eventually blown up with 10 minutes to go by referee Graham Desmond, after donnybrook broke out following the Wildcat’s final try.

The Wildcats looked sloppy early on, as costly turnovers and a silly penalty by John Ryan that sent him to the bin led to a Sharks’ try out wide to Freddy Bachus. (Sharks 4-0) The Cats took some time to iron out their issues but ran in three first half tries to lead 18-4 at the break. The first score, while still a man down, was off an Andrew Webster scoot from dummy half that was finished by Murray Roeske, who steamed on to the ball to score while shrugging off defenders. Next, Roeske returned the favor, making a break from 60 out and drawing the fullback for Webster to finish from 20 out. To end the half, Webster went again from dummy half and put Mark Whitney into a good hole from 10 out.

Early in the second half, Webster faked a grubber kick on last tackle from 10 meters out, exploited a gap and stepped the Sharks’ Steve Thompson to score. (Roeske Conv – 24-4) A deep back line and some nifty hands by the Wildcats enabled Mark Whitney to go at the game line and put Christian Rahui into a gap off a great slashing line from 30 out. (Roeske – conv 30-4) Steve Thompson charged through a couple Wildcats defenders at the other end to bring the Sharks to within 30-10, but the Cats marched right back down the field to answer. From 15 out, Webster ran to the game line and went back inside to Gurth Griggs, who accelerated to score. It turned ugly quickly as several Sharks took offense to Griggs’ patented “Mr. Carlton” dance and took a swing at the try-scorer. An all-out blue ensued and the match was called. Afterward, Griggs acknowledged to Sharks’ honcho Freddy Bachus that he meant no ill-will toward his mob. Bachus replied, “We may not like you, but we respect your moves.”

Best on the day were MVP Andrew Webster, who had a hand in every Wildcats try, including two of his own. Murray Roeske continued his siege on the AMNRL point title with a try and a perfect six conversions, to back up his 3 try – 20 point cracker against the Knights last week. Also playing well were Christian Rahui, Rich Portale, Will Brazier and Mark Whitney. For the Sharks, Steve Thompson touched down and was strong in defense, despite 10 minutes in the bin for a high shot in the first half.

The Wildcats continued to develop the depth in their side, blooding four debutants, three of which were Greenwich High School students. Mike Shecter, Vinnie Finaldi, Nick and Steve all contributed to the win, with Nick, who the boys were referring to as “Webby Jr.”, absolutely smashing people, in spite of the fact that he was without a mouthpiece. The seventeen year old didn’t seem concerned though, stating, “I’ll just chew on this piece of medical tape.”

The playoff race going into the last week of the regular season is as follows:

Wildcats (35 pts) – clinched AMNRL regular season Title and home Semi-final Bulls (23 pts) – tied with Sharks for 2nd overall and lead Raiders by 1 point for second place in Conference.
Sharks (23pts) – lead Fight by 3 points in Franklin Conference
Raiders (22 pts) – can still clinch 2nd or 3rd place
Fight (19 pts) – trail Sharks by 3 points and clinch Conference championship with win and Sharks loss.
Knights (16 pts) – have clinched playoff spot.