Material on this website is copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the Kent Phoenix.

It was a tough day Saturday as the South East Legion, our under 19 squad, travelled to Oxford for their next round of fixtures in the Division 2 Southern Conference and sadly sunk to 2-4 on the season after losing both games. Nonetheless the Legion did our club proud by pushing an undefeated side all the way to the wire and then, in their second game, keeping their heads up despite a host of injuries, big problems with the heat, and NFL Academy level opposition.

South East Legion vs Wembley Stallions

In their first game of the day, the Legion faced the undefeated Wembley Stallions. The BAFA official Instagram account had picked it out as one of the games of the weekend across all codes and they were proved correct as the Stallions squeezed past our squad by just two points in an 18-16 victory.

The Defense got us off to a great start. After the Stallions were given the ball first, Luan attacked from his Linebacker position to down the Stallions runner for a heavy loss. On the next play, it got worse for Wembley. A botched exchange in the backfield gave Luan and Sol the chance to close on the ball carrier and down him in his own endzone for a safety and a 2-0 Legion lead. Sadly it didn’t last long. Taking over possession, a miscommunication in the Legion backfield left Nate stranded and sacked for Wembley to grab a safety of their own and make the score 2-2 after only three plays!

The momentum swung hard towards Wembley on the next play. On the first play of the next drive, the speedy Wembley RB dashed 45 yards up the middle on first down to score. The Wembley QB added the two point conversion on a busted play to make it 10-2 Wembley. But this time it was the Legion’s chance to respond. After each team swapped possessions without making much impact downfield, the Legion offense got another chance and took full advantage. After being backed up on their own 2 yard line by a holding penalty, Olly took the handoff from Nate and sprinted 48 yards off right guard to score (pictured above right). Unfortunately the Legion couldn’t convert the point after and Wembley remained just in front.

Later in the first half, both teams added a touchdown through the air. First, Wembley’s QB found one of his receivers in the back of the endzone. But just as the Legion couldn’t convert their previous point after attempt, neither could Wembley. Luan and Joe put the QB under pressure and he hurried his throw. It gave Sam the chance to pick off the pass and thwart the scoring attempt.

Down by eight and with time running out, the Legion came back once again. Nate got his troops to halfway before hitting Olly for a 22 yard touchdown pass. Again, the Legion failed on their extra point attempt and so the score was 14-16 at half-time.

The second half was a defensive slugfest. Both teams found it hard to move the ball downfield. The Legion levelled the score when they notched their second safety of the game as Luan came tearing off the left hand edge to sack the Wembley QB in his own endzone and make it 16-16. But Wembley’s tough defense responded. Before today, they had not conceded any TDs and they weren’t about to let the Legion score a third. This time after Sadiq was tackled for a loss on the first play of the drive, Nate was sacked on the second play for a second Wembley safety and the final score of 16-18.

Oxford Saints vs South East Legion

In their second game, the Legion played the tournament host Oxford Saints hoping for some payback for the loss suffered in Maidstone earlier this year. Things certainly started well. After no score on either team’s opening possessions, the Legion took the lead when Nate threw his second TD pass of the afternoon as he dumped the ball off to Olly who dashed 39 yards for the score. Olly piled in from five yards for the extra two points and an 8-0 Legion lead.

Oxford struck back immediately. Deep in their own half, NFL Academy RB Isaac Fullah received a quick pitch and jinked and danced his way 48 yards to the endzone. He levelled the scores with the extra point, reversing his field after the Legion defense clogged up his running lane. He dashed to the opposite corner for an 8-8 tie.

Unfortunately for us, thereafter it was all Oxford. After our offense turned the ball over on downs, Fullah took the pitch on their first play of the next drive and dashed another 45 yards through traffic to the endzone. Again he added the extra point and, although the Legion got the ball close to the Oxford goal-line before the half, they ran out of time and the Saints had a 15-7 half-time lead.

Quite apart from the outstanding quality of the Saints with their NFL Academy runningback, the Legion started to struggle in the second half with injuries. Sol, Olly, Adam, Tom and Archie were all forced from the field. The combination of the heat and the physical demands of two tough, competitive games in a day were taking its toll. Both sides of the ball did their best to cope with Ash and Joe, both making their season debut, along with Great Britain girls flag player Casey all forced into taking on significant roles while others were receiving treatment.

Missing his usual weapons on offense, Nate earned the day’s golden ball after he completed all six of his passes for 88 yards and ran for 13 more on the ground, but the offense overall couldn’t sustain drives and failed to add to their early score. Meanwhile, the Saints kept on scoring. Fullah added two more touchdowns in a busy second-half before the Saints QB added a scrambling score of his own deep inside the two minute warning to pile on the Legion’s agony.

Having won two and lost four, the Legion sit fifth in the league table and have played more than any other side so far. That imbalance will start to be addressed in mid-June when Poole host the next tournament with Swindon, Wembley and South Wales all visiting. We are next in action the following Saturday on the 22nd of June when we will play our final fixtures of 2019 against Poole and South Wales in the Berkshire Renegades’ tournament.

Player awards

The other games

Oxford Saints vs Berkshire Renegades

Wembley Stallions vs Berkshire Renegades