Penalties proved fatal for Leeds Carnegie as they went down to Hull Sharks 21-6 in a battle for supremacy in the North East conference.
Both teams entered the clash in Leeds undefeated, but it was Carnegie's lack of discipline that ultimately cost them a crucial and hard-fought game. Hull's dangerous quarterback Seb Gogerly scored three touchdown passes to knock the wind out of the game before Carnegie rallied for a late score.
Carnegie's coaching staff had warned the team about flags after their clash with Northumbria. But they fell into the trap as early as the first play. After a good kick by Matt Kinsey, the play was flagged for a personal foul on Hull’s kick returner as he went out of bounds. The Carnegie defence looked extremely strong against the run, and it was another penalty, this time for a facecage grab, that continued to move the Hull offense forward. Quarterback Seb Gogerly opened the scoring by finding rookie wide receiver Johnny Ley for the first touchdown of the afternoon. The 2PAT was not converted.
As the Carnegie offense took to the field, it became apparent that some lessons hadn’t been learnt from last week. Over-eager, there were a number of false stars and fumbles, one of which led to a turnover on Carnegie’s own 20-yard line. Carnegie's offense would have the chance to redeem themselves as the defence held strong, turning the ball over on downs. But after another penalty, they found themselves on their own 2 yard line, and intense pressure from the Sharks forced a safety. At half time, the Sharks led 8-0.
After returning from the changing rooms for the start of the 3rd quarter, Leeds Met started to find their rhythm, driving 65 yards after opting to ditch the no-huddle plan and slow things down. It proved to work, as it confused the Sharks defence, and with no offensive penalties, the triple-option offense began to work. However, the drive ended with the second fumble of the day; this time on the Sharks’ 20 yard line.
Hull were just as ready in the second half, and even under intense pressure from the Leeds’ defence, Gogerly once again picked out his man from 38 yards; this time Michael Adebayo Sonariwo. Once again the 2PAT failed, and so Hull now led by 14-0.
The next quarter was a lot closer, with good play on both sides of the ball. Carnegie quarterback Dale Bottomley found wide receiver Matt Wade for a big 30-yard gain, but, just as in previous drives, the offence couldn’t quite get there and turned the ball over. Up stepped Gogerly once more, and he delivered for the third time in the game; passing over the top to Jonny Ley for the Sharks’ third and final score. The PAT was converted and the lead was now a seemingly unassailable 21-0.
Determined not to be shut-out, Carnegie’s offence showed passion and grit to drive the ball forward once more, with running back Zach Farr running the ball in for the score. The 2-point conversion failed, and so Carnegie trailed by 21-6.
Hull ran the clock down in the final minutes, with Gogerly taking a knee to see the game out.
Carnegie running back Zach Farr said: “It was a tough game, made tougher by ourselves with the lack of discipline on both sides of the field. But there are positives to take from the game, such as our offence clicking into place towards the end of the game with over a hundred yards and a TD in three drives. We hope to continue this momentum into our trip to York next weekend.”
Carnegie's offensive captain and quarterback Dale Bottomley echoed this, saying: “It was a physical game as we expected it to be but we didn’t perform as well as we aimed to. Our offense didn’t click until the second half but we are taking positives from the fact we made almost 200 yards. If we reduce the number of penalties in sure those yards will convert into scores.”
Seb Gogerly, Hull’s quarterback and game MVP commented: “The game was a tough one as we expected.
"Carnegie came out swinging, flowed to the ball well and gave away a few penalties which allowed us to drive down and convert. Myself and the coaches were delighted with the defense. Until the last drive they played well and got crucial turnovers. We struggled with the Carnegie blitz at first but adapted and the offense performed well. They’re a playoff team, no doubt about it, and if we get them in the post season I think it can be promised that both teams will be fired up for it”.
by Chris Stupack and John Hill
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