The Berkshire Renegades held their first home game of the
2013 season against rivals East Kent Mavericks.
With better conditions for the game than the season opener against
Bristol, the Renegades were looking for the first win of the season and to find
that first win against the Canterbury side.
Opting to put the Renegades defense on the field first, the
Berkshire side kicked-off and the defense immediately responded with Rory
Buckley forcing a fumble on the Mavericks first possession and veteran Neal
Kent coming up with the ball. Despite a
penalty marred drive, the Renegades offense struck first with rookie running
back Dan Howland taking the ball in from the 3 yard line, with the point after
successful, the home side led 7-0 mid way through the first quarter.
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Safety Neal Kent makes an interception c/o Simon
Wardle
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With the Mavericks offense back on the field and memories of
last year’s two high scoring losses to the Mavericks, the Renegades defense
stepped up the tempo and forced the normally potent Mavericks running game to
small gains, forcing them to take to the air.
Running out of steam and excellent coverage from safety Jamie Kingston
gave the Renegades offense the ball inside their half. With either team unable to move the ball, the
momentum shifted towards the Mavericks after receiver Josh Smith fumbled the
ball after a 7 yard gain leaving the Mavericks offense with 30 yards to
score. A sustained drive ended with a 12
yard pass to the end zone to level the score at the start of the 2nd
quarter at 7-7.