Three Quarters of a Battle.
Game Two – North Gloucester Giants vs Bel-Air Norsemen – Sept 11/26 – Sportsplex
This game was to start at 8:30 pm but was delayed until 9pm because of the earlier game. Fortunately it was a beautiful
Football Friday night.
The kick off by the Norsemen went to about the Giants 10 yard line and after a few plays the Giants conceded a 2 pt safety and then began on their 35 yard line. After a number of changes of possession the Norsemen kicked for 45 yards and #24 made a great tackle to end the Giants return. The first quarter ended with the Norsemen having the only 2 pts which made it seem like this was going to be a long tough defensive battle.
The second quarter began with strong defensive plays and the Giants earned 2 pts when the Norsemen were trapped deep in their end and conceded the two points. Game tied 2-2. Seemed like this was shaping up to be a purely defensive low scoring game. But then at 7:21 the Giants struck first for a TD and the game started to change. On the Norsemen next possession a high seemingly impossible to catch pass was caught over top of a Giant defender by #4.
After strong defense the Norsemen kicked and stopped the Giants on their 10 yard line. After a reaching their 35 yard line the Giants attempted a high lateral pass that #52 read perfectly and caught and ran from the Giants 35 yard line for a TD converted by #4
First half ended Giants 9 – Norsemen 9.
After seeming sluggish in the first half the Norsemen looked rejuvenated after receiving the kick off. A 30 pass to #5 followed by a 25 yard run by #11 then a first down by #4 and a 7 yard run by #3 placed the Norsemen on the Giants 5 yard line. After a few attempts and not the best decisions the Norsemen could not score. There were a number of penalties called against the Norsemen that also helped to then stall their momentum and the game then tilted back to the Giants.
End of 3rd quarter Still 9-9.
Then the disaster struck. A fumble and 2 Giant’s interceptions allowed the Giants to score 3 TD’s in the 4th quarter (22pts). This quarter was injury and penalty filled and it felt that the game would not end before “lights Out”. Then another bright spot. #5 was the best player with a 40 catch and then a kick off return from the Norsemen 10 yard line to the Giants 5 yard line. This set up a 20 yard TD pass to #21 which was not converted.
This was the first loss since 2024 For the Bel-Air Norsemen. It is hoped the player commitment/effort will increase to offset this adversity.
Final Score – Giants 31 Norsemen 15
I closing I would like to thank those who assisted with the nourishment and downs/stick support for this game. The same type of support will be required for the Sept 19 home game in Gatineau. Please advise Arlene if you can help.
1/2 time snacks – Kathryn McDonald (Camden Carruthers
Post game drinks- Katrina Crea (Charlie Derrick)
Post game snacks- Andrea Benke (Oili Drolet)
Stick crew – Alan Acton (Connor Acton)
Chris Linklater (Bryce Linklater)
Jill Dunlop (Lee Bourbonnais)
Thank you to all the fans and staff who supported all the players who provided this well fought battle.
Next Game – Sept 19th – 6pm – D’Arcy McGee – Gatineau