IC Immortals crush Reading but succumb to Portsmouth

American Football

Imperial Immortals – 27 Reading Knights – 6 Impeial Immortals – 7 Portsmouth Destroyers – 24

The 20th was the first home game of the season for the Imperial Immortals and they were determined not let Reading walk away with a win. The day of the game was incredibly foggy; almost causing the game to be called off. Thankfully, it cleared enough for it to continue, but visibility remained low. This was lucky for Imperial as the Knights famously relied on their passing game; which was difficult in the heavy fog.

The first half was an eventful one; the Immortals almost scoring on their first drive but were stopped just ten yards from the Knights end-zone. On the second drive the Immortals line began barging through the Knights defence and leading Tino Millar in to the Knight’s end-zone for the first score of the game; which with the conversion took Imperial into a 7-0 lead.

Reading retaliated; using an incredibly quick quarter-back they were able to run the ball against the Imperial defence. The ball in Imperial possession was forced up the field straight into the Knights end-zone, with Quarterback Rob Wolstenholme carrying a QB sneak in for a touchdown to make the score 14-0 (after the successful conversion) at the half.

The start of the second half saw Reading have to start their offensive drive on their own 20 yard line as the Immortals kick-off and kick return teams had absolutely outstanding performances all day. The Imperial defence forced a number of mistakes and got a few sacks and big tackles; forcing Reading to punt yet again. The immortals offense again carried the ball almost to the Reading end-zone; but lost momentum and were stopped by powerful defence by the Knights. Reading adapted to the Imperial defence and changed their offensive formation; suddenly finding they could run the ball.

On a 4th down, the Immortals had the chance to stop the drive but made more mistakes which allowed the Knights to score. After a failed pass for the two point conversion; the score was 14-6 with the Immortals suddenly having a game on their hands.

The ball was traded back and forth, the defences of each team containing the struggling offenses. However, the Immortals, on a 3rd down decided to go for the same play which worked so well against the Bears the week before. The Reading defence allowed the ball to be thrown a solid 40 yards to hit the free receiver Max Stubenvoll who managed, despite tripping over his own feet, to keep hold of the ball for an Immortals touchdown at the end of the third quarter, making the score 20-6.

Reading were forced into their original formation in an attempt to successfully pass the ball up the field as they needed to score repeatedly. A fine defensive performance by Arjav Trivedi meant that the Reading run-game had no chance as he made a number of essential tackles, forcing the Knights into desperate passes.

One of these desperate passes was thrown into the chest of an oblivious and unattractive Rob Wolstenholme (who had stepped in as a Defensive safety) who barely managed to drunkenly stumble into the Knights end-zone for the final score of the game; finishing 27-6.

This was known to be the hardest game of the season for the Immortals. Portsmouth were the defending National champions and were notorious for their size and cheap tactics so Imperial would have to fight hard but were hampered by a number of injuries. However, both teams were coming into the game with a 3-0 win streak so there was everything to play for.

The first half was a wake-up call for the Immortals; Portsmouth had a team full of heavy guys who were powerful and fast. Imperial were used to having a strong kick-off The Destroyers are known to have the best defence in the country and the Imperial offence struggled to move the ball at all; a theme that continued throughout the day. With Portsmouth in possession the defence started making the big hits that have been a theme for the season so far.

Unfortunately, over commitment to particular blocks meant on Portsmouth’s second play a Running back was able to break free of a tackle and run the 40 yards into the Immortals end-zone, but failed to convert. The next offensive passage of play ended abruptly, and the defence were soon back on the field. But this time no mistakes were made and on 4th down a Portsmouth punt went awry after some heavy pressure; the Immortal’s offence took the field with the ball 1-yard away from the Portsmouth end-zone.

Rob Wolstenholme easily carried the ball for a touchdown with a QB sneak as the Portsmouth players were unable to approach someone with such an overpowering body odour; meaning the first quarter finished with the Immortals leading 7-6.

The second quarter was where the Immortals fell apart. First with the Portsmouth defence sacking the Immortals in their own touchdown area for a safety; and then the Destroyer offence scoring two long yard running touchdown through a shambling Immortals defence. Imperial looked as if it couldn’t wait for the end of the half, as a team wracked with injuries from earlier games hobbled off the field to a score of 24-7. With their heads down, the Immortals were in real trouble, but thankfully Mike Peacock was able to bring life back to a suffering team with his inspirational words

The second half was not particularly eventful; the Destroyers clearly assuming they were going to score a lot more points had their offence destroyed thanks to some powerful play by Temi Ladega and Jordan Douglas.

The Immortals defence failed to capitalise on the struggling Portsmouth offence, however, barely managing to move the ball against the best Defence in the country. Instead the Immortals had to console themselves with a scoreless half against the reigning national champs; finishing the game with their first loss of the season so far.

Starting the second half of the season at 3-1 with the only loss being to the national champions is something the Immortals, barely 4 years old, can be incredibly proud of. Hopefully, with hard work and time for injuries to heal, a full Immortals team can take the rest of the season head-on, maybe even fighting their way to the playoffs. Good luck Imperial Immortals.