Immortals barely beat Bears

The Immortals returned to Harlington to take on the Royal Holloway Bears in another tense game of American football.

Going into the weekend the Immortals were undefeated, having only been scored against once by the KCL Regents. The Bears, who were also unbeaten, looked as though they would be the toughest opposition yet, with playmakers on both offense and defense. This match was important to both teams as whoever won would be placed at the top of the London Conference.

There was tension in the air as the match kicked off, both teams knew what was on the line and both were clearly up for a fierce game. The Immortals kick off team chased down field to make the tackle. The game was tougher than the Immortals has expected, the Bears had talent in all areas of the field and had clearly greatly improved from previous years.

It was only minutes into the first quarter when the Bears got their first big play; a screen pass gave them a huge gain, positioning them only one yard from the goal line. They then managed to run the ball in for a touchdown, only the second to be scored against the Immortals’ defense this season. They converted their PAT attempt and the score stood at 7-0.

The Immortals were shaken, never before this season had they been behind another team. The offense took the field, but the Bears defense proved too much, forcing a punt from the Immortals. The Bears offense wasted no time getting back into their rhythm and drove the ball deep into the Immortals’ half. A deep pass from their quarterback scored their next touchdown, then with another successful conversion the score was 14-0, and the Immortals had been stunned.

The first quarter came to a close, and as the sides switched ends there was seemed to be a change in mentality from the home team. They opened the second quarter hitting them hard with big run plays, with the thought of losing their fuel for aggression. The Immortals worked their way deep into the Bears’ half, and then Duncan Mackinnon ran in for a touchdown from just yards out. The coaches opted for an extra point attempt, which was converted as Marcus Stead-Hall ran into the end zone. The gap was then decreased to 14-8.

The Immortals’ defense stepped up their game and managed to stop some of the Bears’ key plays, allowing the home offense to take the field once more before the half was over. Again the ball was taken into the Bears’ half, and then a deep pass from Toby Sinclair to Tino Millar was caught in the end zone. Once more Marcus ran in on the extra point attempt, setting the score at 14-16.

The Immortals had the lead going into halftime, but the players were well aware that the game was far from over, the Bears had proved that they were capable of scoring and had the ability to stop the Immortals’ offense.

The third quarter was slow, both sides driving the ball but neither able to make the final push to score a touchdown. The next change in score came in the fourth quarter. The Bears’ quarterback read the defense and kept the ball, running in for a touchdown. They tried to get the extra point, but were unsuccessful.

The Immortals offense returned to the field with the score at 20-16. The Bears stopped the Immortals advancing down the field and the home defense had to get on the field and stop the Bears scoring again. Big tackles from the Immortals pinned back the Bears, stopping them from running down the game clock, and importantly giving the Immortals’ offense one more chance to score.

They were back on the field with barely any time to spare. If the Immortals were going to remain undefeated, they would have to score, and fast. The offense drove down the field, and with time running out Toby found Tino with a deep pass, which was caught on the one-yard line. There were merely seconds remaining when the players lined up in their positions, and with just 3 seconds left when the ball was snapped, Toby snuck into the end zone to score a touchdown. The Immortals’ sideline erupted. They had come from behind to win the game 20-22, beating their hardest opposition of the season so far.

Most valuable player awards were given to Tino Millar for his great catches, Toby Sinclair for controlling the offense, Jordan Douglas and Joe Downey for their great work on the offensive line, and to Guillame Fontan for his big plays from the defensive line.

The unbeaten record still stands, and is now set at four games.