Sunday was a busy day for all teams in the youth league, with each team playing two games apiece to wrap-up the 2016 fall regular season.  In one of the first games of the day, two of the leading teams in the 7-9-year-old division, the BENGALS and the GIANTS, faced off in a close matchup.

This game was low-scoring, with only three touchdowns being scored all game and both defenses playing exceptionally well.  So without further ado, here’s a quick recap of today’s matchup between Coach Tillman’s GIANTS and Coach Levitt’s BENGALS.

The BENGALS started the game off with the ball first and came ready to make a statement.  On first down of their first possession, QB Jordan Snyder handed the ball off to Francisco Luz who took the ball the length of the field for a touchdown.

The BENGALS would dominate the first half both offensively and defensively and the GIANTS failed to get anything going on offense.  On all three of their possessions, the GIANTS had several decent runs by Alfie Hubbard and Finn Wardrip, but couldn’t reach midfield for the needed first down, resulting in multiple turnovers on downs.

On the other hand, the BENGALS were able to keep their offense rolling in the first half.  After several incomplete passes, Jordan regrouped and found Drew Gonot in the endzone for the touchdown.  The BENGALS went into halftime with a commanding 12-0 lead.

The second-half featured little scoring for the teams as both defenses stepped up their play.  The GIANTS held the BENGALS to zero points in the second half and were able to score a touchdown of their own.  On first down of their first second-half possession, Ayron Robinson handed the ball off to Elijah Nesby who took it the length of the field for a touchdown.  Finn ran around BENGALS’ defenders for a successful two-point conversion and the GIANTS pulled within four points of the BENGALS.

However, like I said earlier, defense would be the defining factor in this game.  Both teams would turn the ball over on downs on their next two possessions.  Down 12-8, the GIANTS tried one last time to take the lead from the BENGALS.  However, the BENGALS made a huge defensive stop on three straight downs with great tackles by Jordan, Francisco, and Drew to take down the GIANTS in a final score of 12-8.

The GIANTS played well in this game but came up just short.  Their defense played great with some standout tackles by Matt Musial and Ty Tillman.  Elijah Nesby and Finn took most of the carries on offenses, but overall the team failed to convert on their opportunities.  The GIANTS had several fumbled handoffs and snaps in the game and need to work on fine-tuning their offense for playoffs next week.

The BENGALS looked great in this game on both sides of the ball.  They fought hard on defense all game to keep their narrow lead.  Drew Gonot used his strength to make some nice defensive plays and power through defenders on offense.  Drew Allen and Francisco Luz utilized their speed on offense to help their team to victory.  Going into playoffs next week, the BENGALS need to work offensively to score more because 12 points might not cut it against some of the other teams.