The Queensland Sundevils have advanced to the championship game in the Australian Gridiron League on the heels of a 21-18 victory over the Western Australia Raiders.
In a tense battle between two extremely talented teams, the resilient Sundevils claimed victory in emphatic fashion as they came from behind in the fourth quarter. Down 18-14 with five minutes left on the clock, the Sundevils offence drove the ball the length of the field before running back Darius Holliday-Miller punched the ball into the endzone to give Queenslandthe lead with 0:40 left on the clock.
The Raiders had one last shot to win the game, but in attempting to drive the ball downfield their momentum was stopped in its tracks with a huge sack from Queensland defensive end Jason Leeon. Forced to go for it on fourth down, the Raiders were unsuccessful and the game was in the bag for the Sundevils.
The Sundevils offence started hot with quarterback Jerad Stegman hitting a 30-yard bomb to wide receiver Luke Edwards on the first play of the day. Setting the tone for the drive, the offence moved the ball with ease and capped the drive off with a touchdown strike to Josh Kent. The speedy receiver showed great awareness to recognise the single coverage and go up and fight for the jump ball in the endzone while getting both feet down in bounds.
The Sundevils couldn’t replicate this success until the final drive of the game as costly errors and penalties kept them stagnant. The Raider pass rush was relentless and they were successful in getting pressure on Stegman, who sometimes could use his feet to make a play or at times throw it away. Receiver Kyle Bowpitt and tight end Chris Ravlich made a pair of great catches underneath as Stegman got the ball out hot due to pressure.
Down 8-7 at halftime, the Sundevils were on a mission to be the next to score and capitalised when they were given a short field due to a Raiders turnover. Using a power running game to move the ball into the redzone, the Sundevils utilised a play action bootleg to catch the WA defenders out of position which Stegman exploited as he ran the ball in for the score.
The Sundevils showed a ton of swagger as they went for the two-point conversion, which they completed as phenomenal tight end Brendan Stanley drew double coverage on his route, leaving wide receiver Mitch Besse open in the endzone for the completion.
The game-winning drive for the Sundevils was one for the books as they marched the ball downfield under immense pressure. The play of the drive came on third and 25. Stegman threw the ball deep down the sideline to Luke Edwards, who took an incredible catch over the top of his defender to gain the first down. With time winding down the Sundevils put the ball in the endzone on an outside running play, made possible from an excellent push upfront from the offensive line.
The Queensland defence was under duress for the entirety of the game as they coupled a great play with a penalty far too often, allowing the Raiders to sustain drives. One of the more aggressive defences in the AGL, the Sundevils were punished by the referee’s during the game an incredible amount of times. Giving up 167 yards in penalties is not conducive to defensive success, but such is the character of the Sundevils defenders that they kept fighting and made the plays when they needed to.
Damien Molloy put his stamp on the game early as he let it be known that the deep middle of the field is a receiver’s death valley. The aggressive safety was vicious in his defence over the middle as he laid out receiver after receiver with massive hits. Corner back Gonzalo Lugo Kattz had a big day, stout at the line of scrimmage and a terror in the secondary he made a highlight reel play when he elevated above the receiver he was defending to intercept the pass in the endzone and stopping a sure touchdown.
The entire Sundevils secondary had the unenviable task of defending Western Australia danger man Brandt Honda. The elusive receiver is a major playmaker, but he was ineffective in this game as the Sundevils had his number and didn’t give him any room to move. The defence took three interceptions and one fumble recovery as they shut down the Raiders defence for most of the day.
The Sundevils now turn their attention to the National Championship game, where they will take on the NSW Wolfpack in what looks to be a clash of the titans. What makes this Queensland team so dangerous is their sheer will to win – with everything going wrong against the defending national champion Western Australia Raiders, they still managed to get a victory.
If they can manage to put it all together and fire on all cylinders, then they are a force to be reckoned with in the decider on Saturday 10 May.
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