In the 6th meeting for the Cavalier Cup, the Lancers’ took on an undefeated Oxford Brookes side.

 

Heading into this season’s match up, the division rivals stood at 3-0, whilst the Lancers were 2-1. With both teams on the brink of the playoffs, this match up was not only a must win for both teams from a pride standpoint, but would also be significant in impacting the playoff standings.

 

The Panthers started the game with the ball, and after a strong start from the Lancers’ defense they were forced to punt after a 3 and out. The offense then took to the field with fairly good field position, however were also forced to punt after a 3 and out. The Lancers’ then elected to punt, however due to a bad snap the punter was down when he caught the ball, essentially gifting the Panthers with great field position inside the Lancers’ 20. 3 plays later the Panthers ran in for a TD on an end around play on 3rd down, getting the extra point to go up 7-0.

 

The offense then responded by driving into Panthers territory before failing to pick up the first down on a 3rd down pass. Following a punt, the Lancers’ defense was back on the field looking to stop the Panthers once more. The Lancers’ defense managed to force a 3rd and long situation. However, a nice catch and run on a slant route meant the Lancers were left chasing the game after the Panthers went up 13-0 following another TD on a big play.

 

With the offense unable to get much going, the Lancers went into the half 13-0 down after their defense managed to get a stop in the red zone.

 

Coming out the gates in the second half, the Lancers started strong, driving all the way down the field for a touchdown after receiving the kickoff. After getting the extra point, the Lancers were back in the game.

 

Unfortunately however, the Brookes defense stepped up, forcing turnovers on many of the Lancers’ following offensive drives. This coupled with another 2 big pass plays for touchdowns from the Brookes offense resulted in a final score of 27-7.

 

This loss for the Lancers meant Oxford Brookes took home the Cavalier Cup, leaving the standings at 3-3 all time.

 

Despite this, there were some positives to take from the game. The Lancers’ offense proved its ability to run the ball well, averaging 4.3 yards a carry on the way to 112 yards on the ground. As well as this, the Lancers’ front 6 led by Rory Smith and Aidan Salamone managed to hold the Panthers to an impressive 75 yards on the ground, of which 30 yards came on one play. The defense had 8 TFLs on the day.

 

The Lancers will look to rebound against a strong Gloucestershire side this weekend."

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MVP

OMVP

DMVP

STMVP

HAMMER

JUICE

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#LeadtheCharge

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-- Max Rumbol

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