The Louth Mavericks American Football Club concluded their regular season with a statement win over the NI Razorbacks this past weekend, winning 46-11.
The result was of little consequence to the overall standings of the Division for the Mavericks but it does gives them some momentum going into the all-important semifinal on Sunday.
The match itself couldn’t have started better for the Louth men when, on the opening kickoff, Brendan Simms took advantage of some excellent blocking and took the ball all the way into the endzone for six.
The Mavs never looked back from that point. Brendan Simms added a receiving touchdown to his kick return and Dan Finley (3 rushing TDs) also got in on the scoring act.
The Razorbacks to their credit never lay down, scoring on a run play immediately after halftime. It was, however, not enough to rattle the Mavs who proceeded to march the length of the field and put the ball in the endzone once again through the air. Declan Mulvihill capped an impressive day under center by putting the ball over a pair of Razorbacks defenders, right into the hands of his receiver Jack Compton, who did the rest.
The Mavericks excellent defence put down the shutters and didn’t let the razorbacks get anywhere near another score for the remainder of the match. Captain Stephen Traynor came away with 3 sacks on the day.
The biggest celebration of the day was for much loved, rookie, defensive tackle Patryk Pawelkiewicz, who, on a Mavericks kickoff, managed to get himself a touchdown. On the kickoff in question, the defensive standout stormed down the pitch after the ball. In his head no doubt it was HIS ball. Once the catch was missed by the Razorbacks return man, it was Patryk who scooped the ball up and ran it in for the score to rapturous applause from his teammates and the sideline.
The Mavericks finish the regular season with 7 wins and only 1 loss. They are now focusing on the semifinal against the Cill Dara Crusaders. The Mavericks defeated the Crusaders earlier in the season, but the two teams have played a lot of football since then; and in a one off, knockout game it is all to play for.
The match will be played in Dundalk Rugby Club on Sunday (25/06/2023). Kickoff is at 14:00. Free entry, as always. Beware the Bull!
