The marquee match up of Week 3 in
the 2016 AFFL season was the rematch of last year's championship game between
the Big Dogs and the Golden Beavers.
And just like last year's final, the
Beavers were left wondering what it will take to beat the Dawgs as they fell to
the champs yet again.
Ryan Spataro took the opening
kick-off 90 yards for a major and the Big Dogs took a 19-0 lead before the
Beavers knew what hit them en route to a big 39-17 win.
After forcing the Beavers to punt on their first possession, the Big Dogs started their next series by throwing deep to Adam Spataro for a major on a controversial play that had the Beavers pleading for offensive pass interference and the Dogs thinking the defender impeded the receiver. Ultimately, there was no call on the play other than the major and a two-pointer.
After another defensive stand and
Beavers punt, the Dogs marched into field goal range where Igor Jankovich
chipped in another 3 points making the score 19-0, leaving the Beavers reeling.However,
when it seemed like the Dogs were going to run away with this one the Beavers
started clawing their way back. Late in the half after another Jankovich FG,
Jay Graham hit one of his own followed by a (two point) converted touch down
with only 4 plays remaining in the half. Clearly the momentum had shifted and
the Beavers were starting to roll.
Chris Graham began the final charge
of the half by drilling the kick-off over a surprised Damon McLachlan's head,
well into the end-zone. Ignoring calls to take a knee, Damon decided to try his
luck and run it out. It turns out that decision proved to be the right one as
he ended up running almost the entire length of the field to the Beavers 4 yard
line. After killing the first couple of downs, Adam Spataro carried it in from
a few yards out giving the Beavers only one final play before the half which
they ended up declining giving the Big Dogs a 28-11 half time lead.
The second half proved to be far
less dramatic. Jeremy Osborne scored the Dogs final major while Jankovich
caught the deuce and also decided to test his leg by attempting a couple of
very long field goals. The Beavers were able to punch one more into the end
zone but that was as close as they would come. Chris Graham found himself at
the centre of another controversial call as he caught what appeared to be a
touch-down reception late in the game. After taking a few moments to evaluate
the play, it was decided that the ball was caught just outside the end zone
resulting in a turnover on downs and ultimately the final nail in this one.
The win keeps the Big Dogs perfect
at 4-0, while the loss drops the Beavers to 2-2.
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