THERE was another incredible win from the Donegal Derry Vipers catapulted them to the top of the IAFL1 division this weekend and sees them on course for back to back Bowl Games. Two impressive seasons saw the unbeaten Craigavon Cowboys (6-0) match up against the 2nd place team, The Vipers (5-1). It was to be a monumental battle and would prove to be a decisive victory for The Red & Gold.
Portadown Peoples Park would be the scene for one of the most anticipated match ups of the season. The Cowboys, crowned Champions of Ireland 3 times since their founding in 1986, would have been confident as The Vipers young gunslingers rode into town having been founded just 2 1/2 years ago.
The game opened frantically and after some good work by The Cowboys offense, they scored an early TouchDown and with a 2pt conversion complete The Cowboys opened a 0-8 lead early in the 1st qtr. With such an early score against a much more experienced team you’d be forgiven for thinking it would be a long day for The Vipers, but that’s not Vipers Football and they quickly asserted their will on the field.
With some tough yards from the Viper Running Backs Derm Brown and Michael McCay the Vipers moved down the field. A pass from Vipers QB Danny Mullan saw him connect with WR Ryan Brolly for their opening TD and the Vipers opened their account. Gary Melly tacked on the PAT and it was Vipers 7-8 Cowboys at the end of the 1st qtr.
In the second quarter it was The Vipers Defense that took control and shut out the experienced Cowboys offense. Darren Quinn and Corey McKenna made some outstanding tackles and with the youthful exuberance of Paul O’Donnell and Paddy Maguire The Red & Gold stood firm. It would be a sign of things to come as The Cowboys realised they had a game on their hands.
Mullans offense entered the field and brought with it that Vipers swagger that only a team with 15 wins in their last 16 games can pull off. A fantastic catch by Ruairi Bradley followed by a pounding run in traffic saw The Vipers march up the field. Thomas Comiskey latched onto another fantastic pass from Mullan in the redzone and the Vipers were just yards from taking the lead. For the 2nd time in the game Mullan found Brolly in space and with a jinkng run into the EndZone the Vipers led 13-8 at the half.
As the second half started The Cowboys were back in front. A good drive up field saw them take the lead 13-14 with a TD and again they elected to go for the 2point conversion. It would be a decision that not once but twice would cost them dearly. The 2 point conversion was no good and The Cowboys had a slender 1 point lead.
The next Vipers drive saw a FG ruled out for a snap before the whistle before The Vipers Defense stunted The Cowboys once more. Kyle McAneny laid our some big hit and Ryan Brolly, in at safety laid out a number of Cowboys players.
Trailing by just 1 point The Vipers offense ended the field and quickly moved down field with some excellent plays including Mullan huddling an nourishing Cowboys for a short gain of yards. Mullan then found Comiskey in the EndZone to send the Vipers bench into raptures.
Celebrations were short lived as a false start by Brolly saw the play called back. On the next play Broly made up for that mistake and caught his 3rd TD of the game and The Vipers led 19-14.
With just 5 points in it Mullan relied on his offense linemen (Conor McIntyre, Kevin Catney, Barry o’Kane, Shaun McGrory and Gareth Gordon) to get him across the line and with a QB sneak the Vipers were up by 7. Vipers 21-14 Cowboys.
The Cowboys, unbeaten all season were on the ropes and with just a few minutes left the tension was all too noticeable.
They drive up the field helped by a number of penalties and with hugely physical battles involving Gordon and Chris Tinney the match threatened to boil over.
The Cowboys pulled themselves within 1point of the Vipers after another TD and again elected to go for a 2 point conversion to try and win the game rather that tie the game with an XP.
With a 50% success rate in their previous 2 attempts at 2point conversions The Vipers Defense had proved they could stop The Cowboys in the RedZone and did it one more time.
The Cowboys failed with the 2pts and with just minutes left it was over to the Vipers to run down the clock.
The combination of brothers Kyle McAneny and Corey McKenna (lovingly known as the Super Smash Bro) drove the ball down field and into The Cowboys RedZone before a wayward pass from Mullan gave The Cowboys a glimmer of hope with seconds left on the clock.
The Vipers were not to be denied though as The Viper defense shut down the Cowboys offense once more.
Head Coach Jason Brock called for the victory formation and as The Vipers took a knee to end the game they leapfrogged The Cowboys into first place with huge win for The Red & Gold.
The Vipers now face The Cowboys once more in Colaiste Ailigh, Letterkenny on Sunday 16th at 2pm, in a game that could see them clinch 1st place in the division and possibly knock The Cowboys into 3rd place as The Louth Mavericks hope to clinch 2nd spot in the IAFL1.d
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