SGS College American Football Pride v Brunel (Image: Eddie Koszler)
The SGS Pride American Football team have tasted defeat for the first time this season - but they've been told they can still hold their heads up high.
Running back Owayne Montaque’s touchdown from was all the South Gloucestershire and Stroud College-based team had to show for when they went head-to-head with Brunel Burners on home territory.
A game that pitted the 2024 British Universities and College Sports champions against the current leading side in the Southern conference was billed as a rehearsal for a play-off showdown later on this season.
It was always going to be a challenging afternoon for the West Country side and so it proved as the visitors ended up running our 20-6 victors in the Stoke Gifford sunshine.
After two minutes’ silence as the players paid their Remembrance Day respects, the first period saw the teams beginning to heat up on the pitch, with lots of back-and-forth possession for either side and lots of strong tackles.
The deadlock was broken before half-time when Brunel quarterback Christian Dzulynsky touched down followed by an expertly executed field goal by wide receiver Travis Carpenter
Carpenter was too hot to handle and showed his class after the interval before adding the bonus point with his boot.
Back came Pride and they closed the gap on their rivals when Montaque got his team on the scoreboard but that was as good as it got for the hosts as they pushed to narrow the deficit and Brunel had the final say late on with a touchdown by running back David Moore.
(Image: Eddie Koszler)
Despite the outcome, SGS College director of American Football and Pride head coach Ben Herod believes there’s plenty of room for optimism.
“Playing an outfit as strong as Brunel was a little step too far for us this early in the season,” Herod said.
“I thought our defence worked exceptionally hard and kept us in the game but unfortunately going for the win late meant that they were able to recover a kick that padded the score a little.
“But they were the better team and it sets everything up nicely for our last game of the season and their last game of the season, which if we both went out the rest of our games, should decide the conference and who gets home field advantage through the play-offs"
A fourth win on the spin left Brunel with a perfect start to the campaign while Pride, who began the season with two victories, have plenty to build upon.
SGS Pride will attempt to get back to winning ways when they return to action at SGS College on Sunday, November 30, against Portsmouth Destroyers.