Birmingham Lions

Come week 2, the Birmingham Lions were at home again to a physical, well-drilled Oxford Cavalier’s side. The lions won the toss and chose to receive, with the ensuing kick illegally going out of bounds – giving the Lions possession on the 40 – in good field position. On the first drive the Lions moved the ball nicely, with some accurate passing from Tristan Varney and some good, hard running from Sarunas Babonas. The drive continued all the way to the end zone, nearly with a TD through the air to Ben Brown (if not for a case of PI) but then through an outside run from Sarunas. The following PAT was good, putting the Lions up 7-0. The Cavalier’s found it very difficult to move the ball consistently – in truth throughout the whole game. They had some luck with halfback draw’s and one step drop short completion but the Lions’ defense on the large shut everything down. Sacks from Bessala de Besbeck, Kyle Burrows, Craig Alexander, Will Watkiss and Stuart Payne throughout the course of the game hindered Oxford’s chances of putting together a sustained drive massively. Pressure mounted in the 2nd quarter, forcing a punt from deep in Oxfords’ half – which was snapped over the kickers head, then knocked out for the back of the end zone for a safety – resulting in the score moving to 9-0. Birmingham’s offense in the meantime was moving the ball but failing to punch it in when it mattered, resulting in a long distance field goal that narrowly went wide. Oxford went three and out on the next possession, with the punt back to Birmingham being returned for a touchdown by second year player Dan Conroy, whose score was converted giving a 16-0 score-line. Sides traded possession until the end of the half, with an interception coming off the last play of the half with Birmingham pushing hard for extra points.

The second half signaled the beginning of an Oxford fight back. Early on they broke a draw play for over 60 yards, resulting in a first and goal, which they eventually converted through a short completion after a QB rollout – the PAT was blocked. Birmingham came out and responded with a good drive, with rookie running back Chika Kalu making some big plays up the middle and on the edge, followed by a big screen from Andy Watson, leaving Birmingham with another first and goal. However Oxfords goal line D proved formidable opposition yet again by holding the Lions to a field goal, taking the score to 19-6. Oxfords next possession was uneventful but Birminghams following drive ended prematurely also – with a tipped ball over the middle that Oxford returned to the Lions’ red zone. Oxford looked to be going nowhere, but then a half back pass put them right back within scoring range. But Birminghams defense made another statement recovering a fumble (Charlie Straker-Nesbitt) to regain possession for Varney et al. Birmingham then managed to string another nice drive together, with big receiving plays coming from John Zinkus and Andy Watson, some solid running, and then a completion to Matt Loxton in the end zone (PAT added successfully). Neither offence from then on in managed to put anything substantial together, leaving a final score line of 26-6. Birmingham got the W but still have a lot to.