Championship Rematch Thriller
- Updated: August 25, 2019
Southern Maine’s Logan Steward tries to advance the ball against Boston’s kickoff coverage. (Photo courtesy of Michael Coughlin)
The two teams last met in the 2018 NEFL Championship game when the Boston Bandits scored a touchdown in the last 40 seconds to win the game. In the rematch the Southern Maine Raging Bulls took a first quarter lead when Jordan Jones got around the edge and scampered untouched 48 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Bandits would get on the scoreboard on a screen pass from Giovanni Sanders to Dre Williams, but the extra point was blocked.
The Bulls answered quickly when Jones again scored after being seemingly caught for a loss twice but evaded would be tacklers to break a spectacular 75 yard run into the end zone for a 14-6 Bulls’ lead. The Bandits would score seconds before the half when Sanders broke a 50 yard run to the Bulls’ 2 yard line. Bandits called a time out with 9 seconds left and then Sanders connected with Omar Phillip on the short touchdown score. The 2pt run failed leaving the score at 14-12 in favor of the Bulls at the half.
Boston’s Giovanni Sanders on a QB keeper. (Photo courtesy of Michael Coughlin)
The Bandits took the lead in the third quarter when Sanders connected again with Williams on a 7 yard pass. The 2pt run failed putting the Bandits up 18-14. The Bulls engineered a drive into the Bandit red zone but faltered and had to settle for a 32 yard field goal from Justin Cocroft, cutting the lead to 18-17. The Bulls would intercept a Bandit pass for a third time (Logan Steward, Ramon Toye and Dillan Hayes each having one) putting the Bulls in a position to take the lead but a bad snap resulted in a huge loss. The Bulls would get another shot at the lead but their drive was intercepted by Khary Bailey-Smith. The Bandits ran for a couple of first down to run out the clock and seal another thrilling game.
The Bandits next host the Taunton Gladiators Sept. 14 while the Raging Bulls host the Mill City Eagles Sept. 7th.
Boston’s Alvin Edwards attempts to tackle Southern Maine’s Justin Cocroft during the Week 6 game. (Photo courtesy of Michael Coughlin)
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