Eagles enjoy emphatic win
THE WEXFORD Eagles opened their 2018 season with an emphatic 35-6 victory over the Donegal-Derry Vipers.
Played in Limavady, the Eagles completely dominated the home team from start to finish and now face arch-rivals the Craigavon Cowboys in Wexford’s home opener on April 29.
‘That was, without question, the most outstanding overall performance of any Eagles team, ever,’ head coach Kevin Klatt said after the game.
‘Every single player contributed, and there was no let-up from first whistle to last. The guys wanted this one badly, and they showed it.’
The Vipers won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kick-off. However, the Donegal side was unable to mount any kind of challenge against a formidable Eagles defence, and possession was transferred to the visiting side.
The tone was quickly established. Trevor Smith took the handoff from quarterback Sam Doran on the opening play of the drive. With the aid of two massive blocks thrown by Eric Davitt and Darren Greene, Smith sprinted around the right end for twelve yards.
A few plays later, after strong runs from Greene and Doran, Eagles running back Liam McLaughlin stormed over the line, putting his team 6-0 ahead.
After the Vipers again conceded possession, punting the ball deep into Eagles territory, the Wexford side did not wait long to strike again.
This time it was Greene who did all the damage. On the very first play of the possession, following blocks from Darragh O’Brien and Chris O’Brien, Greene slashed through the Vipers defence, broke a number of attempted tackles and then sprinted away for a 65-yard touchdown. Doran ran in a twopoint conversion, and the Eagles led 14-0.
After Donegal-Derry scored their only touchdown, the Eagles retaliated immediately. A superb long run by Smith was stopped just a yard short of the Vipers goal line.
Craig Morrell entered the game and immediately scored, and Doran was again successful with the two-point conversion, putting the Eagles up 22-6 at half-time.
In the second-half, every Vipers attack was thwarted as they attempted to mount a comeback. Eagles safety Terry Carey had an unbelievable day, intercepting four Vipers passes.
That single-day tally matched Carey’s entire haul of interceptions in the 2017 campaign.
Wexford’s middle linebacker, Paddy Bissett, also picked off a Vipers pass, effectively ending any chance of a Vipers aerial attack, and the Eagles front line of Daniel Noctor, Rob Farrell, Krzysztof Gajek and James Crean snuffed out any opportunity to run the ball. The home side quickly ran out of ideas.
The Eagles, in the meantime, continued to dominate whenever they had the ball.
Dave Kelly smashed over from five yards out to score his first touchdown as an Eagle, and Greene wrapped up the scoring with another strong run over the right side. Greene also kicked the conversion, leading to the final scoreline of 35-6.
Next up for the Wexford side is the long-awaited re-match with the Craigavon Cowboys. The Eagles narrowly lost to the Cowboys in the semi-finals of last season’s championship campaign, after leading for most of the game.
With each team having won their opening game by large margins, the stage is set for a massive battle.
‘The Eagles have the best supporters in the country,’ said defensive coach Craig Morrell, ‘and we’d really like to see all of them come out and get behind the team. This is going to be a huge game, and playing in front of our own fans could be the difference.’
The Eagles-Cowboys game takes place on Sunday, April 29, at the Naomh Eanna Garden City G.A.A. pitch. Kick-off is at 2 p.m., and admission is free.