OMBAC
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| OMBAC's Five Tries Enough To Beat KC Blues (Headed To First Super League Final) |
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2 June 2001 - San Diego, CA - Going into the match, the men of OMBAC knew
that victory would see them through to the Super League final. It’s
a good thing for them that looks don’t count. Today’s 27-8 victory
over the Kansas City Blues was about as ugly a performance that the
OMBAC faithful at the Little Q have witnessed this season. But with
victory the goal, the team now has a week to prepare for it’s first
appearance in the Super League championship match, billed as
SuperMatch V. The opponents will be the team that walked off with
the first Super League title in 1997, the Gentlemen of Aspen, who
earlier today spanked defending champions Life University 37-10 in
Atlanta, GA.
A good crowd on hand, which included former South African Springbok captain Gary Teichmann, saw the visiting Blues get on the scoreboard first as ace kicker Doug Brown slotted an early penalty kick. OMBAC’s Alistair Steele had opportunities to level the score but all of his efforts slid to the right of the poles. OMBAC found a way to move the scoreboard in the 10th minute as beautiful recycled possession finally found its way out wide to winger Malakai Delai who scooted in for the game’s first try. Again Steele was off the mark and the lead stood at 5-3. Six minutes later, more reclaimed possession saw ten different players have a touch throughout the long movement. Flanker Ryan Rebell finished it off with a dash to the line from 15 meters out. The first half scoring was completed by OMBAC as scrumhalf Kenny Wilson and center Blair Cashmore combined to make some magic. Wilson started things off with a nifty grubber that Cashmore took in stride. A fake outside left the inside open and who should be there but the supporting Wilson who ran in the last 20 meters to give OMBAC the 17-3 halftime lead. Besides the missed kicks by Steele, OMBAC had ample opportunities to put additional points on the board but careless handling and some hard Midwestern hitting thwarted any further OMBAC damage. The Blues struck first in the second half to keep them within sight of their hosts. The Kansas City pack kept the pressure on in the shadows of OMBAC’s try zone before another lost ball in the tackle allowed Blues’ hooker Mark Kennard to dive in for the unconverted try. With the lead down to 11, OMBAC knew they weren’t clear just yet. Both teams had trouble taking charge in the middle of the second half before OMBAC finally found a little breathing room with 15 minutes left in the match. Back from his two weeks with the United States Eagles, Delai marked his return with his second try of the match, this one with a clever move from third phase possession. The final nail in the coffin was hammered in with just five minutes left as Rebell completed his brace from more multi-phase ball as the OMBAC players thanked the crowd after defeating Kansas City 27-8. "It wasn’t the best game we played. As a matter of fact it was pretty darn ugly," said coach Bing Dawson, who brings his eighth team to a national championship match. "Kansas City hit us pretty well in the tackles but we still coughed the ball up on our own too often. Ali (Steele) was also off so we really squandered a lot of points today." On looking ahead to next week’s final, Dawson knows it will be a harder road. "Aspen is definitely in form right now. We handled them early but this is a much better team than when we faced them a few months ago. We’ll have to take advantage of any point scoring opportunity we get and continue to play tight defense. It should be a great final." OMBAC defeated Aspen in Week One of the competition, 32-5 at the Little Q. But since then the Gentlemen have ripped off eight straight wins, scoring a league high 384 points in the process while conceding a league low 75. In addition to their 1997 Super League title, Aspen is the four-time defending National Division One club champions. OMBAC hasn’t been to a national title game since its National Championship win in 1996, the last time Aspen didn’t win it. But prior to that OMBAC had its share of hardware winning the National title in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1994. They were one win away from making it four in a row themselves but an upset loss to the Potomac Athletic Club in the 1995 championship match prevented that from happening. The stage is set. The two best teams in the country, between them winners of 10 of the last 13 national titles, meet in Rockford, IL on Saturday, June 9, 2001 to crown this year’s Super League champions. And with it the title of "Best Team in America." OMBAC Lineup
-15-Johan Claasen |