Clonmel Warriors

Warriors 44 – Roscrea 33

The Clonmel Warriors travelled up to Roscrea in North Tipperary to take part in a friendly tournament involving three other teams from the Munster region; The Tralee Titans, Midland Soldiers and the Roscrea Falcons. The Warriors sprits were high after a convincing 51-13 victory over the Titans to open the season and were now ready to take on a team that had beaten them twice previously: The Roscrea Falcons. The Warriors offense commanded by Quarterback Dean O’ Regan got into action early with two long runs by Chris Noonan and a reception by Kevin Cunningham to set up O’ Regan’s first touchdown pass of the day to Wide Receiver Gary Crowe in the corner of the end zone. Cunningham tacked on the extra point with a grab to make it 7-0. The Falcons clawed back however on their next drive. The Warriors defence fractured and Neville Welwood was able to break through for a long gain which resulted in a touchdown. The extra point was no good.

The Warriors on their next drive hit back in blazing fashion as Running Back Christopher Noonan tore up the field on his way towards a magnificent touchdown. The 1 point conversion was no good. The first half was a see-sawing battle as Roscrea scored on a long drive that culminated in a Dean Kennedy touchdown pass. His conversion was also successful putting the score at 13-13.

O’ Regan got back under centre and directed a terrific drive down the field. A mixture of runs by Cunningham and catches by Centre Luke Lonergan set up O’ Regan’s second touchdown of the day to Receiver Kevin Cunningham. The conversion was no good. The Warriors defence was the downfall on the next drive as the Falcons eased their way up the field using a mixture of passes and runs to score another touchdown however the extra point failed. The game was again tied at 19-19.

The Warriors on their next two drives needed a couple of scores to stay ahead and did just that. Noonan ripped off another custom long gain and Lonergan set up his second burst of running which would end several yards from the goal line. On the next play, O’ Regan admirably evaded a heavy pass rush and found Crowe in the end zone who was wide open to reel in his second touchdown of the day. Lonergan caught the extra point to make the score 26-19. With 40 seconds left in the half, Roscrea were driving for a score and were threatening Clonmel but Kennedy was intercepted by Crowe with just three seconds left. O’ Regan gathered his team and decided to attempt for a score. Dropping back, his star receiver on the day, Crowe, broke through tough double coverage to haul in a huge pass; he bobbled the catch and raced away from the defending safety and into the end zone. Despite the conversion being no good the Warriors were up 32-19. The first half was called on a tough and high scoring affair.

The high scoring drama of the first half settled into a defensive battle as the Roscrea Falcons were unable to move the ball and the ball was turned over to the Warriors. Clonmel’s offense was unable to move the ball and Roscrea got back on offence and badly needed a score. The Falcons offenses, under Kennedy moved the ball and were perilously close to scoring; Kennedy took off with the ball and was racing towards the first down marker until Kevin Cunningham blazed from nowhere to tear the flag off Kennedy to stop the Falcons from scoring. On the next Clonmel possession, O’ Regan was picked off as he tried to squeeze a tight ball to Lonergan. The Quarterback made an outstanding diving tackle to stop Jason Rowe from scoring. The defensive unit as a whole failed to stop Roscrea’s next touchdown due to its great field position. Clonmel were unable to do anything on their next possession and the Falcons got another chance at scoring. Using a mix of runs and passes the scored to make the game a very close one at 38-33.

O’ Regan and his offense needed to put a dangerous game away and he began tearing holes in the Roscrea’s defence with passes to Lonergan and Crowe. A solid run by Cunningham closed the distance between the team and the endzone. Crowe caught another pass to set up the Warriors on the goaline. Receiver Kevin Cunningham caught a well thrown pass from O’ Regan to put the Warriors ahead by 11 points with the game all but won. The Falcons attempted to score but the Warriors locked down and forced the ball to go nowhere. Time expired and Clonmel emerged out of the battle, winners with a convincing score line of 44-33.

by Luke Lonergan