Devils 11.17.83 def. Kingsnakes 6.10.66
Devils 2.2 3.4 3.4 3.7 - 83
Kingsnakes 1.2 4.0 3.2 2.2 - 66
 

Goals:
Devils -
  • M. Spielman - 5
  • J. Jones - 2
  • T. Montagna - 2
  • M. Gallinoto - 1
  • D. Rogan - 1
Kingsnakes -
  • L. Kondylas - 3
  • C. Martin - 3
  • J. Martinez - 2
  • C. Ford - 1
  • JD Sovereign - 1

Best on Ground:
Mike Spielman, Tim Montagna, Joe Sauer Chad Martin, Jon Martinez, Matt Sovereign
 
Field Umpires: Steve Rogan, Adam Smark
Goal Umpires: Troy Anderson, Ryan Luto
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Round 1 Match Report

Chandler, Arizona – The Kingsnakes and the Devils kicked of the 2009 AZAFL Metro Footy season with an evenly contested match this past Saturday. First year captain Chad “Tank” Martin had a slightly depleted squad with several of his players away on a romantic weekend in Sedona but the remaining team were confident of a win. Fellow first year captain Brad “Pork Chop” Palumbo had his Devil’s team all fired up for the match and they took an early first quarter lead with goals from Tim Montagna and Mike Spielman. Montagna’s best effort of the game was him throwing up the copious amounts of liquids he consumed on Mill Avenue until 2AM the night before on the field and then continuing to play for 3 more quarters. As a side note he would like to apologize to anyone who happened to run through his spew.

In the second quarter the Devils were unable to build upon their 14-8 first quarter lead and some poor defending allowed Club President Laki “Chewbacca” Kondylas to kick 2 goals from a distance of about 4 feet out. Martin added one as did Jon “Sweets” Martinez who was making his first appearance since suspiciously disappearing since June last year (can anyone say “witness protection program”). For the Devils, Vice Captain Jared Jones playing in his first AZAFL game kicked two goals showing why he the AZAFL bought out his contract from the Denver Bulldogs and Spielman added another to make the half-time score 36-32.

A lack of fitness was starting to show and old ladies at a bingo game have moved faster than some of the players on the park. This might be due to slackers not making it to practice and to being absent from Moose’s fitness workouts! The surprise player of the match turned out to be Joe Sauer who in his first ever game of footy was arguably one of the better players on the field. His high leaping play at Ruck and quick disposals of the footy made him an asset to the Devils. Unknown to anyone on the field, the 6’6” Sauer is actually still in high school and Chad Martin might have reconsidered some of his crushing tackles if he had of known he was picking on a guy who hasn’t even been to prom yet. Sauer had to leave the game early and this hurt the Devils in the 4th quarter (we should talk to his Mum and see about getting his curfew extended so he can stay out late for the entire game).

The third quarter was an even contest and Spielman showed his dominance by kicking another 2 goals and he was supported well by Lucas Hanover who despite not being at any practices in 2009 showed some skill but more importantly he managed to show up with an entourage of 3 lovely ASU co-eds putting him in contention for MVP honors. Daniel Rogan also came out of his shell in the second half to spark the Devils. The Kingsnakes were short on numbers due to Callum “Holden” Ford sitting out 2 quarters of the match with some form of alcohol poisoning from his efforts the night before and fill in player Ryan “Hollywood” Luto breaking is Fibula after only being on the field for 27 seconds (which is about 20 seconds more action that Hollywood is usually good for).

The close game kept the 350 spectators on the edges of their seats and they were all looking forward to a thrilling 4th quarter. Spielman continued to dominate and kicked another taking his tally for the day to 5 while Mike Gallinoto and Spewey Montagna kicked one a piece. The Devils could have extended their lead but poor goal kicking resulted in 7 behinds for the quarter. The Kingsnakes never gave up but were unable to take the lead and ended up playing well in a losing effort. Final score was Devils 11-17-83 defeating the Kingsnakes 10-6-66 (looks like the goal kicking drills from last week didn’t work with a combined 23 behinds). Best on ground for the Devils were Spielman, Montagna and Sauer while for the Kingsnakes it was Martin, Sweets Martinez and Matt Sovereign.

Final Score - Devils 11.17 (83) d. Kingsnakes 6.10 (66)

Goals - Devils: M. Spielman (5), J. Jones (2), T. Montagna (2), M. Gallinoto, D. Rogan

Goals - Kingsnakes: L. Kondylas (3), C. Martin (3), J. Martinez (2), C. Ford, JD Sovereign

Best - Devils: Spielman, Montagna, Sauer Kingsnakes: Martin, Martinez, Sovereign

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