Game Report
Demons vs. Tigers and Magpies vs. Tigers
21st June 2008
Tibbets Brook Park, Yonkers NY
Like any good garage band there comes a time when you have to take your show on the road. This past weekend a Band of Tigers loaded up the 15-person van and headed north to face two of the top teams in the USAFL. Meeting up with a few other Tigers in Yonkers, the team of nineteen strong first squared off against the Boston Demons. The Tigers employed a game plan of clogging the corridor and forcing Boston to the side. This tactic seemed to work at first as the game grinded along in the first ten minutes. However, Boston was able to maintain pressure on the Tigers defense and eventually ran out to a comfortable lead by halftime of the shortened game. The Tigers did not travel 500 miles crammed in a bus to lose that easily. From the start of the second half the Tigers showed the ferocity that they are known for as they mounted an attack that seemed to catch the Demons by surprise. Advancing the ball deeper into the forward fifty this half, the Tigers scored three goals off the boot of the youngest Tiger on the trip, Ben Wetzel, and had one more goal from a lengthy set shot from Revo player Paul Duncan. The Tigers finished with four scoring shots and four accurate goals. While the Demons were never really in threat of losing the game, a sense of urgency was seen in their eyes has the Tigers finished strong.

The boys from North Carolina found shade and rested as the Boston Demons played a shortened game against the New York Magpies. The game looked like it was going to be a real battle as only one point separated the two Top Ten teams at halftime. However, the strength and numbers of the hosting Magpies team prevailed in the second half as they pulled away and won comfortably, 10.3.(63) to 3.2.(20).

Rested and sporting the cooler white Tigers jumpers, the Band took to the oval stage to face the proven #2 team in the USAFL, the New York Magpies. From the center bounce, which was almost always touched first by Tigers ruckman, Brian Zimorowicz, the Tigers ran hard and straight. Like its nickname, aerial ping-pong, the game between the Tigers and Magpies saw the ball go from end to end on some beautiful kicks and marks. Neither team could get close enough to slot a shot though the middle posts. Play continued deeper into the first half as both teams aggressively went for every loose ball. For the Tigers it was the bowling ball, Pat Shufelt that rumbled to capitalize on the hard ball gets. Eventually the Tigers worked the ball into the offensive fifty and pounded the ball through the big sticks to record the game's first goal. The Tigers lead was exciting for the road team with the yellow sash and frustrating for the Magpies. The home team turned this frustration into constructive footy as they quickly rebounded and strung together smooth running and kicking through the middle that resulted in several unanswered goals. With the lead, the Magpies, while winded, were able to breathe a little easier by halftime. The Magpies continued to exude dominance as they held the Tigers to only one more goal and furthered their lead to take home a comfortable win. Final score: New York Magpies 7.7.(49) def NC Tigers 2.0.(12)

TIGERS GOALKICKERS
Game 1: Ben Wetzel 3, Paul Duncan.
Game 2: Paul Duncan, Ben Wetzel.