2009 - Round 2

Round 2 Match Report

Tempe, Arizona – The Tombstone Marshals, the reigning AZAFL champions, looked to kick off their 2009 campaign with a win against the Devils. Riding a 5 game winning streak dating back to 2008 the Marshals were confident despite the average age of the team being nearly twice that of the Devils (average weight was also about double). The Devils took an early lead with the ever sneaky Jared Jones scoring 2 quick goals with ASU new comers Ronan "can’t bounce the ball" Barrutt kicking one and Simon "I like high school dances" Daniels pinching another. Daniels kept up the tradition of the ASU boys looking like something the cat dragged in after his drinking efforts from the night before. Darren Toohey and Robbie Luto added a goal each for the Marshals to make the 1st quarter score Devils 4-4-22 to Marshals 2-1-13.

The Marshals picked up some steam in the 2nd quarter and scored 3 goals. Robbie Luto stood out in the second quarter and his accurate kicking netted him 2 more goals taking his total for the game to 3. Adam Smark helped solidify the middle of the field for the Marshals when he stepped in at ruck and Troy Anderson continued his stellar efforts as well. Jimmy Scanlan finally hit the side of the barn and notched a goal to bring the Marshals back into the game. For the Devils "Sneaky" Jones scored another and the find of the 2009 draft, Joe "his girlfriend is hot" Sauer not only jumped over tall building in a single bound, but he also scored a goal. Defensively Mark "Spidey" Stoecker played well to deny the Marshals some easy marks in front of goal. At the half Devils maintained a small lead, 6-6-42 to 5-5-35.

The Devils came out strong in the second half and team Captain Brad Palumbo had his boys prepared and he led the scoring with a goal himself. Tim "Spewey" Montagna kept up his efforts of trying to fertilize all the fields he plays on by having a chuck on the oval during play (for the second week in a row) then scored a goal from 40 yards out. The AZAFL Board will now look into awarding 50 meter penalties for any player who throws up cheap beer from a house party on the field during the game. Lucas Hanover (without his entourage this week) played solidly in the middle and was ably supported by the fiery Daniel Rogan who seemed to be letting out some of the aggression he built up on his 90 minute drive to the game from Tucson. Rogan got a goal in the 3rd as did Stoecker, and Barrutt scored his second. The Marshals seemed to lose the little bit of steam they had in the 3rd quarter and found it hard to keep up with the very young and very skinny Devils. The Marshals looked weak and even MVP from last year Troy Anderson looked tired. It appears waking up every 3 hours to feed his newborn daughter is taking a toll on his footy prowess. Joe Swierpuski, the only skinny guy on the Marshals roster showed why it is a benefit to be in shape and scored the lone goal for the Marshals. At the end of the 3rd, the Devils had built a commanding 32 point lead (11-8-74 to 6-6-42).

In the 4th the Marshals tried to keep the game from getting blown out. Wyatt Glaze continued to roam the field and the Marshals took every opportunity to try a cheap and late hit on Spewey Montagna but they couldn’t catch up to him. Chris Reichel made some tough plays in the backline as did Eric West and up front David "Donger" Pack took arguably the prettiest mark of his career and scored a goal. Scanlan and Toohey both scored their second for the Marshals. The Devils held on for the easy win behind goals from Jones who notched his 4th and Sauer who got his second. Spidey moved from defense to offence and scored his second goal of the game in the 4th quarter. Denis Kelly and Alec West contributed well for the win. At the end of the day a tired and beaten Marshals will have to look deep inside themselves for answers as to how they can keep up with the Devils in future rounds which will be a tough assignment as the Devils won without leading goal scorer Mike Spielman. Best on ground for the Devils were Jones, Montagna, Sauer, Rogan & Stoecker. Best on ground for the Marshals were Luto, Smark, Toohey and Swierpuski.

GAME NOTE: There are only 3 players left in the league from the very first AZAFL season in 2001. Both captains from today’s game, Darren Toohey and Brad Palumbo as well as David Pack. Troy Anderson is the only player left in the league from the 2nd season of the AZAFL in 2002. Just goes to show some players age (and lose hair) like a fine wine.

Final Score - Devils 14.8 (92) d. Marshals 9.9 (63)

Goals - Devils: J. Jones (4), J. Sauer (2), M. Stoecker (2), R. Barrutt (2), B. Palumbo, D. Rogan, S. Daniels, T. Montagna

Goals - Marshals: Ro. Luto (3), D. Toohey (2), J. Scanlan (2), D. Pack, J. Swierupski

Best - Devils: Jones, Montagna, Sauer, Rogan, Stoecker Marshals: Luto, Smark, Toohey, Swierupski

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