Crocs Off to a Good Start
Lehigh Valley Crocodiles vs. Baltimore/Washington Eagles
The Crocs started off the season with a strong win. Playing in their first ever league game, the Lehigh Valley Crocodiles took on their arch-rivals, the tough Baltimore/Washington, on Sunday April the eighth at the Crocodiles home field in Nazareth.The game was a bone jarring, bruising affair that featured tenacious tackling and desperate play on behalf of both teams. There exists a mutual respect between the Crocs and Eagles and normally these games are very close, thrilling affairs. At the end of the first quarter, the scores were level and it seemed as if the game would go down to the wire yet again.
In the second quarter, the Crocs played harder and managed to kick two goals, while the defense kept the Eagles to two behinds. At half time the Crocs led by only ten points, but were unlucky not to score more goals.
In Australian football the third quarter is known as the championship quarter, so both teams were fired up realizing the importance of the next term. Players from both teams threw themselves in desperately, and the defenses played very well. At the three quarter time break the Crocs held a lead of 11 points. Ryan Schoeneberger, Adam Roth, Josh Loring and Jason Amstutz did a superior job in defense. They tackled ferociously and closed down some of Baltimore's best players.The last quarter looked set to be a beauty. The Crocs made some changes and Dustin Jones, Terry Hoff and Nolan Berlew started to run the ball out of the middle led by Greg Cottrell. The Crocs kicked three quick goals before the Eagles responded, but the Crocs were relentless. Finally the fitter young legs of the Crocodiles were able to run away with a very handy victory! It was a super effort by every player who took the field.
Best Players: Adam Roth, Dustin Jones, Terry Hoff, Jon Loring, Ryan Schoeneberger, Josh Loring, Rob Kemmerer, Dustin Malavolta, Jason Amstutz and Greg Cottrell.
Goalkickers: Dustin Jones 4, Jon Loring 3, Jeff Paukovitch and Jeremy Silimperi with 2 each, Brian Macdonald and Rob Giabardo with 1 each.The Crocodiles next play a combined New York and Boston team in New York on Saturday April 21.