RAF MENWITH HILL, England - What started out as a wide-open, nine-man shootout turned into a grind-it-out contest after intermission Saturday as the visiting Alconbury Dragons nailed down a home-field berth for this week’s European Division III semifinals with a 21-19 victory over the Menwith Hill Mustangs.
All the scoring came in the first half; with all of Alconbury’s points registered in the game’s first 12 minutes.
After Menwith Hill’s Chris Jackson opened the scoring with a 5-yard TD scamper, Alconbury running back Kerey Kuheana broke a 38-yard TD run and quarterback J.J. Black got loose for a 74-yard scoring jaunt to put the Dragons up 14-7.
Menwith’s Lawrence Alston broke a 64-yard TD run to make it 14-13, but Black went over from a yard out before the first period ended to make it 21-13.
Menwith answered that one in the second period with a 21-yard scoring pass from Schuyler Backlar to Jackson for what would prove to be the final points of the game when a two-point run failed.
“In the second half, the defenses rose to the occasion.” Menwith Hill coach Pete Resnick said by telephone Saturday. “We knew what we had to do — stop Kerey and contain the quarterback.”
Backlar led Menwith Hill’s tackling chart with seven solos and four assists. Rick Rachal had six unassisted and three assisted stops, while Alston added four solos and five assists for the Mustangs (1-3), who vastly improved on their 48-6 preseason loss to the Dragons (3-1).
Kuheana led the Alconbury defense, posting 13 solo stops and assisting on four other tackles. Beau Hocevar added 10 solos and nine assists.
At press time Saturday, no report had been received from the game at Sigonella between the Jaguars and winless Brussels. However, because Sigonella holds the head-to-head tiebreaker edge over Alconbury, the Dragons will host idle Rota (2-2) while Sigonella will entertain Menwith Hill in this week’s European D-III semifinal games regardless of the outcome of the game in Sicily.