ROTA, Spain — The Rota Admirals scored 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points Saturday night to down the Alconbury Dragons 28-21 and clinch a berth in the Division IV championship game Nov. 1.
The victory was the Admirals’ second of the season over Alconbury (2-2). Rota (4-0) won 30-7 at Alconbury Sept. 13 in the season opener, but Saturday’s game resembled that one only in the name of the victor.
"Alconbury caught Rota flat and too confident," Rota coach Robert Stovall wrote Sunday in an e-mail report of the game. "Rota was lucky to squeak it out..."
Alconbury led 21-14 going into the final 12 minutes, but All-Europe running back R.J. Curley then collected his third touchdown of the day to get the Admirals even, and quarterback Scott Curtin added the game winner on a keeper later in the period.
By the standards of the nine-man game played in Division IV, Saturday night’s showdown was a defensive struggle. Alconbury went scoreless in the first and final periods; Rota, which managed just 213 yards of total offense, according to Stovall, was shut out in the second quarter.
Curley led the Rota defense with 11 tackles, Stovall reported. James Stovall picked off an Alconbury pass and posted three sacks, Marcos Wolfe accounted for two of his team’s eight sacks, Curtin intercepted a pass, and the Admirals recovered two Alconbury fumbles.
No details were available from Alconbury at presstime Sunday. The Dragons have home games remaining against Brussels (0-4) and Menwith Hill (2-2), teams they beat 42-0 and 60-28, respectively, earlier in the season. Victories in those rematch games would assure Alconbury a third try at Rota in the division title game on Nov. 1.
In that event, Robert Stovall concluded, ". . . [Rota] will have to be better prepared the next time these two teams meet."