Sports
Singapore All-Stars defeat Seoul American
Stars and Stripes
October 23, 2010
Singapore Falcons All-Stars running back Hayes Kimball gets reeled in by Seoul American's Devyn Williams, right, and Antoine Daniels during Saturday's interarea friendship high school football game at Sims Field, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. The Falcons beat Seoul American, 24-8. (Gary Cashman/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Singapore Falcons All-Stars running back Hayes Kimball gets reeled in by Seoul American's Devyn Williams, right, and Antoine Daniels during Saturday's interarea friendship high school football game at Sims Field, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. The Falcons beat Seoul American, 24-8. (Gary Cashman/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Singapore Falcons All-Stars running back Jake Walker looks for running room against Seoul American's Antoine Daniels , left, and Josh DeCastro during Saturday's interarea friendship high school football game at Sims Field, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. The Falcons beat Seoul American, 24-8. (Gary Cashman/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Seoul American's Tyrend White gets upended by Singapore Falcons Tyler Creasen during Saturday's interarea friendship high school football game at Sims Field, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. The Falcons beat Seoul American, 24-8. (Gary Cashman/Special to Stars and Stripes)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea – Jake Walker’s two second-half touchdowns helped boost the Singapore Falcons All-Star team past Seoul American 24-8 in an interarea friendship contest Saturday at Seoul American’s Sims Field.
But it was a freak kickoff recovery by Singapore following Walker’s first touchdown that proved to be the game’s turning point.
“We definitely caught a break on the kick,” said Roy Tomlinson, coach of the All-Stars, a collection of players from the four Singapore American Football League teams.
Following Walker’s 8-yard run to break an 8-8 tie to start the third quarter, backup kicker Robert Morris teed up the ball and didn’t kick it onside, but to an open area where the team’s fastest player, Nate Harris, streaked to the ball and carried it to the Seoul 30.
From there, Singapore stayed on the ground, with Walker capping the scoring with another 8-yard run. The All-Stars then recovered a Seoul American fumble on the ensuing series.
The kick play “broke our backs,” Seoul American coach Billy Ratcliff said. That the All-Stars scored 16 points “and our offense hadn’t taken the field, that makes a big difference.” Seoul was also missing starting quarterback Harold Martin with an ankle injury.
Singapore “has good players,” Ratcliff said. “They have solid line play, they’re big, they’re fast, they fire out and stay low. And their running backs run hard and low. That’s a good team.”
“We caught some breaks to beat that team,” said Tomlinson, a math instructor at Singapore American School where most of the All-Stars go to high school. “Seoul American was a terrific team.”
Hayes Kimball put Singapore on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 3-yard run. Just before halftime, Adrian Thomas of Seoul American intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for the game-tying score. Walker’s tie-snapping touchdown capped a 90-yard All-Stars drive.
“We played well, particularly in the second half,” Tomlinson said. “Our defense bent, but they made key plays when they needed to” to stop Seoul American.
Singapore on Saturday hosts Kubasaki, the first time the All-Stars will welcome a team from Okinawa. Over the years, Singapore has hosted and traveled mainly to Korea to play All-Star teams from the old Korea Youth Activities League Senior Division in the World Bowl series.
Tomlinson says he’s expecting in Kubasaki an “extremely athletic team that knows how to put the ball in the air. We’re going to have our hands full. It’s going to be tough.”