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A warm sunny day and a surprisingly large crowd in Atlanta saw the second leg of the 2008 Atlanta/Baton Rouge rivalry. The game started fast and furiously with Baton Rouge kicking the first goal and putting lots of pressure on the Atlanta backs. Tiger's stalwart Pat Muller got their first major even though he was closely guarded by new Kookas player Nick Miklowski.
However, Baton Rouge's early lead quickly evaporated as the Atlanta running game got going and the ball stayed in their forward line for the rest of the quarter. With the experienced Warren Ballagh to aim for, Atlanta kicked the next five goals and dominated the first quarter. Ballagh finished with 3 goals for the quarter and provided a focal point for the Atlanta midfielders.
The next two quarters we carbon copies of the first with Baton Rouge starting well, but running out of legs and Atlanta utilizing their experienced forwards Ballagh and Ed Robinson and kicking five goals per quarter. Newcomer, Drew Shoredits, a fast South African, is quickly learning the game and was instramental in kicking the ball forward and running down to receive the handpasses. He end with three goals and was still full of running at the end.
Tigers ruckman Napolitano competed evenly in the ruck, but was only one player contending for ruck duels with two Atlanta players Waller and Evans, who were switching out every few minutes and this gave a big advantage to the Atlanta rovers Jimmy Glenn and Carl Garofalo. These two were the main drivers out of the middle. Baton Rouge continued to play hard and they gave great service to Muller, who ended the game with six of his teams seven goals.
Atlanta shuffled the team around in the last quarter to give everyone a chance and having those extra players was the difference as they scored another five goals in the last quarter. It was great to see two experienced players, in Ballagh and Muller, showing their skills at opposite ends of the ground. Although they lost, Baton Rouge can take heart in the fact that they scored seven goals away from home and Atlanta is happy to be back on the winning side after the disappointment in Florida. Both teams will be looking forward to improving their game in the weeks to come.
Atlanta 20 13 133
Bat.Rouge 7 4 46
GOALKICKERS
Atlanta: Warren Ballagh 7, Ed Robinson 3, Andreas Shoredits 3, Adam Grist 2, Michael Frost 2, Dave Monsour 1, Wayne Mitchell 1, Carl Garofalo 1.
Bat.Rouge: Patrick Muller 6, Jeff Phillips 1.
BEST PLAYERS
Atlanta: Nick M'lowski, James Glenn, Andreas Shoredits, Michael Waller, David Evans.
Bat.Rouge: Aaron LaRose, Paul Napolitano, Taylor Braud, Jordon Woods, Patrick Muller.
Field Umpire: Mike Powers
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