On July 17, the North Carolina Tigers hosted the #3 Baltimore-Washington Eagles at the Tigerdome (Raleigh NC). It was a game that matched up a veteran Eagle team that has had the wood on the Tigers in recent years, but as it turned out, history changed as much as the weather did during the game. The Tigers, coming off a couple of disappointing narrow defeats, pulled off the upset with a very even team effort defeating the Eagles 10.5.65 vs 7.8.50.

The first 10 minutes saw both teams apply intense pressure and hard tackling, resulting in trading of only a goal each and a narrow 1 point lead for the Eagles. Ross Pleban set the tone early for the Tigers at center half back with some tenacious tackling and rebounding of numerous Eagles attacks. During the time Pleban was leading by example, his team mates in the back line raised their efforts to shut down any Eagle advances. In the meantime, the forward line, led by Jason Heathcote and Scott Bradley started to find some openings in the solid Eagle defense in the final ten minutes of the first quarter to open up a handy 4.2.26 to 1.1.7 lead.

After a strong start by the Tigers, the Eagles showed why they came in as the #3 team in the country as they showed their resiliency when they increased their work rate during the second and third quarters. The intensity by both teams continued during these periods with hard tackling and some impressive passages by both teams in spite of the heavy pressure. At half time the Eagles had reduced the margin to 6.3.39 to 4.2.26 with plenty of time to play. The margin was further reduced in the third quarter with the three quarter time score having the Tigers leading by a meager two points, 7.3.45 to 6.7.43.

The fourth quarter promised to be a ripper, and both teams did not disappoint. First blood was drawn by the Eagles in the first minute of the quarter, giving them their first lead since early in the first quarter. It was do or die time for the Tigers and time for them to figure out the real character of the team. In addition to Pleban, Heathcote, and Bradley, the likes of Paul Duncan, Dennis Kurtz, Adam Barabasz, Brien Blandford, John Sculls, Adrian Baluyot, Wes McCallister, Wes Hauytin, Mick Coysh, Patrick Washington, Matt Beyersdorf and Alex Klaus really stepped up in crunch time to shut down the Eagles. As a result, the Tigers went on to kick the final three goals of the match to notch their first win of the season.

While the weather wasn't so fan friendly going from shower - sunny - sauna - overcast and finally a downpour in the final minutes of the game, the display by both teams was great entertainment as proved by the crowd staying throughout. Scott Bradley's effort throughout all four quarters gave him a well deserve best on ground honor, but it was not without plenty of company challenging for that recognition.

Eagles Head Coach, Denis Ryan, was very disappointed with his team's efforts. "We simply failed to follow instructions. While we fought our way back into the game, we lacked the resolve to finish off. From time to time as a footy club you find yourself at a defining moment. This is one of those times. There were some decent performances, but they were on an individual basis. As a team we were very poor."

Article courtesy of NCTigers.com

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