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Winners included the Jacksonville Axemen and Philadelphia Fight, while the reigning champion New Haven Warriors were given a forfeit.
In Boston, the AMNRL’s expansion team impressed all despite going down 46-16 to the Axemen. Jacksonville shot out to a 34-0 halftime lead before the 13s started to find their rhythm.
Three second half tries by John Mixon, Miguel Gaines and Nate Bangura, all of whom are American, gave the new franchise cause for optimism.
“In the first half they dominated but then we got our heads in the game,” Boston 13s president Mikhael Shammas told ARN. “All in all, I’m thrilled with the performance that the team has put in to reach this point. From here the future’s bright.”
It was the Axemen’s second straight bonus point win and it puts them at the top of the standings.
Justin Sphaler (2) and Simon Moate (2) led all scorers, while Matt Clark, Randy Dewey, Nick Shea and Kenny Britt were among the other Jacksonville try-scorers.
“We put it on them in the first half but in the second our defense let us down and we let them score three tries,” said Axemen player/coach Spinner Howland. “They’re a good side, they’re fit and for their first ever hit-out they did very well.”
In a shocker in Connecticut, past champions the Wildcats were forced to forfeit their game against the Warriors due to a lack of numbers and reportedly could be under pressure to see out the season for the same reason. As a consequence, New Haven was awarded a 20-0 bonus point victory.
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Fight posted a grinding 20-12 win against the Fairfax Eagles. The Fight led narrowly 10-6 after two quarters. The AMNRL has changed things up this season by going to a four x 20-minute quarter format rather than the usual 40-minute halves.
In a close game that went down to the wire, Philly put in four tries to earn a bonus point. Tries were scored by Ryan Tower, Andrew Tully, Brad Kielinski and Ryan Douglas.
“Our first half was great but the third quarter wasn’t so good as we didn’t complete our sets [of six tackles],” Fight CEO Ryan McGough told ARN.
In the late game of the round, the New York Knights hosted the Washington DC Slayers in the big apple. The Knights won 64-8 after leading 34-4 at halftime.
The Northern Raiders had a bye.
Standings (unofficial):
Jacksonville Axemen (2-0) 10pts
New York Knights (1-0) 5pts
New Haven Warriors (1-0) 5pts
Philadelphia Fight (1-0) 5pts
Bucks County Sharks (1-0) 5pts
Aston DSC Bulls (0-1) 2pts
Washington DC Slayers (0-2) 1pt
Northern Raiders (0-0) 0pts
Fairfax Eagles (0-1) 0pts
Connecticut Wildcats (0-1) 0pts
Boston 13s (0-1) 0pts
