(Allene Rachal photo)

Jacksonville has proven in no uncertain terms that it is a legitimate championship contender with a 46-24 win against the reigning champs New Haven in Round Four of the American National League.

And there appears to be a changing of the guard with past titleholders Aston and the Connecticut Wildcats getting blown out.

In the Game of the Week, the Axemen made the long journey from north Florida to Connecticut to tackle the champs and early on it looked as though the visitors could be in for a long day.

The Warriors scored two quick tries in the first quarter to grab an early lead, but from then on the Axemen took control. Jacksonville’s overall fitness and in particular their marker defense was better, enabling them to dictate terms for the most part.

“We’re pretty excited,” Jacksonville CEO Spinner Howland told ARN. “It was a good day for us and it made the trip up here worthwhile.”

Simon Moate (2) again led all scorers and he was ably assisted by Apple Pope, Nick Shea, Shane Singleton, Howland and Craig Howitt, all of whom got on the board.

For New Haven, skipper Siose Muliumu (2), Ihaka Waerea and Keisi Misiteka scored tries, while Derek Roma went 4-from-4 on conversions. The Warriors earned a bonus point for tries.

“Full credit to them, they just out enthused us,” said New Haven player/coach Roy Leoni.

Elsewhere, the Boston 13s faced off against the Aston DSC Bulls and beat the former champs 74-42 in a high-scoring affair in beantown. The Bulls led 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, but couldn’t make the appropriate adjustments after that to hold off the 13s’ point scoring avalanche.

“It was all thanks to our defeat last week,” Boston president Mikhael Shammas told ARN. “We were able to find holes in their defense and pound in some tries.”

Setefano Talavave (3), George Aroyan (3), Brent Gill (2), Lance Gaines, Carrick Pell, Jeff Perkins, Jon Mixon and Tyler Scullen were the try-scorers. Gill was 10-from-12 on conversions, while Talavave added another. Aroyan and Pell were named joint Players’ Player.

From Aston’s standpoint, too many penalties at the marker and young, inexperienced guys in pivotal positions wasn’t a good formula for success. Blair Wards (2), John Grace (2), Cory Mayo, Matt Stauffer and coach Marc Vassilakopoulos scored tries. Vassi also kicked five conversions, while Wards slotted two.

“It was a decent game, free flowing and a lot of good tries were scored,” said Bulls coach Vassilakopoulos. “As I’ve said before, I don’t like to lose but at least these guys are learning and having fun.”

In another result that perhaps could be labeled a boilover, the Fairfax Eagles blew out the Wildcats 74-6. The Eagles led 40-0 at halftime.

Fairfax was paced by Adam Henderson (3), Joey Tropea, Stuart Divers and veteran Jeff Bush.

“We lost two games early in the season but we’ve adjusted our game plan,” said Eagles president Steve Grant. “Everybody gave 100% today and we had no mistakes.”

Philadelphia Fight Vixens Dancers (Marvin Dangerfield photo)

In the late game, the Philadelphia Fight hosted the Washington DC Slayers and it was the home team that came out on top 72-16.

Michael Kaufman (3) and Mitch Heumiller (3) helped to set up the big win. Kaufman also booted 10 conversions for a personal haul of 22 points, while Heumiller was named Man of the Match. Fight captain Ryan Douglas and Joel Beasley also had standout performances.

“It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a couple of years. It’s been a long time since we’ve known how to win a football game and now we’re 3-0,” Philadelphia head coach Peter Illfield told ARN.

Tries by Jaron McLaurin, Robert Hilliard and Asa Jeralv, plus two Phil Hill conversions accounted for the Slayers’ points.

“We traveled with just 12 players,” said McLaurin. “A long day of tackling with only 12 guys made it tough.”

The New York Knights beat the Northern Raiders 32-4 in a Friday night game. The Bucks County Sharks had a bye.

Standings (unofficial):
Jacksonville Axemen (5-0) 25pts
New Haven Warriors (3-1) 16pts
New York Knights (3-1) 15pts
Philadelphia Fight (3-0) 15pts
Fairfax Eagles (2-2) 10pts
Boston 13s (2-2) 10pts
Bucks County Sharks (1-1) 5pts
Aston DSC Bulls (0-3) 4pts
Washington DC Slayers (0-4) 1pt
Connecticut Wildcats (0-2) 0pts
Northern Raiders (0-3) 0pts

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