NEWS

Raptors Use Complete Victory Over SaberCats to Retake First Place

Raptors Use Complete Victory Over SaberCats to Retake First Place

By: Colton Strickler, MLR Correspondent

The Glendale Raptors pulled out all the stops in their 37-24 victory over the Houston SaberCats at Infinity Park on Friday night.

A win and a bonus point meant that the Raptors (6-0) would leapfrog the Seattle Seawolves to retake first place in the standings, but they’d have to go through a SaberCats (1-6) side desperate for a win. It was apparent how important keeping their undefeated record intact and finding their way back into first place was for the Raptors, as the really didn’t waste much time getting the match rolling.

Glendale opened up the scoring when fly-half Maximo de Achaval kicked a ball – that he really couldn’t have walked over and placed into wing Harley Davidson’s hands much better – over the top of a SaberCat defender. Like a go route from a quarterback to a wide receiver, Davidson caught the ball in stride and took it in for the first try of the match. De Achaval nailed the conversion to give the Raptors an early 7-0 lead.

From there on out it was the Davidson and de Achaval show. Between Davidson’s three-try performance and de Achaval’s boot, the two accounted for 32 of the Raptors’ 37 points when Friday night’s match was all said and done.

Davidson wasted little time finding his way back into the in-goal, this time on a hands ball into the corner. After a missed de Achaval conversion, the Raptors answered back with their third unanswered try when hooker Dylan Fawsitt made the most of a Houston yellow card and punched the ball in himself, giving the Raptors a 17-0 lead.

Houston had their chances, and the first one that they were able to capitalize on came in the 38th minute when wing Josua Vici received a hands ball and took it into the corner for the SaberCats’ first points. Fly-half Sam Windsor nailed the conversion to cut the deficit to 10 heading into the half.

Just like they did in the first half, Davidson kicked off the scoring. He outran three Houston defenders to complete the hat trick. De Achaval’s conversion gave the Raptors a 24-7 lead.

Unlike the first half, the SaberCats responded to the Raptor’ points quickly. After flipping the field and working their way down into Glendale territory, Houston lock Matt Trouville froze the Glendale defense and punched the ball in for a try. The wind pushed Windsor’s kick wide, but the SaberCats were beginning to find their way back into the match.

The Raptors put a stop to that shortly after when de Achaval, instead of scoring with his boot, scored with his legs on a try down the touchline. He followed that up by kicking his own conversion and then nailing a drop goal shortly after to give the Raptors a commanding 34-12 lead.

Faced with a 22-point deficit, the SaberCats didn’t quit. They used a big line break and an offload to Alex Elkins from outside centre Osea Kolinisau to pick up their third try of the match. Windsor hit the conversion to cut the Raptors’ lead to 15.

After another de Achaval kick, the SaberCats benefited from one more Elkins try but weren’t able to add any more points. The Raptors emerge with the 37-24 victory.

Both Glendale and Houston picked up valuable bonus points in the match. The Raptors’ five-point day brings them up to 29 points on the season and to a tie with the Seattle Seawolves. Glendale defeated Seattle 19-15 back in Week 2, giving the Raptors the head-to-head tiebreaker. Friday night’s victory also guarantees the Raptors a spot in the MLR Playoffs at Infinity Park on June 30. The bonus point Houston picked up brings them to 10 points on the season.

The Raptors will remain at home to take on the second-place Seawolves on Saturday, June 16 in what could very well be a preview of the MLR Championship while the SaberCats will enjoy a week off.

Scoring:
Glendale Raptors

Tries: Harley Davidson (3), Dylan Fawsitt, Maximo de Achaval

Penalties: Maximo de Achaval (1/2)

Drop Goals: Maximo de Achaval (1/1)

Conversions: Maximo de Achaval (3/5)

Houston SaberCats

Tries: Josua Vici, Matt Trouville, Alex Elkins (2)

Penalties: Sam Windsor (0/1)

Drop Goals: N/A

Conversions: Sam Windsor (2/4)

Colton can be reached at colton@usmlr.com.