OC vs Beachside

This was a matchup of the oldest club in the SCAFL (Orange County) and the newest (Beachside). As the rain began to pour down, this was going to be an unpredictable match from the get-go.

Early on the two sides seemed evenly matched. Putting his name in the record books, Chris Olson kicked the first goal in Sharks club history. Meanwhile, Orange County’s Mark Larson started the season like a bat out of hell, routinely running through the middle with booming kicks on goal.

The second quarter would see the Bombers play with authority. Continually driving the ball down towards their end of the field, the OC players were relentless in attack. Stunned, the Sharks did their best to hold off the onslaught. Led by Olson, Adam Howarth, and Fredrick Shulin the Sharks tried several counter attacks. However, everytime they did so, the strong OC defense led by Kelly Nelson was there to turn them away. Halftime would see the Bombers ahead, but the Beachside club still within striking distance.

The Bombers started the second half focused on putting the game out of reach. Doing so fell, not on an established player, but on a new addition to the club: Spider. Whether leading out from full forward, making a run from the center of the ground, or sitting back and cherry-picking, Spider seemed to be everywhere the ball went. The result was one of the largest single player goal outputs in the history of the SCAFL and a resounding victory for the OC club.

ORANGE COUNTY BOMBERS: 19 goals, 13 behinds total 127

OC goal scorers: Spider (9), Mark Larson (3), Chris McNeil

BEACHSIDE SHARKS: 4 goals, 5 behinds total 29

Beachside goal scorers: Fredrick Shulin, Craig Thwaites, Damien Mills, John Fragomeni

Bombers best on ground: Mark Larson

Others receiving votes: KB Nelson, Chris McNeil

Sharks best on ground: Fredrick Shulin

Others receiving votes: Craig Thwaites, Damo