American Football returns to the North West this Sunday as Vipers get season underway

Local team, The Donegal/Derry Vipers make their season debut on March 10th against the Craigavon Cowboys in AFI Division 1 action.

This season, the Vipers have a new home in the Vale Centre, Greysteel where all their home games will be played throughout the season.

Chairman of the Vipers, Mark Gillen had this to say about the new campaign: “I can’t wait to see our men run out onto our new home field and I hope that this will be the start of a new era for the Donegal/Derry Vipers. Hopefully we can get a good crowd down to watch the action.”

Despite the Vipers struggling on and off the field last season with a record of 2-6, they have great ambitions for the season ahead and aim to improve against a wider range of opponents in Division One.

Head Coach, Gareth Gordon is delighted to have secured the Vale Centre as their new home following the well documented difficulties with its former Drumahoe base.

“As March 10th approaches all my players and coaches are excited to see what we can do this year in our new home at the Vale Centre, Greysteel, where we hope to make our new Viper pit for years to come. We have recruited well in the off season and have been training hard for the past few months and the players

can’t wait to take the field on Sunday and see where all the hard work in all weathers has got us”.

Reflecting onto AFI game week one across the league, what a treat it was for American Football fans. We had shocking upsets, sheer dominance and even a tie. In the Premier Division we had the Dublin Rebels away to their cross-town rivals in UCD. These two teams have clashed many times over the past few years, most notably their last appearance together in the Shamrock Bowl last year. The Rebels took the cake in that one however it was in week 1 that UCD got their revenge taking the win over the Rebels 42-40.

Also, in the Premier Division the newly promoted UL (University of Limerick) Vikings went head to head with Premier Division veterans in the Cork Admirals. Around the league, analysts had predicted the Admirals to be the favourite here due to their many experienced players under Head Coach Alan Lomasney and it was shaping up to be a dominant performance throughout the first half as QB Jake Kennedy found WR Declan Maye for two early touchdowns through the

air. However, QB Finn O’Donovan executed one of the best comebacks this week to tie the game 24-24 in what was an impressive performance by the underdog Vikings.

In AFI Division 1 action the NI Razorbacks met the Antrim Jets in what was a sheer bludgeoning by the ‘Hogs’. The game ended 44-0 with the Razorbacks being the victor in dominant fashion on both sides of the ball. Gareth Millar’s Razorbacks have cemented themselves in a good position now looking into their next game, while the Jets on the other hand have some shaping up to do before they face the West Dublin Rhinos in three weeks.

Lastly, it was the Louth Mavericks who ended the week with their triumph over the Division Two champion, Wexford Eagles in what was a tightly contested game. The Mavericks stood the victor 34-19 with an impressive offensive performance by QB Nathan Hearty.

AFI game week two kicks off on Sunday with the Donegal/Derry Vipers taking on the Craigavon Cowboys. The Cowboys struggled last season in the Premier Division going 0-8 despite contesting many of their games. Will the Cowboys experience be too much for the Vipers? Or will the Vipers slither a win against a well tenured side? Check it out yourself at the Vale Centre, Greysteel at 1pm with free admission to spectators.

Other games this week are in the Premier Division with the Belfast Trojans making their season debut against the UL Vikings. Will the Vikings impressive draw against the Admirals last week build enough momentum to submit the Trojans in their own house? Or will the experience of the Trojans overshadow the momentum and silence Limerick?

Lastly, the Westmeath Minotaurs take on the South Dublin Panthers. The Minotaurs had an impressive first year in the Premier Division last year as flagship QB Joe Kinahan led the Minotaurs to numerous victories last season. The panthers on the other hand have been situated in the middle of the table last season. Will the Minotaurs kickstart their season in the right direction or will the panthers thunder down on the Minotaurs’ hopes?