Results – 19 November 2017 – Santry, Dublin

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Semi-Final
19.11.2017	University College Dublin	14	Trinity College Dublin	12
	College Bowl XII
19.11.2017	University College Dublin	W	University of Limerick	L

Semi-Final – Trinity College Dublin 12 University College Dublin 14

Trinity College Dublin 12 University College Dublin – Trinity staged a late two-touchdown comeback against UCD in the fourth quarter of the College Bowl XII Semi-Finals, however, it was to no avail as the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game in the dying seconds was just out of bounds, handing UCD a 14-12 victory. Two drives each in the first quarter ended in turnovers as the defense of both teams in control. Trinity Quarterback Ben Dowling was sacked several times in the second quarter as UCD got their offense going, finally breaching the TCD defense with a TD following a firece TCD goal-line stand which looked like it would have been successful if it was not for a face-mask penalty against the Trinity defense. A short run into the endzone was followed by a successful two-point conversion leaving UCD 8-0 up at the half. The third quarter saw UCD take over for their second possession of the half after two failed drives, the second with veteran TCD QB Dan Finamore replacing Dowling. UCD quickly drove downfield, leading to Tom Donovan scoring another UCD touchdown to put them 14-0 ahead. A strong response followed from Trinity, with a sustained attacking drive resulting in an Eoin O’Dwyer TD. Trinity then were left with a TD and two-point conversion to tie the game. With UCD trying to put the game beyond doubt, Trinity safety Patrick O’Donovan intercepted the ball deep in the fourth quarter, giving them a lifeline. The resulting TCD drive brought them to the UCD 40 yard line, but a series of penalties and incomplete passes saw the TCD men pinned back at the halfway line. With nothing left to lose QB Dan Finamore managed to evade a number of tackles, before looping the ball through the air to Jordan Mulvany with seconds left. Mulvaney ran from deep to catch the ball before embarking on a mesmerising run before touching down at full stretch in the corner, evading a last-ditch tackle in the process. Eoin O’Dwyer then caught the two-point conversion, but failed to keep his right foot in the endzone, as it ended in tears for Trinity, and a 14-12 victory for UCD, who went on to meet UL Vikings in College Bowl XII later the same day.

At Santry (TCD Home Ground)	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
University College Dublin	0	8	0	6	14
Trinity College Dublin	0	0	0	12	12

Team	Scorers	Score
	1st Quarter
–	No Scoring	0-0
	2nd Quarter
UCD	TD Run (2xpt)	8-0
	3rd Quarter
–	No Scoring	8-0
	2nd Half
UCD	Tom Donovan TD	14-0
	4th Quarter
TCD	Eoin O’Dwyer TD	14-6
TCD	Jordan Mulvaney 50 yd Pass from Dan Finamore	14-12

College Bowl XII – University College Dublin Won University of Limerick Vikings Lost

University College Dublin W University of Limerick Vikings L – University College Dublin won the Irish American Football Association College Bowl XII with a closely-fought game against University of Limerick Vikings.

About the American Football Ireland Intervarsity Championships

The Jordanstown Jaguars, based in Ulster University Jordanstown played in the first full season of the Irish American Football League in 1987. The Trinity Bowl, played from 1992-1995, was the first competition played in Irish Universities, although it did not involve College teams. The Irish Collegiate American Football Association was formed in 1993, and played a Flag Football Summer Bowl over the Summer Holidays, involving both College Students and non-College Students. From 1998 to 1999 the Queen’s University Belfast Broncos competed in the AFAI Irish Senior League, and in 1999 the University of Limerick Vikings were formed, initially as a Flag Football team, and then from 2001 onwards as a fully kitted team playing uin the resurrected IAFL.

The First Colleges and Universities Sports Association of Ireland (CUSAI) Kitted College Bowl was played in 2006, when there was more than one kitted College team for the first time, namely the University of Limerick Vikings and Dublin City University Saints. The College Championship became a three-team tournament involving the Trinity College Dublin Thunderbolts and the University College Dublin Sentinels in 2010 (DCU were no longer fielding a team). In 2014 the Irish American Football Association took over the running of the competition from CUSAI after the CUSAI became Student Sport Ireland and renamed the College Bowl the Intervarsity Championship.

References

Images

[1] Irish American Football Association (2019) 75572102_2751314071597894_3385769513105489920_n [Internet] Available from: https://www.americanfootball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/75572102_2751314071597894_3385769513105489920_n.jpg [Accessed 1 December 2020]

Social Media

[2] UCD American Football Facebook Page (2017) Post November 19, 2017 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/UcdAmericanFootball/posts/1363605657083049 [Accessed 28 November 2017]

Newspapers

[3] Aaron Hannon (2017) “Heroic Trinity American Football Efforts End in Defeat” University Times. November 23, 2017 [Internet] Available from: http://www.universitytimes.ie/2017/11/heroic-trinity-american-football-efforts-end-in-defeat/ [Accessed 6 February 2021]

[4] Bob Given Photography (2017) american-footballweb University Times. November 23, 2017 [Internet] Available from: http://www.universitytimes.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/american-footballweb.jpg [Accessed 6 February 2021]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith of the Irish American Football Association

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 6 February 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020-2021

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.