League Table

	P	W	L	T	Frf	PF	PA	Pts
EBC North
*Craigavon Cowboys	10	9	0	1	–	466	160	28
*Belfast Knights	10	7	2	1	–	337	185	22
*Belfast Trojans	10	7	3	0	–	309	191	21
Ulster Elks	10	2	8	0	-3	162	360	3
NI Razorbacks	10	0	10	0	-5	96	414	-5
EBC East
*Louth Mavericks	10	7	3	0	–	326	251	21
Dublin Bay Raptors	10	6	4	0	–	288	233	18
University College Dublin	10	5	4	1	–	359	260	16
Dublin Rebels	10	4	5	1	–	158	237	13
South Dublin Panthers	10	2	8	0	–	163	284	6
EBC West
*Trinity College Dublin	10	10	0	0	–	477	139	30
Westmeath Minotaurs	10	6	4	0	-3	378	182	15
Meath Bulldogs	10	3	6	1	–	177	273	11
Maynooth Hurricanes	10	3	7	0	–	131	335	9
Cill Dara Reapers	10	0	10	0	–	70	396	0
EBC South
*Edenderry Eagles	10	9	1	0	–	452	164	27
University College Cork	10	7	3	0	–	293	178	21
University of Limerick Vikings	10	4	5	1	–	231	310	14
Cork City Cosmos	10	1	9	0	–	140	461	3

[3]

Points System: 3 Pts Win / 2 Pts Tie / 0 Pts Loss / -1 Pt Forfeit # / -1 Pt Not providing officials for a round of fixtures #

* Qualify for Semi-Finals

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Wildcard Round
01.12.18	Louth Mavericks	39	Belfast Knights	25
01.12.18	Edenderry Eagles	33	Belfast Trojans	13
	Semi-Finals
01.12.18	Craigavon Cowboys	39	Edenderry Eagles	16
01.12.18	Trinity College Dublin	13	Louth Mavericks	31
	Emerald Bowl V
01.12.18	Craigavon Cowboys	18	Louth Mavericks	12

[5]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1		(NI Razorbacks)
01.09.18	Craigavon Cowboys	41	Belfast Trojans	26
01.09.18	NI Razorbacks	19	Craigavon Cowboys	77
01.09.18	Belfast Trojans	54	NI Razorbacks	26
	Week 1		(Cork City)
01.09.18	Edenderry Eagles	38	UL Vikings	32
01.09.18	UL Vikings	52	Cork City Cosmos	22
01.09.18	Cork City Cosmos	6	Edenderry Eagles	64
	Week 2		(Craigavon)
08.09.18	Belfast Knights	33	Belfast Trojans	28
08.09.18	Craigavon Cowboys	39	Belfast Knights	7
08.09.18	Belfast Trojans	12	Craigavon Cowboys	33
	Week 2		(Louth)
08.09.18	Dublin Rebels	0	Dublin Bay Raptors	55
08.09.18	Louth Mavericks	14	Dublin Rebels	12
08.09.18	Dublin Bay Raptors	40	Louth Mavericks	37
	Week 3		(Westmeath)
15.09.18	Cill Dara Reapers	8	Meath Bulldogs	14
15.09.18	Westmeath Minotaurs	78	Cill Dara Reapers	0
15.09.18	Meath Bulldogs	0	Westmeath Minotaurs	54
	Week 4		(UL Vikings)
22.09.18	University College Cork	44	Cork City Cosmos	28
22.09.18	UL Vikings	24	University College Cork	19
22.09.18	Cork City Cosmos	24	UL Vikings	55
	Week 4		(UCD)
22.09.18	South Dublin Panthers	6	Dublin Rebels	34
22.09.18	University College Dublin	32	South Dublin Panthers	31
22.0918	Dublin Rebels	20	University College Dublin	20
	Week 5		(UCD)
29.09.18	University College Dublin	35	Dublin Bay Raptors	38
29.09.18	Cork City Cosmos	18	Belfast Trojans	44
29.09.18	Belfast Trojans	28	Ulster Elks	0 #
29.09.18	Dublin Bay Raptors	25	Craigavon Cowboys	26
29.09.18	Craigavon Cowboys	56	Cork City Cosmos	6
29.09.18	Ulster Elks	0 #	University College Dublin	28
	Week 6		(Ulster Elks)
06.10.18	NI Razorbacks	19	Belfast Knights	45
06.10.18	Ulster Elks	36	NI Razorbacks	6
06.10.18	Belfast Knights	46	Ulster Elks	20
	Week 6		(Westmeath)
06.10.18	Meath Bulldogs	8	Trinity College Dublin	25
06.10.18	Westmeath Minotaurs	43	Meath Bulldogs	25
06.10.18	Trinity College Dublin	33	Westmeath Minotaurs	24
	Week 6		(UCD)
06.10.18	Dublin Rebels	16	Louth Mavericks	13
06.10.18	University College Dublin	67	Dublin Rebels	20
06.10.18	Louth Mavericks	40	University College Dublin	39
	Week 7		(Maynooth)
13.10.18	Belfast Knights	28	NI Razorbacks	0 #
13.10.18	Maynooth Hurricanes	6	Westmeath Minotaurs	63
13.10.18	NI Razorbacks	0 #	Belfast Trojans	28
13.10.18	Trinity College Dublin	45	Maynooth Hurricanes	26
13.10.18	Belfast Trojans	13	Belfast Knights	6
13.10.18	Westmeath Minotaurs	36	Trinity College Dublin	37
	Week 7		(UCC)
13.10.18	Edenderry Eagles	56	University College Cork	8
13.10.18	UL Vikings	0	Edenderry Eagles	54
13.10.18	University College Cork	26	UL Vikings	6
	Week 8		(NI Razorbacks)
20.10.18	Craigavon Cowboys	57	NI Razorbacks	6
20.10.18	NI Razorbacks	20	Ulster Elks	33
20.10.18	Ulster Elks	14	Craigavon Cowboys	59
	Week 8		(UL Vikings)
20.10.18	Maynooth Hurricanes	0 #	Meath Bulldogs	28
20.10.18	UL Vikings	28	Maynooth Hurricanes	0 #
20.10.18	Meath Bulldogs	28	UL Vikings	28
	Week 8		(Edenderry)
20.10.18	Edenderry Eagles	52	Dublin Bay Raptors	28
20.10.18	Dublin Bay Raptors	0	University College Dublin	44
20.10.18	University College Dublin	32	Edenderry Eagles	48
	Week 9		(Cill Dara)
27.10.18	Trinity College Dublin	52	Meath Bulldogs	18
27.10.18	Meath Bulldogs	32	Cill Dara Reapers	6
27.10.18	Cill Dara Reapers	0	Trinity College Dublin	47
	Week 9		(South Dublin)
27.10.18	South Dublin Panthers	27	Louth Mavericks	37
27.10.18	NI Razorbacks	0 #	South Dublin Panthers	28
27.10.18	Belfast Trojans	32	University College Cork	27
27.10.18	South Dublin Panthers	44	Ulster Elks	26
27.10.18	University College Cork	28	NI Razorbacks	0 #
27.10.18	Ulster Elks	7	Belfast Trojans	44
	Week 10		(Cork City)
03.11.18	Edenderry Eagles	28	Cork City Cosmos	0
03.11.18	University College Cork	33	Edenderry Eagles	26
03.11.18	Cork City Cosmos	6	University College Cork	46
	Week 11		(Maynooth)
10.11.18	Meath Bulldogs	6	Maynooth Hurricanes	19
10.11.18	Cork City Cosmos	6	Belfast Knights	54
10.11.18	Cill Dara Reapers	18	Cork City Cosmos	24
10.11.18	Edenderry Eagles	38	Meath Bulldogs	18
10.11.18	Maynooth Hurricanes	7	Edenderry Eagles	48
10.11.18	Belfast Knights	45	Cill Dara Reapers	13
	Week 11		(UCC)
10.11.18	Louth Mavericks	13	Trinity College Dublin	52
10.11.18	Dublin Rebels	0	University College Cork	34
10.11.18	Westmeath Minotaurs	0	Dublin Rebels	28
10.11.18	Trinity College Dublin	52	UL Vikings	0
10.11.18	University College Cork	28	Westmeath Minotaurs	0
10.11.18	UL Vikings	6	Louth Mavericks	47
	Week 12		(Craigavon)
17.11.18	Belfast Knights	33	Craigavon Cowboys	33
17.11.18	Ulster Elks	14	Belfast Knights	40
17.11.18	Craigavon Cowboys	45	Ulster Elks	12
	Week 12		(Louth)
17.11.18	Maynooth Hurricanes	7	Cill Dara Reapers	6
17.11.18	Louth Mavericks	44	South Dublin Panthers	6
17.11.18	Cill Dara Reapers	6	Westmeath Minotaurs	34
17.11.18	University College Dublin	35	Louth Mavericks	42
17.11.18	Westmeath Minotaurs	46	Maynooth Hurricanes	19
17.11.18	South Dublin Panthers	21	University College Dublin	27
17.11.18	Louth Mavericks	39	Dublin Bay Raptors	18
	Week 13		(Maynooth)
24.11.18	Trinity College Dublin	82	Cill Dara Reapers	0
24.11.18	Cill Dara Reapers	13	Maynooth Hurricanes	33
24.11.18	Maynooth Hurricanes	14	Trinity College Dublin	52
	Week 13		(South Dublin)
24.11.18	Dublin Bay Raptors	28	Dublin Rebels	0 #
24.11.18	Dublin Rebels	28	South Dublin Panthers	0 #
24.11.18	South Dublin Panthers	0 #	Dublin Bay Raptors	28
24.11.18	Dublin Bay Raptors	28	South Dublin Panthers	0 #

[4]

Note: Host team for each round of fixtures in brackets

Home Venues

Team	Home Venue

[3]

Report

________________________________________________________

The 2018 Irish Flag Football League Emerald Bowl Conference featured a record 19 teams – the most ever in an Irish Flag Football League. The teams were divided into 4 divisions (North, South, East and West) with the divisions champions and two next best overall reaching the Playoffs.

The Craigavon Cowboys won their second Emerald Bowl 18-12 over Louth Mavericks.

The season started on September 1 with rounds hosted by NI Razorbacks (2 wins for Craigavon) and Cork City Cosmos (2 wins for Edenderry Eagles). Week 2 saw games played in Craigavon where the Cowboys moved to 4-0 and Dundalk IT (home of the Louth Mavericks) where the Dublin Bay raptors won twice.

Week 3 saw two wins for hosts Westmeath Minotaurs in the West, while Week 4 saw the UL Vikings start of at 2-0 in the South with wins over UCC and Cork City. Dublin Rebels and UCD both picked up wins over South Dublin Panthers in the East.

Week 5 saw a big weekend of games hosted by UCD. The Raptors won again before picking up their first loss by a single point to Craigavon wwho moved to 6-0 with a big win over Cork City Cosmos. Belfast Trojans also picked up two wins on the day.

In Week 6 the Belfast Knights made a move up the North table with wins over NI Razorbacks and Ulster Elks, while in the West Trinity College Dublin started out at 2-0 with wins over Meath Bulldogs and Westmeath Minoaturs. In the East Louth Mavericks, Dublin Rebels and UCD all won one and lost one in games amongst each other in what was proving to be the tightest division to call.

Week 7’s games in Maynooth gave the Belfast Trojans and Trinity College Dublin two more wins each, while in the South Edenderry Eagles made a big move for the Division title with huge wins over UL Vikings and UCC.

There were three host teams for Week 8’s games. Edenderry Eagles gained two more wins at home in Co. Offaly over the Raptors and UCD, who dented Dublin Bay’s hopes with a big win. The games in Limerick were called off after Maynooth University Hurricanes forfeited, and in Northern Ireland Craigavon got two more big wins over NI Razorbacks and Ulster Elks.

In Week 9 Trinity College got two more big wins inn Cill Dara over the Reapers and Meath Bulldogs, while big round of fixtures in Westmannstown (home of the South Dublin Panthers) saw the Louth Mavericks win again, while the Belfast Trojans picked up two valuable wins over UCC and Ulster Elks.

In Week 10 in Cork Edenderry had a hiccup against UCC who came away with two wins, while in Week 11 a big round of fixtures in Maynooth saw the Belfast Knights make a push for the Playoffs with two big wins against Cork City and Cill Dara Reapers. Also in week 11, a big round of fixtures in UCC, saw UCC get two wins over Dublin Rebels and Westmeath Minotaurs while Trinity College continued destroying teams, scoring 52 points against both Louth Mavericks and UL Vikings.

Week 12 saw Belfast Knights and Craigavon Cowboys share the spoils in their game with each other, while both defeated Ulster Elks. In Louth, the hosts picked up 3 vital wins, including one over Dublin Bay Raptors which ultimately decided the division title. Westmeath Minotaurs also picked up two wins.

The Final weeks fixtures saw Trinity College Dublin finish off the regular season as the only team on 10-0 with two big wins over Cill Dara Reapers (82-0) and Maynooth Hurricanes (52-14). Dublin Bay Raptors won all three of their games in South Dublin by forfeit but it was not enough to reach the Playoffs.

The Four Division winners were Craigavon Cowboys (North, 9-0-1), Louth Mavericks (East, 7-3), Trinity College Dublin (West, 10-0) and Edenderry Eagles (South, 9-1). joining them in the Playoffs were Belfast Knights (North, 7-2-1) and Belfast Trojans (North, 7-3). UCC missed out on the Playoffs by 3 Net Points (+115 to the Trojans +118).

In the First Round of the Playoffs, held in the National Sports Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin, the Louth Mavericks and Edenderry Eagles beat the two Wildcard Belfast teams.

Craigavon Cowboys disposed of Edenderry in the Semi-Finals, while Louth upset TCD. Emerald Bowl V was won by Craigavon 18-12 over Louth Mavericks, thus becoming the first team to win the title twice.

References

________________________________________________________

Websites

[3] Irish American Football Association (2018) EBC 2018 Standings [Internet] Available from: https://www.americanfootball.ie/flag-football/ebc/ebc-standings_18/ [Accessed 26 November 2018]

[4] Irish American Football Association (2018) EBC 2018 Fixtures & Results [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/flag-football/ebc/ebc-fix_results_18/ [Accessed 26 November 2018]

[5] Irish American Football Association (2018) Home | Results [Internet] Available from: https://www.americanfootball.ie/ [Accessed 8 December 2018]

Social Media

[6] Belfast Knights Facebook Page (2018) Post December 1, 2018 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/BelfastKnightsNI/posts/1398680050266429 [Accessed 3 December 2018]

[7] Craigavon Cowboys Facebook Page (2018) Post December 2, 2018 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/CraigavonCowboys/posts/2187766744566843 [Accessed 3 December 2018]

[8] Louth Mavericks Facebook Page (2018) Post December 2, 2018 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/louthmavericks/posts/1943813805736298 [Accessed 3 December 2018]

[9] Edenderry Eagles Public Facebook Page (2018) Post by Robert Tighe, November 29, 2018 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/groups/341452022587512/permalink/1911332432266122/ [Accessed 3 December 2018]

Images

[1] Irish American Football Association (2017) IAFA 2018 Logo [Internet] Available from: https://www.americanfootball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/35086665_931826987021438_1021165999753265152_n.png [Accessed 11 July 2018]

[2] League Republic (2017) Irish Flag Football League Logo [Internet] Available from: http://images.leaguerepublic.com/data/images/424217313/110.jpg [Accessed 8 August 2017]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Decy Maher, Tom Gallagher, Peter Mullen, Bart Barden, Joe Grey, Anthony Nardone, Llyod O’Farrell, Justin Whelan & Dublin Bay Raptors

About this document

Reaerched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish American Football Archive

Last Updated: 13 May 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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