Notts Varsity 2022 has officially got underway with the University of Nottingham taking an early lead after a 24-21 win over Nottingham Trent at American Football.
NTU have not beaten UoN in American Football in Varsity meetings since 2015 and those in Pink will have to wait at least another year as the hosts took a narrow victory.
A fixture filled win defence and run game secured a home win for UoN in what proved to be a close encounter with NTU.
A game filled with trick plays, long runs, and turnovers, made for an entertaining finish.Ā Ā
Both teams were without their starting quarterbacks, UoN specifically were without Jacob Greaves who signed a professional contract with a team in Denmark.Ā Ā
NTU won the toss and elected to receive before failing to recover an onside kick providing a nightmare start for the renegades.Ā Ā
The Golds opened the scoring with a ten-yard running touchdown breaking several tackles to end up in the endzone.Ā
NTU received and began their opening drive with a trick play that caught UoN off guard for 20 yards. Ā
As they got closer to the Red Zone, NTU threw an interception on their opponent’s 20-yard line as they tried to tie up the score.Ā
NTU finally levelled the score with a 15-yard pass thrown into the corner.Ā
UoN scored a field goal to close an entertaining first half as the hosts led 10-7 at half time.
Trent ran in a touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter to lead 14-10 but the second half was dominated by a series of fumbles and interceptions from both sides.Ā
A fumble from the UoN running back was followed by an interception from the NTU quarterback.Ā Ā
The Golds returned a kick-off return for a touchdown with the NTU coaches frustrated on the sideliners to make it 17-14.Ā
UoN extended their lead in the fourth quarter to 24-14, NTU then scored a passing touchdown to make it a three-point game but unfortunately could not complete the comeback.Ā
There were celebrations for the students who were graduating and had worn their uniforms for the final time.Ā
By Mohamed Hassan