Legion a step above Old Glory in San Diego

A dominant second half saw the San Diego Legion pull away from Old Glory DC to win 48-26 at Snapdragon Stadium. The visitors did well to stay within striking distance at half time and ultimately secured a bonus point, but the home side was a clear step up in class on Sunday.

It was DC who were on the attack first but San Diego’s defense was up to the task. At the other end Faka’osi Pifeleti looked to have finished off a fine team try but it was wiped off the board for an earlier obstruction. Instead it was Old Glory who scored first, when a high ball from Tito Díaz Bonilla was lost in the sun by Mikey Te’o. The bounce favored the kicker and Díaz Bonilla grounded the ball himself.

Seemingly calling his own number, Te’o made immediate amends for the error. The fullback took to the sky to snatch Will Hooley’s restart and as he landed popped the ball off to Tomas Aoake, who touched down in the corner. Hooley’s kick from the sideline was spot on and the game was all tied up.

Ma’a Nonu went too high on Gradyn Bowd and received a yellow card for his troubles. A loose pass then resulted in Thretton Palamo tearing upfield through the gap left by Nonu’s absence, connecting with Mike Dabulas for a 40-meter sprint clear to the line. The conversion attempt was pushed wide right by Díaz Bonilla but the visitors were again out in front.

Lautaro Bavaro leveled Christian Poidevin and forced a turnover, but the Legion were unfazed. The ball went through several pairs of hands to find Josh Henderson in space out wide. Te’o then cut back inside and danced past three defenders on the way to a searing finish under the posts. A three-pointer from Hooley made it 17-12 to the home side at the intermission.

Te’o had a brace early in the second half. Henderson started it off with an aggressive counter-attack, with the right winger finishing things off. More smooth handling a couple minutes later let Nate Augspurger challenge the defense on the edge, offloading to Jimmy Cowan for a diving finish into the corner.

A flurry of tries followed after the hydration break. Nonu smashed through John Rizzo to score on the end of a long sequence, but Old Glory fired back with two scores to make things interesting. Peni Lasaqa popped up on Diaz Bonilla’s shoulder on a first phase play to race clear, and then William Talataina disrupted at the breakdown to free Lasaqa again. This time he found John LeFevre to slashed back inside for a runaway try.

The Legion turned up the dial in the final minutes. Numerous phases saw Tom Franklin stopped just short but Poidevin was there to go low and hard over the line. Te’o then swarmed Bowd and stripped the ball, firing an over-the-shoulder pass to Augspurger as he was falling for another highlight-reel effort. Augspurger drop-kicked the extras himself to bring the match to a close.

Both teams will have just five days rest before hitting the road next Saturday. Old Glory face Eastern Conference rivals ATL, while the Legion travel to Seattle for a colossal match against the unbeaten Seawolves with top spot in the Western Conference on the line.

SCORING

SAN DIEGO 48
Tries (7) – T. Aoake (12′), M. Te’o 2 (28′, 45′), B. Cowan (48′), M. Nonu (66′), C. Poidevin (78′), N. Augspurger (80’+1′)
Cons (5) – W. Hooley 3/4 (13′, 46′, 67′), No kick (28′), M. Te’o 0/1, N. Augspurger 1/1 (80’+2′)
Pens (1) – W. Hooley 1/1 (39′)
YC (1) – M. Nonu (16′)

DC 26
Tries (4) – J. Díaz Bonilla (10′), M. Dabulas (23′), P. Lasaqa (68′), J. LeFevre (70′)
Cons (3) – J. Díaz Bonilla 2/3 (11′, 71′), No kick (68′)

TEAMS

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 57′), 2 Sama Malolo (16 Shilo Klein 51′), 3 Chris Baumann (18 Nathan Sylvia HT), 4 Ben Grant, 5 Isaac Ross (19 Tom Franklin 60′), 6 Christian Poidevin, 7 Blair Cowan (capt.), 8 Tupou Afungia (20 Tevita Tameilau 51′), 9 Richard Judd (21 Jason Higgins 57′), 10 Will Hooley (23 Ryan Matyas 67′), 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Ma’a Nonu (22 Thomas Morani 67′), 13 Tomas Aoake, 14 Mikey Te’o, 15 Josh Henderson

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Quentin Newcomer 60′-79′), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Facundo Gattas 60′), 3 Kyle Stewart (18 Cali Martinez 53′), 4 Collin Grosse, 5 Fintan Coleman (20 Api Naikatini 60′), 6 Lautaro Bavaro, 7 Alejo Daireaux (19 Brady Daniel 77′), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (capt.), 9 Danny Tusitala (21 John LeFevre 50′), 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 11 Peni Lasaqa, 12 Thretton Palamo (22 Doug Fraser 68′), 13 William Talataina, 14 Mike Dabulas (23 John Rizzo 50′), 15 Gradyn Bowd

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Jack Gohl (USA)
Assistants: Jacob Gonzalez (USA) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)