Phoenix Holds Off East Cobb in Georgia, MSIRL

In an eagerly anticipated match up of the two Georgia-based MSIRL teams, Alpharetta Phoenix faced off against current Georgia state champions East Cobb Trojans at Life University on Saturday.

Top, players go up for the lineout throw. Below, Ollie Kennett scored 13 points. Buster Kennett photos.

Trojans started the game strongly with their forwards putting together a number of strong phases, but the Phoenix defense had come to play and the Trojans backline could not convert under pressure. It was clear that Trojans had the edge in the scrum while Phoenix controlled the line outs with Griffin Tucker to the fore.

Phoenix broke the deadlock midway through the half when, after 7 solid phases through the forwards, the ball was whipped out to speedy Phoenix winger Tony Manuel who crossed in the corner. Ollie Kennett made the difficult conversion look easy to make the score 7 to 0 for Phoenix. A high tackle yellow card to Phoenix star center Tim Voin handed Trojans a terrific opportunity. A lovely move involving Sean O’Driscoll and Jean Roberts left Roberts clear and he was unlucky to be hauled down inches from the line by the chasing Ollie Kennett.

It was Kennett again who provided the game with a moment of magic. Breaking free on the halfway line he brilliantly gathered the clever kick ahead to score under the posts. Adding the conversion brought the half time score to 14-0 in favor of Phoenix.

The second half started with some early pressure from Phoenix who were now back to full strength. Opting for points, Kennett sailed over a long range penalty to raise the Phoenix lead to 17-0. Another Phoenix high tackle yellow card, this time to Kyle Rogers, again provided an opportunity to Trojans. Despite some spirited back play from Trojans, the Phoenix defense held firm and the scoring concluded with an easy penalty from in front of the posts from Kennett. The final score was Phoenix 20, Trojans 0. Kennett, with 13 points, was, not surprisingly, named Man of the Match.

“This win gets our MSIRL campaign back on track at two wins and two losses," said Phoenix Coach Niall Fenton. "Now we need to build on it when we face Union County in Charlotte on February 25. Our games with Trojans are always close and intense so this win is particularly pleasing.”