After three months of hard training, the Tigers left Baton Rouge Friday night in search of their first live action of the USAFL season. After taking in the sights and sounds of beautiful Houston, Texas, they made their way to Cullen Park for their annual showdown with the Lonestars.
The Tigers’ first match of the day for the Ruggles Cup was against a Houston squad that just defeated Tulsa/OKC by a comfortable margin. It was easy to see that the Lonestars continued to fire on all cylinders early in the first half as the Tigers struggled for answers to slow down the Houston midfielders and keep the ball out of our defensive 50. After several halftime adjustments, and with some encouragement from Coach Heintze, the second half saw a group of Tigers playing with an increased confidence and intensity around the ball that helped them to win a few more contests and eventually kick 2.2.14 for the match. However, it was not enough to stop the Lonestars from kicking 12.7.79 and retaining the Ruggles Cup for 2017. Tigers Best: Ryan Baldasarro
The Tigers took a few breaths and regrouped to face off against Tulsa/OKC in their second game. We expected a tough, well coached club to make the trip down from Tulsa and they did not disappoint. However, the adjustments made in the second half of the first match were carried over into this contest, and there was no lack of intensity to be found from the Tigers in this one. As a result, the Tigers had more success moving the ball forward to impact the scoreboard than the Buffaloes. In the end, we pulled out our first victory of the season with a final of 7.7.49 to 3.5.23. Tigers Best: Austin LeBouef
All three clubs and supporters gathered at The Pheonix on Westheimer to celebrate the day. Meat pies were devoured, ice cold beers were drank, and rookies did their shots! A wonderful way to end a fantastic day of footy!
Next up: St. Pete/Tampa Bay on May 6th at 2pm at Clark Park in Baker, LA.
Baton Rouge Tigers Australian Rules Football Club 