Dubai Barracudas Varsity head coach Herman Vicks paid tribute to his side’s stamina as they broke the Abu Dhabi stranglehold over the Desert Bowl II.
Teams from the capital won every single showpiece game on the season’s final day, bar the varsity match as the Scorpions took the Pee Wee honours before the Wildcats won both the junior varsity and men’s matches.
However, they were denied a clean sweep in dramatic circumstances as Nigel Scholten scored his second touchdown of the game, in overtime, to edge a close encounter against the Wildcats 12-6.
“It’s exhilarating, you have ups and downs in the game but true champions come out on top and the true champions won on the day,” Vicks said.
“The difference came down to endurance, our guys wanted it more. On the last couple of drives I noticed that their defence was just walking back to the line so I just took advantage of that, tried to run a hurry-up on them.”
The Barracudas could have wrapped up the game at the end of regulation time but for a fumble.
And with just enough time on the clock for the Wildcats to launch one last attack from deep inside their own half, Vicks thought his side had made a costly mistake.
He added: “I actually thought the game was over, that they were going to do a hail Mary or something and get lucky.
“I tried to challenge it but the referees agreed; but we came out on top.”
