The UAE Falcons picked up a resounding 27-0 win over the American University of Beirut (AUB) on Saturday.
The game, coach Kyle Jordan’s first in charge, was AUB’s first-ever, while the Falcons had never played a game outside of the UAE.
Ziad Choueri, in his native country, stole the show, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of the Falcons’ convincing win.
Chris Wentzel did the damage in the first three quarters, giving the Falcons a 13-0 lead.
While the scoreline was convincing, Falcons co-captain Dustin Cherniawski said the AUB were no pushovers.
From the quarterback position, Wentzel ran the first half, passing 25 yards to Saeed Suleiman to open the scoring before Vivaldi Tulysse ran in a stunning 47-yard rushing touchdown to take the score to 13 at the half.
AUB battled through the third quarter before eventually succumbing to a 15-yard Choueri rush. The Lebanese then grabbed a second from an interception.
“They were like a pack of wild animals,” said Cherniawski. “Their defence came out flying and consistently had five players around the ball.
“Defensively, we played very strong and, with the help of our special teams, we maintained good field position. After a few offensive series, we settled in and started to move the ball.
“Chris (Wentzel) connected with his receiver a few times and that opened up the running game for us. We stuck with that for most of the game.”
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