It took more than a year, but the Dubai Stallions got back to winning ways as their 19-8 victory over the Abu Dhabi Wildcats snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Ever since the Stallions lifted the Emirates American Football League (EAFL) Desert Bowl trophy back in 2015, wins have been more at a premium for a team that has suffered consistent turnover both on the field and on the sidelines.
But after coming away empty-handed through the first two weeks of this season, the Stallions got off the mark to earn head coach Patrick Campos his first victory with his new club by beating Abu Dhabi at The Sevens on Friday.
Offence had been a bright spot for the Stallions even in their two losses and the attack was impressive once again with Joe Chamberlain getting his first start at quarterback.
“It was amazing to get back under (centre),” said Chamberlain. “It’s been about six years since I last played QB. The last time I played we lost by about 44 so I’m quite glad we got the victory today and got the monkey off my back.”
There was little to celebrate for the Wildcats, however, as they remained winless by moving to 0-3 (one loss by forfeit).
It’s been a trying start to the season for Tony Robinson’s men after reaching consecutive Desert Bowls the past two years.
Once known for controlling the trenches, the Wildcats have struggled early on with line play.
“We have to have a little more pressure up front. I mean, our offensive line was pushed around a bit today,” said wide receiver and safety Paul Carrizosa.
“But we have a lot of faith in our guys. We need to get a little more time in practice, get some of the puzzle pieces back in order and I’m confident we can win football games.”
The top two of the teams in the league, meanwhile, battled to an 8-8 draw on Friday.
Both times the Al Ain Desert Foxes and Dubai Barracudas have now met, they’ve deadlocked in a tie – the first came in a scoreless half of football in a round robin format in the opening week.
Each team’s offence was able to find the end zone this time, with Al Ain switching up their attack to finally score against the Barracudas’ stingy defence, which allowed their first points of the season.
“Our coach implemented a new offence and I think we executed it alright, considering we only had two days to practice it,” said Desert Foxes wide receiver and defensive back Te’andre McKinney. “A lot of our guys were injured so I think we did pretty good with what we had.”
On the other side of the ball, coach Johnny Sharp wasn’t pleased to see his defence surrender points again. So as he did two weeks ago, Sharp made his team run after the final whistle.
And McKinney expects some more tough love this week, saying: “I’m pretty sure we’re going to get it at practice.”
The Desert Foxes and Barracudas are knotted atop the standings with a 2-0-1 record, but the defending champions hold the tiebreaker with their superior point differential.
