Kent Exiles 52 v 29 Staffordshire Surge

British American Football League (BAFL) Division 1A Quarter-Final

KENT Exiles turned in a great display to usurp the Surge and set up a rematch with the Coventry Jets.

Exiles lost to Coventry in the BritBowl final last year despite leading with just minutes remaining.

Now they have a chance to avenge the defeat in the area semi-final stage of the competition.

The Surge match was a fans' dream to watch as both offences found it easy to move the ball and score in the early stages.

The Exiles took the opening kick off and immediately drove downfield to score on Joel Grundy's 15-yard pass to Sean Starwind and a quick 6-0 lead.

But the Surge ran a simple yet very effective offence behind the masterful Richard Large at quarterback, and he led them straight back to score on a 35-yard field goal from Jonathan Wood.

The next play saw Exile Stewart Muir sprint 72 yards for the score on his way to earning a BAFL player of the week nomination for his 161 yards and three touchdowns performance.

Again Surge hit back as John Ellis rumbled over from the one-yard line and the quarter ended at 12-9 to Exiles.

The Exiles found the endzone on their third drive when Jordan Cropper scored and Michael Turner this time nailed the extra point.

But once again Large led the Surge back and he found the endzone himself on a one-yard dive to finish the drive.

Exiles scored again through Eddie Gray which left the score 25-15 at half time.

After the break Muir got back in the action with his second touchdown, this time from 11 yards out, and Turner was again good with the extra points to open a 17-point lead.

Lee Tretheway then scored for the Surge and Large ran in the two-point conversion to bring the deficit down for a comeback.

But on their next drive the Exiles scored again through Turner.

Aaron Alexis then snaffled Large's only mistake of the day and returned the interception 17 yards before being hauled down.

This allowed the offensive unit to again score as Muir rounded out his hat trick with a five-yard scamper.

Despite another Surge touchdown through Steven Ward, Exiles' Martin Jefkins and Gary Ead scored again to break the 50-point mark and seal the win.

Head coach James Mitchell said: "Once again this team has surprised me.

"We were dominant on offence today and our defence struggled a little for the first time this season."

For more details, visit kent exiles.co.uk