Herlev- Two late touchdowns are not enough as Gold Diggers fail to overcome 22 unanswered points and fall to the Herlev Rebels 24-23.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon the short handed Gold Diggers took on the Herlev Rebels in the first game for both teams following the summer break. The Gold Diggers opened the scoring on their second offensive drive with an 11 play 75 yard drive capped off by a 27 yard field goal by Casper Reinhardt, who came out of ‘retirement’ to kick in the game. The Rebels got on the board following a high snap on a punt resulting in a safety. The score sat at 3-2 in favor of the Gold Diggers after 1 quarter of play.
Receiver Philip Holm attempts to stiff-arm a defender. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)
In the second quarter continued the defensive struggle continued. After several defensive stands from both teams, the Gold Diggers came up with a huge defensive play to extend their lead. About midway through the second quarter on a 2nd and 10 from the Gold Diggers 38 yard line, the Rebels dropped back to pass when the quarterback was blindsided by defensive lineman Dylan Drake. The jarring hit sent the ball squirting across the field where it was picked up by Mads Halborg Sørensen and returned 62 yards for a touchdown. After a successful PAT the Gold Diggers’ lead stood at 10-2. After the Gold Diggers defensive touchdown, it was all Rebels for the next two quarters as they reeled off 22 unanswered points. The Rebels tied the score on a 40 yard touchdown run late in the second quarter (2pt conversion good). In the 3rd quarter the Rebels took the lead on a 52 yard touchdown pass, and extended their lead with a defensive score of their own later in the 3rd quarter to push the score to 24-10.
Mads Halborg Sørensen returns a fumble for a score to give the Diggers a 10-2 lead in the 2nd quarter. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)
Trailing by 14 points at the start of the 4th quarter, the Gold Digger offense had failed to get anything going since the second drive of the game. Facing a must score drive with around 5 minutes left the Gold Digger offense came to life. Quarterback Kenneth Stender lead the offense on a 6 play scoring drive highlighted by 23 yard catch and run on 4th and 8 by Dylan Drake and capped off with a 12 yard touchdown catch by Drake 2 plays later (PAT was good). Following a quick 3 and out by the Gold Diggers defense, the offense got the ball back on their own 36 yard line trailing 24-17 with a little over 2 minutes remaining. Again Kenneth Stender lead the offense on another sustained drive this time covering 64 yards in 13 plays. The offense found pay dirt with :20 left when Stender completed a 7 yard pass to Drake who was able to get a foot down in the back of the endzone while securing the pass with one hand in double coverage. It was Drake’s second touchdown reception of the day and brought the Gold Diggers with in one point. However, the ensuing PAT was blocked leaving the score at 24-23 in favor of the Rebels.
The Gold Diggers celebrate a touchdown catch by Dylan Drake with :20 left in the 4th quarter to bring the score to 24-23. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)
The excitement was not over, as the Gold Diggers recovered the onside kick and would have one last shot. After a short competition to make a Hail Mary feasible, Stender threw up a pass to the end-zone which went uncaught. But the game was not over, the Rebels prevent defense got a little handsy and they were flagged for interference. With the 15 yard penalty the Gold Diggers decided to attempt a 40 yard field goal with no time remaining. The attempt came up short and the Rebels walked away victorious avenging a 55-12 thrashing at the hands of the Gold Diggers earlier in the season.
The loss moved the Gold Diggers to 4-3 with 3 games remaining in the regular season. Next up is the Aalborg 89ers the weekend of August 23.
Quarterback Kenneth Stender finished a run with authority in the Gold Diggers 24-23 loss to Herlev Rebels. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)
Dylan in Denmark 