Portland and South Shore went toe to toe this past weekend but all either side had to show for it was a 7-7 draw after 80 minutes of spirited play.
Morning rain gave way to afternoon showers, yielding some slippery conditions, but that didn't deter the powerful South Shore backs from running the ball at most opportunities. After repeated forays into the Portland half this pressure eventually told when the South Shore winger broke free of a tackle just inside the Portland 22 and thus put himself clear through to score. 7-0 to the visitors, and although they continued to apply pressure for the remainder of the half they were unable to make any further breakthroughs.
Some changes at the half saw Portland begin to exert some pressure of their own, which was soon rewarded with a(nother) try fo Steve Stewart, who seems to be able to squeeze through gaps most of the rest of us would get stuck in.
Most of the second half was played at a frenetic pace as both sides tried to break the stalemate. Although each had their opportunties, neither was able to convert them and so in the end things remained tied up at the final whistle. Portland moves to 1-0-1, although probably sit somewhere like 3rd place in the league thanks to a dearth of bonus points.
Fortunately the B game was to provide more in the way of scoring, and probably entertainment value also, as the enthusiastic B's looked to reverse their fortunes from the previous week.
Portland opened their account in the first half through a quick tap penalty taken by Murph (senior) that caught South Shore napping and allowed him to sneak in to the try zone. No conversion, so that was all the scoring for the first half. 5-0 in Portland's favor.
The second half saw the champagne moment of the day as another old timer, Leo Caouette, floated through the South Shore defense and evaded several tackles before eventually offloading to Brendon Gibb to finish the move. 10-0 Portland.
Finally, Mr. Highstepper himself, Tractor, bullied his way into the end zone for one more score. This time Matt Winch's conversion was good, bringing Portland's total to 17. South Shore on the other hand, most of whom were playing their second game of the day, just seemed glad to get it over with, so that's how it ended up.
MOTM honors for the first game went to Evan Harding and his new kicking boots, while honors for the second game went to Leo and his dancing slippers.
Portland host Charles River this Saturday, at Dougherty Field again, 1pm.
