The Dunboyne Wildcats have been crowned Emerald Bowl XI champions today at the National Sports Campus, defeating the Belfast Trojans in the final by a score of 48-32.
The playoff bracket to begin the day saw the 3rd seeded Trojans set to face the 6th seeded Maynooth Hurricanes, while the 4th seeded South Dublin Panthers saw the 5th seeded North Down Dragons. The 1st seed Wildcats awaited the lower seeded team that advanced, while the 2nd seed Dublin Bay Raptors would see the higher seed.
In the Wildcard round, both higher seeds won identical one point victories over their opponents as the Panthers defeated the Dragons 27-26 and the Trojans defeated the Hurricanes 27-26, thrilling wins for the victors and heartbreak for the losers. The semifinals saw the Wildcats beat up on the Panthers 40-13, ending the Panthers attempt for a 4th consecutive Emerald Bowl win. Meanwhile, the Trojans upset the Raptors 27-12, returning to the Emerald Bowl again for the second year in a row.
The 3rd place game saw the Panthers defeat the Raptors 46-12 to take home the bronze, a result to be proud of for both teams, even if it fell short of the ultimate goal.
Emerald Bowl XI came down to the Dunboyne Wildcats and the Belfast Trojans. The Wildcats, were dominant in the regular season after dropping their first two games in the first week, going on to win eight straight in dominant fashion. The Trojans took a more winding route going 7-3 on the season, though two of their losses came at the hands of the Wildcats, 25-20 on October 25th and 40-14 the week before on November 1st. In the final, the Wildcats managed to keep their result the same, as they defeated the Trojans by the final score of 48-32, becoming Mixed Flag National Champions for the first time.
Congratulations to all the playoff teams for a wonderful day of flag!
