Olympians shut out Aztecs in win
THE London Olympians put in arguably their best performance of the season on Sunday in Catford as they beat the Bristol Aztecs 30-0.
The South Londoners had beaten the West Country boys 10-6 in Bristol the previous week thanks to a Daniel Jeanton touchdown and an Ashley Faiers field goal, but they turned a close game into utter dominance on home soil.
Leslie Oluwale-Wilson led a sterling defensive effort with THREE of the Olympians five interceptions while Toyin Omodara scored two touchdowns for the Burgundy and White.
London started strong when Aaron Griffiths threw a 45-yard touchdown pass, with Faiers’ extra point making the score 7-0. Faiers added a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10 points before Oluwale-Wilson snagged his first two interceptions, the second one setting up Omodara’s first touchdown run of the day. Faiers’ extra point went in off the upright to make the score 17-0. The Aztecs sent a field goal attempt wide left and Omodara took advantage, going 42 yards for a touchdown on fourth down. The extra point missed, and Stefan Rivera-Gonsalves snagged an interception leaving the score 23-0 at half-time.
Ashton Campbell ended a promising Bristol drive early in the second half by breaking up a pass in the end zone and Oluwale-Wilson, who has been honing his skills Stateside in the offseason, picked off his third pass of the day.
“It seemed they were doing a lot of the same things as the previous week,” Oluwale-Wilson said. “They liked to play underneath us and if I stay in that zone, I’ll be there to intercept it and that’s why I was in the perfect position.”
Oluwale-Wilson explained that his time spent in the US was invaluable in making him a better player.
“I was training at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke and that taught me a lot,” he said. “The main difference is everyday practice. Everything is so crisp. They don’t waste time.
“It’s made a lot of improvement to my game. They get to train every day, so they don’t make mistakes, so every time I make a mistake I get frustrated. I try to aim for perfection. They were just quality there. I’ve never been beaten for speed in England and the first time I was there I got beaten for speed down the line and I was just, ‘OK’.”
The Olympians would leave their most impressive touchdown until last, with Raymond Sobowale breaking at least five tackles on his way to 30-yard score. The South Londoners made sure of the shutout late in the game when Kwame Oluwale-Wilson grabbed the team’s fifth interception with the Aztecs deep in London territory.
London are almost assured of a playoff place as they face an away game against Ipswich Cardinals, who they beat 27-0 in the capital in April, on Sunday in their final regular-season game of the campaign.
Photo courtesy of Vici Holdsworth
