Lura Bulls 40 – Eidsvoll 1814s 18
Lura Bulls quarterback Harry Peoples has had an outstanding season and on Sunday he capped it brilliantly rushing for two touchdowns, returning a punt for one and throwing for two more in leading the underdog Lura Bulls to a lopsided 40-18 victory over the Eidsvoll 1814s to win the 2015 Norwegian championship.
However, the game did not develop quite the way the score might indicate. Although Peoples scored an electrifying punt return touchdown to give the Bulls a 6-0 lead early on (watch the video below), the 1814s maintained their poise. Running back Aaron Harris, who has been unstoppable all season and especially in the past four games, scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day to give Eidsvoll a 7-6 lead.
Harry Peoples, Championship MVP
Later in the half, with neither team managing to move the ball much, the 1814s penetrated the Bulls red zone but advanced no further opting for a field goal to extend the lead to 10-6 which is how the half ended.
The fireworks exploded in the second half as costly Eidsvoll turnovers and Peoples’ brilliant play changed the momentum of the game. First, Peoples lofted a perfectly timed pass to Edvard Duvsete, who feinted one man and took the ball in for the score as the Bulls regained the lead 12-10.
Then Edisvoll coughed the ball up in their own end on the next possession and the Bulls wasted no time as Peoples scored his second of the day giving Lura a sudden 18-12 lead (three missed PATs kept the game closer). The 1814s continued to commit costly errors fumbling the ball once again and the Bulls capitalized stretching the lead to 26-12 (they succeeded on a two-point conversion this time).
Simon Bruset and Enrique Williams stopping 1814s ground game
This seemed to sap the last strength out of the 1814s and discarding their ground game late in the contest which effectively took Aaron Harris out of the game, they turned the ball over again. The Bulls added two more touchdowns in the fourth and captured their first ever Norwegian title.
Harry Peoples was named Championship MVP for good reason as he was brilliant on a day when the Bulls needed him to be. He scored touchdowns on the ground, in the air and returning punts. On defense, defensive back Simon Bruset along with linebackers Enrique Williams and Eric Baden as well as defensive lineman Ole Petter Ølberg all played at the top of their games and the defensive unit contributed with a touchdown of its own via Bruset.
For the 1814s, Aaron Harris played an great game in a losing cause, scoring two touchdowns.
