Oxford Saints 24

Redditch Arrows 7

HOPES of another undefeated season for the Redditch Arrows were dashed with a loss in the opening game of their 2005 campaign away at Oxford.

Oxford quarterback Mayers used his receivers to good effect with all their scoring coming mostly via the air.

A 43-yard pass from Mayers for the first score set the tone with some fine running after the catch by wide receiver Watts. The Redditch secondary lay strewn in his wake as several missed tackles contributed to the score.

The highlight of the first quarter for Redditch saw the efforts of rookie Phil Grove denied after a 15-yard gain on a reverse was called back on a penalty.

Both defences dominated the second quarter as Redditch began to find their form of last season. As half-time approached Oxford were threatening to score but the Arrows defence rose to the challenge, stopping their opponents inside the 20.

With only seconds remaining a fumble gifted the ball back to Oxford and gave them an opportunity to extend their lead. This time there was no defiant defensive stand and a pass over the middle to Saints' Losos gave the home side a 12-0 lead at the half.

A change of quarterback for the second half saw the Arrows performance improve. Phil de Cassan made his first start for the Arrows and lifted his team's hopes with some crisp passing.

The Arrows burst back into the game after some intense pressure saw the ball badly sliced by an Oxford punter and it went out of bounds. With one yard to go De Cassan faked a handoff to the fullback then pivoted round to thrust the ball into the eager grasp of Dave Mills who exploded through a gap in the line for Redditch's first points.

Having missed a field goal in the first half, kicking duties were handed back to second year veteran kicker Jon Riddell who duly slotted over to make the scores 12-7.

As the game moved into the last quarter so the Arrows fortunes changed again. It was the Oxford pairing of Mayers and Watts who combined for a 62-yard touchdown that saw the Arrows comeback hopes turn to despair.

Late in the game Mayers got his fourth touchdown pass to extinguish any hopes of a Redditch comeback.

The Arrows have three weeks until their next game when Sunday, May 1, sees the visit of the Sussex Thunder to Kings Norton Rugby Club in Hopwood (KO 2.30pm).