Meiji vs. Sendai: Spring Open Victory | Sports Newspaper Club

The final match against Sendai University will be concluded with victory / Spring Open

　In the final match of the spring exhibition game, they faced Senn University. From the first quarter, they took the lead with a TD (touchdown), and they grabbed the flow of the attack and scored 19 points by the end of the first half. The opponent took the pace out of the second half, making a noticeable mistake, but they kept on winning until the end of the match.

◆4/26-7/6 Spring Opening Games (Amino Vital Field, etc.)

▼6/29: Sensei War (Amino Vital Field)

〇Meidai 31 {7-0, 12-0, 6-7, 6-15} 22 Senior High School

The match began with Meiji University’s attack. Sendai intercepted a pass and turned to defense, but Sendai decided to retreat with a tackle from LB #6 Tate Toranosuke (4th Politics and Economics, Meiji University Nakano) and Sendai chose to punt and immediately regained the right to attack. The attack, which began at 18 yards from his own territory, progressed to 22 yards with RB #37 Kimura Kai (2nd Commercial University, Meiji) with a rampley from RB #37, and then successfully played a pass to WR #18 Sugizaki Tomonori (4th Politics and Economics, Meiji University, Nakano) and WR #19 Igarashi Kouki (4th Psycho-economics, Sayamagaoka) to a few inches from the finish line. In that situation, Kimura held the ball and pushed the opposing defense team in and took the lead with a TD. After that, neither side was able to grasp the pace of their attacks and continued to switch offense and defense, and the first quarter ended. Immediately after the start of the second quarter, the ball crossed Igarashi and ran alone for a distance of 60 yards and succeeded in TD. “I checked before I entered and knew I was going to play. There was a conversation about taking one shot here, so I was just trying to bring it to me,” Igarashi. He continued to take the lead in the game, and in the second quarter, 5 minutes and 8 seconds into the first quarter, Kimura took the ball with the attack right before the goal, and jumped into the position where the defense was waiting, making the TD a success. In conversion, you choose a play and fail, and you pass the attack right to the opponent with a 19-0 chance. Sensei University’s attack was taken to the goal at around 20 yards, but DL #91 Watanabe Daihashi (Politics and Economics 1, Meiji Gakuin) successfully sacked the QB, preventing Sensei University from attacking. “We were unable to overcome the senior’s barrier and continued to wait as a sub, but this time there were a lot of plays, so this was the last game of the exhibition games, so I was focusing on this match with the feeling that this is the only place where we could seize a chance,” Watanabe. Kimura caught the opponent’s punt and advanced from his own territory to a 49 yard point, but with three failed passes, he was replaced by offense and defensive force. Sensei University’s attack allowed them to reach the 8th yard position, but the DL #95 Ikeda Hibiki (3rd, Toyotama)’s QB sack was decided, suppressing Sensei University’s momentum and the team finished the first half with no conceding goals.

The second half was led by a large number of leads, but they lost momentum both offensively and defensively. He advanced to 35 yards from the interception to the goal, and passed the ball to allow a TD. However, in the subsequent attacks, RB #5 Uno Rakusho (Political Science and Economics 3 = Doshisha International), Kimura, and RB #31 Yoda Yusuke (Political Science and Economics 1 = Chiba Nihon University Ichi) each advanced 20 yards in a Rampley. The attack started from 1 yard point to the goal, and Uno swung the defense and scored a TD. It seemed like he managed to get back into shape, but he easily allowed a TD on the following defense, and was able to score another TD after an interception caused by a mistake. After that, the opposing player was planning to intercept him, and he was unable to attack as he wanted, with a quarterback sack. However, with 2 minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Watanabe successfully intercepted the opponent’s pass, and he ran for 15 yards to the end zone and scored a TD. “I’ve been playing American football since high school, and it was my first time picking up the ball and heading into the touchdown zone, so at first I didn’t know what to do, but for now I took the ball and ran forward. Then my friends chased me from behind with such a great deal of energy, which made me so happy,” Watanabe. This play brought back the tide that was almost stolen by the opponent and ended the game.

This match ended the Spring Open with 3 wins and 3 losses. Looking back at the exhibition games, he said, “We were very conscious of how to get through the final second, running until the end of the whistle, and running until the end, and how we all can all run together, but that wasn’t really perfect yet,” said Takahashi, and “We had the challenge of not being crucial in detail, so I think we need to focus more on those parts during practice” (Igarashi). As there were many small mistakes in this game, the current challenges are clear. “My goal is to set the number one in Japan and keep on moving forward, but even if I watch too many of Japan’s number one, I’ll be overwhelmed, so I want to seriously and cherish each game (Takahashi), “I want to accumulate each game at a time with the last season, and if I lose it, I’ll end up aiming for the number one in Japan” (Igarashi). My goal is to start my steady step towards my big dreams, and based on my experience this spring, I am starting to take a steady step towards my big dreams.

[福田翔人]

Comments after the match

Takahashi

――Please tell us about specific issues.

“The specific challenges are that as a team, there are many people who can’t leave things to others that are saying that they should all be able to work together, such as the final battle between everyone, the whole team will make a sound, the whole team will go up and down a little, and that they can’t leave it to others to do what they’re saying, so I think the challenge is to have a little more awareness among the entire team.”

――What were you aware of when leading the new system?

“We’re sure to have a team that is built mainly by the fourth graders, so I think that if the fourth graders don’t think the attitude of the fourth graders to run the most, the fourth graders run the most, and the fourth graders do the best until the end is not seen as underclassmen, so I’m particularly conscious of the fourth graders doing the most.”

Igarashi

――How did you look back at the entire game?

“I think there were some obvious mistakes that should not be made overall, and the rules that I’ve always been aware of as a sideline issue, and the benchwork on the sidelines were not properly done throughout the entire process.”

――I had the impression that he was being pushed down in the second half.

“I think the overall atmosphere of the players has been declining because they are not gaining momentum, and I think the challenge for now is that there is no one who has the ability to change that.”

Watanabe

――After TD, you were blessed by your teammates, what kind of words did you say?。

“My seniors always talk to me very well and create a fun atmosphere, so it was just like “nice” and a positive feeling. Everyone was excited about the bench, which I think was great.”

――How about looking back at the whole spring?

“I myself didn’t get much of an opposition to play except in this match, and I ended up like a sub-character, but I was able to play well in this last match, so I think it would have been good to look back at the whole thing.”

――Please let us know if you have any enthusiasm for the fall league match.

“I will do my best to break through the barriers of my seniors, and to make myself do my best and make the fourth graders win.”

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