Venue: Greystones Rugby Club.

SCORERS:
1st Quarter: CAR: Paul McKillop 74yard pass from Stephen McDowell (0-6); DUB: Carl Faichney 75yd reverse, Brian Dennehy 2xpt (8-6); CAR: David Wright 2yd run, Paul McKillop 2xpt (8-14).
2nd Quarter: CAR: Paul McKillop 5yd pass from Stephen McDowell, David Wright 2xpt (8-22).
3rd Quarter: DUB: Brian Dennehy 17 yard pass from Andrew Dennehy, Mark Kelly 2xpt (16-22).
4th Quarter: DUB: Mark Kelly 17yd pass from Andrew Dennehy, Brian Dennehy 2xpt (24-22).

REPORT:
The Dublin Rebels won Shamrock Bowl XVIII, the closest in IAFL history, with a 24-22 victory over the Carrickfergus Knights. The Knights nearly clinched victory with only 1:06 left in the fourth quarter, but had a successful 40 yard field goal cancelled by a penalty for having twelve men on the field at the time of the kick. The game, which was played at Greystones Rugby Club also attracted the largest crowd in many years and featured a half time show for the first time ever.

The Rebels won the coin toss and opted to receive the opening kick-off. However, they turned the ball over on downs to the Knights. The Knights scored almost immediately when Paul McKillop caught a 74 yard pass from Stephen McDowell on their first series on offense - McKillop scored a similar 80 yard touchdown in last years Shamrock Bowl. The Rebels fought back straight away. After returning the kick-off, receiver Carl Faichney scored a touchdown on a 75 yard reverse run which was followed by a Brian Dennehy 2 point conversion. On their next possession, the Knights looked strong. A first down reception by Spencer McDowell put them in scoring range and David Wright ran the ball in from 2 yard out. Paul McKillop's 2 point conversion gave them a 14-8 lead. An interception by Knights cornerback David Worbey stopped the Rebels on their next drive, however, they failed to convert the turnover into points and turned the ball over on downs. The Knights defense stopped the Rebels on their next possession, partially due to a couple of knocked down passes by Knights cornerback Mark Pollock. The Knights then put together a nice drive which resulted in a 5 yard touchdown pass from Stephen McDowell to Paul McKillop. A David Wright conversion gave them a 22-8 lead. The Rebels managed to get a first and goal on their final possession of the half, but a fumble on the Knights 2 yard line on the final play of the half was recovered by Alastair Best to give the Knights a 22-8 halftime lead.

The Rebels came back at the Knights early in the third quarter. Receptions from Carl Faichney and Simon Mackey set up a 17 yard touchdown pass from Andrew Dennehy to Brian Dennehy in which Brian Dennehy showed his experience by just getting his feet down in the endzone after a very difficult catch near the sideline. The Rebels defense, led by Sean Shanahan and Paul Smyth then began to get into the game, stopping the Knights offense on their next possession by causing a fumble which was recovered by Marcus Naylor on the Knights 22 yard line. However, the Knights defense, led by Mark Harris was equally strong, causeing the Rebels to turn over the ball on downs. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, both defenses seemed to dominate. The Knights Darren Montgomery recovered a fumbled handoff and then the Rebels defense stopped the Knights. Towards the end of the half, the Rebels put together one last drive, with some good runs by Brian Dennehy and Mark Kelly. With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Mark Kelly tied the game when he caught a short reception out of the backfield and ran in a touchdown. Veteran running back Brain Dennehy got what would turn out to be the game winning score by carrying in the 2 point conversion to give the Rebels a 24-22 lead. However, the game wasn't quite over. After receiving the kick-off, Knights receiver Clinton McDowell and Rebels cornerback Kevin Finnegan both came down with a joint possession on a long pass from Stephen McDowell which, by rule, gave the Knights a first down deep in the Rebels half. A couple of plays later, with just over a minute left on the clock, Stephen McDowell of the Knights kicked the aforementioned field goal which cancelled by a penalty to give the Rebels a 24-22 victory and the Shamrock Bowl title.

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