Anthem have done it. After a string of 32 consecutive defeats, the Charlotte-based franchise earned their first ever victory on Saturday. It was a decisive result over an amalgamated California side, and accomplished in Orange County. At the final whistle the scoreboard read 39-26 in favor of the visitors, leaving the new-look Legion stunned.
Early points from the boot of Luke Carty got Anthem on the board first but Cole Semu finished from short range soon after to put California in the lead. Remarkably, that would be the last time the Legion were ahead in the contest.
The visitors exploded with three tries and 17 points in less than 20 minutes. Conner Mooneyham regathered his own kick ahead to score a 60-meter effort against the run of play. Campbell Robb was then on the bottom of a driving maul, and Mooneyham grabbed a brace when he stepped back inside to beat a flat-footed Legion defense.
A barrage of yellow cards left both teams shorthanded towards the end of the first half. Tom Pittman was binned first, followed by one from each team as Carty and Joe Mano were dispatched. Moments later Will Sherman saw yellow and with Anthem down to 13, Gonzalo Bertranou exploited the overlap to send Ryan James around the corner. The try closed the gap to 8 points at halftime, but that was as close as the Legion would get.
Erich Storti took a pop pass from Carty off the deck for the bonus point try, and Baden Godfrey touched down on the back of a pushover scrum just after the hour mark to put the game out of reach. Ramiro Gurovich would add some insurance while the home salvaged a bonus point thanks to late tries from Ben Sugars and Ben Houston.
Both teams return to action next Saturday. It will be a heroes welcome for Anthem when they play their home opener against Chicago next weekend, as the league moves into full swing. The Legion will lick their wounds and look for inspiration as they prepare to host the three-time defending champion New England Free Jacks, this time at their San Diego home of Torero Stadium.
LEGION 26
Tries (4) – C. Semu (7′), R. James (40’+2′), B. Sugars (69′), B. Houston (77′)
Cons (3) – C. Miln 3 (40’+3′, 70′, 78′)
YC (1) – J. Mano (39′)
ANTHEM 39
Tries (6) – C. Mooneyham 2 (12′, 28′), C. Robb (17′), E. Storti (56′), B. Godfrey (63′), R. Gurovich (74′)
Cons (3) – L. Carty 3 (29′, 57′, 64′)
Pens (1) – L. Carty (3′)
YC (3) – T. Pittman (30′), L. Carty (39′), W. Sherman (40’+1′)
CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Ma’ake Muti (17 Fred Apulu 29′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Ben Sugars 44′), 3 Tonga Kofe (18 Michael Scott 29′), 4 Keni Nasoqeqe (19 Justus Tavai 64′), 5 Jason Damm (capt.) (20 Chase Jones 64′), 6 Lance Williams (21 Ed Timpson 44′), 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Ryan James, 12 Nick Chan, 13 Cole Semu (22 Tas Smith 65′), 14 Joe Mano (23 Cassh Maluia 58′), 15 Steffan Crimp
ANTHEM RC
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio (17 Alessandro Heaney 50′), 2 Campbell Robb (16 Ramiro Gurovich 50′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Alex Hernandez 50′), 4 Will Sherman (19 Sam Golla 65′), 5 James Scott, 6 Johan Momsen (capt.), 7 Moni Tonga’uiha (22 Marques Fuala’au 50′), 8 Makeen Alikhan (20 Baden Godfrey 50′), 9 Zion Going (21 Karl Keane 66′), 10 Luke Carty, 11 Julian Roberts, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Erich Storti, 14 Conner Mooneyham (23 Will Leonard 67′), 15 Jordan Trainor
Date: Saturday, March 28
Venue: Championship Stadium, Irvine
Kickoff: 15:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 80°F (27°C), wind W 10-15 mph (16-24 km/h)
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Mike Lawrenson (USA)
TMO: n/a