Edinburgh Napier maintained their unbeaten record with a 42-6 win over the University of Edinburgh, handing their local rivals their first loss of the season.
The win saw Napier move to the top of BUCS Division 1 Scotland, swapping places with Edinburgh.
Napier won all four meetings last season, on the road to an unbeaten regular season.
Edinburgh started the new season strongly though, winning their first fixture under new head coach Dave Orr in a 22-0 win over Glasgow.
The Edinburgh derby started as an offensive shoot-out. The Knights scored first off a sustained opening drive with Cameron Dunn bulldozing over the goal line on a quarterback keep. Aaron Steel kicked the point after to put Napier ahead 7-0.
The power running game of the Knights contrasted to the quick perimeter screen game of the Mavericks, who sought to take advantage of their speedy personnel against a ferocious front seven.
The Mavericks answered back, using their speed to chip up the field with short checkdowns. The Knights defence found themselves on the back foot and Edinburgh took advantage to open up the vertical passing game.
The equalising touchdown came on a 12-yard seam ball over the middle, however the Mavericks pushed their luck on the conversion. The speed option attempt was strung out and stuffed, as the Knights defence finally awoke to hold the score at 6-7.
The following drive saw Napier answer with their own passing touchdown. Dunn let it rip to Gregor Pert on a wheel from the slot for a 70-yard screamer down the sideline.
The Knights defence forced a Mavericks punt on the following drive to give their offence the ball back. This time, Archie Inglis found the endzone on a 15-yard rush for his first touchdown of the night. The first quarter ended with Napier ahead 20-6.
The Knights ground attack continued to impose its will on the Mavericks defence in the second quarter, as the latter had no answer for the physicality of the offensive line. Archie Inglis added another pair of rushing touchdowns to give the Knights a 35-6 lead going into halftime.
Edinburgh received the ball to start the second half but as the floodlights came on, it became clear that the game was out of reach.
Napier regained possession on an interception by Fergus McNiven and struck quickly with a galloping 40-yard touchdown run from Inglis – his fourth of the game. This triggered the running clock as the score reached 42-6.
Archie Inglis was named gameday MVP for his dominating 17-276-4 rushing performance.
He said: “Anyone who is looking to play American Football will think Napier, instead of Edinburgh. There are lots of players coming up from under-19 so it’s important that they know where to go.
“The standings this year will be similar to many people’s predictions. We have come up from underdogs a couple years ago to be on top. Respect to the other teams, it’s no surprise that they are all very good.”
Napier now look ahead to their next game against the Aberdeen Bulls, back at home at Sighthill at the end of this month.
