Photo by Burt Granofsky (UltiPhotos)
By Avery Martin
Tannor Johnson-Go made his return, and Glory took over the fourth quarter to win 22-15 in the first of two straight games against the Montreal Royal.
The Royal got on the board first with an 83-yard goal to Christophe Tremblay-Joncas. Glory was able to respond to the Royal score fast. A long series of passes ended with Jeff Babbit in the end zone, then Glory scored on 2 consecutive breaks to make the score 3-1.
Boston made a habit of turning defense into offense by scoring on the break all afternoon.
“We got 7 breaks today,” said Glory head coach Sam Rosenthal. “Six is the number we target, and if we can do that, we feel pretty good about our O-line winning the game for us.”
The D-line scored three out of six first-quarter goals for Boston, and Glory was able to take a 6-4 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the reigning MVP took over, scoring or assisting on three of five glory goals in the second quarter. The rest of the team was able to feed off his momentum and stretch the lead to three going into the half.
Throughout the third quarter, Montreal generated some offense, but Boston was able to keep the lead at three. Glory’s offense was able to use their explosive athleticism to stretch the field, scoring four out of their five goals in the quarter from 30 yards out.
From there, Boston’s defense was able to take over the game, allowing only two scores in the final quarter, while scoring three of their own. Boston outscored the Royal 6-2 in the final frame to win the game and improve their record to 2-0.
Johnson-Go was able to make a big impact in his first game back.
“His pulls make a huge difference for us; he’s one of the best pullers in the league,” said Rosenthal. “After the turn, there were a couple of points today where he just took over.”
Johnson-Go had two goals, one assist, and a block in his return.
“It was awesome being back with the guys, it was fun,” said Johnson-Go. “Playing with the new guys is just like playing with the other guys from last year.”
Boston will play their first away game in Montreal after a week off on May 16. Boston is right where they want to be after winning their first two games at home, but they are not taking the challenge of playing in Montreal lightly.
“That’s probably the toughest environment in the league to play in; it’s always a difficult game up there,” said Rosenthal.
Boston is hoping to use the week off to get healthy after missing all three team captains today. Getting Peter Boerth, Brendan McCann, and Oscar Graff back will certainly provide a boost in Montreal on the 16th.
