SUNDAY, April 15, 2018 is a day that will live long in Wyverns history, writes James Gibson.

It was the first game of league American Football to take place in Somerset since 1994 and it was one the entire British American Football community expected them to lose heavily, to recently-relegated South Wales Warriors.

The Wyverns won the coin toss and opted to receive, giving their offence a chance to lay down a marker from the outset.

They did just that, with a 29-yard catch by Jake Viney getting the Wyverns up and running straight away.

Unfortunately, things started to stumble from that point as they struggled to build on that initial success.

The Warriors ultimately made it 8-0 in the first quarter after a long drive down the field for a touchdown.

After that, it was a fairly even game, with the Wyverns offence struggling to make any headway in the wet and muddy conditions at North Petherton and the defence putting in a solid effort to prevent several close calls.

The score stayed 8-0 to the Division 2 favourites until, with 1 minute 20 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, the Wyverns offence took to the field once more.

A long drive down the field with several big plays showed what the Wyverns offence is capable of and, with 18 seconds left, they scored a touchdown thanks to Matt Hadfield catching a deflected ball to make it 8-6.

Unfortunately, they were unable to convert and the two-point gap remained through to the final whistle.

All in all, it was a solid team effort that saw the defence keep the Wyverns in the game and the offence fell just short of producing the fairytale ending they deserved.

Both teams can now look forward to the rest of their respective campaigns, with the Wyverns welcoming the Worcester Black Knights on April 29.