BCAFL Update
With two weeks to go till the end of the BCAFL regular season, teams are turning up the intensity in the hope of securing a playoff spot.
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The first quarter set the tone for the game with a string of tough drives as both defences held firm. Kingsley Ejiogu broke a 60 yard run to the Birmingham 3, only for Oxford to be denied their first score and the quarter ended scoreless. Oxford continued to move the ball on offence with a number of long drives, finally culminating in a 20 yard touchdown pass from Greenbacker to TE John Barclay to put the Cavaliers up 6 – 0.
The Lions came out in the 3rd Qtr fired up and took the opening drive 70 yards for a TD. This was a familiar result with QB Stuart Ennis hitting Dave Winter in the corner of the Endzone for the TD. The big play on this drive came from WR Rhodri Evans who hauled in a 35 yard pass from Ennis to move the Lions deep into Cavs territory. Ian Battison converted the PAT which gave the Lions a 7 – 6 lead. The teams continued to trade long drives until the Oxford defence stepped up in the 4th quarter to regain the momentum. DE Rob Padgett forced a fumble on an option pitch and MLB Matt Moorcroft was there to capitalise on the loose ball. The Oxford offence took advantage of the great field position and Ejiogu punched the ball in from 8 yards out. Ejiogu scampered round the right end for the two point conversion. With six minutes left on the clock, the Birmingham offence mounted one last drive taking the final ball of the game 70 yards to the Oxford 15 yard line, where on 4th down and 5, the drive stalled with an incomplete pass.
The Lions now have to wait to see the results of other teams over the next 2 weeks to see if they can win the central division and where they will rank in the playoffs, while Oxford still have a remaining three fixtures to play in the next two weeks.
UCH SHARKS 14 UEA PIRATES 6
The first Half was a ‘to and fro’ encounter, neither team managing to score despite gaining positive yardage. There was strong play on either sides of the ball, especially the Sharks revamped defensive line which played well all game. After the break the Sharks surged forward on their opening procession through some strong work by veteran RB’s Robert Avery and Richard Cochrane but they couldn’t score.
After another 3 and out by the Pirates, Hull got the ball back and pressed on. A 15 yard rush by Victor Choi broke the deadlock and put the Sharks up by 6. The score was further increased when a botched punt allowed first game rookie Ben Breen to tackle the Pirates punter Ian Burchett in his own end zone for a safety. Another offensive mistake by the Pirates gave Hull the ball back 10 yards from UEA’s endzone. This was capitalised upon by the Sharks QB Marc Gent gaining his first passing TD when he connected with WR Mike Barrett.
UEA however refused to give up and got their just deserts in the 4th Quarter when QB Jacob Banik connected with WR Ed Franklin. UEA continued to comeback into the match thanks to some strong work by Banik however in the end the Sharks D held on.
HERTFORDSHIRE HURRICANSE 26 PA SURREY STINGERS 0
This one was a must-win game for Herts. Off the back of a narrow defeat at Southampton Herts needed to show the rest of the league what they were made of, and playing against old rivals Surrey made for an exciting match. The Herts D came out strong in the first quarter, holding the Stingers in their half of the field, causing them to give up possession on downs and give the Hurricanes Offense time to find its rhythm. They found it in the second quarter when veteran RB Andy Cochrane ran it in from 2yds. The Hurricanes went for the two-point conversion and were successful with Cochrane again running it in from 2 yds. Conditions were perfect for the Hurricanes Offense to exploit their passing game. This came into evidence when QB Junior Price found RB Richard McHugh open on the right flank and with little resistance McHugh ran it in from 33 yards out.
The second half saw a spirited display from the Stingers on both Offense and Defense. Stingers O began to march up the field with Herts D struggling to contain Stingers RB Tobin. But Herts played strong and eventually forced Surrey to punt. In the 3rd quarter the Hurricanes offense exploited the talents of QB Price. With the O-line providing great pass protection, Price threw a pin-point pass to RB McHugh out in the flats who sprinted 66 yards into the end-zone. The Hurricanes completed their scoring in the 3rd with another run from Cochrane, this time from 21 yards out. The 4th quarter saw both Defenses holding out well and conceding no points. Final score: Herts 26-0 Stingers. Only Essex stand in the way of the Hurricanes 5th Divisional title in 10 years.
DERBY BRAVES 6 NEWCASTLE RAIDERS 20
To start with the teams were very evenly matched, with two great defences playing two off form offences. For the first quarter the match stayed entirely in one half of the pitch. After an interception touchdown by a Newcastle linebacker was declined, just a few moments later a derby backer scored a 22-yard interception. After half time both teams came firing out. Newcastle’s offence started to come together after some great play by the d, stopping derby consistently giving the o time to build momentum. A big aggressive physical derby never stopped dishing out the hits but eventually an on form Newcastle kept calm and ended up in control.
UKC FALCONS 26 ESSEX BLADES 0
A vastly improved Essex combined with a rusty Falcons resulted in a closer return leg. The Falcons started well, with Mike Whitby returning the ball for 60 yards to put the offence in good field position. Whitby then completed the score, receiving a 15 yard pass from a HB option by Gareth Wright. The Blades responded with a long drive led by their resilient QB Joe Stickins, but came up short at the end. The Falcons scored in the 2nd quarter, courtesy from a 35 yard flare pass, received by Mike Manetta and thrown by QB William Hogan. The 3rd quarter saw no score and it wasn’t until the 4th quarter that the Falcons offence started firing with Hogan scoring withsneak from the 1 yard line. The 2 PAT was successful with RB Gareth Wright blasting through with a 3yd run. The Falcons completed the scoring with a 15 yard pass received by Manetta to end the game at 26-0. Much credit to the Blades who have made an impressive improvement and will be a team to watch out for next season. The win for the Falcons puts them in good stead to reach their first ever playoffs.
SHEFFIELD SABRES 2 UT COUGARS 14
UT Cougars travelled to Sheffield, hoping to repeat their early season victory and further their playoff chances, whilst Sheffield were still searching for the first victory. What Teesside found was a determined Sheffield side, whose first half passing game forced the Cougar’s defence into retreat. Unable to force the ball into the endzone however, Teesside’s offence would be given a chance to drive back into Sheffield territory. With the defences both standing firm, the only score of the half was a first quarter Safety, with Sabres DT Eddy Mellor bursting through the line of scrimmage like a tram, making the tackle on Teesside’s punter as he attempted to scramble out of the endzone.
Teesside returned from the half time break resolute on both sides of the football. Despite having no completed passes throughout the game, their running backs consistently picked up the short yardages required to convert to First Downs, and a tiring Sheffield defence were gradually picked apart. It was in the 4th Quarter that the break for Teesside finally came, with Rich Marshall and Ben McQueeny successful on red-zone offence, running in two Touchdowns to put the game beyond Sheffield’s reach. A two-point conversion was added by Teesside QB Pete Rogers, leaving the final score Teesside 14 - Sheffield 2.
BRISTOL BULLETS 6 CARDIFF COBRAS 18
The Cobras make the short trip across the Severn with one goal in mind: stop the Bullets’ perennial scoring machine Kenny Savo. Keeping Kenny in check proved to be the key that allowed the Welshmen to avenge last year’s narrow defeat and claim the Southwest Division with an 18-6 victory over the Bullets.
The day could not have started better for the Cobras. After winning the coin toss, Cardiff struck immediately as Geraint Hill broke free for his second TD kick-off return in as many games. Once again behind some key special teams blocking, Hill raced 80 yards to put the Cobras up 6-0 with only a few ticks off the clock. The Cardiff defence then got a chance to showcase its talent; the Bullets were jammed and forced to punt. The linebacking core of Phil Hume, Martin Barratt and Tim Macy fought through fierce blocking from the Bullets O-line to make key stops, and allowing safeties Simon ‘Furious George’ Purcell and Chris Davies to step up for crushing tackles on the running backs. However, late in the first quarter, the Bristol veteran Savo did what he’s prone to do and broke free on a 45-yard TD jaunt. As the extra point flew wide to the left, the second quarter began with both teams feeling the need for more defensive pressure.
And defence remained the word of the day for much of the second quarter. Both teams caused and recovered turn-overs, but it was a crushing hit by Andrew Giblin that knocked the ball out of Bristol’s possession deep in their own territory late in the half. Macy recovered the loose ball and Cardiff drove deep into the Bullets’ redzone to try and break the scoring stalemate. QB Lance Godfrey found a diving Geraint Hill in the endzone just before the halftime whistle to put the visitors up 12-6.
The third quarter was a defensive coach’s dream-come-true. Both teams were greedy with territory. Crushing tackles by Purcell, Giblin and Barratt pinned the bullets in place; even James ‘Molasses’ Mackay got in on the act, delivering devastating tackles on the Bristol backfield. Cardiff’s offence saw glimpses of greatness with great runs by David Sinclair and Adam Collett, but failed to capitalise in the third. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when Geraint Hill broke free again, streaking past his defender for a 57-yard TD reception. A perfectly thrown ball from Godfrey was just the ticket to put the game out of reach for the hosts.
STAFFORDSHIRE STALLIONS 20 LOUGHBOROUGH ACES 0
In a game where rivalry is deep and etched in history these two teams knew that their hopes for the playoffs depended on the final result. The game began with Staffs kicking off and after a short return the Aces took the ball. They went three and out on their first series and punted the ball down to the Stallions 25 yard line. From there the Stallions drove down the field behind some excellent blocking from the O-line and great running from the Stallions backfield. The resulting score finally came on the Loughborough 8 yard line when FB Dan Smart smashed the ball through 2 tackles and into the endzone. PAT failed. Loughborough desperately tried for the remainder of the half to get some life into their offence but no matter what they did could not punch through the Stallions defence. The Stallions offence however continued to punish the Loughborough defence but could not break through. The following half saw more life injected into both teams. Loughborough realising they were in a desperate situation started to run the ball in the capable hands of M’Boge. However this only lasted a short while as the Stallions defence quickly adjusted. The second TD came courtesy of Andy Calvert who from 11 yards out managed to break tackles everywhere to find himself in the endzone and the Stallions were 12 – 0 up. PAT failed. Again Loughborough turned to their running game but found themselves picking up minimal yardage as LB Paul Summers and DT’s Adam Steele and Stephen Burnett made life miserable for the Aces O-line. The Aces QB Studer had a hard day as he constantly found DE Chris Ward in his face and the resulting sacks found them losing a great amount of yards. The final TD came midway through the fourth as QB Tim Smith took the helm from QB (and former Aces rookie) Brett Rosenbaum. Tim drove the Stallions downfield with the O-line working very hard and making some outstanding plays. FB Dan Smart continued to hammer into the Aces defence and picked up some well earned yards. Tim Smith finally capped it off with a run of his own from 7 yards out. The resulting PAT was a 2 point conversion that saw Tim Smith hit RB Ziad Choueiri in the corner of the endzone for the final two points of the game and the last nail in Loughborough’s coffin. Next up Leicester.
LEICESTER LIGHTNING 0 LANCASTER BOMBERS 6
The Bombers flew into Leicester needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and returned home with the required result after a hard territorial battle. Both offenses struggled in the first but Lancaster QB Mayne’s passing was looking promising as he completed several passes, including one to TE Pemberton who unfortunately had to leave the game injured; and the rushing of Tom Hailwood also looked dangerous. Into the second and Leicester were forced to the air on almost every down, where they were thwarted by the emergent Bombers secondary of CB’s Gil David and Rick Peters and rookie FS Adam Saul, who were imperious throughout the day. Lancaster were finally able to mount a long drive after crucial receptions from WR’s Dean Alexis and Tom Hammil to set them up at the Lightning two yard line, where Leicester made a strong stand but were eventually overcome as RB Billy Simoneau blasted in for six. The Lightning stopped the 2PAT and the score was 6-0, where it was to stay for the rest of the game. Leicester came out strong in the second half but a huge sack from DE de Waart and more good coverage put paid to their efforts, and Lancaster RB Hailwood was looking ever more dangerous as the game went into the final quarter, where a promising Leicester drive was ended after a Peters interception on the Lancaster 20 yard line. After more territorial tennis and an earlier ‘miraculous reception’ from new TE Ian ‘History Boy’ Brown, Lancaster had the ball deep in their own half after a terrific stop on the six yard line from their D, and QB Mayne completed more passes to WR’s Gil David and Hammil, with his longest of the day a 33 yarder to David to put the Bombers deep into Lightning territory. Hailwood continued his strong running but the game came to an abrupt and unhappy end when a Lightning defender went down with a dislocated shoulder and damaged collarbone and they were forced to forfeit the game. Nevertheless it was mission accomplished for the Bombers who go into a do-or-die clash with Leeds with a win the only result they can afford…
GLASGOW TIGERS 110 SUNDERLAND KINGS 0
A gutsy performance from league newcomers Sunderland Kings, who despite having a small squad, held out and played hard through four difficult quarters. As Glasgow racked up the points, the Kings never gave up and demonstrated a spirit that more teams should aspire to having. Glasgow scores came from: Paul Mc Meekin, Jeremy Beedy, Andy Hall, Neil Rogers, Graeme Clee, John Hall, Rob Campbell, Kenny McPhail, Stuart Proudlock, Alistair Choat, Matt McCree, Ronald McDonald, Iain Hay and Matt McCusker. The Tigers remain in the playoff race but a lot hinges next week’s game against divisional rivals and current leaders Stirling.
11 Feb, 03 | 5:59 pm