May 2011 - Inside American Football 1

May 2011 - Inside American Football 1

2 Inside American Football - May 2011 

Norwich Devils QB iN actioN 

agaiNst the watforD cheetahs 

Photo © garry Neesam

v1.0 

Hello & welcome to Issue Five of Inside American 

Football! 

Issue Five has been a long time coming, much longer 

than I had intended. The sad reason was that for some 

reason we didn’t get a great deal of support from 

BUAFL & it’s teams. 

I’m grateful to the teams & photographers who did send 

match reports & shots to us & I hope I have included 

everything that I received (apologies if something you 

sent got missed!). 

April came & with it the drier weather & the start of the 

BAFACL 2011 season. 

We have included match reports from the first couple of 

weeks’ action, but anything sent from May will appear 

in Issue 6 which I hope to be publishing within three to 

four weeks, provided we get support from the teams. 

Early indications are showing the same few teams 

submitting regular material with a few more sending 

stuff in for the first time. We hope teams will think that 

IAF represents a good opportunity to get their team in 

the limelight & even more will support us. 

It’s also an ideal opportunity for Associate Teams to 

keep the community updated with how they are doing 

and another way to get their name out there, so just 

because you’re not playing competitive football doesn’t 

mean we don’t want to hear from you! 

As always, we are on the lookout for people to send 

in interesting articles or ideas or for people to join 

the team and become a regular writer, reporter or 

photographer. I really would rather fill the pages 

up with photos from other photographers as this 

publication was not intended to showcase my own 

work, so any photographers wanting to get involved 

please do, we’ll be putting submission guidelines on the 

website soon. 

I hope you enjoy this issue. If you have any comments, 

ideas & suggestions, please get in touch, either via 

email or through our website. 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Garry Neesam 

Editor 

INSIDE 

AMERICAN 

FOOTBALL 

Issue Five 

Inside American Football 

Issue Four Contributors 

Garry Neesam: Editor & Publisher 

Mike Revell: Staff Writer & Graphics 

Nathan Sharrocks: Staff Writer 

Pete Barker: Staff Writer 

Contributors 

Giovanni Fasulo 

Heather Martin 

Jon Chilton 

Peter Laird 

Romaine Jackson 

Steve Tonkinson 

The Rookie 

Photographers 

Adam Russell Amanda MacDonald 

Andy O’Neill Chris Evers 

Garry Neesam Holly Downes 

Ian Goode John Singer 

Martin Wilmott Mike Dean 

Rory Brown-Kerr 

IAF Website: www.insideamericanfootball.com 

IAF Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Inside-American- 

Football/117621198309702 

IAF Twitter Page: twitter.com/insideamfootbal 

Email: editor@insideamericanfootball.com 



carDiff coBras (reD) agaiNst hull sharks iN the 

fiNal of the Buafl 2010/11 chamPioNshiP troPhy 


6 Team News 

from around the league 

14 Match Reports 

from the BUAFL season 

48 Cobras -v- Sharks 

The BUAFL Challenge Trophy Final 

52 Destroyer -v- Lions 

Photos of the BUAFL National 

Championship game 

60 BAFACL Match Reports 

80 A History of AF at 

Edinburgh Napier 

University 

82 Intro to the Cambridgeshire 

Cats Juniors 

85 Moving On 

players thoughts on leaving their Uni 

team 

86 BAFCA Coaching Clinic 

a report on the January Coaching event 

88 Coventry Jets Pre-season 

Combine 

89 Speaking with the Blitz 

Shooter 

with the New Blitz Photographer 

90 Mini Profiles: Brighton 

Tsunami 

Issue Five 

Contents 

92 Ask the Ref: panic Stations 

for the Punter 

Rules & advice about punting 

94 The Rookie 

a new column from someone new to AF 

96 So What’s Cheerleading 

Like? 

A Hertfordshire Siren tells us 

98 BUAFL Results 

All the 2010/11 season reults 

102 BUAFL League Standings 

How the University League ended up 

104 BUAFL Team Directory 

106 BAFACL Team Directory 

October May 2011 2010 - Inside - Inside American Football 

5

NEWS 

Jets eat all the Pancakes 

The Coventry Jets have teamed up 

with one of their sponsors to celebrate 

Shrove Tuesday with a Pancake 

Eating Competition. Old Orleans are 

hosting the event as part of their Mardi 

Gras celebrations, the Cajun themed 

restaurant’s party will tie in with the 

famous Louisiana carnivals that have 

been celebrated for over 3 centuries, 

and funds raised from the event are 

being donated to Cancer Research UK. 

It’s the second time the two have 

teamed up to help the same charity 

recently. Late last year they combined 

to offer items for an auction at a black 

tie event and Restaurant Manager 

Andy Heyward was delighted to have 

the Jets support for both evenings. “It’s 

great to have the guys on board for an 

event like this, they’re a community 

focused group so can always be relied 

on to help out for a good cause.” 

Jets’ Secretary Adam Etheridge echoed 

Heyward’s sentiments “We’re always 

NFL award Bombers’ star 

Robyn Beattie, assistant General 

Manager, for the Lincolnshire 

Bombers has won £500 from NFLUK 

after making the short-list of NFLUK’s 

Britain’s Unsung Hero, sponsored by 

Pepsi. 

The first-ever NFLUK awards asked 

for nominations for anyone who has 

gone above and beyond the call of 

duty in the past 12 months to help 

the development and enjoyment of 

American football in the UK and is 

paid to the team. Robyn said she was 


happy to get involved with fundraising 

and helping out where we can. 

Cancer has touched my life so I know 

how important it is that we all do what 

we can to help the fight against it.” The 

competition gets underway at 19:30 

and Etheridge thinks that the Jets will 

take some beating. 

“We’ve got some big lads on the team, 

I wouldn’t want to get in their way 

when there’s food on the table. I’m just 

glad we have enough time before the 

first game for them to work themselves 

back into shape.” That first game 

comes over the Easter weekend as the 

Jets travel to Paris to tackle the much 

fancied Cougars in the EFAF Cup. The 

second game in the round-robin group 

phase will see Coventry play host to 

the Sollerod Gold Diggers at the Butts 

Park Arena on Saturday the 7th of 

May. 

delighted and honoured to be shortlisted 

and said the £500 would go 

towards much needed kit for the team. 

General Manager, Mark Harrison, said 

“The award was thoroughly deserved, 

last year Robyn dealt with all the 

media and marketing for the club, 

negotiating sponsorship and transport, 

as well as, being heavily involved in 

the game day management, including 

making the sandwiches!

Bristol Barracuda named University Club of the Year 

On the eve of the NFL’s Super Bowl, 

The Bristol University Barracuda 

were last night named as the BUAFL 

University Club of the Year, sponsored 

by Thomson Sport. The announcement 

came as the team was honoured 

at the NFL UK Awards held at the 

annual Super Bash party on Sunday 

February 6. The honour recognises 

the Barracuda as one of Britain’s most 

successful college football teams. 

The award not only recognises onfield 

achievements, but also the 

team’s outstanding work in raising 

the profile of American football in 

their university, and development of 

the sport on a wide range of levels, 

including growth of the team and 

reaching out beyond the university and 

into the local community. 

Launched in 2006, the Barracuda 

have quickly grown to become a 

successful member of the British 

Universities American Football 

League. Run entirely by students of 

the University and volunteers, the club 

has been praised for it’s organisation, 

recruitment and promotional activity as 

well as taking a very active role in the 

local community. 

Led by club Community Officer 

Jonny Khan, the Cuda have teamed 

up with Bristol University’s RELAYS 

(Regional Education Legacy for Arts 

and Youth Sports) project team and 

BAFCA’s (British American Football 

Coaches association) Jon Wyse to 

arrange for a significant proportion 

of the Bristol Barracuda to become 

accredited flag-football leaders. 2009 

first saw the team run this non-contact 

flag variant of the sport for over 250 

school age children at the Festival of 

School Sport over the course of three 

days. 

Following another successful Festival 

in 2010, the Barracuda expanded their 

remit, and are now taking teams of 

Barracuda players into schools all over 

Bristol to run regular taster sessions for 

pupils in years 8-10. Robbie Fox, who 

is RELAYS project coordinator for 

Bristol University, had this to add: 

‘Jonny Khan has been a tremendous 

support and a pleasure to work with 

for the past couple of years here 

at Bristol University. My own role 

involves encouraging students to use 

sport as a means of self-development 

and as a way of inspiring others. Jonny 

is a prime example of this, he is a 

natural role model. Jonny has been 

instrumental to the successful growth 

and awareness of American Football 

in the department and within Bristol’s 

school sport community.’ 

Club Captain Sam Bellman and 

Community Officer Jonny Khan 

were on hand at London’s IndigO2 

to receive the award on Super Bowl 

night, on behalf of the team, presented 

by BBC Radio 5 Live’s Neil Reynolds 

and Arlo White. 

About the Bristol Barracuda 

The Bristol Barracuda are the 

representative American Football team 

of Bristol University. Founded in 2006, 

the Barracuda have quickly established 

themselves with a 50-plus squad of 

student athletes and a committed 

student management committee. 

Led on the field by a 12-strong staff 

NEWS 

sam BellmaN (left) & JoNNy khaN (right) with the iNDiaNaPolis colts cheerleaDers 

Photo courtesy Bristol BarracuDa 

of experienced coaches, the team 

competes in the British Universities 

American Football League (BUAFL) 

for the right to play in the National 

College bowl final each year. 

The 2010-11 season sees the Barracuda 

topping the South Western Athletic 

Conference with a perfect 4-0 record, 

following a 7-1 record last year. The 

scene is set for a mouth-watering 

Varsity clash with local rivals UWE 

Bullets on 13th February. 

All enquiries to:- 

Phil Fear 

Bristol Barracuda AFC 

Tel. 0773 927 9367 

Email phil.fear@bristolbarracuda. 

co.uk 

Find out more about the Cuda at 

www.cudafootball.com 


NEWS 

Jets introduce the first Female Player in the Premier League 

coveNtry Jets first female sigNiNg, JeN miller, gets useD to the limelight 

Photo © matt coNsaDiNe 

Brave sports star Jen Hilton is about 

to make history - by becoming the 

first woman to play alongside men 

in the British American Football 

Association’s Community League. The 

tough cookie from Tile Hill is putting 

on her pads in tireless training to make 

her debut with the Coventry Jets this 

May. The sport’s national governing 

body has confirmed the 27-year-old 

will be the first woman to play the fullcontact 

game at premier league level. 

Coventry is already a hotbed of young 

female talent with Warwick and 

Coventry universities hosting the UK’s 

first established women’s non-contact 

“flag” teams. 

But 5’10” Jen will be the first – and 

only – woman to play with and against 

men in the national league and, as one 

of the Jets’ running backs, she’ll be 

guaranteed contact with burly blokes 

on the field. 

She said: “I saw American football on 

telly a few years ago and it’s just so 

interesting and totally different from 

any other sport I had seen. I heard 


about the British League, looked it up 

and wanted to go down and practise 

with the Jets. When I turned up I got a 

really good reaction. They were very 

professional and didn’t blink an eyelid 

when I asked to join. I was really 

impressed by that.” 

Jen has bought specialist kit designed 

for female players, including chest 

pads, from America and is training 

hard ahead of her debut. The European 

Federation of American Football have 

denied her the opportunity to play in 

the EFAF Cup so she will miss the 

Jets’ first two games – away to Paris 

Cougars in April and home to Danish 

champions the Søllerød Gold Diggers 

on the 7th of May. 

Her first game will be in Bristol against 

the all-male Bristol Aztecs on May the 

15th and her first game at the Butts 

Park Arena will be on the 11th of June 

against the newly promoted Tamworth 

Phoenix. Gary Marshall, Chairman 

of the British American Football 

Association, said: “We’re delighted to 

announce what we believe to be the 

first female senior kitted American 

football player in UK history, joining 

the Coventry Jets for the 2011 season. 

“This is a really positive step showing 

that it is ability that matters in our 

highly competitive sport. We’ve 

previously had females playing at 

university level and they are regular 

participants in the non-kitted, flag 

version of our sport. However this 

development represents an excellent 

step forward for American Football in 

the UK. Increasing participation is a 

key aim for everyone in the sport and 

we hope that Jen is the first of many 

women to compete in the Community 

Leagues.” 

If you’d like to know more about the 

Coventry Jets and to find out how you 

can be part of their 2011 campaign, 

please visit their website www.covjets. 

com or follow them on Twitter www. 

twitter.com/CoventryJets. 

Original story by Mary Griffin and 

used with permission 

Warriors sign 

Vernon Kay 

The London Warriors are pleased to 

announce the signing of Radio 1 and 

TV Presenter Vernon Kay. 

“Since 14 years of age Football has 

been an integral and influential part of 

my life so far, both on and off the field. 

“Playing with the Warriors will be a 

challenge, mentally and physically. But 

it’s these challenges that mould and 

make the man and under the guidance 

of Coach Allen and his staff this is 

one challenge that really excites me.... 

It’s a privilege to play in the Warriors 

colours!” ...Vernon Kay.

Revolution Awards Night Success 

Shropshire Revolution, the county’s 

only American Football Team rounded 

off their most successful season to 

date with their annual awards dinner in 

Telford last weekend. Players, coaches 

and cheerleaders were all joined by 

representatives of the clubs sponsors, 

The Duke of York (Oakengates), The 

Space Place and Fisher & Banks (both 

of Stafford Park, Telford). 

Revolution head coach Dave Reid 

addressed the attendees and thanked 

all associated with the club for their 

efforts in helping the Revolution to 

winning record of 7-3 on their way to 

the BAFACL Northern Final where 

they were only just beaten 28-20 away 

to eventual Northern Champions, the 

Manchester Titans. 

‘Rookie of the year’, an award 

dedicated to the best newcomer to the 

sport, was won by Wide Receiver, Ben 

Langford. A credit to the Revolutions 

2010 recruitment campaign, Langford 

was not the only newcomer to the sport 

to take home an award with Kicker 

Matt Pierce scooping the ‘Special 

Teams player of the year’ award. 

Linebacker Alaistar Jervis was voted 

‘Defensive player of the year’ whilst 

defensive team mate, Dave Trevor 

won ‘Most improved player of the 

year’. On the offensive side of the 

ball, Offensive Tackle Neil Holtschke 

won ‘Lineman of the year’ and Wide 

Receiver Richard Mantle took home 

‘Offensive player of the year’. Mantle 

from Telford, capped a terrific year 

personally as he also beat strong 

completion to win the ‘Coaches player 

of the year’ award. 

The ceremony concluded with 

the presentation of ‘Spirit of the 

Revolution’ award, an award 

designated to recognise the individual 

who made an outstanding contribution 

to the club during the year. The award 

this year went to Mike Dean, the 

clubs official photographer. Dean, 

from Telford, who followed the team 

home and away from the sidelines 

during the 2010 season, also won a 

nationwide competition earlier in the 

year to photograph from the Wembley 

sidelines when the Denver Broncos 

played the San Francisco 49ers back in 

October. 

The Revolution now turn their 

attention to their assault on the 2011 

British American Football League title 

and have announced a round of ‘come 

and try’ sessions on 9th and 16th 

January 2011 at the TCAT Superdome. 

The sessions are aimed at anybody 

who is interested in American Football 

and who are interested in joining the 

team in 2011. 

In addition to players, the Revolution 

are also keen to hear from any fans 

of the game who would like to help 

out behind the scenes. Anybody 

interested in joining the Revolution 

should visit the clubs website www. 

shropshirerevolution.com. 

all Photos this item © mike DeaN 

Photographer David Fearn joins the Blitz 

The London Blitz American Football 

Club is pleased to announce that 

photographer David Fearn has joined 

the club this season. David is an 

experienced photographer who took 

photos of our game against Bristol 

last season at Finsbury Park and is 

delighted to be involved through the 

2011 campaign. 

David will be joining the team through 

the season and will document the 

journey of the team during pre-season, 

camp, European games and the 

BAFACL Premier Division fixtures. 

You can see an interview with David 

on page 89 of this issue 

NEWS 

rookie of the year BeN laNgforD with 

heaD coach Dave reiD 

DefeNsive Player of the year al Jarvis with 

DefeNsive coach austiN evaNs 

DouBle wiNNer rich maNtle with heaD 

coach Dave reiD 


NEWS 

Jets continue with Club Investment 

The Coventry Jets have made a major 

investment in upgrading their training 

equipment. The purchase of over 

£4,000 worth of tackle dummies, sleds 

and other equipment that wouldn’t 

look out of place at an NFL facility 

backs up the Jets commitment to 

improving their younger players and 

investing in the club’s on field future. 

“The equipment we have is the same 

sort that a lot of high schools and 

colleges use to improve their athletes 

in the US.” Said cornerback Adam 

Biggs, continuing “No other team in 

Britain and very few on the continent 

have what we have here at Pinley.” 

The Jets train at Pinley Rugby Club in 

the Wyken area of the City and have 

recently moved their new equipment 

there as it becomes their permanent 

training base. 

Biggs went on to say that “the 

equipment allows you to develop 

players on a wide range of football 

fundamentals that cones can not. Use 

of the 240lb hydraulic tackle sled is 

helping our rookie players learn to 

drive their feet more in tackles and 

lineman are learning to drive better 

with the large shimmer sled. There’s 

more equipment we have that the 

pros use and as a player who has been 

involved with GB training for the past 

7 years, I can honestly say that I’ve 


gerry mcmaNus Pays close atteNtioN oN the sleD 

Photo courtesy coveNtry Jets 

never had so much fun and at the same 

time better development in my training 

and that’s due to this equipment.” 

Coventry’s General Manager and 

Head Coach Gerry McManus is also 

a fan of the new investment, “I can 

teach players so much more with this 

equipment, I can get more players 

will white gets his Players reaDy for a sleD Drill 

Photo courtesy coveNtry Jets 

involved in more challenging drills and 

work them harder than before. We’ll 

see the benefit of this equipment on the 

field of play for decades to come.”

New support for the Revolution 

Shropshire’s only American Football 

team, the Revolution were celebrating 

the conclusion of another successful 

rookie camp for their pre-season 

training. 

Held at the TCAT Superdome in 

Wellington, players new to the sport 

who had the previous week attended a 

non-kitted ‘come and try’ day returned 

for a full training session which was 

also attended by returning players from 

the 2010 squad. 

With all of Revolutions 7 qualified 

coaches in attendance, the session 

focussed around the basics of the 

game and built on the fundamentals 

demonstrated the week before. 

Commenting on the day, General 

Manager Dave Ralphs said “It was 

really good to see the rookies return 

from last week. We have been able to 

kit them up with club issue equipment 

with help from our sponsorship with 

both Fisher & Banks and The Space 

Place, and this means we will be able 

integrate them much more quickly into 

our full training schedule should they 

decide to play with us in 2011.” 

Second year Head Coach Dave Reid 

added “It’s been a long time since our 

disappointing defeat to Manchester 

in last year’s Northern Final, but the 

players have returned from their winter 

break seemingly hungry to go one step 

further this year. Add to that some 

of the potential the new rookies have 

shown over the last 2 sessions, and 

2011 looks to be a very exciting time 

for all involved with the club.” 

Revolution return to full training 

on Sunday 30th January at TCAT 

Superdome. Players existing or new 

to the sport are still welcome to attend 

and should arrive for a 9.30 start. 

The club are always on the lookout 

for fans of the game who would like 

to help the club in a non playing 

capacity, and anybody wishing to do 

so should visit the clubs website www. 

shropshirerevolution.com. 

NEWS 

all Photos this item © mike DeaN 


NEWS 

Bombers look forward to 2011 Season 

Head Coach, Ian Askew, said that he 

was very excited about the team’s 

prospects this year. The team’s 

preparations in pre-season had gone 

very well and in a recent joint training 

session with leading Division 1 team 

Doncaster Mustangs the Bombers had 

given matched them well in all years. 

Coach Askew explained that in his 

first year coaching his aim had been 

to build a solid defence, as similar to 

regular football, teams are built on a 

solid defence. Now the solid defensive 

foundation was in place the focus was 

to put more points on the board. 

Coach Askew admitted all his coaching 

team felt the pressure was on them to 

show the team was moving in right 

direction this year. When asked what 

a good season would look like Head 

Coach Askew said at least a couple of 

offeNsive coorDiNator: 

alaN chamBers 


wins would amount to good. He added 

that the team would be competitive this 

year and with a bit of luck it could be 

a better than good year. Coach Askew 

also promised anyone who comes to 

watch plenty of entertainment and a 

great day out. 

The Bombers will not have long to find 

out how much progress has been made 

in pre-season as they start their season 

in 3 weeks against one of the fancied 

teams in the division, Lancashire 

Wolverines. 

General Manager, Mark ‘Tank’ 

Harrison confirmed that the Bombers 

are encouraging anyone who wants 

to help out off the field either in the 

background or on game day to get 

in touch. Contact details are on our 

website. 

geNeral maNager: 

mark “taNk” harrisoN 

The Bombers would welcome anyone 

who wants to come down and meet 

the coaches and the players, we train 

on Greetwell Road, Lincoln from 

11am on Sundays, except this Sunday 

27th March as we have a joint whole 

day football camp with the Doncaster 

Mustangs and Sunday 3rd April when 

some of the team will be running the 

Lincoln 10K. 

Photos courtesy liNcolNshire BomBers 

heaD coach: 

iaN askew 

the BomBers 

DuriNg a PreseasoN 

traiNiNg 

sessioN

Lancashire Wolverines’ Coaching Changes 

The Lancashire Wolverines have filled 

the Head Coach position, left vacant 

by the departing Paul Horsburgh, 

with Danny Bowles, a long-standing 

member of the Lancashire Academy of 

American Football. 

After first joining the Wolverine Colts 

side in 1995 he went on to win the title 

with the side in 1997 before leaving 

for the Leeds Celtics university side. 

Upon returning in 1998 Bowles headed 

into the Wolverines with whom he’s 

stayed with ever since. 

“Taking over as Head Coach of the 

senior team has been a proud moment 

for me. I have been coaching more 

and playing less over the last few 

years, and when the opportunity of the 

Head Coach role came, I had strong 

feelings about the direction I wanted 

to take the team in, and I’m thankful 

the committee appointed me,” Bowles 

said. 

The players at the club are also 

pleased at the appointment, with 

defensive back and wide receiver Sam 

Bloomfield saying, “The appointment 

of Danny Bowles as Head Coach, for 

YOUR MAGAZINE NEEDS YOU 

Inside American Football has been put together by a small team who have a passion for British American Football. 

We need your help to make this the best publication it can be. There are a number of ways in which members of the 

British American Football community can assist: 

Send in your Match reportS: 

We started issue 1 with 5 game reports, we can use lots more, send them in with or without a photograph or two. 

Send in your teaM newS 

Let the whole community know what’s going on with your team. Put Inside American Football on your club’s news 

distribution list - editor@insideamericanfootball.com. 

SuggeSt a Feature 

You can see the kind of articles we’re doing, why not help us with some suggestions for new features. You don’t need to 

write it, our staff can do that, but if you want to provide a full article yourself, get in touch with your ideas. 

Spread the word 

anyone that knows him, does not come 

as a shock. There possibly isn’t a better 

person suited for the job as his passion 

for the game and his understanding of 

players are unrivalled. 

Bowles has quickly moved to create a 

new coaching team promoting Simon 

Purcell to defensive coordinator, the 

same position he has held with the 

Wolverine Colts for the last two years, 

and promoting Greg Adam from 

offensive assistant coach to offensive 

coordinator. 

“I’ve known Simon for a very long 

time and his experience with both 

the Colts and the Great Britain Lions 

youth made him an ideal candidate. I 

have watched him coach for the last 

few years at the youth team and his 

philosophy to coaching is something 

I wanted to bring to the senior team,” 

Bowles said. 

Bowles then said of Greg Adam, “He 

has an excellent understanding of the 

workings of offense and after great 

success as an offensive coordinator at 

junior level, I am confident he can run 

an exciting offense at senior level.” 

NEWS 

Bloomfield described Adam as having 

“done amazing things for the academy 

with his work behind the scenes whilst 

also coaching the Chorley Buccaneers 

to back-to-back championships.” 

Players, coaches and fans of the 

teams in the Lancashire Academy of 

American Football agree that it is an 

exciting time to be involved. If you 

would like to get into the game at any 

level the club will welcome you with 

open arms. For more information on 

the 2011 season and who to contact 

visit www.wolverineden.com 

laNcashire’s 

sam 

BloomfielD 

Photo 

courtesy sam 

BloomfielD 

Please add a link to us on your websites & forums - www.insideamericanfootball.com 

Please contact the editor for more information - editor@insideamericanfootball.com (please put ‘IAF’ or ‘American Football’ 

in the email title) 


MATCH REPORTS 

Bath Killer Bees -v- Bath Spa Bulldogs 

Bees 43 - 0 Bulldogs 

After three consecutive cancelled 

games due to the weather, the Bath 

Killer Bees finally played their second 

game of the season against first-year 

team and local rivals the Bath Spa 

Bulldogs. 

The Bees got off to a quick start, 

marching down a short field and 

scoring on a 5 yard rush from Dan 

Exell for his first career TD. On the 

Bees’ next drive, Chris Jones managed 

to hit the pylon before his knee hit 

the ground on 4th down but the line 

judge inexplicably didn’t give the TD, 

leading to a facial expression from 

Jones that could only be compared 

to that of a dejected puppy. The 1st 

quarter was otherwise uneventful, with 

the challenging weather conditions 

and some solid D neutralising both 

offenses. 

The game truly came alive in the 2nd 

quarter, with a huge play on 4th and 

goal from the Bulldogs 29 leading to 

a Bees TD;Mike Hutchinson caught 

the bomb from Aaron Linley for the 

score. The strong Bees D shut down 

the Bulldogs offense yet again, and 

on the ensuing possession Chris Jones 

finally got his TD with a 7 yard grab. 

The Bees weren’t done yet though, 

with rookie Alex Richardson taking his 

first Bees catch 7 yards to the house 

and Dan Exell getting his 2nd TD of 

the day on an 11 yard run. The score at 

half time was 30-0 to the Bees. 

The 3rd quarter was an entirely more 

frustrating affair, with the Bees offense 

doing their best Plaxico Burress 

impersonation by shooting themselves 

in the foot with multiple penalties. 

They did however manufacture one 

solid drive, with rookie running back 

Rob Hussey rushing for a 6 yard TD. 

A very quick 4th quarter was much 

of the same, with only a 4 yard Dom 

Chao rushing TD adding to the score. 

Mike Hutchinson also added his 1st 

extra point of the game on this score, 

on what was a woeful day for the 

kicking unit! The final score was 43-0 

to the Bees. 

The Bees defense was extremely solid 

all day long, with some huge hits 

coming in from the linebacking corps 


and some great pressure from the 

D-line. Rookies Alex Reilly and Tom 

Owen in particular had big days on the 

stat sheet, limiting the Spa offense to 

only one self-made first down in the 

whole match. 

Offensive MVP went to QB Aaron 

Linley, who had an accurate and 

composed game with a 102.7 passer 

rating. Defensive MVP went to rookie 

S “Have you met?” Toby Loxley, 

whose 4 solo tackles were some of the 

finest you will ever see in this league. 

We would like to thank Bath Spa 

for being great game hosts and 

for providing a playable pitch in 

challenging conditions, and also the 

University of Bath Jets cheerleaders 

who made the effort to come down 

and support us, we would also like to 

congratulate the cheerleaders on their 

3 trophies at the Future Cheer Winter 

Wonderland competition at Crystal 

Palace. The Killer Bees are extremely 

pleased to be going into the Christmas 

break at 2-0 and without conceding a 

point so far. 

Selected stats: 

Aaron Linley: 13/23, 177 yds, 3TD, 

INT. 

Mike Hutchinson: 4 catches, 76 yds, 

TD 

Chris Jones: 5 catches, 75 yds, TD 

Dan Exell: 3 att, 25 yds, 2TD. 

Alex Reilly: 5 solo, 1 assist, 0.5 sack, 

2 FF, FR. 

Toby Loxley: 4 solo 

Tom Owen: 4 solo 

...Simon Love 

Tigers -v- Knights 

7th November 2011 

Tigers 40 - Knights 19 

Glasgow University Tigers 40 

Edinburgh Napier Knights 19 

The Knights kicked off the 2010-11 

BUAFL season with a spirited display 

against the reigning National semi 

finalist Glasgow University Tigers. 

The Tigers leapt to an impressive 24-0 

lead over the Napier squad before the 

Knights pulled back into the game 

with a short touchdown run from 

Andreas Kassing. The teams then took 

scores about, a long broken TD run 

by Glasgow pushed the score to 32-6 

before the Knights responded with a 

TD reception from Euan Rennie to 

Johnathan Leslie. Glasgow responded 

once again before Napiers Rennie 

ran in a final score and Extra point to 

complete the 40 to 19 score line. The 

Knights MVP on the day was Middle 

LB Ross Young indicating the long day 

on the field for the Defense. 

...Peter Laird 

Predators -v- Knights 

14th November 2011 

Predators 6 - 20 Knights 

The Varsity Bowl was played in 

less than perfect conditions in a rain 

affected field at Peffermill. The heavy 

conditions saw a scoreless first half 

as both teams struggles to adjust. 

The deadlock was broken when Euan 

Rennie threw a 12 yard TD pass 

reception to Neale Lees in the corner 

of the end zone. 

The Predators conceded a further score 

when QB and Punter Dan Cameron 

was forced to guide an errant snap out 

of the endzone. 

A 4th quarter defensive Fumble 

Recovery by Knights MVP Zak Divine 

followed by a 2 pointer by James 

‘Chad’ Grubb saw the Napier team 

stretch to a 20 to zero lead. 

A late rally by reserve Predators QB 

Ben Edelshain saw a consolation 

touchdown pass but Napier ended the 

day with city bragging rights and their 

first ever varsity crown. 

...Peter Laird

MATCH REPORTS 

UWE Bullets -v- Bath Killer Bees 

January 2011 

Bullets 23 - 6 Bees 

The Bath Killer Bees started 2011 

with a disappointing 23-6 loss to local 

rivals, the UWE Bullets. 

This was always going to be a difficult 

fixture, with UWE coming into the 

game undefeated and Bath missing key 

squad members due to the university’s 

inter-semester break. However despite 

all this Bath started the game with a 

big kick return by Mike Hutchinson, 

but the ensuing drive was stopped on 

4th down around the UWE 25. UWE 

didn’t do much on their first drive 

either, and the 1st quarter that lasted 

only 15 plays finished 0-0. 

The 2nd quarter was more like oneway 

traffic, with UWE driving down 

the field but finally settling for a field 

goal after some strong Bees defense. 

Mike Hutchinson came up with 

another long return on the kickoff, and 

the Bees drove well until Chris Jones, 

playing his first game at QB since 

last season, was picked off at the goal 

line. The Bullets again drove well and 

capped it off with a long TD pass. The 

Bees offense struggled again on their 

next possession, eventually punting the 

ball back to UWE. The Bullets then 

quickly scored another TD on a blown 

coverage, but the snap on the extra 

point was fumbled by the holder and 

recovered by Anders Bengtson to make 

the score 16-0 at half time. 

The 3rd quarter was quick and 

uneventful, with no further scoring by 

either side. However the game came 

to life again in the 4th, with a fairly 

innocuous run up the middle by UWE 

suddenly breaking open for a TD run 

of over 60 yards. The extra point was 

good, making it 23-0. 

With the game all but over, Bath 

showed great resilience to get on 

the scoreboard. A drive full of short, 

precise passes by Jones ended in a 

10 yard TD pass to James Samuel, 

which was greeted by rapturous 

applause from the Bees sideline after 

an afternoon of offensive frustration. 

Samuel had an opportunity to catch 

the two-point conversion as well, but 

couldn’t quite hold onto the ball. Mike 

Hutchinson then went for an audacious 

onside kick, which was recovered by 

Gordon Cheung to give Bath’s offense 

one more drive. Unfortunately for the 

Bees, the 24 seconds left on the clock 

did not allow enough time for any 

more scoring and the game finished 

23-6. 

Offensive MVP went to WR James 

Samuel, who was a threat all over the 

field and caught 6 passes for 46 yards 

and a TD. Defensive MVP went for 

the second time this season to DE 

Tom Owen, who kept good outside 

contain all game long and had two 

sacks and a forced fumble on the day. 

Unusually, an overall team MVP was 

also awarded. This went to QB Chris 

Jones, who replaced the Bees’ usual 

starter Aaron Linley extremely well 

and made some fantastic throws into 

tight coverage. 

Although the score line looks lopsided, 

the game was a very close one and 

the Bees have now shaken off the 

Christmas rust. With a full-strength 

squad and more training sessions, the 

Bees are now looking forward to their 

long trip to Aberystwyth on the 13th of 

February to see if they can improve to 

3-1. 


Chris Jones 10/23, 67 yards, TD, INT. 

James Samuel 6 catches, 46 yards, TD. 

Tom Stankowski 8 attempts, 42 yards. 

Toby Loxley 5 solo, 2 assists. 

Liam Emmett 4 solo, 1 assist, INT. 

...Simon Love 


MATCH REPORTS 

Coventry University Jets -v- Derby Braves 

30th January 2011 

Jets 24 - 32 Braves 

The Coventry University Jets returned 

to action this week after a lengthy 

Christmas break and tasted defeat for 

the first time as they fell 32-24 to the 

Derby Braves in their debut road game. 

The Jets knew that the 2-1 Braves 

would pose a sterner test than their two 

previous contests even though their 

most recent result was 35-0 mauling at 

the hands of last years runner up, the 

Loughboro’ Aces. 

Rookie Head Coach Adam O’Reilly 

saw his team make the perfect start 

as Chris Hobbs returned the opening 

kick off 80 yards for a score and a 6-0 

lead. Right tackle Jacques Wood’s key 

block sprang the speedy running back, 

who missed the previous game through 

injury, and allowed him to gallop 

untouched into the endzone. The extra 

point conversion failed after a bad 

snap, thwarting Coventry’s attempt to 

extend their early advantage. 

Derby responded well, driving down 

inside the Jets’ 10 yard line only to 

be stopped short by a magnificent 

goal line stand. The jubilation on 

Coventry’s sideline was short-lived 

however as their offence took over in 

the shadow of their own goal posts and 

proceeded to gift their hosts two points 

on a safety with another botched snap. 

The Braves seized momentum and 

began to pound away with fullback 

dives and halfback toss plays to add 

two more scores for a 16-6 lead. The 

Jets continued to move the ball well 

and managed a response before the 

half, quarterback Josh Randall hooked 

up with receiver Steven Bryan for a 

15 yard touchdown and Josh Hughes 

added the PAT to make it 13-16 Derby 

at the half. 


Receiving the ball at the start of the 

second half, the Braves mounted an 

impressive scoring drive to extend 

their lead back to two scores at 24- 

13. Jets’ kicker Josh Hughes booted 

an impressive first field goal from 44 

yards out to pull his team back within 

eight as Coventry’s defence began 

to exert some pressure. Even though 

defensive Captain Michael Billinghurst 

was carried from the field with a 

suspected spinal injury, Alex Clarke, 

Aniteye Plahar and Aaron Haslam all 

found big plays, picking off Braves’ 

veteran quarterback Peter Ashenden. 

As Coventry’s offence began to labour 

though, their defence finally cracked 

and the Braves managed to re-establish 

their power running game to find the 

endzone once again. The plucky Jets 

refused to lie down though and Randall 

once again hit Bryan for their second 

touchdown of the afternoon making 

it 32-24 as Randall was successful 

with a two point conversion, Kieran 

Munnelly his target this time. 

Coach O’Reilly showed faith in his 

defence getting him the ball back and 

decided against the onside kick. “Our 

defence gave a great showing today, 

they’re improving as a unit all the 

time” said O’Reilly, whose faith was 

rewarded as Plahar came up with a 

fumble recovery in Braves’ territory. 

Coventry had a final chance to take 

the game into overtime but couldn’t 

convert as they turned the ball straight 

back over to Derby who were able to 

run down the clock. 

“I’m very disappointed to have lost the 

game” stated O’Reilly “but I’m very 

pleased with the performance we gave. 

We’d added a few new plays over the 

break and the offence went out today 

and executed them very well, they’re 

#83 chris hoBBs scoreD 

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Photo courtesy of BeN 

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coveNtry uNiversity 

Jets QuarterBack Josh 

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starting to gel and if we continue to 

play like that we’ll have a good season. 

We were always in the game today, all 

three units saw to that. Our receivers, 

as a group, put on a real show today 

and will continue to improve as the 

season goes on. 

Up next for the Jets are the Warwick 

Wolves in Coventry’s Varsity match. 

The game will be played at the 

Wolves’ Westwood Sports Centre with 

a 12:00 kick off and should prove to be 

a real grudge match between two sides 

that know each other very well. No 

fewer than 10 Jets players previously 

wore the red and black of Warwick as 

did three of their coaches. The links 

don’t end there though, Jets offensive 

coordinator Graham Huber previously 

worked as Head Coach of the Wolves. 

Coventry currently sit sixth in the 

British Universities American Football 

League’s Midland Athletic Conference 

with the Wolves lying one place below. 

O’Reilly won’t be looking to do his 

former team any favours “They’ve 

not scored in two of their games so 

far this year and we’ll be looking to 

continue that run and shut them out. 

We set out this year with the aim of 

winning as many games as possible 

and we’re progressing nicely. Making 

the Challenge Trophy playoffs would 

be an incredible achievement for a first 

year programme and whilst there’s still 

a long way to go we’ve put ourselves 

in with a shout”. 

...Adam Etheridge & Mark Higham

The Edinburgh Napier Knights 

returned from their enforced lengthy 

winter break with a convincing win 

over the University of the West of 

Scotland Pyros. 

The Knights recorded their first 

defensive shutout of the season and 

scored 5 unanswered Touchdowns to 

record a 33-0 win which moved the 

Knights to a 2-1 record for the year 

and their second win in a row. 

A first quarter 3 yard dive from Full 

Back Barney O’Hagan gave the Napier 

team a first quarter 6 to zero lead. 

The 2nd quarter saw game MVP, 

Running Back Jamie Welsh notch a 37 

yard TD run, and the ensuing Napier 

Kickoff was recovered by Dominik 

Weist in the Pyro’s end zone to put 

Edinburgh 19-0 ahead at the half. 

The ‘Black Knights’ defense held 

the Pyros in check throughout the 

game with Interceptions from Kay 

& MacIver as well as 5 sacks of the 

Wests QB. 

West of Scotland began to tire into 

the 3rd quarter and the Knights added 

another, 46 yard TD run for Welsh, 

before QB Euan Rennie completed 

a 36-yard TD reception to Tight End 

Ross Young to effectively end the 

game. Three successful extra points 

from Rennie rounded of a good day for 

MATCH REPORTS 

Edinburgh Napier Knights -v- West of Scotland University Pyros 

23rd January 2011 

Knights 33 - 0 Pyros 

Tsunami sink Mariners 

January 2011 

Tsunami 27 - 6 Greenwich 

They say “time heals all wounds”; 

sometimes a win over an old foe is just 

as good. Tsunami’s season was ended 

last year with back-to-back losses to 

Greenwich, one in the regular season 

and one in the Challenge Trophy. 

Combine their history with both teams 

starting this season 0-2 and desperately 

needing a win to salvage their seasons 

and it meant that this was a big game 

for both teams. 

A promising opening drive for 

Brighton was halted after QB Alex 

Surplice and RB TK Chisango 

fumbled the hand-off and the Mariners 

recovered on their 25 yard line. 

Mariner marched down-field and 

successfully converted three 3rd 

downs. However the Tsunami defense 

stood strong and Greenwich were 

picked off by FS Stew Probert on 

4th and long and bought the Tsunami 

offense back on the field. 

Tsunami faltered again on the ensuing 

drive but Brighton’s defense forced 

Greenwich to punt at the start of the 

2nd quarter. An unbelievable block 

by CB Elliott Kirk allowed return 

specialist Nathan Crossman to gain 

19 yards on the punt return and set 

Brighton up with a short field. After 

some power running by RB David 

Ndebe, Surplice connected with WR 

Matthew Russell in the back on the 

endzone to put up 6. The two-point 

conversion was no good. And so it 

remained 6-0 for two tense quarters as 

both defences stepped up and kept the 

offences out of points range. 

At the start of the 4th, Brighton found 

themselves 3 yards from the endzone. 

Up stepped Tsunami team captain 

Bradley “Tebow” McManus who 

punched in the ball and again on the 

two-point conversion to give Brighton 

a 14-0 lead. Brighton drew several 

unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on 

the touchdown which set Greenwich 

up with great field position on their 

next drive. On 3rd and 4, Mariner’s 

QB managed to evade the pass rush 

and threw up a prayer to the endzone. 

An unsuccessful fake XP-pass bought 

Greenwich back into the game 14-6. 

This was all the fuel that Brighton 

needed and for the rest of the game, 

the Knights who generated 283 yards 

of offense to the Pyro’s 28. 

...Pete Laird 

their offence was unstoppable. Rushing 

Touchdowns for Ndebe and Chisango 

put the game out of touch and Tsunami 

finished the game 27-6. The game was 

over when rookie FS James Gulc came 

away with an INT, in fact the Tsunami 

secondary ended up with 5 picks 

including a hat-trick from Probert. 

After the game, Head Coach Martin 

Harrison awarded the offensive MVP 

to McManus, the defensive MVP 

went to Probert and a special mention 

was given to the special teams unit. 

“Today’s game was one of the best 

offensive performances I’ve ever seen 

from the Tsunami” said Harrison, “we 

moved the ball well and the O-Line 

especially played a big part in our win 

today. We can’t afford to rest on our 

laurels though as we have a big game 

against the Team Solent Redhawks 

next Sunday. Let’s get to work on 

righting another wrong from last 

season.” 

...Bryn Price 


MATCH REPORTS 

Hurricanes storm past Tsunami 


Hurricanes 60 - 0 Tsunami 

On a warm Sunday afternoon the 

meteorological battle of the south 

began with Gareth “Dash” Davies 

returning the opening kick off deep 

into the Tsunami’s half. Running back 

Temi Odeyemi made a solid start on 

his way to an impressive 196 yard, 4 

touchdown performance as he carried 

4 times on the drive, eventually 

punching it in at the 1 yard line. The 

extra point bounced agonisingly off 

the right upright and Hertfordshire 

led 6-0. This dominant drive set the 

tone for the Hurricanes’ offence which 

averaged over 14 yards a carry and 

ensured the punt team remained on the 

sideline the entire game. 

After Herts’ defence forced a quick 3 

and out on Brighton’s opening drive 

the Hurricanes’ offence once again 


moved the ball quickly down the field 

when Joe Thompson connected with 

wide receiver Tom Roberts who took 

the ball down to the one. On the next 

play Odeyemi walked into the endzone 

untouched for his second touchdown in 

as many drives. 

Set up with excellent field position 

following an interception by linebacker 

Richard Ward the 3 play drive saw 3rd 

year WR Dominic Husbands, aided 

by blocks from Flatman and Davies, 

take the short screen pass 18 yards and 

sneak inside the pylon for the score. 

On the next drive the Hurricanes’ 

defence again forced the turnover 

when a wayward pass was intercepted 

by Linebacker Mike Osunsina to give 

the Hurricanes’ offence excellent field 

position. On the second play of the 

drive Thompson hit rookie WR Mark 

Flatman who slipped through 2 tackles 

on his way to the endzone. A quick 

toss to Husbands and the 2PAT gave 

the Hurricanes a 21-0 lead before the 

1st quarter expired. 

After a strong drive from the Tsunami 

that saw them push deep into 

Hertfordshire territory the Hurricanes’ 

defence tightened and a thunderous 

hit by Wilson and Cowley on the 

Brighton WR sent the ball sailing into 

the arms of Osunsina for his second 

interception. 

Whilst the defence brought the 

thunder, it was certainly the offence 

who provided the lightening. Pinned 

deep in their own half after the 

interception “Dash” Davies came in 

at running back and ripped off an 18 

all Photos this article © garry Neesam

yard run before an electrifying 72 yard 

untouched run on the following play 

for the touchdown. Davies now has a 

run of over 70 yards in every game this 

season. 

With the running game firing on all 

cylinders the Hurricanes passing game 

started to click with QB Szabo hitting 

Husbands and Bagnall for gains of 25 

and 11 yards on the next drive before 

Forester Osei punched in the 1 yard 

score. 

In the second half the whirlwind 

onslaught continued when, after 

yet another 3 and out Herts got the 

ball back and wasted no time with 

Odeyemi taking the first play of the 

drive 56 yards for the score. Odeyemi 

broke through a string of tackles before 

a huge down-field block from Tackle 

Jason Newman took out the last man 

and gave Odeyemi his 3rd touchdown 

of the day. 

Further scores from rookie receiver 

Nicolas Bagnall, his first career 

touchdown, and a 4th touchdown from 

Odeyemi completed the day’s rout 

with the Hurricanes putting 69 points 

on the fractus Tsunami. 

Once again the Hurricanes defence 

were in devastating form. Six 

interceptions on the day (2 from 

Osunsina, Ward, Rivera, Gargulio, and 

a 20 yard pick six for Team President 

Chris Cowley) made the stratosphere 

a no go area for the Tsunami. On 

the ground they found little comfort 

with Gargulio leading the way with 

MATCH REPORTS 

5 tackles and 2 assists. All in all 15 

Hurricanes got on the tackle sheet. A 

testament to the depth and contribution 

made from every player on the defence 

to ensure the 4th shutout in as many 

games. 

...Peter Barker 


MATCH REPORTS 

Staffordshire Stallions -v- Coventry University Jets 

20th February 2011 

Stallions 21 - 7 Jets 

Three months had passed since the 

Staffordshire Stallions last played a 

competitive game and, after beginning 

the season with 4 successive defeats, 

they played host to the Coventry Jets 

(1-2-1) in what turned out to be an 

exciting and enthralling game from 

start to finish. 

On an overcast day in North 

Staffordshire, the Stallions elected to 

receive the ball but there were signs of 

rustiness in their offence early on as 

second-year running back Tyler King 

fumbled the ball to end two offensive 

drives for the home side. 

On the other side of the ball there 

were no such problems though as 

the Stallions defence were able to 

routinely pressure the Coventry 

quarterback, linebacker Moses 

Ogundeji came close to making them 

pay but missed the opportunity of an 

interception on their opening drive – 

the defence also caused the Coventry 

running back to fumble the ball on two 

occasions early on but both times they 

were able to recover the ball. 

It was a cagey opening from both 

sides, both determined to get their 

noses ahead in the early going but as 

the Stallions offence stuttered, so did 

their opposition. Despite being gifted 

great field position on two occasions, 

they had nothing to show for it apart 

from a blocked field goal by Ogundeji. 

Mistakes were made by the Jets 

offence and the Stallions nearly 

capitalised when linebacker Alasdair 

Jarvis nearly came up with an 

interception to halt their drive but he 

was unfortunate to see it slip through 

his grasp. 

Finally the Stallions offence got their 

act together and were able to put the 

first points of the afternoon on the 

board. Starting deep in their own 

territory, big gains on the ground and 

through the air led to a short score for 

quarterback Ryan Stewart – scoring his 

second touchdown of the season. 

With the defence continuing to 

allow the Jets very little offensive 

influence, as well as first sack for 

defensive tackle William Farrow, it 


looked as though the Stallions would 

head into the half with a lead but that 

was thwarted when a mix-up in the 

secondary led to a completion from 

quarterback to receiver went for a huge 

gain and a touchdown to level things 

up at the half. 

The second half kicked off and it was 

more of the same from the Stallions 

defence as they contained the Coventry 

offence with relative ease, letting 

through very few big plays and getting 

constant pressure on the quarterback. 

The Stallions offence once again 

drove the ball down field after starting 

deep in their own territory, under the 

leadership of back-up quarterback Ben 

Guy, they found hole after hole in the 

Coventry defence and capped it off 

with another score as Guy kept the ball 

and found his way into the endzone 

for the go-ahead score. Kicker Steven 

Higgins missed the extra point to see 

the score 13-7 to the home side. Would 

that missed point come back to haunt 

them later on as the game ticked over 

into the fourth and final quarter? 

Tired legs began to affect both sides 

but the Stallions remained resolute 

and stopped the Coventry offence on 

multiple occasions and linebacker 

Moses Ogundeji could have had a 

couple of interceptions to his name as a 

mixture of pressure from the defensive 

line and poor decision making from the 

quarterback led to some awry passes 

that should have been taken advantage 

of. 

After the Stallions offence stalled 

around midfield, punter Richard 

Bayes boomed a long ball deep into 

the boggy area of The Stables and 

put the Jets in a tough area to begin 

a vital drive for them. Soon after the 

Coventry offence again turned the ball 

over and defensive tackle Julian Myles 

was first to pounce on the loose ball 

and give the ball back to the offence. 

This time they capitalised on the 

great field position and, after scoring 

two touchdowns on the ground, 

quarterback Ryan Stewart went to 

the air and picked out rookie wide 

receiver Jonathan Winters for his first 

touchdown for the Stallions. After 

missing the previous extra point, head 

coach Anthony Charles opted to go 

for two to give them a two-score lead 

over the opposition – once again Ryan 

found Winters in the endzone to make 

the score 21-7 to the Stallions. 

Coventry had time remaining on the 

clock as well as all three time-outs 

remaining and switching to their 

hurry-up offence paid dividends as 

they moved the ball down the field. As 

was the case for the most part of the 

afternoon though, the Stallions defence 

made a stand and linebacker Alasdair 

Jarvis halted their progress with an 

interception to end any hope the Jets 

had of coming back into this one. 

All the Stallions had to do was sit on 

the ball and wait for time to expire as 

they wrapped up their first win of the 

season in a thoroughly entertaining 

game to move to 1-4 for the season, 

leapfrogging their next opponents 

in the Midlands Athletic Conference 

standings in the process. 

...Tom Donlan 

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Staffordshire Stallions earn Second Victory of the Season 


Stallions 33 - 0 Royals 

Fresh from their first victory of the 

season last weekend, the Staffordshire 

Stallions (1-4) made the short trip to 

take on the Worcester Royals (0-5) in 

what was an incident packed BUAFL 

Week 11 fixture. 

An already boggy pitch was made 

worse by a pre-game hail shower and 

more rain but it halted as play began 

to what was a shaky start from both 

sides and it was the Stallions special 

teams that made the first play of the 

game when Moses Ogundeji blocked 

an attempted punt to gift the offence 

a prime position to start their second 

drive. 

It was a chance they weren’t going to 

let slip as they took just one play for 

second year running back Tyler King 

to head into the endzone for the score. 

Kicker Steven Higgins was good on 

the point after to make the score 7-0 

with very little time off the clock. 

The Stallions defence was holding 

strong as has been the case this season 

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and were quick to get the ball back for 

their offence. Worcester gained very 

little ground on offence throughout, 

their progress was limited as their 

passing game proved ineffective and 

their run game was easily contained for 

the most part. 

The Stallions extended their lead in the 

second quarter with two further scores, 

the first going to rookie wide receiver 

Joey Dankwa to notch up his first score 

as a Stallion after quarterback Ryan 

Stewart’s pass found his receiver wide 

open in the endzone. Stewart passed 

in another touchdown before the half 

ended when he dumped the ball off 

to Tyler King on a screen pass and he 

strolled into the endzone for his second 

score of the afternoon – the ensuing 

2-point conversion failed to see the 

away side end the half in the lead to 

the score of 19-0. 

Try as they might, Worcester still 

couldn’t get anything going on the 

offence and they fell further behind as 

Tyler King ran in for his third score 

of the game – this time coming from 

a huge run from the back as he burst 

through the defence and strolled into 

the endzone escorted by a number of 

Stallions. It was impressive and there 

was still more to come on both sides of 

the ball as the Stallions turned up the 

pressure after the half. 

Defensively they had been strong 

throughout but had nothing to show for 

it but all that changed when defensive 

end Max Bonaker brought down the 

Worcester quarterback in the endzone 

for a Safety to extend their lead to 27- 

0. 

The Stallions special teams play has 

been the only part of the team which 

had so far failed to put on a decent 

showing this season but a change 

at returner nearly paid dividends on 

two occasions as wide receiver, and 

Stallions punter, Richard Bayes had 

two big returns which could have 

gone for touchdowns had he been 

able to elude one final tackler on each 

occasion. 

The offence was scoring, special teams 

had improved and the defence was 

MATCH REPORTS 

solid as usual. After his earlier safety, 

Bonaker’s day almost got better after 

he picked off a stray pass from the 

Worcester QB and, had it not been for 

a last ditch tackle, would have taken 

it into the endzone for another score – 

even with a pair of Worcester receivers 

being dragged along for the ride! 

Head Coach Anthony Charles was 

able to use the remainder of the game 

to give run outs to rookie players who 

had limited game experience before 

now and one took full advantage of 

his opportunity to extend the lead 

even further when running Kristopher 

Allison eluded several tired tackles 

from the Royals to scamper his way 

into the end zone for the first time as 

a Stallion and to make the final score 

33-0 to the Stallions. 

After their miserable start to the 

season, the Stallions have followed 

it up with 2 hard fought victories to 

begin 2011 and will be hoping to carry 

that into their final two fixtures of the 

season. Next up for Staffordshire is a 

gruelling trip across Wales to take on 

Tarranau Aberystwyth in a re-arranged 

game that was originally scheduled for 

Superbowl Sunday. 

Game MVP’s. 

Rookie; Richard Bayes. 

Defensive; Max Bonaker. 

Offensive; Tyler King. 

Game MVP; Lee Lewis. 

...Tom Donlan 


MATCH REPORTS 

Knights’ charge into Playoffs 

6th March 2011 

Knights 36 - 7 Demons 

The Edinburgh Napier Knights 

completed a remarkable turnaround 

season with a comfortable win over the 

Teeside Demons clinching a playoff 

spot in the national BUAFL Challenge 

Trophy. In what was a must win game, 

the Knights opened the scoring with 

a 28 yard pass from Euan Rennie to 

Neale Lees in the 1st quarter. 

The score of the day came in the 

2nd period as Napier Running Back 

Jamie Welsh broke free on an 85-yard 

Touchdown run. A converted extra 

point by Rennie gave the Knights a 

14-0 lead. 

Rennie broke another long Touchdown 

run of 42 yards as he was flushed from 

the pocket by the Demons gigantic 

defensive front which put the Knights 


21-0 ahead at the half. 

A slow start to the 2nd half was 

marked by a remarkable 4 Touchdown 

scores from Napier being called back 

by the officials and it wasn’t until the 

4th quarter that Napier got themselves 

legitimately back on the score sheet. 

Rookie RB Jamie Welsh added his 

second TD of the day this time from 47 

yards putting Napier 28-0 in front and 

earning himself MVP honours for the 

game. 

A final 1 yard dive from Rennie and 

2PAT run by Welsh gave the Knights a 

36-0 lead before Teeside got onto the 

score sheet with a 40 yard reception 

from Chris Lingard to Tim Bolland in 

the dying seconds of the game. The 

36-7 win means the Edinburgh Napier 

Knights finish the season with 5 wins 

2 loses and 1 tie (5-2-1). They now 

meet the Nottingham-Trent Renegades 

on Sunday the 13th March at the Jack 

Kane Centre Edinburgh with a 1pm 

kickoff. 

Head Coach Pete Laird was keen 

not to dwell too much on his team 

mistakes. ‘We are aware that this 

wasn’t our most polished display of the 

season, but today’s victory is all about 

the achievements and hard work of the 

teams players, staff and coaches over a 

long season.’ 

‘The squad of lads on this year’s team 

have been a pleasure to coach and I 

would like to thank them all for their 

efforts thus far and hope that we can 

now put together a playoff run.’

Coach Laird also paid respect to 

injured Middle Linebacker Ross 

Young. ‘Ross is a great player, captain 

and leader on this team, and I know I 

speak for the whole team in wishing 

him the best in his recovery.’ 

...Edinburgh Napier Knights 

all Photos this article © rory BrowN-kerr 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Glasgow University Tigers -v- Edinburgh Napier Knights 


Tigers 28 - 13 Knights 

A brave effort from the Edinburgh 

Napier Knights ultimately came up 

short losing 28 to 13 against last 

season’s National semi-finalists the 

Glasgow Tigers. 

An early Touchdown pass from 

the Tigers to Dave Mann on their 

opening drive was quickly offset by 

2 TD passes from QB Euan Rennie 

to Dominck Weist and Johnathan 

Leslie. A single extra point conversion 


from Rennie gave the Knights a 13-6 

lead just before the half but a quick 

response from Glasgow with only 1 

minute 40 remaining a 2nd reception 

to Mann from QB Gregor Beattie saw 

them take a lead of 14-13, into the 

break. 

A long opening drive during the start 

of the 3rd quarter, which saw Glasgow 

convert two 4th down conversions, 

stretched the away teams lead to 20-13 

eDiNBurgh NaPier kNights’ 

QB, euaN reNNie iN actioN 

Photo © rory BrowN-kerr 

from a TD run by Lewis King. The 

response by Napier came up short on 

the Glasgow 10 and a final TD drive 

by the Tigers, with Beattie throwing 

his 3rd score of the day with a 2PAT by 

Chaz Stockwell, capped a come from 

behind win against a spirited Knights 

display. 


eDiNBurgh NaPier kNights’ 

tight eND, aNDy maciver iN 

actioN agaiNst the glasgow 

tigers 

Photo © rory BrowN-kerr

MATCH REPORTS 

Tsunami through to Quarter Finals of Challenge Trophy 


Tsunami 19 - 8 Pirates 

Brighton Tsunami made BUAFL 

history by becoming the first team 

below .500 to make the playoffs. 

This week they broke records once 

again as they became the first team in 

Tsunami history to win a playoff game. 

Brighton had a four hour coach trip to 

Norwich and a 6:15 start to overcome 

but they pulled it off in style. 

Previous encounters between these 

teams have ended with nail-biting 

field goals, this one started with one. 

QB Alex Surplice, back from injury, 

marched the offence down the field 

but couldn’t convert on third down. 

The kicking unit came on and Tsunami 

captain Bradley McManus kicked 

the 35 yard field goal. The Pirates 

came on but Brighton’s defence held 

firm and forced UEA into a three and 

out. Following a good return by WR 

Simeon Marriott-Dixon, the offence 

took back to the field at the Brighton 

45. 

Brighton wasted no time in scoring 

on their second drive as well. Some 

wonder catches by WR Matthew 

Russell and some bruising running 

from RBs TK Chisango and Dave 

Ndebe set Brighton up inside the red 

zone again. Ndebe rushed in from nine 

yards out to put up six points. The two 

point conversion was no good. 

Brighton and UEA then traded a 

few series before Tsunami’s defence 

stopped UEA on a fourth down attempt 

in the second quarter. Once again the 

offence came out and the Surplice- 

Russell combination carried on paying 

dividends as Russell pulled in several 

catches on third downs. Brighton 

found themselves on the one yard line 

and Surplice dived over the offensive 

line to score. Brighton went for two 

points and Surplice connected with 

Russell in the back of the end zone to 

put Brighton 17-0 ahead. 

On the next Tsunami drive, rookie QB 

Jake Beale looked effective moving the 

chains until on second down, he was 

picked off by the Pirates safety. He 

looked to return the interception to the 

endzone but for a touchdown-saving 

tackle by Chisango. Unfortunately it 

was not enough as the Pirates managed 

to find a way through Brighton’s 

defence with the short field and 

converted the two point conversion. 

At half time, the score was delicately 

poised at 17 – 8. 

In the third quarter, UEA came out 

looking ready to move the chains. On a 

drive that looked like it was gathering 

momentum, CB Bryn Price picked off 

the ball and returned the ball 12 yards 

thanks to some blocking. The Brighton 

offence seemed to stall and at the end 

of the third, P Ben Soro-Perez needed 

to come out to pin the Pirates back. 

He landed the punt on the Pirates’ two 

yard line. 

The first play of the fourth resulted in 

DE Oli Whitfield sacking the Pirates’ 

QB in the endzone and recording the 

second Tsunami safety in two games. 

Brighton’s defence stood firm for the 

rest of the game and Tsunami won 

19-8. 



to Matthew Russell, the defensive 

MVP went to Shaun Jones whilst the 

Special Teams MVP was given to Ben 

Soro-Perez. 

Brighton Tsunami will now travel to 

Southampton to face the Team Solent 

Redhawks who finished the regular 

season 6-2. During the regular season, 

Brighton narrowly lost to Solent 22- 

17 so they will be looking to turn the 

tables and make the semi finals of the 

Challenge Trophy. The game will be 

played on Sunday 27th March at Wide 

Lane Sports Field, Southampton (near 

the airport). 

...Bryn Price 


MATCH REPORTS 

Edinburgh Napier Knights at Stirling Clansmen 


Knights 33 - 6 Clansmen 

An away trip to Stirling proved doubly 

rewarding for the Edinburgh Napier 

Knights as fixture congestion meant 

a ‘double header’ game resulted in 2 

wins from a 33-6 win. 

The 1st quarter saw backup 

Quarterback Carl Taggart score on a 

sneak play to put the Knights up 6 to 

zero. 

The Knights held a short handed but 

speedy Stirling team for the rest of 

the half before Great Britain Lion and 

Knights captain Jamie Charles record a 

safety on a quarterback sack for an 8-0 

half time lead. 

A fired up Stirling Clansmen team 

came out passing in the 3rd quarter 

but Safety Dominic Weist snared 

an interception to record his 4th 

Touchdown of the year. The extra point 

from Euan Rennie put Napier 15-0 up. 

From the kickoff a deep kick return by 

Stirling was fumbled and recovered 

into the arms of Stirling’s Zake Muluzi 

and advanced for a quick Touchdown 

response to put the Clansmen back into 

the game at 15-6. 

Just as Stirling came back into the 

contest a fumble in the end zone was 

recovered by Heval Omari to reestablish 

the Knights grip on the game. 

The extra point from Rennie increased 

Napiers lead to 22-6. 

The Knights offensive play gradually 

began to wear on a tired Stirling 

defence and Quarterback Rennie 


eDiNBurgh NaPier kNights ‘ QB carl taggart stretches out 

Photo © rory kerr-BrowN 

tossed a 16 yard pass to Weist, 

doubling as Tight End, for the 

go ahead touchdown. A 2 point 

conversion from Jamie Welsh put the 

Knights ahead 30 to 6. 

As the 4th quarter wound down Rennie 

added an 18 yard field goal that meant 

the Knights recorded a ‘double’ win 

putting them at 4 wins and 3 losses for 

the season and within 1 game of the 

BUAFL playoffs. 


eDiNBurgh NaPier kNights iN actioN agaiNst the at stirliNg claNsmeN 

Photo © rory kerr-BrowN

Coventry University Jets -v- Warwick Wolves 

6th February 

Jets 7 - 13 Wolves 

The Coventry University Jets 

disappointingly lost 13-7 to Varsity 

rivals Warwick Wolves in a match 

that the first year team were expected 

to win. The Wolves hadn’t read the 

script however and dominated the 

line of scrimmage on both sides of 

the ball. Running Back Tinodiwa 

Charamba was the star of the show as 

he consistently shrugged off punishing 

hits to keep grinding out yards on the 

ground. It was Charamba that opened 

the scoring on the Wolves’ first drive, 

clocking up 50 yards on the ground 

before pounding the ball in on a 15 

yard reception. 

There was more than an element of 

good fortune on the score. Fionn 

Boyle, who was responsible for 5 

tackles on that 11 play opening drive, 

broke into the back field and tipped 

Stelios Kabouridis’ screen pass. 

Charamba kept his eye on the ball 

though and, in making a great grab, 

was somehow able to keep his footing 

to scamper into the endzone. Peter 

Coppenhall booted the extra point 

through the uprights into a strong wind 

for a 7-0 lead to the hosts. 

Coventry struggled to find any 

offensive rhythm as the wind wreaked 

havoc on their passing game. Josh 

Randall showed he continues to 

progress and grow as a quarterback 

but was plagued by a few dropped 

passes and saw 3 more intercepted by 

the Wolves. Charamba continued to 

find holes in the Jets’ defence as two 

more Warwick drives found their way 

into Coventry’s red zone. Coppenhall 

came up short on a 28 yard field goal 

and a tremendous goal line stand at the 

end of the half kept the deficit down to 

seven at the break though. 

Defences ruled the third quarter as 

the Jets forced four straight three and 

outs from the Wolves offence. They 

continued to struggle on the other side 

of the ball though as turnovers cost 

them dearly when they looked like 

dragging themselves back into the 

contest. It looked like Coventry had 

found another stop midway through 

the fourth but a hopeful heave found 

Josh Tiwana down the right touchline 

and the lofty receiver managed to 

dance along the sideline to stretch the 

lead to two scores. A blown snap put 

paid to any chance Coppenhall had of 

booting through his second extra point 

and the score stayed at 13-0. 

Frasier Oliver employed a little 

trickery as he replaced Randall under 

centre, a perfectly executed hook and 

ladder saw the rookie quarterback 

hit Steven Bryan for seven yards but 

his pitch to Kieran Munnelly added 

another 50 yards and a score though. 

Playing into a strong wind the Jets 

decided to go for two but Oliver had 

to scramble as his pocket collapsed. 

Trailing 13-6 with a little more than 

three minutes to play, Head Coach 

Adam O’Reilly chose to try an onside 

kick. Josh Hughes executed the set 

piece to perfection but the Wolves 

were the beneficiaries of a favourable 

bounce. 

O’Reilly’s defence did their part 

though and handed the Jets an 

opportunity to pull it out of the bag. 

Oliver continued his good form, 

completing two more passes to push 

Coventry in to Warwick territory but 

the clock was the Jets’ ultimate killer 

and time expired before they could 

score. A second successive heartbreaking 

loss for the Jets will mean 

that O’Reilly will have a job to lift 

their spirits for a trip to the winless 

Worcester Royals next Sunday. 

...Adam Etheridge 

MATCH REPORTS 

coveNtry QuarterBack Josh raNDall saw 

three Passes DroPPeD By receivers aND 

threw three iNtercePtioNs 

Photo courtesy coveNtry uNiversity Jets 


MATCH REPORTS 

Tsunami commit Regicide 


Tsunami 28 - 22 Regents 

It was billed as a must-win game 

for both teams and that meant that 

someone was going to go home 

unhappy. The Tsunami were trying 

to put an end to a three game losing 

streak as their slim chances of making 

the Challenge Trophy were remarkably 

still alive. King’s were also in the hunt 

for the final plate berth in the SEC so 

this game was always going to be a 

good one. 

It started well for Brighton, winning 

the toss and electing to receive. A 

good return by WR Simeon Marriot- 

Dixon set Tsunami up with 45 yards 

to the end-zone. The offence, led by 

rookie QB Jake Beale in his first start 

of his career, powered the football up 

the middle of the King’s defense. On 

1st and Goal, FB Matt Russell ran off 

tackle to put up 6 points on the board. 

The extra point was no good. 

The Brighton defense had a chance to 

come on for the first time in the game 


and forced King’s into a three and out. 

WR Nathan Crossman returned to 

ball to the Brighton 47 yard line and 

Beale’s offence came out for a second 

time. The offence moved the ball to 

the Regent’s 27 and bought out the 

field goal unit. This would be a 46 yard 

attempt (due to the goal posts being 

2 yards beyond the back of the end 

zone); it fell just short. 

King’s offence took to the field once 

again and managed a couple of first 

downs. On a fourth and short attempt, 

LB Josh Trimmer got through the line 

and tackled the King’s running back in 

the backfield. Once again the name of 

the game was pound the football and 

running backs TK Chisango and David 

Ndebe did just that. Chisango scored 

Brighton’s second touchdown of the 

game but the two point conversion 

attempt was no good. Tsunami led 14-0 

at the end of the 1st quarter. 

The 2nd quarter began with the 

Brighton defense once again shutting 

down everything that King’s had in 

their arsenal. Trimmer had a storming 

game as he and DT Brad McManus 

ripped up the King’s offensive line. 

The Regents were forced to punt 

again and the ball fell into Crossman’s 

hands. He returned to the right but 

ran into traffic so bounced left into 

open space and ran 68 yards into 

the endzone. Unfortunately for the 

return team, several block in the back 

penalties meant that the punt was 

replayed. Undeterred, the Tsunami 

offence hit the field once again to try 

and put Brighton up by three scores 

by the end of the half. A long drive 

down-field was finished off nicely by 

RB Scott Welsh as he dived gracefully 

into the endzone to get his first ever 

touchdown. The two point conversion 

was run in by Russell and Brighton 

went into the half 20-0 up. 

The halftime break has taken the 

wind out of Brighton’s sails all season 

long and this game was no different, 

although the Regents may have had 

some help. The Regents attempted 

an onside kick which was caught by 

Welsh. He seemed to take a knee and

after the whistle place the ball on 

the ground. However, the referees 

had a conference with the King’s 

Head Coach and the play was ruled 

a recovery by King’s; the Brighton 

defense hit the field. A long drive that 

took a long time due to several injuries 

was finally finished with Regent’s 

putting up 6 points on the board, 

failing on the two point conversion. 

Brighton came out for another drive 

but were stopped short on a 3rd down 

attempt. The field goal unit once again 

came out but the attempt was wide. 

The 3rd quarter finished after King’s 

QB Jason Sibbel threw a pick to CB 

Mikey George. Tsunami went into the 

4th 20-6 up. 

And the scoring continued in the 4th 

as Crossman got a fully deserved 

touchdown on a reverse play. RB 

James Howard ran in for two making 

it 28-6. Defensive Coordinator Justin 

Handley decided it was a good time 

to give some rookies some experience 

and so the defense was changed. Two 

long passes by Sibbel ended up in 

the endzone and the game finished 

Brighton 28 – 22 Kings. 



to Nathan Crossman whilst the 

defensive MVP went to Josh Trimmer 

who recorded 19 tackles including 

9 for a loss, breaking two Tsunami 

records. 

MATCH REPORTS 

Brighton Tsunami (2-5) now 

host Canterbury Chargers (0-6) 

as they push towards winning 

the final Challenge Trophy spot. 

The King’s (2-4) play Greenwich 

(2-5) and a possible rematch 

with the Chargers and so are still 

in contention for that final spot 

as well. This season is going to 

come down to the wire in the 

SEC! 

...Bryn Price 

all Photos this item © aNDy o’Neil 


MATCH REPORTS 

Tsunami make Challenge Trophy after Win over Canterbury 


Tsunami 26 - 14 Chargers 

Brighton have made the Challenge 

Trophy for the second year in a row 

thanks to a convincing win over the 

Chargers and a little help from the 

Mariners. It all came down to the wire 

on the final day in the SEC with LSBU 

Spartans, KCL Regents and Brighton 

Tsunami all in the mix for the final 

spot in the Trophy. For Brighton, the 

outcome was simple; beat Canterbury 

and pray that old foes Greenwich beat 

the Regents. 

The game started off brightly with 

the Spring Sun shining as QB Alex 

Surplice led the team down the field 

with RB Scott Welsh rushing well 

behind a seasoned O-Line. On 2nd 

and Goal, Welsh rushed into the 

end zone to score his second career 

touchdown. The extra point was no 

good. The Chargers came out but were 

forced into a 3 and out on their first 

possession. 

The following Tsunami drive bought 

more of the same and RB TK Chisango 

rushed in to the endzone to once again 

put up 6 but the two-point conversion 

was no good. Canterbury’s offence 

then took to the field and scored. At the 

Edinburgh Napier Knights 0 

Nottingham-Trent Renegades 43 (at 

the Jack Kane Centre, Edinburgh) 

The Napier Knights fairy tale season 

came to an abrupt halt in the first 

round of the BUAFL Challenge 

Trophy playoffs. The Knights hoped 

to provide yet more heroics against the 

travelling Renegades team but were 

immediately against the ropes as the 

opening kickoff was returned to the 

Knights 2-yard line. The opening score 

came 2 plays later as Napier scrambled 

to get into the game. A second score 

just before the half time whistle put the 

Knights 14-0 behind. 

The second half did not provide any 

relief for Napier as they turned the ball 

over on 4 interceptions and conceded 


end of the 1st quarter, Brighton were 

12-6 up. 

Early in the 2nd quarter, Surplice took 

a big hit and got injured; rookie QB 

Jake Beale took to the field hoping to 

build on his impressive performance 

against King’s. Beale passed and 

scrambled well and was rewarded 

with a rushing touchdown from a 

yard out, his first career TD. Brighton 

took a commanding 18-6 lead but the 

Chargers were not down without a 

fight. They rushed in from 2 yards out 

to score their second touchdown of the 

game and converted the 2-pointer. At 

the half it was a nervy 18-14. 

At half time, Heach Coach Martin 

Harrison led the team to the centre 

of the field and gave an inspiring 

talk. Greenwich were 13-0 up on the 

Regents and were looking untouchable. 

The message was clear, play one more 

half of solid football and go to the 

post-season. 

Brighton came out and RB David 

Ndebe rushed in for his 4th touchdown 

of the year. Late in the fourth quarter 

and Tsunami pinned back the Chargers 

Renegades @ Knights BUAFL Playoff Round 1 

March 2011 

Knights 0 - 43 Renegades 

a defensive safety. Nottingham-Trent 

scored 4 further Touchdowns to finish 

the day 43-0 winners as the game 

proved a step too far for a depleted 

Knights squad. 

Head Coach Pete Laird congratulated 

the Renegades after the game. ‘It was 

a tough defeat to take and well done to 

the visitors on a thoroughly deserved 

victory. However I always feel it is 

important not to dwell on defeats only 

to learn from them. I am very proud of 

the lads, they have been a pleasure to 

coach and would like to thank them all 

for what has been a very enjoyable and 

rewarding season‘ 

Team Captain Jamie Charles added ‘If 

you had told me at the start of the year 

we would have gone 5-2-1 and made 

the playoffs I would have grabbed 

it with both hands, so I can’t be too 

QB in the endzone. As the play 

broke down, he threw away the 

ball and it was awarded as a safety. 

Brighton had won the game 26-14. 

Better news was still to come as 

Greenwich had held firm and beaten 

King’s taking Brighton back into the 

Challenge Trophy. 

After the game, Harrison awarded 

the offensive MVP to TE Ryan 

Bushby and the defensive MVP to 

DB Ben Soro-Perez. 

This sets up a rematch of the 2009- 

10 epic game with the Tsunami (3-5) 

against UEA Pirates (5-3) on Sunday 

13th March. The game will be played 

in Norwich. Last season, the game 

was won in the dying seconds as 

Nick Pyke kicked the field goal that 

led to his name being immortalised 

in Tsunami folklore. UEA will be 

looking for revenge so it should be a 

close game. The winner will take on 

the Solent Redhawks (6-2). 

...Romaine Jackson 

down-hearted. The plan is to come 

back bigger, better and stronger next 

year.’ 

The loss means the Knights season 

has now concluded and the focus for 

American Football in Edinburgh now 

shifts to the senior season and the 

Edinburgh Wolves. 

Edinburgh Napier University is 

Edinburgh’s top university for graduate 

employability (HESA 2010), and proud 

winner of the Queen’s Anniversary 

Prize for Higher and Further Education 

2009, awarded for innovative housing 

construction for environmental benefit 

and quality of life. 

...Peter Laird

Durham Saints -v- Edinburgh Napier Knights 


Saints 68 - 6 Knights 

Edinburgh Napier Knights lost a 

controversial game against the Durham 

Saints 8-6 on a day of incident and lost 

tempers in the North East. An early 

Interception return for a Touchdown 

by Safety Dominick Weist was called 

back on what would be the first of 

many penalties against the Knights on 

the day. 

Whilst the Knights Defense effectively 

held Durham for most of the game a 

2nd quarter deep pass saw the Saints 

take an 8-0 half time lead. 

The Knights had a number of 

Photo courtesy 

eDiNBurgh NaPier 

kNights 

opportunities to get back into the game 

with the ball in the opposition red zone 

5 times, but a lack of goal posts on a 

mark free Gridiron meant the Field 

Goal team could not take the easy 3 

points. 

A late Touchdown pass from QB 

Rennie to TE Andy MacIver led to an 

eventual Touchdown decision by the 

volunteer referee crew but a missed 

face mask call on a scramble by 

Rennie saw the Knights come up short 

on the subsequent 2 point attempt and 

meant the Knights drop to 2-2 on the 

hull sharks cheerleaDers iN the Buafl chamPioNshiP fiNal 

match BetweeN carDiff coBras & hull sharks 

Photo © garry Neesam 

MATCH REPORTS 

season. 

Edinburgh Napier now face the 

Glasgow University Tigers at the Jack 

Kane Centre on the 13th of February at 

Edinburgh’s Jack Kane Centre with a 

1pm kickoff. 

...Pete Laird 


MATCH REPORTS 

Staffordshire Stallions -v- Tarranau Aberystwyth 


Stallions 12 - 0 Tarranau 

The Staffordshire Stallions rounded 

off their 2011 away campaign with 

a long and arduous journey to take 

on Tarranau Aberystwyth, who 

themselves were finishing the season 

with a chance of finishing with a .500 

record over the Stallions. 

Delays were inevitable on the 

way to Wales and that affected the 

preparations for the Stallions after a 3 

½ hour coach trip from Staffordshire, 

giving them less than an hour to 

get ready for what was on paper 

their toughest fixture this side of the 

Christmas break. 

However that didn’t seem to affect 

their start and, after receiving the ball 

to start the game, they were able to 

put together a scoring drive on their 

opening possession for the first time 

this year. A couple of big runs from 

Tyler King helped them take the ball 

down-field and allow for Quarterback 

Ryan Stewart to add another score to 

his name for the season – the extra 

point barely lifted off the ground 

though, keeping the score 6-0. 

The Stallions defence came onto 

the field and carried on their 

impressive work in shutting down 

the Aberystwyth offence – passes fell 

incomplete and their run game failed 

to get going on the opening possession 

as they surrendered the ball back to the 

Stallions offence after going three-andout. 

Offensively, the team picked up 

exactly where they left off and 

their running game cut through the 

Aberystwyth defence with relative ease 

and the passing game was also starting 

to pay dividends as quarterback Ryan 

Stewart was given enough time to get 

his throws off and completions to Joey 

Dankwa had them driving down-field 

once more. That drive was capped off 

with a first touchdown for rookie Tight 

End Lewis Bayley, Stewart was able to 

find him wide open with a well-placed 

pass and into the end zone for the 

score. Richard Bayes caught the twopoint 

conversion to put the Stallions up 

14-0. 

The offence found themselves 

with very little time to recover 


from the long drive as, yet again, 

the Aberystwyth offence was left 

wondering what they had to do to 

get anywhere against the resolute 

Stallions defence – forcing yet another 

punt. Under pressure from the rush, 

the punter get very little distance on 

his effort, and that gave the Stallions 

the ball in excellent field position to 

being their third offensive drive of the 

afternoon. 

Aberystwyth’s defence had very little 

resistance for the Stallions offence and 

this drive was no different – again, 

big gains came through the air and 

on the ground, before Ryan Stewart 

accounted for his third score of the 

afternoon as his pass picked out 

Tight End Lewis Bayley for a second 

touchdown of the game. 

It was a tremendous start for the 

maligned Stallions offence and they 

were given yet another chance to score 

before the half when safety Taffat Jama 

picked off an errant pass from the 

Aberystwyth quarterback for the first 

turnover of the afternoon. All the more 

impressive when the defence was able 

to hold them to a total of 0 first downs 

in the first half! 

Staffordshire capitalised on the 

opportunity and added another score 

deep into the second quarter when 

Ryan Stewart’s long pass downfield 

was impressively brought in 

by receiver Joey Dankwa – making 

amends for a similar opportunity 

earlier on in the game when he could 

have, and probably should have, 

caught the ball for a touchdown. 

Nevertheless, the catch this time 

was brilliant and it was a great way 

to cap off an impressive first half 

performance from all parts of the 

Stallions team as they went off at halftime 

leading their Welsh counterparts 

27-0. 

The second half began with a 

surprising three-and-out for the 

Stallions offence, the first time they 

failed to put points on the board with a 

drive in this game. Were Aberystwyth 

able to get some points on their 

opening drive of the half, maybe it 

wasn’t all over just yet. 

After a first half of no first downs, 

Aberystwyth surprisingly managed to 

start moving the ball on the Stallions 

defence – both through the air and 

also on the ground, though a large 

chunk came on defensive penalties 

including a late hit out of bounds by 

Alasdair Jarvis, tarnishing another 

strong performance from the Stallions 

line-backer. However their chance to 

put points on the board went when a 

costly fumble was recovered by rookie 

defensive tackle William Farrow just 

yards short of the end zone, it was 

the closest all afternoon they came to 

breaking through the resistance of the 

Stallions defence. 

Despite their struggles on offence, 

their defence finally looked capable 

of stopping the scoring of the Stallion 

offence and made a play just a short 

moment after Farrow’s heroics left 

Staffs with a long way to go for 

another score. Running back Tyler 

King was brought down behind the 

line of scrimmage and was said by the 

referees to have been brought down in 

the end zone for a safety and despite 

the protests Tarranau had finally got 

onto the scoreboard. 

The 2 point should have spurred their 

offensive counterparts on to push on 

and try to claw their way back into 

the game but, if they thought they 

were going to drive on the Stallions 

defence again, then they would have 

another thing coming. Staffordshire got 

their discipline back and big hits from 

Jarvis and some excellent work on the 

defensive line had the Tarranau offence 

trudging back onto the side-lines. 

It looked as though the Stallions 

offence had got back to the level of 

performance they were showing off in 

the first half on their next drive which 

ended when Lewis Bayley found his 

way into the end zone for the third 

time in the game, getting on the end of 

a Stewart pass which was just over the 

hands of Travis Bilham. With not long 

left in the game the Stallions climbed 

to a 35-2 lead. 

Credit had to be given to the 

Aberystwyth team who kept going 

until the end of the game but it wasn’t

going to be their day. Big hits being 

dished out left, right and centre from 

Lee Lewis, Jarvis and the rest of the 

Stallions defence – it was a great 

performance throughout the defence. 

Another drive began for the Stallions 

and a good return from Moses 

Ogundeji, after scooping up a fumble 

from Richard Bayes on the punt, put 

them in a great position to put yet 

more points on the board deep into 

the fourth quarter. The long drive 

was finally capped off with full back 

Travis Bilham powering into the end 

zone for his first touchdown of the 

season – another two point conversion 

to Richard Bayes was good, it was an 

almost mirror-image to the same one 

which was successful earlier in the 

game. 

Aberystwyth had enough time to try 

and add a bit of respectability to the 

final score but, by now, the result was 

inevitable and they still couldn’t find a 

way past the resolute defence and that 

was that for the Stallions on their trip 

to Wales. 

Three wins on the bounce for the 

revitalised Staffordshire Stallions has 

seen them climb to a 3-4 record with 

their final game of the season against 

Warwick Wolves scheduled for the 

13th March – can they close out their 

season with another win and send off 

the final year players with another 

great win to remember the year by? 

Game MVP’s; 

Rookie – Joey Dankwa. 

Offence – Ryan Stewart. 

Defence – Julian Myles. 

Game – Lewis Bayley. 

...Tom Donlan 

MATCH REPORTS 

Bafra officials coNfer DuriNg the Buafl chamPioNshiP troPhy game iN leeDs 



MATCH REPORTS 

Bristol Barracuda -v- Bath Killer Bees 

Barracuda 14 - 20 Barracuda 

The Bath Killer Bees came out on the 

wrong side of a 20-14 score line to the 

Bristol Barracuda in this year’s hotlycontested 

“Sting” event. 

The Bees won the toss and elected 

to receive, and the offense that has 

seemed a little sluggish in the past 

couple of games suddenly roared into 

life, with some long passes from QB 

Aaron Linley to Mike Hutchinson 

and Estian Schoonraad taking them 

into the Cuda redzone. This quality 

drive was ended when Trafford Alli 

punched it in for a TD from a yard out, 

and Hutchinson drilled the extra point 

straight and true to make it 7-0 to the 

Bees. Unfortunately the Bath defense 

were a little slower out of the blocks, 

and Cuda’s first drive also went for a 

TD to bring the scores level again. The 

first quarter ended 7-7. 

After the frantic pace of the first 

quarter, the second was quite a 

different affair with both sides putting 

together multiple short to medium 

length drives before punting. The Bees 

defense settled down a lot, with FS 

Liam Emmett and MLB Alex Reilly 

putting in some very solid hits. There 

was no further scoring in the half, and 

as the rain and hail started coming 

down the spectators headed for the 

burger tent. 

Both teams came out swinging in 


the third quarter, with Cuda striking 

first on a nicely-blocked running play 

to bring the score to 14-7. The Bees 

would not lie down though, and some 

superb blocking from Chris Jones 

and Estian Schoonraad led to a short 

pass to James Samuel turning into 

a monster 46 yard gain, with only a 

desperate ankle tap from the pursuing 

Bristol defender saving the TD. 

However the inevitable occurred four 

plays later, and the game was tied at 

14 going into the 4th quarter with Dan 

“Frodo Baggins” Exell being the man 

to get himself on the score sheet with a 

1 yard rushing TD. 

The Cuda offense were looking 

extremely dangerous by this point, 

and the Bath defense rode their luck a 

little when what seemed to be a huge 

rushing TD was called back for a block 

in the back. The Bees offense also had 

a lucky escape, when a mix up in the 

backfield led to Trafford Alli being 

stripped of the ball, giving Cuda great 

field position. However there was an 

inadvertent whistle on the play, and the 

Bees kept the ball. Unfortunately this 

drive ended in a punt, and Bristol came 

back with a vengeance, finally getting 

a deserved score with another long run. 

The extra point was shanked wide left, 

giving Bath two minutes to make up 

the six-point deficit. 

The drive started positively, with Chris 

Jones catching and turning the corner 

to make 20 yards. The next play ended 

in an incompletion, but then came 

another 17 yard completion to Jones to 

put the Bees within striking distance. 

Linley held onto the ball a little too 

long on the next play and was sacked 

for a loss of 7 yards, and the Bees’ last 

time-out ensued to leave 40 seconds on 

the clock. Unfortunately Bath couldn’t 

manufacture another first down, and 

their last chance on 4th and long fell 

agonisingly incomplete in the endzone 

after a miscommunication between QB 

and receiver. Cuda knelt out the clock 

and won the game 20-14. 

The Bees were extremely disappointed 

with the loss, but were also buoyed by 

their fantastic performance and look to 

carry this into next week’s critical “win 

and you’re in” game away against the 

Cardiff Cobras for a spot in BUAFL’s 

Challenge Trophy. Offensive MVP 

went to Aaron Linley, who played

much better this week than in the 

previous games and broke a series of 

Killer Bees records for pass attempts 

and completions. Defensive MVP went 

to Alex Reilly, who was in Pac-Man 

mode today as he munched everything 

in front of him on his way to 9 solos, 4 

assists and a forced fumble. 

We would like to thank as always the 

Bath Jets cheerleaders who came out in 

the sometimes dire weather to support 

us, and also this week to extend special 

thanks to everybody who made the 

Sting the successful event it was. You 

all did a fantastic job. 

...Simon Love 

all Photos this article © iaN gooDe 

MATCH REPORTS 


Aaron Linley: 15/37, 188 yds, INT. 

James Samuel: 4 catches, 77 yds. 

Chris Jones: 6 catches, 58 yds. 

Alex Reilly: 9 solo, 4 assists, FF. 

Liam Emmett: 7 solo, 3 assists. 

Toby Loxley: 6 solo, 1 assist. 

December May 2010 2011 - Inside American Football 35

MATCH REPORTS 

Hull Sharks -v- York Centurions, Challenge Trophy Round 1 


Sharks 232 - 2 Centurions 

To say this was any other match would 

undermine the hard work each team 

had put in throughout the season in 

order to be on the field that day. For 

the Centurions it would be another 

chance to beat the Hull Sharks and 

make their way to the next round. For 

the Sharks, it would be 8 years of bad 

history cleared up and revenge for a 

game they felt should have gone their 

way earlier in the season. 

At the entrance of the YPI grounds, 

the banner ‘BEAT YORK’ was clearly 

visible as well as the Sharks’ UH 

emblem at the centre of the pitch. All 

the more reason for the Sharks to win 

and that much more disgrace if they 

lose. 

Warm ups done. Coin tossed. Kick off 

Centurions. 

1st Quarter 

The match started like most matches 

would, with each team trying to get the 

dominating presence to set the tone of 

the match. The Centurions cleared the 

back of the end zone with their kickoff 

leaving the Sharks Offence to begin 

with a disappointing opening drive 

from their own 20 yard line. 

A very impressive Defensive show 

then put the ball back into the hands of 

the Hull Offence. 


Their second drive however went the 

length of the field crossing over into 

the second quarter with Paddy ‘Edge’ 

White, making a genuine attempt for 

a touchdown but was pushed out of 

bounds at the 1 yard line by the York 

safety. A pass by Sharks QB Chris 

‘Brady’ Summerling to Benjamin 

‘Blowie’ Walker, saw the Sharks take 

the lead with 6-0 

2nd Quarter 

Things picked up for the Centurions 

in the 2nd quarter as they made a 

safety after a poorly downed punt by 

the Sharks. Down after, down, each 

team tried to outdo the other but the 

tides turned when Dan ‘Mini Chunk’ 

Weston made an amazing recovery, 

putting the offense back on for another 

attempt at a touchdown. While things 

seemed good, on the sideline, an 

overwhelming sense of déjà vu took 

hold of those who saw what could go 

wrong, very much like the pre-season 

game. 

HT Sharks 6 – York 2 

3rd Quarter 

With either team conceding a 

touchdown, it was hard to predict 

anything, even with a 6-2 lead from the 

Sharks. This had all happened before: 

getting ahead of themselves after a 

touchdown, when out of the blue, 

Centurion WR #14 made it all the 

way to the Shark 10-yard line from an 

end around, resulting in an imminent 

touchdown. 

Things did however change this time 

around. The Sharks defense, with the 

support of an enthusiastic sideline, 

refused to let allow points or advances

into the danger zone (20 yards to the 

end zone). This would go on to be the 

slap in the face the Hull Sharks needed 

to get things going. With Paddy ‘Edge’ 

White completing his second attempt 

at running the ball in! A few plays 

later, Jonny Farrow runs the ball in, 

making it just over the Centurion goal 

line. 

4th Quarter 

The last leg of the game 

was met with a dispirited 

Centurion team. Hand 

offs went wrong, fumbles 

came easier, worst of all, 

Centurion QB Tim Scales 

#88, fumbling the ball in 

the face of the danger that 

was the combined force of 

Robert ‘Showbiz’ Lorne, 

Tim ‘Spit’ Chadwick and 

Obiora Iloanusi. Amidst 

the confusion of all three 

Sharks and a Centurion 

going for the discarded 

ball, the Sharks emerged 

with the game ball. 

When things seemed like 

they could not get worse 

for the Centurions, Paddy 

‘Edge’ White runs the ball 

in again, but gets flagged for excessive 

celebration. With a good 24-2 lead the 

Sharks where set to win the game. 

With the end of the match in sight 

and the Sharks still leading, it seemed 

nothing else could happen. With the 

Thomas ‘Scouse’ Johnston pelting 

one end zone kick after another into 

Centurion territory, the match seemed 

like it was mentally won. The last big 

play of the day saw a wonderful Hail 

Mary thrown by Summerling over 

40 yards into the hands of Johnston, 

whose acceleration shattered any hope 

of contact! 

MATCH REPORTS 

Whistle blows. Game ends. Sharks 

move on to the next round. 

FT Sharks 32 – York 2 

Congratulations to York with a very 

impressive run in only thier second 

season in the league. 

...Chris Evers 

all Photos this article © chris evers 


MATCH REPORTS 

Hurricanes finish Perfect Season 


Hurricanes 76 - 22 Blades 

The Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

completed their undefeated regular 

season on Sunday with their highest 

scoring game of the season 

Things got off to a shaky start with 

the Blades looking sharp. After going 

3 and out deep in their own territory 

the Hurricanes were forced to punt. 

The snap sailed over the punter’s head 

and out of the endzone for a safety to 

give Essex a 2-0 lead. Herts responded 

with strong running from Odeyemi 

before Thompson went to the air and 

hit WR Tom Roberts in stride down 

the sideline for the score. The extra 

point was good and Herts took the lead 

7-2. Essex’s offense again moved the 

ball well, with the misdirection in the 

backfield catching the Hurricanes off 

guard. An end around by the Essex 

Wide Receiver caught nearly the entire 

defense going the wrong way and the 

long run virtually untouched gave 


Essex the lead once more. 

After a good kick return 

Hertfordshire’s offense looked to 

retake the lead. Some strong running 

put Herts inside Essex territory, but 

when Thompson rolled out and fired 

for Husbands in the endzone the ball 

was intercepted inside the 5 and Essex 

regained possession. The defense held 

firm and faced from punting inside 

their endzone Essex made the same 

mistake as Herts with the snap sailing 

over the punters head and out of the 

endzone for the safety. On the ensuing 

kick return excellent blocking from 

Davis, Gargiulo, King, and Forrester 

carved open a lane for rookie Mark 

Flatman to run untouched down the 

sideline for the 70 yard score. 

Essex again drove the ball into Herts 

territory with big gains through the 

air and on the ground. The Blades’ 

determination paid off when their QB 

connected with his WR in the back 

of the endzone to pull the Blades to 

within 2. The extra point was no good 

at Herts kept their 16-14 lead. Herts 

then showed why they’ve the most 

dangerous run game in the league 

when, with excellent blocking from the 

offensive line, his full back and wide 

receivers, Odeyemi found himself 

running clear for the 66 yard score. 

The 2-point conversion to Husbands 

was good and Herts pull the lead to 24- 

14. On the ensuing drive Essex turned 

the ball over with Martin Nzenga 

recovering the fumble. The Hurricanes 

wasted no time in pressing home their 

advantage with Thompson connecting 

with Flatman in the corner of the 

endzone for his second passing TD of 

the day to extend the lead inside the 

2-minute warning. 

After a touchback on the kick off 

Essex started on their own 20. With 

little time left on the clock they came 

out passing and a huge completion 

down the middle of the field pushed 

them deep into Hertfordshire’s half. 

With time running out the Essex QB 

fired deep down the right side and an 

excellent leaping catch gave Essex a 

all Photos this rePo

t © garry Neesam 

final score before the half to bring the 

gap to 36-22. 

After some half time adjustments 

Hertfordshire’s defense came out 

first and wasted no time in stamping 

their authority on the 2nd half. Strong 

tackles from Ward (6 tackles, 3 assists) 

and Asiedu (6 tackles 1 assist) ensured 

Essex’s offense did not enjoy the 

freedom of the first half. With the ball 

back in his hands Odeyemi ripped off 

another touchdown run, this time of 

65 yards as Hertfordshire’s run game 

continued to batter an increasingly 

tired defense. With Essex’s offense 

now contained the Hurricanes offense 

turned the screw with 2nd year 

Quarterback Alex Szabo taking the 

field and throwing 3 touchdowns to 

Bagnall, Davis and rookie WR Jonna 

McIver. Backs Davis, Forester and 

Okonkwo share the carries to add 

yards on the ground before one final 

rushing touchdown from Odeyemi 

completed the day’s scoring. Overall 

the Hurricanes offense scored 9 

touchdowns, gained 512 yards and 

averaged over 12 yards a play with 

Odeyemi rushing for a staggering 309 

yards and 4 touchdowns off just 23 

carries. 

...Adam Camp 

MATCH REPORTS 

hertforDshire hurricaNes coachiNg staff meet for a half-time coNfereNce 


MATCH REPORTS 

Staffordshire Stallions -v- Warwick Wolves 


Stallions 12 - 0 Wolves 

The Staffordshire Stallions (3-4) 

looked to close out a successful 

second-half of their BUAFL season 

with another win to add to the 

impressive victories against Coventry, 

Worcester and Aberystwyth as 

Warwick Wolves (3-4) made the short 

trip to Stoke. 

It was a day of mixed emotions and 

both sides had a number of players 

making their final appearances for 

their team – for the Stallions they bid 

farewell to Alasdair Jarvis, Gareth 

Evans, Jonathan Gibson, Lee Lewis, 

Max Bonaker, Ryan Stewart and Tom 

Donlan. Putting that to one side, the 

team had one final game to play and a 

chance for them to redeem themselves 

after a disappointing start to the 

season. 

After their strong start against 

Aberystwyth on offence, the Stallions 

received the ball to begin the game and 

began with offence able to move the 

ball through the air behind the arm of 

Stewart and the running of Tyler King 

but ultimately it was costly penalties 

which impeded them from putting any 

points on the board in the opening half 

of the game. 

They did find their way into the end 

zone though when King burst through 

the Warwick defence to score another 

touchdown on the season but that 

was chalked off with a hold called on 

fullback Travis Bilham. They failed to 

capitalise on the resulting field position 

and couldn’t punch it in for a score and 

forced the Wolves to begin their next 

drive deep in their own territory. 

On the other side of the ball it was 

business as usual for the Stallions 

defence. Quick to pressurise the 

opposing quarterback resulting in 

a number of incomplete passes that 

could, and should have, resulted in 

a number of interceptions for the 

defence –though mid-air collisions 

between several Stallions going up for 

the pick didn’t help matters! 

Warwick weren’t able to add any 

points on the board in the opening 

half. Their running game, for the most 


part, was contained by the Stallions 

defence – only allowing a handful of 

first downs the entire half. The passing 

game faltered as well and rookie 

corner back Steven Higgins was able 

to pick off a stray pass and keep in 

bounds to register his first interception 

as a Stallion. 

The defence weren’t helped by 

mistakes on special teams. On two 

occasions in the game, the ball fell 

short of where returner Richard Bayes 

was waiting which resulted in two 

other Stallions going for the glory of a 

punt return. Instead they both fumbled 

the returns, giving the ball back to 

the Warwick offence and keeping the 

defence on the field. 

For the neutrals and people watching 

on the side lines, the first half wasn’t 

overly exciting and finished with the 

scores deadlocked at 0-0. But a halftime 

team talk on the side lines seemed 

to spark the Stallions into life once 

again as they began the second half of 

the game looking to get on the board. 

But it was another case of penalties 

costing the offence valuable yards. 

They were capable of putting drives 

together, that much was evident, but 

the various offences cost them as did 

the amount of missed opportunities 

that their receivers failed to take – 

including a catch-that-wasn’t from 

Joey Dankwa which looked a mirror 

image of a similar opportunity that 

they failed to take advantage of against 

Aberystwyth. 

Warwick had started to look more like 

a team that has a 4-3 record and started 

to get some joy against the Stallions, 

though the home side weren’t helping 

their cause when collisions in their 

secondary between their own players 

meant easy interceptions went down as 

incomplete passes. 

Warwick had driven the defence back 

effectively but they were unable to 

capitalise on a fourth down attempt 

to punch it in for the go-ahead score. 

Given the ball back with quite a 

distance to go, there came a rare 

mistake from the arm of Stewart when 

his pass was picked off by a Warwick 

line backer. He was dragged down by 

a number of Stallion linemen before 

he could return it for a touchdown but 

there was yet more drama to come. 

The ball was deep in Stallions territory, 

if Warwick didn’t get it into the 

endzone from this position then the 

chances are they wouldn’t get it there 

at all. However, the Stallions defence 

were incredible with their effort to 

stuff the efforts of their opposition – 

even with an offside called against 

the defence, they still couldn’t break 

through and a vital stop from Taffat 

Jama on fourth down ended the Wolves 

drive with still no points on the board. 

In fact it wasn’t until deep into the 

fourth quarter when we finally got 

some points on the board through the 

home side. It looked as though they 

had put their penalty receiving ways 

behind them though as they were able 

to drive from their own half through 

the running of King and the passing 

ability of Stewart and it was the two 

who combined to open the scoring. 

Stewart kept hold of the ball under 

a lot of pressure from Warwick’s 

defensive line before completing a 

short pass to King who, behind the 

blocking of Phil Slater, Max Bonaker 

and Lee Lewis cut through the left 

side of the Warwick defence to give 

the second year running back an easy 

run into the end zone for another score 

this season even if it did come with 

a penalty for excessive celebration, 

pushing their next kick off back 15 

more yards as a result. Steven Higgins’ 

attempt at the extra point went wide 

right as the Stallions opened a 6-0 lead 

over their opposition. 

Warwick had time to work with and 

needed a score to level things as well 

as being able to take time off of the 

clock if they were to put this game to 

bed on what could have been their last 

drive of the season. For that though 

they would have to have been able to 

safely collect the ball from the kickoff. 

After the special teams’ mishaps of the 

early point of the game, the Stallions 

needed a play from them to make up

for the kick being a lot deeper. They 

got it though when the returner from 

Warwick put the ball on the ball and 

it was somehow scooped up by the 

Stallions, it was a definite slice of luck 

but one which they took advantage of. 

Again they were able to find massive 

holes in the Warwick defence and 

exploited them with relative ease as 

they drove down-field for the final 

time this season. The drive was finally 

capped off when quarterback Ryan 

Stewart, behind the offensive line, 

made it into the end zone – ironically 

finishing the Stallions scoring this 

season exactly how it began against 

Loughborough. To make it a twoscore 

game they went for a two-point 

conversion but Dankwa let the ball 

slip through his hands and fall for an 

incomplete pass. 

A 12-0 win for the Staffordshire 

Stallions meant that they closed their 

season with a run of 4 successive 

victories with just 9 points conceded 

on defence and 108 scored on offence 

as they recovered from a 0-4 start 

to finish 4-4. A great confidence 

builder for the remaining players for 

next season and a great way for the 

graduating players to bow out – who 

knows what lies ahead for the team 

when the season kicks off later on in 

the year. 

...Tom Donlan 

some scottish Buafl actioN 

Photo © aDam russell 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Hurricanes Win through Hard Fought Battle 

April 2011 

Hurricanes 28 - 14 Barracuda 

Hertfordshire’s unbeaten Hurricanes 

fought past their biggest test yet 

to reach the National Semi-Finals 

last Sunday, when the University of 

Bristol’s Barracuda came to Hatfield. 

In a tough and entertaining contest, 

Hertfordshire eventually ran out 

victors, 14 – 28. The National Quarter- 

Final match-up, in which Bristol had 

earned a spot beating the Kent Falcons 

in the first round of playoffs, featured 

two excellent defences showing 

their worth against two high scoring 

offenses. 

Hertfordshire, strong favourites going 

into the game as National #1 Seeds, 

were in for a tough one from the off. 

After shutting the ‘Cuda offense down, 

the top-scoring Hurricanes offense 

came on and were in turn stopped 

themselves. 

However, after another perfect 

defensive series from Captain Richard 

Ward and his men, the Hurricanes 

found themselves as Quarterback Joe 

Thompson let loose a deep pass to 

star receiver Dominic Husbands, who 

caught the ball in stride before easily 

out pacing the covering corner. Goal 


Kicker Stefan Rivera didn’t miss the 

easy PAT. 0 – 7. 

Following the restart, the game resumed 

interchanging offensive series around 

midfield, before a superb Bristol punt 

set the Hurricanes offense deep in their 

own red zone. A fumble then gave the 

Barracuda a perfect start to the second 

quarter, beginning it with four downs 

and barely a yard to go for their first 

score. Thundering it in using their 

massive tight-end/fullback hybrid, 

Bristol’s sideline erupted as they drew 

level, 7-7. The rushing/receiving threat 

would continue to lead the Bristol 

attack. 

The Hurricanes took little time to 

respond, and Thompson again linked 

up with Husbands, this time taking 

advantage of Bristol’s cover two with 

a deep corner route into the endzone 

to make it 7 – 14. However, the 

Hertfordshire ground game continued to 

stutter as Bristol’s 3-4 defense delivered 

a heroic performance. 

After an exchange of interceptions, 

Bristol had the ball and half a field to 

work through with only a few minutes 

remaining in the half. In a display 

of sheer determination, the ‘Cuda 

offense drove the ball to the endzone 

before running it in for their second 

touchdown, ending the half all tied up 

at 14 – 14. 

After an exhilarating first half, in 

the third quarter the depth of the 

Hurricanes squad began to show. 

Bristol’s offense ran out of ideas and 

their defense began letting bigger and 

bigger gains go as Hertfordshire’s agile 

running back Gareth Davies broke 

off gains down either sideline. As the

Barracuda attempted to fight their 

way out of their half, defensive back 

Leslie Wilson intercepted a pass and 

delivered some excellent field position 

for the Hurricanes offense to exploit. 

Temi Oduyemi, frustrated up to now, 

broke the deadlock as the balance 

tipped irretrievably into Hertfordshire’s 

favour, sweeping out to the left before 

diving to the pylon in front of a loud 

and jubilant crowd. At 14 – 21, it 

looked like Bristol had run out of fuel. 

Never giving up, however, they 

continued to show bravery and 

determination, throwing everything at 

Ike Okonkwo’s battering ram rushing. 

The killing blow came with time 

winding down in the fourth. A high 

snap to Thompson looked to have 

presented Bristol with a golden 

opportunity to get the ball back, as the 

Green and White O-Line seemed to 

melt away. Joe, however, acted quickly 

to bring the ball under his control, and 

escaped the rapidly approaching nose 

tackle, before lashing a difficult pass 

to Okonkwo – suddenly, it became 

apparent where the ‘Canes O-Line had 

got to, as the running back broke from 

behind his screen and dived his way 

into the endzone. 14 – 28, and after 

more dominant defensive work, the 

Hurricanes gratefully ran out the clock 

for the victory. 

...Peter Barker 

all Photos this article 

© garry Neesam 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Hurricanes Bow Out in National Semi-Finals 


Hurricanes 35 - 36 Lions 

The Hertfordshire Hurricanes tasted 

their only defeat of the season in 

a thrilling 42-37 defeat at home to 

reigning champions the Birmingham 

Lions. 

Cut down by mistakes and bad luck 

in the first half, the Hurricanes began 

the second half facing a 29 – 6 deficit 

against one of the greatest all time 

British University American Football 

teams. However, by the middle of 

the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes had 

fought a magnificent battle to go into 

the lead 36 – 37. With four minutes 

to go, the ‘Canes had possession 

and great field position against an 

exhausted and demoralised Lions 

team. 

However, one of the game changers 

that make American Football so 

unpredictable took place in the form of 

a superb interception by Birmingham, 

who took advantage of the turnover 

to drive the ball into the Hertfordshire 

endzone in an intense and suspense 

filled offensive series. With only a 

minute to respond, Hertfordshire tried 

again and again to find a deep pass to 

retake the lead, but with no success. 

The game began in very different 

fashion. With clouds overhead, and 

the expected crowd yet to appear, 

Hertfordshire got off to a nightmare 

start. Birmingham’s quarterback put 

a pass out into the flat, a seemingly 

dreadful mistake as his target receiver 

was covered by two Hurricanes 

players. Unbelievably though, the 

ball first passed straight through the 

outside-backer’s hands, and as the 

corner lunged for the spinning ball, it 

dropped perfectly into the hands of the 

Birmingham wide-out, who can’t have 

even seen it. With the ball in his hands 

and his two defenders on the deck 

behind him, the receiver strolled into 

the endzone with a bemused smile on 

his face as stunned shock swept over 

the Hurricanes’ sideline. 

The initial nightmare was not over 

yet though, as on the next Hurricane’s 

possession, forced to punt from their 

own goal area, gave away their first 

over-thrown long-snap of the year, as 


it flew out of the back of their endzone 

for a safety score. Birmingham had 

been effectively handed a 9 – 0 head 

start. 

As the crowd and Sun appeared, 

Hertfordshire’s form continued to 

elude them, as their offense failed to 

get into a rhythm and their defense 

seemed incapable of containing 

Birmingham runningback Dan Conroy. 

Finally putting points on the board 

at the end of the first half, making it 

21 – 6, Hertfordshire looked to keep 

Birmingham out until the end of the 

half, a seemingly easy task considering 

the poor field position and lack of 

time they had available. However, 

Birmingham’s quarterback Jonny 

Glover - filling in for the injured twotime 

League MVP Tristan Varney – 

lead his team in an excellent drive to 

take another score and end the half. 

Never to be disheartened, 

Hertfordshire picked themselves up 

at half-time, and came out of the 

blocks blazing. Receiving the kick off,

Hurricanes quarterback Joe Thompson 

finally found some momentum and hit 

favoured receiver Dominic Husbands 

for a touchdown and then again on 

a 2 point conversion. Uninspired, 

however, the defense were unable to 

keep Birmingham out. 36-14. 

That was the last time the Lions 

looked dominant, however, as the 

Hurricanes went on a brilliant run of 

23 points without reply. The first was 

an outstanding pass from Thompson 

to Mark Flatman out of the slot on a 

seam, and the second another rushing 

TD (he’d scored the first ‘Canes 

points as well) from Chris Forrester. 

Then, with Birmingham backed up on 

their own goal-line, rookie Benjamin 

Aboagye picked off a pass and took it 

into the endzone, unleashing a roar of 

delight from the packed out crowd and 

Hurricanes’ sideline. 36-35 

Not one to shy from a risk, Coach Jim 

Messenger called in the heavy squad 

to go for two. It was run in to put the 

‘Canes up 36-37. 

The Birmingham touchdown drive 

couldn’t have had more suspense. 

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all Photos this article © garry Neesam 


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3rd and Long, the play was first 

called back even further for a false 

start. Then, the attempted pass hit an 

overhanging wire, causing another 

replay. Finally, booting out, the 

quarterback seemed destined for a 

sack as d-end Emmanuel Olakotan 

chased him down, only to be cleared 

out – from behind, it seemed – but a 

Lions guard in the back-field. No flags 

were thrown as Glover ran for the 

first and goal, leaving the TD to Dan 

Conroy, who played an epic game at 

runningback, safety and returner. 

Unable to put away the two, 

Hertfordshire returned to the field 

to try again. However, with barely 

a minute on the clock and against 

three safeties, the ‘Canes could 

not convert, with Thompson being 

unceremoniously picked off on a final 

hail Mary. 

“The second half was the best 24 

minutes of football I’ve ever been 

involved in.” Said Joe after the Game. 

“Heads may have been down at half 

time, but we came back strong and 

nearly won it.” 

... Peter Barker 


hurricaNes’ heaD coach, Jim messeNger, gives his QB, Joe thomPsoN, some tactical aDvice

actioN from PeterBorough saxoNs 

(Blue) -v- BirmiNgham Bulls, may 2011 



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Cardiff Cobras win National Plate Final 


Cobras 20 - 0 Sharks 

The Cardiff University Cobras 

travelled up to Leeds last Friday for a 

team overnight stay with a difference: 

this was their first national final 

appearance since 1996, and if they 

won, would be their first silverware 

since 1988. 

With a team of 38 players and 7 

coaches, the Cobras were fresh and 

ready for Saturday’s fixture in brilliant 

sunshine against Hull Sharks, an old 

rival with who the Cobras shared 

national honours in 1988 and then lost 

to in 1989’s final. 

Following warm-ups – although 

these were scarcely needed in the 

heat – and the national anthems, the 

Cobras kicked-off and for the first 

series of play relied on their everstrong 

defence to start off the game. 

Ably led by Linebacker Ollie Devon, 

the defence forced a Hull 3-and-out 

and the offence, under the guide of 

Quarterback Gareth Humphreys, set to 

work. A long drive, in which Running 

Backs Alex Brew and Ayo Akintunde 

ran the ball hard and well behind 

strong blocking from the Cobras 



offensive line, culminated in an inch 

perfect pass from Humphreys to rising 

star Wide Receiver Josh Hurford, 

who caught his second touchdown 

in as many games, giving the Cobras 

and the stadium of fans behind them 

good reason to celebrate early. Kicker 

Christy Caldwell converted the PAT to 

give the Cobras a 7-0. 

More of the same followed on defence, 

with monster hits and decisive 

interceptions from first year Defensive 

Backs Tom List and Robin Ford, 

although the offence were unable to 

convert possession in to points until 

shortly before half-time. This time, 

with precious seconds left on the 

clock, Humphreys aired a deep ball up 

in to the end zone for Benny Sherwood 

who miraculously came down with it 

for a 6-point touchdown. With another 

successful PAT, the score at the half 

was Cardiff 14-0 Hull, the old rival 

looking beaten by a much stronger 

Cobras team. 

However, the Cobras came out 

sluggishly after the break with the 

offence failing to convert some key 

Photo © aDam russell


3rd downs and the defence allowing 

some steady Hull drives in the hot sun. 

Eventually, lapses in concentration 

began to show. Hull scored on a long 

QB scramble, but a holding penalty 

negated it and this was exactly the 

kick up the rear the Cobras needed. 

After more booming hits and big 

stops, notably from Linebacker 

Dom Bevan and Defensive Lineman 

Jonny Langford, and interceptions, 

one more each for List and Ford and 

even Devon adding to the tally, the 

fantastic defensive play lifted the 

offence. Sustained driving eventually 

ended with a score, right at the final 

whistle, from Running Back and Club 

President Alex Brew – a fitting end to a 

successful year campaign running and 

leading the team. 

Exhausted but exhilarated, the 

Cobras lifted the Challenge Plate 

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with a combination of massive grins, 

ridiculous Mohawks and pride – the 

team which started the season 0-2 had 

come back to win nine on the trot and 

win some silverware for Cardiff. Final 

score, Cardiff University Cobras 20-0 

University of Hull Sharks. 

Preparations now begin for next year’s 

season with recruitment a huge factor 

in the continued success of the club 

– hopefully this time round for full 

national honours! Anyone interested in 

playing please contact cardiffcobras@ 

hotmail.com, or search facebook for 

“Cardiff Cobras American Football” or 

twitter @cardiffcobras 


...Cardiff Cobras 


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Photo © aDam 

russell 









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Portsmouth Destroyers win national Final as B 

Unfortunately, Inside American Football did not receive any match reports for the BUAFL showcase Nation 

& Portsmouth Destroyers. 

Fortunately, photographers Adam Russell & Garry Neesam were there to capture the action 





irmingham fail to three-peat 

al Final game between the much-favoured Birmingham Lions 


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Photo © 

Photo © ga

garry Neesam 

rry Neesam 


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Dundee win their Opening Match 

10th April 

Hurricanes 25 - 7 Blackhawks 

The Dundee Hurricanes opened their 

2011 BAFACL campaign at home to 

the Clyde Valley Blackhawks on a 

stunning April Sunday. After a very 

disappointing 2010, this was the 

perfect opportunity for the Hurricanes 

to show they meant business. The 

Canes were in vastly greater numbers 

than the squad which ended the 

previous year, and the squad size 

would play its part later in the game. 

The opening quarter saw the Canes D 

start as they meant to go on, with the 

Blackhawks being forced to punt on 

their opening series. Fraser Thomson 

and rookie Chris Gilray came close to 

opening series Interceptions, but it was 

enough to send the Canes offence on to 

the field. A new look offense had some 

old faces in it, as the returning Craig 

Blacklaw lined up in the backfield 

alongside Mahamadou Niakate, and 

Matt Hooper was back on the Canes 

Offensive Line. Both would be 

instrumental on the day, with “Hoops” 

and the O-Line creating holes for 

Blacklaw and Niakate to exploit. The 

series would come to an abrupt end, as 

the Blackhawks intercepted an errant 

pass from Canes QB Bruce Thomson. 

This was to be one of very few errors 

from Thomson. With the scores tied at 

0-0 and 54 seconds left on the clock, 

the Thomson brothers connected on 

a 61 yard pass from Bruce to Fraser, 

who opened the season’s account for 


the Canes. The extra point attempt 

failed, and the sides went in at the half 

6-0 in favour of the Canes. 

After a much needed break, the Canes 

came out with a slightly new look 

in the 2nd half. Tight End Andrew 

MacManus was sidelined with an 

ankle injury, meaning changes to the 

receiving corps. The new look help 

inject some fresh energy into the Canes 

offense, and they appeared to extend 

their lead when Niakate burst through 

to score, however, the play was called 

back after a holding penalty against 

Wide Receiver Kris Gibson. 

Another turnover by the Canes offense, 

this time Niakate being intercepted on 

a trick play, handed the ball back to 

the Blackhawks on their own 1 yard 

line. The Canes took the ball back 

with great field position, and they 

eventually extended their lead thanks 

to a 4 yard run from Craig Blacklaw 

after some tough running by the Canes 

offense. Niakate tacked on the extra 

point to make it 13-0. This was to be 

a short score line, as the Blackhawks 

reeled off a 32 yard TD run to pull the 

score back to 13-7 at the end of the 3rd 

Quarter. 

Moving in to the 4th Quarter, the 

Canes offense began to take control 

of the game. A series lasting several 

minuted was again culminated with 

a TD from Craig Blacklaw, this time 

Photos this article © 

rachel graham 

from 2 yards out, making the score 

line 19-7. The Canes Defence, led by 

Fraser Thomson and Lars Halford, 

continued to have their way with the 

Blackhawks forcing them off the 

field again. This time, the Canes went 

to the air, a short pass from Bruce 

Thomson found Wide Receiver Darren 

McDonald. McDonald still had it all 

to do, and with a 38 yard cross field 

run, he found the endzone to cap a 

spectacular display from the new 

addition to the Canes squad. With the 

score standing at 25-7, the remainder 

of the game was played out scoreless, 

giving the Canes the start to their 

season that they craved. 

...Kris Gibson

Junior Gladiators open with Comfortable Win 

10th April 2011 

Gladiator Juniors 28 - 6 Renegade Juniors 

The Colchester Gladiators Junior team 

started the season with a comfortable 

win against the South London 

Renegades, cruising to a 28-0 second 

quarter lead before coasting in the 

second half and securing the win. 

Getting to the ground on time proved 

to be a bit of a stretch for the South 

London Renegades who were the 

Gladiators’ opponents for their opening 

game in this season’s Junior Eastern 

Conference. Kick off was delayed 

by nearly an hour and this seemed to 

inspire the young Gladiators who went 

after the latecomers with vigour. The 

Renegades’ first offensive play ended 

in disaster as the ball was fumbled 

away and recovered by Gladiators’ 

linebacker Jamie Robinson who 

skipped in untouched from 10 yards 

out for the opening score and a 6 - 0 

lead. 

The Colchester offence enjoyed 

excellent field position all day thanks 

to the defence and some outstanding 

and exciting kick returns by Nico 

The London Warriors with new signing 

Vernon Kay, go 1-0 after storming out 

the blocks in the Premiership curtain 

raiser. 

The game started with a booming kick 

out the back of the end zone from 

kicker Ian Jacquet (no.8). Farnham’s 

offense was held to a 3 and out after 

a strong showing by the Warriors 

defensive line. The resulting punt was 

downed on the Knight’s 2 yard line 

giving the Warriors great field position. 

After an incomplete pass attempt on 

1st down, a Warriors forced fumble 

was recovered on the Knight’s 5 yard 

line. Giving the Warriors offense led 

by quarter back Jerome Allen (no. 7) 

possession. The ball was handed off to 

Devar Gayle who ran for a 3 yard gain. 

Ex New Orleans Saint & Pittsburg 

Steeler Marvin Allen entered the game 

Farthing, Josh Sijuwade and Ryan 

Dziadulewicz, who made his first start 

for the club. After one of these the 

club’s new starting QB, Richard Day, 

bootlegged out to his right and leapt 

into the endzone for a 14 point lead. 

Towards the end of the first quarter, 

after a second short dive, Day picked 

out WR John Benjamin for his first 

receiving touchdown to take the score 

to 20 - 0. 

In the second quarter the Gladiators 

unleashed the speed of Dziadulewicz 

on an end around and he breezed past 

three defenders to extend the lead to 26 

and with the PAT this became 28 - 0. 

The Gladiators’ defence never looked 

in danger of conceding with excellent 

line penetration from Jack Sayer, Isaac 

Hogarth and Dan Glozier clearing the 

way for the linebacking crew to mop 

up what was left of the Renegades 

runners. This year the linebackers look 

particularly strong with GB standout 

Matt Eva, Piers Harrison-Reid and 

Knights lose Home Opener to the Warriors 


Knights 0 - 49 Warriors 

in the Wildcat running the ball in for 

the 1st score of the game, PAT by 

Jacquet was good. 

Jerome Allen returned to the game on 

the following Warriors offensive drive 

to complete a 24 yard pass to brother 

Marvin Allen (now playing WR) for 

the 2nd score, PAT good. 

The Knights showed strong desire 

toward the end of the 2nd quarter by 

moving the chains for the 1st time, 

however the Warriors defense led by 

ex GB Lions Youth linebacker Niall 

Scott-Grant, forced another 3 and out. 

After the break, the highlights from the 

second half came from the fireworks 

from quarter back Jerome Allen who 

displayed what a truly accurate passer 

of the ball he is. Firstly a 23 yard 

completion to WR James Cherry off a 

MATCH REPORTS 

Jack Coppack returning complemented 

by Robinson and new recruit Tia 

Nyakabau. The defensive backs were 

untroubled all day. 

The referees instigated a ‘rolling clock’ 

in the second half to shorten the late 

starting game and the Gladiators still 

moved the ball well but were unable 

to secure any further scores. The 

Renegades got on the score board 

when one of their linebackers picked 

up a loose ball and just made it to the 

endzone but this was nothing but a 

consolation for their long journey. The 

Junior Gladiators’ next game is on 

Sunday 24th April at 12 noon against 

the Kent Exiles juniors. 

...Colchester Gladiators 

post pattern taking the score to 19-0, 

PAT good. Allen then repeated the feat 

twice to WR Romaine Jackson (no. 

83) first on a 23 yard fade route in to 

the endzone. In the 4th Allen took to 

the air again finding Romaine Jackson 

once more for another score. Another 

highlight of the game was a booming 

hit by Vernon Kay on running back 

Kingsley Oseye to bring the Warriors 

offense back on the field. 

After the game Warriors Head Coach, 

Tony Allen praised the drive and 

hunger of the team but insisted focus 

must turn to preparations to face 

the Aztecs in what will be a closely 

contested game. 

...London Warriors 


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Pirates hit the Road Running 


Pirates 56 - 0 Senators 

The Pirates hit the road running in 

their 2011 campaign opening fixture 

away against the Gateshead Senators, 

but not before it looked like it might 

stall at the first attempt. They had to 

wait while their hosts and the match 

day officials debated the level of 

medical cover available. The problems 

were eventually resolved and the game 

kicked off almost an hour after the 

scheduled start time. 


Both sides punted on their first 

possession, but second time around 

East Kilbride opened their account 

with a trademark 55-yard run from 

quarterback Ryan Hunter and Steven 

Kane added the conversion to make it 

7-0. That lead soon doubled as Hunter 

completed a scoring pass to Jamie 

McLaughlin for a 10-yard touchdown 

and Kane, who was to be perfect on 

the day, again converted. 

Into the second quarter and the 

Pirates’ defence were dominating 

their opposite numbers and it wasn’t 

long before Gateshead were forced 

to punt the ball back again. This time 

however, Hunter saw his pass tipped 

by his receiver straight into the hands 

of a grateful Senator. This was only 

a temporary aberration and normal 

service was resumed the next time 

East Kilbride got the ball. An 8-play 

drive was capped by a 2-yard run from 

Iain Dick and the extra point made 

it 21-0. An Ivor Clark interception 

quickly regained the ball for the 

visitors and two plays later, Hunter 

was again in the endzone, this time 

on a 25-yard dash. So, 28-0 to East 

Kilbride at the interval, and that would 

have been more had Defensive Back 

Scott Findlay not had his 45-yard 

Interception return called back for an 

infringement by a team-mate. 

After both sides traded possession 

at the start of the third period, the 

Pirates’ Defence got in on the act with 

Linebacker Lee Collins intercepting a 

wayward pass and returning it 39 yards 

to the end zone. Kane tagged on the 

Point After to make it 35-0. Perhaps

surprisingly, there was no further 

scoring until the game moved into the 

final quarter. The period started deep in 

Gateshead territory after Lineman Kris 

Henderson had picked off a Gateshead 

pass on the last play of the third 

quarter, but didn’t have the legs to go 

all the way and score. Two carries from 

Blake Kyle completed those last 4 

yards to stretch the advantage to 42-0. 

Gateshead soon punted once more and 

Quarterback Neil Baptie engineered a 

short, 5-play drive before carrying the 

ball home himself from the 4-yard line. 

As the game drew to its conclusion, 

the Senators completed a bad day by 

gifting East Kilbride their final score. 

They were backed up deep in their own 

territory, and a low snap saw the ball 

squirm into the Gateshead endzone. 

In a desperate attempt to bat the ball 

out of bounds for a 2-point safety, 

their quarterback only succeeded in 

scooping it straight into the hands of 

a grateful Stuart Proudlock, who was 

only too happy to accept the gift of a 

touchdown on his debut. Kane kicked 

the conversion to compete a satisfying 

victory on opening day. 

Due to the vagaries of this year’s 

schedule, East Kilbride now don’t have 

another game until May 15th when 

they travel to meet the Yorkshire Rams 

in Leeds. 

...Bill Campbell 

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© amaNDa macDoNalD 


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Gladiators come within 9 Seconds of ending Losing Streak 


Gladiators 20 - 20 Cardinals 

The Colchester Gladiators came within 

nine seconds of ending their losing 

streak to local rivals Ipswich Cardinals 

in a thrilling 20-20 tie at the Royal Oak 

Stadium, Harwich, on Sunday. 

Since the Gladiators re-entered 

the league in 2005, their Suffolk 

neighbours have had the upper hand 

including a one-sided 34-0 win and a 

tighter 10-0 victory last year. However, 

the Cardinals were not going to have 

it their own way this year and after 

opening up a 14-0 lead in the second 

quarter, and a 20-14 advantage with 

one minute to go, the Gladiators will 

be disappointed not to have hung on 

to win the game, but could easily have 

lost the game at the death but managed 

to block Ipswich’s extra point attempt 

to secure the tie. 

The Gladiators had the better of 

the first half, and after holding 

the Cardinals on their first two 

possessions, thanks to a sack by 

Christian Steward and a forced fumble, 

the Gladiators took the lead early 

in the second quarter when junior 

graduate QB Curtis Bourke, starting 

his first game for the senior team, 

escaped Ipswich pressure, rolled right 

and found wide receiver Dan Singer 

open in the corner of the endzone. The 

perfect spiral was gratefully accepted 

by Singer for a 24 yard score, giving 

the Gladiators a 6-0 lead. Casey 

Campbell slotted the extra point to 

extend the lead to 7-0. 

Nick foxley #87 BriNgs DowN 

americaN ruNNiNg Back DoN caNDis 


After an exchange of punts, the 

Gladiators forced another three and 

out by the Cards. The 36 yard kick was 

caught by Campbell, who followed his 

blocks and showed his speed, returning 

the ball 61 yards to the Ipswich one 

yard line. On the next play, Bourke 

found new signing Emanuel Ezejiofo 

with a short pass to increase the lead to 

13-0. Campbell again kicked the point 

after to make the score 14-0. 

The Cardinals then showed why 

they are perennial playoff teams as 

they marched 63 yards in ten plays, 

completing the drive with a sixteen 

yard run by American running back 

Don Candis. The extra point was good 

to bring the score back to 14-7. 

The Cards had one last chance before 

half time but cornerback Phill Pearson 

intercepted American QB Corey 

Broyles as the first half ended. 

The Gladiators received the ball to 

start the second half and opened with 

a confident looking drive, with Bourke 

again connecting with Ezejiofo for 

a 21 yard gain and Campbell slicing 

through the visiting defence for 11 

yards. Bourke then went back to 

Ezejiofo, who ended the game with six 

catches for 71 yards, for 19 yards and 

another first down at the Ipswich eight. 

A sack of Bourke and a penalty drove 

the Gladiators back though and an 

incomplete pass on fourth down gave 

the ball back to Ipswich. 

all Photos this article © JohN siNger 

emaNuel ezeJiofo catches a Bourke Pass 

casey camPBell slices through the carDiNals DefeN

ce 

The Cardinals moved the ball again, 

reaching the Gladiators nineteen before 

Nick Foxley halted Candis short of the 

marker on fourth down, returning the 

ball to Colchester on downs. 

As the final period began, the 

Gladiators had to kick the ball back 

to the Cards and it took them just four 

plays to tie the score. QB Broyles kept 

the ball, evaded would be tacklers 

and squeezed into the corner of the 

endzone. The extra point tied the 

game, but not for long. 

A 15 yard penalty against the Cards 

QB for taunting forced them to kick 

the ball from their fifteen and the 

resulting short kick was handed to 

Campbell who burst up the middle, 

cut to the outside, and completed a 

stunning 66 yard touchdown to silence 

the visiting sideline, and give back the 

lead to Colchester. A failed two point 

attempt kept the score at 20-14. 

The Gladiators couldn’t put the game 

away despite an interception and 52 

yard return by AJ Crabbe, but another 

promising Cardinal drive was stopped 

when first Crabbe on third down, then 

Foxley broke up deep third and fourth 

down passes, intended for American 

wide receiver Mike Royster. 

With little over a minute to go, the 

Gladiators had the ball back, just 

needing to get one first down to run out 

the clock but a fumble gave the ball 

back to the Cards just 34 yards out. 

Broyles found Royster with a quick 

pass and the strong receiver jinked 

down-field for 25 yards before being 

halted by Crabbe and Dan Johnson. 

With nine seconds to play, and with 

the last play of the game, running 

back Paul Borstell barrelled his way 

over the line for the tying score. The 

Cardinals had a chance to win it with 

the final play of the game with an 

extra point, but a bad snap and hold 

though the play’s timing out and the 

Gladiators were able to block the kick 

and settle for a tie. 

Head Coach Matt Roberts had mixed 

emotions after the game, saying: 

“Ultimately it’s very hard to be 

disappointed in an opening weekend 

draw against last year’s national semifinalists, 

who last year out-scored 

us 48-0. However having fought to 

put ourselves back in the lead with 

little time left, but to relinquish that 

and only come away with a draw is 

a little bitter sweet to say the least. 

On reflection we did a huge amount 

right, working in our new players who 

contributed from the start, we passed 

for two scores, and special teams were 

once again back as a massive weapon, 

returning a kick off for an incredible 

DaN JohNsoN #10, hauls DowN Paul Borstell 

MATCH REPORTS 

return. Defensively we were strong and 

our real failings largely came down to 

the very large physical mismatch at 

times on the field which shows our real 

need to recruit some serious size on 

defence. But all said and done, I know 

that few people would have backed 

us for anything but to be out-matched 

and beaten easily, so to show such a 

massive improvement on last year and 

to really make people take note of this 

developing side is something to be 

proud of and I know it’s a sign of much 

better to come. We now have to heal 

up, get back to the film room and come 

back even stronger for the next game.” 

Club Chairman Dave Hogarth reflected 

on the day saying: “A very good start 

to the season all round. Unfortunately, 

due to poor traffic conditions and the 

late arrival of our opponents, the junior 

game started late and which caused 

frustration on what was a beautiful 

sunny day for football. Still, a win for 

the juniors and a draw for the seniors 

and the coaches and players are happy 

with that. The senior side showed 

massive improvement in a 20 all draw 

against a real ‘powerhouse’ of British 

American football. Bring on the next 

double header of football and another 

fantastic afternoon of entertainment 

for the people of Colchester and 

Harwich.” 



MATCH REPORTS 

Rev get off to Bad Start 


Revolution 6 - 34 Wolverines 

Shropshire Revolutions 2011 

campaign got off to a disappointing 

start in their season opener after a 

comprehensive defeat at the hands of 

rivals Lancashire Wolverines. 

Travelling north for the game the 

Revolution got off to the worst 

possible start with the ball in 

Lancashire’s possession at midfield the 

Shropshire defence managed to make 

a big 3rd down stop when corner Sean 

Austin wrestled Quarterback David 

Mead to the ground well behind the 

line of scrimmage. However a personal 

foul negated the play to keep the drive 

alive. 

Mead then punished the Revolution 

when a mazy scramble allowed him 

to open the scoring for the game from 

26 yards out, the converted extra point 

made it 7-0. 

In an effort to mount an instant reply 

Revolution Quarterback Rob Mclean 

was able to convert a first down before 

a combination of penalties and the 

Wolverines speedy defence was able 


to force a punting situation, which 

resulted in an errant snap which left 

Punter David Trevor no choice but to 

concede a 2 point Safety by kicking the 

ball out of his own endzone increasing 

the deficit to 9 points. 

Getting the ball back the Lancashire 

Wolverine offense were again able 

to get points on the board aided by 

penalties and the duel threat of Mead 

on the ground and through the air, on 

this occasion the Revolution Defence 

kept them out the endzone but a Danny 

Morton Field Goal was able to push 

the Wolverines further ahead with the 

score at 12-0. 

Shropshire then proceeded to have 

their best phase of the game, with 

the Offense getting to grips with a 

Wolverine defence keen to preserve 

their advantage. Strong running from 

the Revolution running backs and 

precise passing from the Mclean 

enabled the men in purple to get to the 

Wolverine 2 yard line. But a series of 

miscues and a dead ball personal foul, 

ended any hope of a touchdown, made

worse when kicker Lee Kazeem’s 

Field Goal attempt sailed wide left. 

Defensively, Shropshire also found 

their feet and they managed to pin 

Lancashire in their own half for 

the remainder of the half and even 

managed a turnover when corner 

Andrew Flint intercepted a tipped 

Mead pass, more penalties meant the 

Revolution offense were unable to 

make anything of the opening and the 

Wolverines took their advantage into 

half time. 

The second half saw much of the same, 

on their opening drive and after a 

couple of first downs Rob Mclean was 

picked off at midfield and the return set 

up Lancashire inside the 5 yard line. 

Shropshire had their defence to thank 

again when they managed to hold out 

with a defiant goal line stand which 

resulted in another well executed 

Morton field goal which kept the game 

in reach at 15-0. 

However the pattern was to continue 

and the Lancashire offense was able 

to add 3 more scores to put the game 

away all involving chief tormentor 

on the day David Mead. Firstly doing 

damage on the ground again with a 

draw play that saw him crash over 

the goal line for a second rushing 

score. Then following more strong 

play on defence and special teams 

which set the Wolverines up with 

yet more very short fields Mead 

all Photos this article © mike DeaN 

MATCH REPORTS 

did the damage through the air with 

passes to tight end Rich Cole and 

receiver Neil Sullivan respectively 

in the endzone. Shropshire’s Defense 

were able to avoid the shut out when 

veteran defensive tackle Anthony Clay 

recovered a fumble in the endzone, 

which proved to be nothing more than 

a consolation and the game finished 

34-6. 

Commenting on the game Revolution 

head coach barked “You cannot give 

a team of the Lancashire Wolverines 

quality the kind of help we did today 

and expect to win, over a 100 yards 

in penalties, fundamental mistakes 

in the kicking game made it a near 

impossible task. Take nothing away 

from them they beat us soundly in all 4 

phases of the game coaching, offense, 

defense and special teams.” 

...Shropshire Revolution 


MATCH REPORTS 

Exiles off to a Cracking Start 


Pumas 20 - 62 Exiles 

The Exiles got their 2011 campaign off 

to a winning start with an emphatic 62- 

20 mauling of the Maidstone Pumas. 

Renewing a rivalry that dates back 

to the early 1990’s, but has not been 

played since 2005, both teams were 

obviously pumped up for the game as 

is kicked off, but it was the Exiles who 

were to start fastest, and then finish 

even faster. 

The Pumas kicked the game off, 

and the Exiles offence found their 

rhythm quickly, a strong drive, led by 

rookie quarterback Marco Kornaros 

culminated in Jon Miller running in 

from 15 yards out. Kornaros himself 

ran in the two point conversion, for an 

early 8-0 lead. 

The Pumas then stunned their 

visitors, as Ryan McDonald took the 

ensuing kick-off back 74 yards for 

an immediate reply. Robert Mitchell 

tagging on the Extra point, and it was 

8-7. 

Buoyed by the opening drive, the 

Exiles offence took to the field once 

again, and again showed that they 


meant business. A strong drive, which 

saw one score chalked off for an illegal 

formation penalty, was finally finished 

off by Wesley Eversley from 14 yards 

out. This time the two point conversion 

was thwarted, and the score was 14-7. 

The Exiles defence then forced a 

Pumas punt, and the offence took over 

once more, for a drive that was to be 

filled with incident. A short drive led 

the Exiles into scoring range, and the 

Pumas thought they had got the ball 

back on an interception only to have 

it ruled out by a roughing the passer 

penalty. Then Paul Crawford sprinted 

in from 7 yards out, only for the Exiles 

to see their second touchdown called 

back due to a penalty. The Exiles 

were forced back even further on 

the following play as Crawford was 

called for an unsportsmanlike conduct 

penalty, then finally the Exiles scored 

once more, Kornaros finding Miller 

from 28 yards out. Again the two point 

conversion was missed, and the Exiles 

now led 20-7. 

The Pumas then found their best drive 

of the day, as they slowly made their 

way down-field. The Exiles Ryan 

Wilson thought he had ended the drive 

with an interception in the endzone, 

but once again a big Exiles play was 

chalked off due to penalty, and to add 

insult to injury the Pumas McDonald 

got his second touchdown of the day, 

diving in from 2 yards out. Mitchell hit 

the conversion again for a 20-14 score. 

The see-saw scoring then continued as 

the Exiles offence continued to move, 

Crawford finally getting his touchdown 

on a 9 yard run. Once again the two 

point conversion was missed, but the 

Exiles maintained their lead with the 

score now 26-14. 

The excitement of the first half 

wasn’t about to finish though, as 

once again the Pumas struck back 

almost immediately. Rookie safety 

Kyle Gurney saw a chance of his 

exiles QuarterBack marco korNaros 

vaultiNg iNto the eNDzoNe for the score 

Photo courtesy keNt exiles 

first interception, but was beaten to 

the ball by Jonathan Buggs who took 

the ball and sprinted the 70 yards to 

the endzone on the pass from Mark 

Charles. The extra point was missed, 

and the score was now 26-20. 

Another score followed by the Exiles 

though, another drive went down 

the pitch after some good gains from 

rookie running back Nick Thompson, 

and Kornaros finished this one off 

himself as he vaulted into the endzone 

from 7 yards out. Crawford punched 

in the two point conversion, and it was 

34-20. 

Following their early mistakes, Coach 

Aaron Alexis had had some harsh 

words with his defence which had 

the desired effect. Good tackles from 

Kerry Gray, Adam Pearson and Simon 

Mackerill stopped the Pumas in their 

tracks, and a poor punt left the Exiles 

in their half with a few seconds left. It 

was enough time for Kornaros to hoist 

a long ball down the sideline to Jon 

Miller to score from 42 yards out as 

time expired. The same pair hooked up 

for the two point conversion as well, 

and the Exiles took a 42-20 lead into 

the half. 

The second half started as the first 

ended, as the Exiles defence stepped 

up their game once again. Gavin 

Cooper recovered a fumbled snap, to 

get the ball back for the Exiles, and 

then Eversley ripped off a 49 yard run, 

to leave Crawford an easy finish from 

7 yards out. Crawford also punched in 

the two point attempt, and the Exiles 

now led by 30 points, 50-20. 

With a healthy lead, the Exiles cleared 

their benches for the remainder of the 

game, and saw that they had plenty 

of competition for places with barely 

a beat missed. Dave Silverman and 

Drew Filipowicz looked good in the 

defensive backfield, whilst Chris 

Hope made some good gains on the 

ground behind the blocking of Shane

Medhurst and Ruban Siranjan. But it 

was to be veteran tight end Alistair 

Beaton who capped a fine individual 

performance with a 1 yard catch from 

Kornaros to score next, and make the 

score 56-20. 

More defensive pressure, including 

two sacks from youth team graduate 

Lee Baxter, saw the Exiles pile the 

pressure on the Pumas, and the scoring 

was rounded out when back-up 

Quarterback Damir Latte stepped in 

and led the team to the final score, a 28 

yard run from Crawford, and the final 

score of 62-20. 

Following the game Coach Bainbridge 

was justifiably proud of his team, “we 

played a good game considering we 

have such a young team, mixed with 

some veteran influences. The game 

film will be good for us to review, as 

we did play sloppy football at times, 

with too many penalties. But if you’d 

offered me this score line before the 

game, I’d have taken it!” 

Full details on the Exiles’ season are 

available at www.kentexiles.co.uk 

...Martin Jefkins 

exiles’ JoN miller celeBratiNg the oPeNiNg touchDowN 

Photo courtesy keNt exiles 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Watford start Anniversary Season with a Win 

17th April 

Blue Raiders 0 - 15 Cheetahs 

The Watford Cheetahs started their 

25th Anniversary season with an away 

trip to the Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 

on Sunday 17th April. 

The Cheetahs took to the field sporting 

their new jerseys and an impressive 

travelling squad of 51 players. 

The first quarter turned out to be an 

edgy affair with neither team able to 

impose themselves. The only play 

of real note was a Bedford fake punt 

which earned 13 yards and a first 

down, but the drive was ended after 

strong play from the Cheetahs defence, 

led by former Loughborough Aces 

Linebacker Dave Bright. Again neither 

team could make any significant 

progress on their possession but the 

Cheetahs capitalised on two bits of 

good fortune when a muffed punt 

recovery on their own 46 yard line and 

a penalty for roughing the kicker gave 

the Cheetahs two first downs after 

punting away, keeping the drive alive. 


Good runs from Shane Wilden and 

Frank Mayo left them facing first and 

goal. Finally the deadlock was broken 

when on 3rd down on the 6-yard line 

quarterback Martin Brown was able 

to pick out rookie Wide Receiver Sam 

Roberts for the score. A successful 

extra point conversion by another 

former Loughborough Ace, WR 

Mark Ward, saw the visitors lead 7-0. 

Cornerback Tom Hutton intercepted 

the Raiders QB late in the half, but the 

Cheetahs threw a pick of their own 

with little time left which ended the 

half with a narrow Cheetahs lead. 

An eventful third quarter started with 

the Cheetahs successfully moving the 

ball down-field until a fumble was 

recovered by the home side. During 

the next BBR series, an unfortunate 

injury to Offensive lineman Mitch 

Roberts halted play for some time. On 

the next drive they returned the favour 

when the Blue Raiders quarterback 

fumbled the snap on 4th and 1, ending 


© garry Neesam

a promising Bedford drive. On the 

next possession, Watford had their 

own drive ended prematurely by 

another fumble after a 20yd reception 

which the home team recovered. 

However, the Cheetahs D continued 

to hold strong, with great play from 

the Defensive Line led by Merrigan 

Baylis, formerly of the Brighton 

Tsunami, and Rookie 350lb Defensive 

Tackle James Noel. 

After forcing the Blue Raiders to punt 

the Cheetahs started the final quarter 

in possession. Once again Watford 

were forced to kick but an excellent 70 

yard punt from Ward handed the ball 

to Bedford on their own 4 yard line. 

Able to keep Bedford pinned in their 

own half, a failed field goal attempt 

resulted in the Blue Raiders trying 

to play out from their own 7 yard 

MATCH REPORTS 

line eventually being forced to punt 

from just 8 yards out. A penalty then 

moved them back to 3 and the fluffed 

snap over the punters head resulted in 

a safety and a two score cushion for 

the visitors. The Cheetahs then added 

a further 6 points to their lead when 

veteran Paul Symonds caught a 3 yard 

touchdown pass from QB Brown. 

Failing to convert the extra point and 

neither team moving the ball on their 

possession the game ended with a 15-0 

victory for he Cheetahs. 

...Kevin Bright 


MATCH REPORTS 

Renegades Kick Off with a Win 


Renegades 28 - 6 Bobcats 

Berkshire Renegades started their 2011 

BAFACL campaign with a solid 28-6 

victory over the visiting Bournemouth 

Bobcats at Bulmershe Field on Sunday. 

Berkshire received the opening 

kickoff, and running back Paul Cook 

set the tone for the game as the 

Renegades drove the ball very well 

on the ground, coming up just short 

on a fourth down conversion deep in 

Bobcats territory. Bournemouth went 

three-and-out on their first drive, and 

Berkshire had the ball on the halfway 

line following a downed punt. Cook 

and Nick Coventry, returning to the 

Renegades after a couple of seasons 

away, continued the rushing attack 

in style before quarterback Paul 

Waddington connected with Ally Reid 

for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The 

point-after attempt was no good as 

the snap sailed high over the holder’s 

head, but Berkshire had the lead, 6-0. 

all Photos this article © holly DowNes 


The Renegades defense were doing a 

good job of keeping the Bournemouth 

offense in check, with solid pass 

coverage and intense run defense 

holding the Bobcats around midfield. 

At the start of the second quarter 

Berkshire extended their lead when 

Waddington found Jim White wide 

open in the endzone for a 7-yard 

touchdown pass. The two-point 

conversion attempt was no good, and it 

was 12-0 to the home team. 

Bournemouth were forced to punt 

again on their next drive, before 

their defense looked to have stolen 

the momentum as a Waddington 

pass was intercepted and returned 

well into the Renegades half. The 

Bobcats fumbled on second down, 

with veteran linebacker Guy Robbins 

pouncing on the loose ball to recover 

for Berkshire. Again the Renegades 

threatened to score, moving the ball to 

the Bournemouth 10-yard line as the 

game entered the two-minute warning, 

but a fourth-down conversion attempt 

was unsuccessful. Bournemouth found 

themselves pinned right on their goal 

line, and were forced to punt. As the 

clock ran down, Berkshire widened the 

gap with a 15-yard touchdown pass 

from Waddington to James Mansell. 

Waddington’s two-point conversion 

scramble was successful, and it was 

20-0 at the break.

The third quarter was a much tighter 

affair, with both teams putting 

together impressive drives only to 

be stifled by the opposing defense. 

Berkshire increased their lead at the 

start of the fourth quarter when Ian 

Lakin crashed over the line from a 

yard out, before doing the same from 

the three for the two-point conversion 

– 28-0. 

The teams traded three-and-out 

MATCH REPORTS 

drives before the Bobcats got onto 

the scoreboard in impressive style, as 

quarterback Luke De Costa connected 

with Rob Worth, who darted through 

the Renegades defense for a 56-yard 

touchdown. The two-point conversion 

attempt was unsuccessful as Robbins 

intercepted the pass and set off downfield, 

only to run out of steam around 

midfield. The final score had been 

set, 28-6, and Berkshire were able to 

run out the clock on the back of their 

impressive ground game. 

After the match, Berkshire head coach 

Paul Gordon commented: 

“This is a solid start and something 

we can build on. There were areas of 

game today which we were impressive 

but we need to learn from our mistakes 

to have the complete performance we 

strive for this season.” 

Game MVPs were on Offense Nick 

Coventry & on Defense Martin 

Mcquire. 

...Andrew Laity 


MATCH REPORTS 

Sussex Thunder return to Div 1 

24th April 2001 

Olympians 22 - 19 Thunder 

Sussex Thunder began their hunt for 

glory in BAFACL Division 1 South 

with a tricky visit to Crystal Palace 

for their match up with the London 

Olympians. 

Right from the start this was going to 

be a tough encounter, and for those 

that made the Easter journey were 

only left disappointed with the result 

from a game that was finely balanced 

throughout it’s duration. 

Sussex Thunder set out their stall 

early on with some excellent running 

from Phil Allman and Paul Robinson 

taking the first drive onto the O’s 20yd 

line following Allman’s 50yd kick off 

return. They came close to scoring 

with a 40yard pass from quarterback 

Eber Kington just floating past the 

finger tips of the in form Allman. 

Play passed to the O’s on their own 

twenty and they were determined to 

make the Thunder pay, After around 

6 mins, despite coming up against a 

strong defence, led by new defensive 

captain Dom Gould it was first blood 

to the O’s ran the ball in for a TD, 

followed by a conversion to take a 7-0 

lead. 

For the rest of the quarter the game 

was played around the centre of the 

park until once again the Thunder 

offence took control with a decent 

drive employing both the running 

game of TK Chisango and Paul 

Robinson and the pinpoint passing of 

Eber Kington coupled with the safe 

hands of the Thunder receivers the 

Sussex the endzone was the target, 

and after 16 minutes a 30 yard pass 


from Kington straight to the waiting 

Andy Miles Thunder were in a strong 

position, with the first down under 

their belt it was now 1st and goal to go. 

The O’s defence was determined not 

to break down it took three attempts 

to get the score, and an unlikely scorer 

as well. Lineman Adrian Teague came 

up trumps after a very short pass from 

Eber Kington. Thunder had their first 

Division 1 points under their belts, 

although the missed conversion left the 

scores at 7-6 in favour of the O’s. 

With the kick-off return being 

restricted to a 20-yard gain it looked as 

though Thunder had the O’s running 

game under control. It was however 

short lived as the O’s dove on another 

30 yards in two plays. Then what in 

previous years may well have been a 

killer blow. A 40yard TD pass from 

the O’s QB, it looked like it was 

going to be a tough afternoon in the 

heat of Crystal Palace Park! Although 

the duffed conversion couldn’t have 

been planned for. The scores after 20 

minutes 13-6 in favour of the O’s. 

This team weren’t about to roll over 

and not wanting to be out done, a 

first down pass to Chris Jones had 

the offense sniffing out the goal line 

again. At the very next play, a perfectly 

placed pass into the arriving hands of 

Andy Miles, and touchdown! Followed 

by a perfectly placed kick from Ches 

Percival and the scores were level at 

13-13. 

The third quarter was a game of cat 

and mouse with both teams being a 

little short changed until after almost 

Photo courtesy 

sussex thuNDer 

half an hour into the game and the O’s 

got their running shoes back on, and 

tore through the defence for another 

touchdown, score now is 19-13 but 

with a shaky kicker the O’s went for 

2 extra points – although the Thunder 

defence had other ideas, scores still 

19-13. 

Another long pass from Kington, this 

time into the arms of Chris Jones, 

took Thunder onto the O’s 20 yard 

line, after a further gain of 5 yards, 

the Thunder hit a brick wall and two 

further attempts to make the down they 

were at 4th and 5, on comes the trusty 

boot of Ches Percival to convert the 

field goal. Thunder were back in the 

hunt 19-16. 

Just before the end of the third quarter 

with the game evenly balanced in the 

centre of the park, the kicking skills 

of Percival are called upon with an 

excellent punt that takes the play 

onto the O’s 5 yard line. The Thunder 

defence sense they can apply some 

real pressure, and that they do. The 

O’s make no ground at all, they are 

forced to punt from virtually their own 

goal line. Another 40yard pass from 

Kington to the O’s 10 yard line put 

the Thunder within striking distance, 

3 fruitless attempts to make further 

inroads mean another attempt at a 

field goal, and Percival duly obliges 

the scores now 19-19 roll on the 4th 

quarter! 

After three exciting quarters the fourth 

one had a lot to live up to, and in a 

tense affair it took almost ten minutes 

for a breakthrough, and it was in 

favour of the O’s getting into kicking 

distance, the O’s kicking that hadn’t 

been the most reliable saw them come 

good to put them 3 up with 5 minutes 

to go. Game on! 

The last five minutes of the game 

saw the Thunder drive to the O’s 10 

yard line, and going for the win the 

previously faultless Kington passed 

into the end zone. Aimed at the safe 

hands of Andy Miles it was looking 

like the return to Division one was 

going to start off successfully. That 

is until the interception from the O’s 

defence. With only seconds to go the 

O’s opted to take a knee for the final 

play of the game. Final score, 22-19. 

...Sussex Thunder

London Warriors win Prestigious ‘March Madness’ 

Flag Tournament 


The London Warriors were crowned 

champions at the tournament march 

madness held in East London 

earlier today. In thier first ever flag 

tournament, Normally used to playing 

kitted football the Premier side outfit 

decided to take on the challenge of flag 

football. The first game the Warriors 

played the first half with only 4 plays 

but still came out on top 27-6 against 

The Victoria Cougars. 

In the second game the London 

Warriors defeated the hosts the London 

Rebels 37-19, the Warriors ended 

up as group winners beating The 

Basingstoke Zombie Horde 33-20 

which set up a semi final clash with 

last years Champions the Chichester 

Sharks. 

The Warriors defeated the Sharks in 

fashion with a score of 32-6 pitting 

them against the only other undefeated 

side in the Tournament, the Chelsea 

Bass. This was a hard fought game 

with both teams making great plays 

in the first half. In the second half the 

Warriors pulled out a lead and never 

looked back, the game ended Warriors 

41 Chelsea Bass 15. 

The MVP for the finals was running 

back Jermaine Birche for his blazing 

runs and ankle breaking moves, but the 

London Warriors Tournament MVP 

voted by his peers was Ben Loprimo, 

who caught touch downs as well as 

retuned interceptions for Touchdowns. 

...Romaine Jackson 

Photos courtesy the loNDoN warriors 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Junior Gladiators Banish Exiles 


Gladiator Juniors 11 - 0 Exile Juniors 

The Colchester Gladiators juniors 

improved their record to 2-0 with this 

hard fought win over the Kent Exiles 

juniors by 11 points to zero. The 

young Gladiators have enjoyed the 

upper hand in recent seasons, beating 

the Exiles by a combined score of 72 

-14 last year. Despite this dominance 

the Exiles finished runners up in the 

Eastern Conference and went to the 

playoffs with plenty of talent on show. 

The Gladiators always knew it would 

be a tough day as they seek to replace 

many of their star players who have 

graduated to the senior side, but few 

imagined the half time score would be 

0-0. New QB Richard Day managed 

the game very well but the Exiles had 

done their homework and immediately 

set about stopping the speedy pair 

of Ryan Dziadulewicz and Charlie 

Youngman running to the outside. The 

Gladiators experimented with power 

formations and the short passing game 

but could never get a sustained drive 

going. 

#28 sam hogarth feels the force of the exiles’ “D” 


In the second half things changed. 

Sam Hogarth caught the kickoff and 

weaved his way through the opposition 

for a 60 yard return. Day found tight 

end Reece Youlton with a 13 yard 

completion which set up a field goal 

attempt. Ryan Dziadulewicz slotted 

the ball over from 22 yards and the 

Gladiators led 3-0. 

Then the Gladiators’ defence got 

stronger with a dominant line of Sayer, 

Hogarth and Glozier who manhandled 

the visitors offensive line racking 

up sacks and tackles for loss. The 

linebackers had a field day, hitting 

everything that moved with Jack 

Coppack and Jamie Robinson also 

collecting sacks. 

The Gladiators maintained the slim 

lead into the fourth quarter when 

their superior conditioning took over. 

Danny Saxton took over the centre 

duties releasing Isaac Hogarth to take 

over at fullback and the power game 

took off. The offensive line ground 

the opponents down and the Hogarth 

#39 charlie youNgmaN haNDs off a woulD-Be tackle 

all Photos this article © martiN wilmott 

#28 sam hogar

brothers took turns pounding the 

ball for first downs. On the day Sam 

Hogarth returned to form with 111 

rushing yards but the highlight was a 

rumbling and stumbling 21 yard first 

down run by the big full back which 

had the crowd on their feet. With third 

down and goal at the six, QB Day 

faked to give the ball on another run 

but kept it only to pull up and throw to 

Youlton again for a touchdown and a 

nine point lead. John Benjamin ran in 

the two point conversion and the lead 

was set at eleven. 

With time running out the Exiles took 

to the air but the Gladiators secondary 

stood firm with Declan Ross breaking 

up the last ditch ‘Hail Mary’ from the 

Exiles QB and the game was secure. 

On reflection the coaching staff were 

happy with the all round performance 

naming Isaac Hogarth game MVP for 

blocking, rushing and tackling. 

th Dives for aN extra yarD 


#28 sam 

hogarth iN 

sPace 

#14 matt 

farthiNg BriNgs 

DowN aN exile 

ruNNer 

#13 QB richarD 

Day hauleD DowN By 

the exiles 

MATCH REPORTS 


MATCH REPORTS 

Wolverines draw First Blood 

24th April 

Bombers 0 - 17 Wolverines 

Lincolnshire Bombers lost 0-17 in 

tight exciting opening match against 

Lancaster Wolverines in their first 

game of the season at Sultan Qaboos 

Pavilion, RAF Cranwell. The 

Wolverines are favourites to win the 

BAFA Community League Division 2 

Central Conference after a convincing 

opening 34-6 win a fortnight ago 

against last seasons semi-finalists, 

Shropshire Revolution. 

The first drives by both teams showed 

both the potential and the inexperience 

in the Bombers squad. The Bombers 

elected to attack first and the focus 

on offence in pre-season looked to 

have paid dividends as the Bombers 

quickly drove down field with rookie 

Running Backs, Rich Adiyia and 

Chris Blood combining well on the 

ground and rookie Quarterback, Chris 

Brown, looking threatening in the air. 

Experience was provided by a strong 

offensive line containing veterans 

Center, George Hallows, and Guards, 

Barry Lowes and Stace Alibone 

with 2 promising rookie Tackles, Joe 

Parkinson and Michael Sharp. 

However, as the Bombers drove into 

the Wolverines half yards became 

more difficult to come by and on 

reaching the Wolverines 30 yard line 

and gaining only 2 yards on the first 

2 downs, they were faced with a 3rd 

and 8 for a 1st down. Quarterback, 

Chris Brown, thought he had made a 

dream start as he dropped back and 


fired the ball to the end zone into 

the outstretched finger tips of Wide 

Receiver, Jonny Dowse, only to see 

the ball slip out of Jonny’s despairing 

grasp. 

The ball now passed back to the 

Wolverines for their first drive. It 

was quick to see why the Wolverines 

are favourites to win the Central 

Conference as their finely balanced 

offense moved down-field with ease, 

scoring with a short 8 yard pass 

to Wide Receiver, Chris Astley, to 

make it 7-0 to the Wolverines. The 

Bombers defence were not happy and 

it showed as they quickly shook off 

their pre-season rust to shut out the 

Wolverines for the rest of the first half. 

Leading the recovery was Linebacker, 

Warwick Grosvenor forcing 2 

fumbles and 1 Quarterback sack and 

Defensive Tackle, Adam Collins, with 

2 Quarterback sacks. The Bombers 

offense meanwhile continued to move 

the ball convincingly in the middle 

of the field only to stutter as they got 

close to the end zone. 

The second half followed a familiar 

pattern to the first with the Wolverines 

scoring on their first drive, again to a 

short pass, this time to Wide Receiver, 

Rick Cole, to take them into a 14-0 

lead. The Bombers defence continued 

to frustrate the Wolverines although 

they continued to look threatening, 

with one such drive finishing with a 

25 yard field goal by Kicker, Danny 

Morten. 

The Bombers offence was still 

stringing drives together in the middle 

of the field, but increasingly looking 

more and more as if the break through 

was coming with the running and 

passing game looking sharper with 

quick, sharp passes being gathered 

in by Tight End, Adam Casey, and 

Wide Receiver, Jonny Dowse. The 

game finished in dramatic style when 

the Bombers final drive was stopped 

on the 1 yard line after good work 

by new backfield trio, Quarterback, 

Paul Shutler, and Running Backs, Iain 

Heron-Stamp and Adam Collins. 

Head Coach Ian Askew said ‘We are 

disappointed with the result, but this 

was probably the hardest start to the 

season we could have had. I feel the 

big difference between the teams is 

that you could tell the Wolverines had 

already played a game and shaken 

all the cobwebs off. There is a lot to 

be optimistic about as we had a lot 

rookies playing and they all played 

hard and executed well, we were 

also able to rotate players and keep 

everyone fresh. I am excited about the 

rest of the season; today’s game shows 

we are competitive and the result will 

have surprised and worried the other 

teams in the conference.’ 

...Lincolnshire Bombers

Dundee Hurricanes -v- Edinburgh Wolves 


Hurricanes 28 - 8 Wolves 

One week removed from opening their 

account for the season, the Dundee 

Hurricanes were back in action. This 

time, defending Division 2 North 

champions, Edinburgh Wolves were 

to provide the opposition. However, 

the Hurricanes would tame the Wolves 

with a resounding 28-8 victory at 

Dawson Park. 

The Hurricanes won the toss and 

elected to receive first, giving the 

Offense an early opportunity to make 

a statement. The Offense began 

moving the ball, primarily on ground 

through Running Back Mahamadou 

Niakate, however it was through the 

air that the Canes opened the scoring 

in the first quarter. Canes Quarterback 

Bruce Thomson passed for his 3rd 

touchdown of the season, connecting 

with brother Fraser Thomson in 

unorthodox fashion. A pass to the 

endzone was tipped by Tight End 

Andrew Macmanus, straight into 

Fraser’s hands. The 2 point attempt 

was the successfully converted by 

Fraser Thomson on a reverse play to 

give an early 8-0 lead. 

Into the 2nd quarter, the Canes defense 

were in dominant form. Lars Halford, 

who ended the day as Defensive MVP, 

was in stunning form, and opened 

his stats for the day with a big time 

Photos this article © rachel graham 

sack of the Wolves Quarterback. 

However, the Wolves managed to pin 

the Hurricanes deep inside their own 

10 yard line. A rare error by the Canes 

Offense led to a Safety score for the 

Wolves, bringing the game back to 

8-2. Rookie Cornerback Chris Gilray 

would quickly send the Offense back 

onto the field with a big Interception, 

followed by some excellent running by 

Niakate. However, the sides went in to 

the half time break at 8-2 in favour of 

the Canes. 

The second half followed a similar 

pattern to the first, with the Defense 

of the Canes on top. This put the 

Offense back on the field, and quickly, 

Niakate burst through the Wolves side. 

The resultant 54 yard run, with some 

excellent blocking, gave Niakate his 

first score of the 2011 campaign and 

gave the Canes a 14-2 lead. Another 

quick 3 and out from the defending 

Champion Wolves gave the Canes 

great field position. A 17 yard pass 

from Thomson to one of last week’s 

scorers Darren MacDonald was crucial 

to setting up Niakate for his second 

score of the day from 23 yards out. 

The Hurricanes now led by 20-2 going 

in to the 4th Quarter. 

The Wolves were becoming 

increasingly desperate in their attempts 

MATCH REPORTS 

to rescue something from the game. 

A change a Quarterback seemed like 

a last roll of the dice, but this was to 

blow up for the Wolves. A wayward 

pass from the back up Wolves QB was 

picked off by Dave Orr. Orr looked 

to be set to add to the score line, only 

to be brought down at the 3 yard line 

after a 24 yard return. Rookie Running 

Back Craig Denham was now in the 

backfield, and powered through a 

bewildered Wolves Defense for his first 

competitive score for the Hurricanes. 

Niakate added a 2 point attempt to 

make it 28-2. 

The Hurricanes now gave a number 

of newcomers a chance on the field to 

gain experience. However, Linebacker 

and MVP Lars Halford continued his 

astonishing day, adding another sack 

and an Interception to his stats. Halford 

would end the day with 15 solo 

tackles, 6 shared tackles, 2 sacks and 

an Interception. Defensive End Stewart 

Adam then blasted through the Wolves 

Offensive line to take their Quarteback 

to the ground in familiar fashion. The 

Wolves did managed to finally get on 

the score sheet, after a penalty strewn 

drive, and a short run ending the tie at 

28-8. 

...Kris Gibson 


MATCH REPORTS 

Thrashers start 2011 with a Win 


Gladiators 14 - 34 Thrashers 

It’s not often we get sent a match report from both sides in the same game, but we did when the 

Colchester Gladiators welcomed the Hampshire Thrashers... 

Thrashers’ Version 

Thrashers Start 2011 With A Win 

The Hampshire Thrashers travelled 

away to Colchester for their first test 

of Division 1 football and a chance to 

get the monkey off their back for their 

2009 play-off defeat. Heavily viewed 

as the underdogs, the Thrashers played 

as anything but. 

The Hampshire defence stifled the 

Gladiators attack holding their offence 

to negative yardage on their first three 

drives and did not conceive a score 

until the 4th quarter. Last year’s league 

leading interceptor, safety, Josh Amis 

was the main anchor for the defence, 

hounding Colchester quarterback, 

Curtis Bourke, by breaking up the 

majority of his deep pass attempts. 

He also led the team with 10 tackles. 

Linebacker Pete Macey also turned 

the tables from their previous meeting. 

After being harassed by Colchester’s 

running game in 2009 he was a key 

component of the Thrasher’s interior 

that stifled the Colchester running 

attack and harassed Bourke with 1.5 

sacks. 

On the offensive side of the ball rookie 

running backs Orion Modebe and 

#96 christiaN stewarD Dives for a loose Ball 


Ayman Abd-Elaziz ran riot against the 

Colchester defence amassing 20 points 

between them. Veteran quarterback 

Nick Watson closed in on 5000 career 

yards in his Thrasher’s career with a 

203 yard outing which included 26 

yard and 20 yard strikes to receivers 

Kyle Latore and Brad Sawyers. 

Out-performed on every side of the 

ball, the Colchester score was flattered 

by a Watson interception that the 

Gladiators defence returned for 6. 

The home team’s defence added to 

the score in the 3rd quarter when the 

Thrasher’s offence couldn’t power the 

ball out from their 3 yard line and on 

second down Abd-Elaziz was brought 

down in the endzone for a safety. 

Proving that their 2011 promotion 

wasn’t premature the Thrashers now 

have a two week rest before travelling 

to East Kent to face the Mavericks. 

...Hampshire Thrashers 

#3 emaNuel ezeJiofo Powers through two thrasher 

#3 emaNuel ezeJiofo leaPs to catch a Pass from QB 

curtis Bourke 

all Photos this article © martiN wilmott

s 

Gladiators’ Version 

The Colchester Gladiators suffered 

a hugely disappointing defeat to 

Division One new boys, the Hampshire 

Thrashers on Sunday, at the Royal Oak 

Stadium, Harwich. 

The Gladiators, confident after their tie 

with the Ipswich Cardinals two weeks 

earlier, started poorly, allowing the 

visitors to open up a 20-0 lead early in 

the second quarter, effectively putting 

the game out of reach with both the 

home offence and defence struggling. 

The Gladiators received the ball to 

start the game and immediately put 

themselves under pressure when a 

pitch out went behind the receiver, 

resulting in a loss of 13 yards and a 

punt. 

The Thrashers’ offence however, 

started well, moving the ball to the 

Gladiators’ 20 before being held up 

inches short of a first down by Phill 

Pearson on fourth down, however the 

Thrashers soon had the ball back and 

opened the scoring. 

Hampshire QB Nick Watson took 

advantage of a blown coverage in the 

Gladiators’ secondary, hooking up 

with receiver Stealey-J Wills for a 49 

yard gain before being hauled down by 

AJ Crabbe on the fifteen. On the next 

play, Orion Modebe took it in for the 

opening score. Ayman Abd-Elaziz ran 

in the two point attempt to give the 

#3 emaNuel ezeJiofo catches a Bourke Pass aND ruNs 

for a first DowN 

Thrashers an 8-0 lead. 

The Gladiators’ offence continued to 

struggle and again could not muster 

a single first down and the Thrashers 

took just two plays to increase their 

lead. Another blown coverage allowed 

Watson to connect with Wills again for 

a 70 yard completion to the one, from 

where Abd-Elaziz made no mistake, 

barrelling in for the touchdown. The 

extra two point try failed but the 

Thrashers now led by 14. 

The lead became 20 when Watson 

found Kyle Latore for a 25 yard 

touchdown pass and the visitors were 

looking for more before half time but 

Crabbe picked off a Watson pass and 

ran it back 20 yards for the Gladiators’ 

first points of the day. The extra point 

attempt failed but the Gladiators were 

back in the game, trailing by 14 at 20-6 

as the third quarter began. 

Any thoughts of a comeback were 

effectively dashed early in the third 

quarter when the Thrashers extended 

their lead. Modebe ran for 21 yards 

before two costly 15 yard face 

mask penalties set up Watson to fire 

his second TD pass of the day to 

Brad Sawyers from 14 yards out. A 

successful two point play took the 

score to 28-6. 

The Gladiators’ offence came out firing 

and after a 19 yard run by QB Curtis 

Bourke, Casey Campbell sprinted for 

37 more but a fumble was recovered 

by the Thrashers on their own three. 

MATCH REPORTS 

Christian Steward and Mark Gilbranch 

combined to force a two yard loss 

before Dave Hogarth tackled the 

runner in his own end zone for a two 

point safety for the Gladiators. 

The offence appeared to be inspired 

by this with QB Bourke completing 

passes to Emanuel Ezejiofo, Ashley 

Latter and Ezejiofo again to take the 

ball to the Thrashers’ eight. As the 

fourth quarter started, Bourke then 

found Ezejiofo for the score and the 

Gladiators trailed by 28-14. 

However it was the Thrashers who 

scored next after an exchange of 

possessions when Abd-Elaziz ran in 

from 15 yards out to take the score 

to 34-14, and time ran out for the 

Gladiators. 

The Gladiators next game is against 

the 2010 Division Two Champions 

the London Olympians on Sunday 

15th May. The Junior Gladiators will 

play the Cambridgeshire Cats as part 

of another great double header at the 

Royal Oak Stadium, Harwich. The 

Juniors kick off at 12-noon and the 

senior game begins at 2.30pm. The 

Olympians will be out for revenge 

after the Gladiators defeated them in 

a close game two years ago which 

effectively kept them out of the 

playoffs. Full details of all fixtures, 

news and other information can be 

found on the Gladiators website at 

www.colchestergladiators.com. 

#23 simoN cruise aDvaNces the Ball 



BUAFL 

The History of American Football at Edinburgh 

American Football has been played 

at Edinburgh Napier University since 

2003 when a group of students and 

coaches drawn from the local senior 

team, the Edinburgh Wolves, set up 

what was then known as the Edinburgh 

Timberwolves. 

The Timberwolves were a team drawn 

from two principle universities - 

Edinburgh and Napier, and began their 

inaugural season in the University 

American Football League with a 

2-6 season under Head Coach David 

Glendinning. 

The second season for the 

Timberwolves saw Head Coaching 

duties shared between another pair 

of Wolves coaches; Mark Bramwell 


& Campbell Lewis, and this pairing 

oversaw an improvement in results to 

4 wins and 4 losses. 

Season 2005/06 proved to be the most 

challenging season for the team as 

poor player numbers saw the latest 

Head Coach, David Molloy, resign 

and the season falling incomplete. 

The Timberwolves were awarded a 

3-5 record for the year but would face 

starting the following season under 

league probation for failing to fulfil all 

of its fixtures. 

The start of 2006/07 season saw the 

team reborn as the Napier University 

Mavericks under team president Dan 

Cameron. Cameron was faced with the 

additional problem of the breakdown 

of the partnership agreement with 

the Wolves senior team who had 

previously supplied equipment and 

staff to the club. At this time, another 

senior team the Dundee Hurricanes 

stepped in, and the teams Head Coach 

for the following 3 seasons Stu Adams 

would lead the ‘Mav’s’ to 3-5, 3-4-1, 

and 3-5 records. 

As the team grew it became clear that 

it was preferential for both Universities 

to support their own teams, and so the 

eDiNBurgh NaPier kNights set uP their tuNNel DuriNg the carD check 

Neale lees

Napier University 

Edinburgh University Predators were 

formed in time for season 2009/10 and 

would see both coaches Cameron & 

Adams swap allegiances to the other 

side of the city. 

Incoming president Jamie Charles 

then re-opened links to the Edinburgh 

Wolves and asked Wolves Head Coach 

Don Edmonston to take charge. The 

Mav’s struggled throughout this season 

through player numbers and injuries 

and after starting well limped to a 1-6- 

1 record. However most of the success 

story of this season was happening off 

the field. 

A new Napier team was ready to 

be launched for the start of 2010- 

11. Wolves Assistant Head Coach 

Pete Laird, a previous College Bowl 

winner, and a 6 time Scottish Division 

Champion with 2 university clubs, was 

Jamie charles 

asked by Coach Edmonston to take the 

reins. This latest reincarnation saw the 

team reborn as the Edinburgh Napier 

Knights American Football Club. 

The team plays in the British 

Universities American Football 

League. Established in 2007 as the 

successor to the BCAFL, it is the 

largest university competition for 

American football in Europe. Student 

American Football has been played 

in the UK since 1985 and there are 

now over 62 competing universities 

throughout the UK. 

Season 2010-11 has started well for 

the Knights with a first ever victory 

the kNights offeNce 

BUAFL 

over close city rivals the Edinburgh 

University Predators 20-6 in the 

Varsity Bowl offsetting a loss to 

Glasgow University. The Scottish 

weather has heavily affected the 

schedule and the Knights now face a 

testing schedule of 6 games in a row 

to try and establish themselves in the 

Border Conference. 

...Pete Laird 

Head Coach 

all Photos this article © rory BrowN-kerr 


JUNIOR 

An Intro to the Cambridgeshire Cats Juniors 

Giovanni Fasulo 

The Cambridgeshire Cats Juniors 

outfit is three years young. It could 

be said it arose from the cold ashes 

of the Cambridge Cobras in as far 

as it comprise two members: the 

than and now HC Jonathan Smith 

and Marco Fasulo a player for the 

former and a DC for the Cats. Time 

and players have changed but for the 

commitment and spirit infused to an 

more appreciative new generation 

from Coach Jonathan and Marco is 

still the same. 

Coach Smith is a veteran of many 

years of experience in to the Gridiron 

field. 

He first started playing American 

football for the Cambridge Coyotes 

youth team when he was 17. He 

moved on to Youth Kitted, playing 

for the Leicester Panthers winning the 

National Championship. 

Then the step up to Senior football 

playing a single season for the 

Cambridge Cats, which unfortunately 

folded. Back at the Leicester Panthers 

for 2 seasons playing in Division 1. 

In 1993 the Cambridge Cats were 

reformed and Jonathan was part of it 

and when in 1995 the Cats won the 

Division 2 final he was reworded with 

the MVP trophy. During this period 

Jonathan was also the Head Coach of 

the Cobras loosing to the Birmingham 

Bulls in the semi’s. 

He returned after a 4 year absence 

as player/coach to the Cats for 2 

years, then Peterborough Saxon’s in a 

player coach capacity, a decision that 

he regretted as it very nearly killed 

his passion for the game. In 2007 

Jonathan played in a charity game 

for the Leicester Panthers in the Matt 

Hampson Bowl, raising money for 

an England 21 rugby player who had 

suffered a spinal injury in a rugby 

game. 

Following this game Jonathan decided 

he would finish playing where it all 

started, so in 2008 he once again 

joined the Cats in a year that saw him 

become the clubs all-time leading wide 

receiver and break the record for the 

most receiving TD’s. 

During this time he assisted in the 


birth of the Cambridgeshire Cats Youth 

Kitted Team and became Head Coach 

of the programme. 

Coach Marco has had his share 

of battering with-in the American 

Football 

English leagues. 

In his teens Marco played Double 

Touch, than as kitted with the Cobras 

youth, the Cats Seniors; along the 

way he collected a Players player, DP 

of the year with the Lemmings and 

an Hall of Fame nomination with in 

the Collegiate League, championship 

medals with the London O’s and a 

Championship ring with the GB Lions. 

The team has acquired the experience 

of the Cats Coach/Player OL coach: 

Brian Jelley. 

Coach Brian must be the old swinger 

in the league if his twenty years of 

experience as player and player/coach 

is taken in consideration. He has won 

the BNGL division 3 and 2 bowls and 

collected a few logs with different 

teams. He play a very important part in 

the formation of the players’ character 

towards the American football game. 

We hope he will stay with the team as 

a full time coach. 

Press cuttiNgs 

courtesy 

camBriDgeshire 

cats JuNior team

Watford Cheethas (yelloW) take on the hertfordshire hurriCanes 

(green) in an inter-league praCtiCe sCrimmage, January 2011 

photo © garry neesam 

JUNIOR 


Could you take 

Control? 


Become an American 

Football Official 

Visit www.bafra.org 

or email recruitment@bafra.org 

May 2010 - Inside American Football 

84

BUAFL 

Moving On 

Peter Barker talks to some Hertfordshire Hurricanes who are leaving BUAFL behind to graduate 

from university 

With the end of the Hurricanes’ playoff 

run, several stalwarts of the team are 

moving on. Long time Captain Fabrizo 

Gargiulo, and fellow line backer and 

2011 Team Captain Richard Ward gave 

their thoughts on what the Hurricanes 

meant to them: 

What’s been your biggest success/ 

proudest achievement this season? 

Fab: Being a part of a team that has 

once again proved itself to be one of 

the best university teams in the country 

and being able to help with coaching 

the new players. 

Wardy: This season it has to be 

leading the team in tackles and being 

given the opportunity to step up as 

team captain. 

Which is your most memorable game? 

Fab: When you reach a higher 

level, its important to remember the 

good times and learn from the bad. 

Definitely the most memorable game 

will be against the Birmingham semifinal 

game, both for the result this year 

but also personally for previous battles 

against them. 

What were your feelings at the end of 

the game against Birmingham? 

Wardy: Mixed emotions overcame me 

when the whistle went, the feeling of 

sadness and exhaustion followed by a 

feeling of triumph of all that we had 

achieved and how close we had come 

to making a college bowl! 

In what ways has being part of the 

Hurricanes benefited your student 

experience? 

Fab: Being part of the Hurricanes at 

UH, gives you a great brotherhood of 

friends that you can share a journey 

with. I remember going to my first 

practice session and how it felt to 

be selected and to play for the team. 

The way the team is run provides you 

with a lot of lessons in life also... time 

DefeNsive team caPtaiN 

faBrizo garguilo 


team caPtaiN 

richarD warD 


management, self-discipline, honour, a 

will to defend your team-mates and the 

team’s pride in its traditions. 

Wardy: Being apart of the team has 

introduced into literally a whole new 

world of friends and teams I never 

knew existed, the sport is so popular 

and very rarely do you meet anyone 

you couldn’t get on with in it! The 

hurricanes has taught me a lot of life 

lessons and showed me what you 

really can achieve with a little (well in 

fact a lot) of hard work! 

What are you going to take away from 

your time at the Hurricanes? 

Fab: Many great memories, 

achievements and friends. The 

Hertfordshire Hurricanes provided me 

with opportunities to play for Great 

Britain and get noticed by professional 

coaches, but most importantly I’d say 

it has really shaped who I am today. 

Wardy: I will take away friends, 

memories and a love for the sport. 

What more could you ask for? 


BAFCA 

British American Football Coaching Association 

IAF Staff Writer Nathan Sharrocks reports back on the January BAFCA conference 

Birmigham lioNs coach, wayNe hill 

Photo courtesy of simoN Purcell 


The speakers at the event were 

assembled for their knowledge on a 

wide range of topics and subjects. A 

defensive line coach, a wide receiver 

coach, a representative from the 

Referees’ Association and many 

others were all present to pass on their 

expertise to a small crowd of coaches, 

players, American football enthusiasts 

and an Inside American Football 

writer. 

Despite their differing topics, they all 

shared one thing in common: a strong 

passion for British American football. 

This was on show immediately, 

within the short introduction by event 

organiser Simon Purcell who, despite 

not being a BAFCA director, put 

together the clinic himself, utilising his 

contacts through the sport. 

The assembly then split into two 

different rooms, those staying in 

the lecture theatre saw sessions 

on programme development and 

defensive line training by seasoned 

Birmingham Lions’ coach Wayne Hill, 

whilst those heading to the classroom 

saw exercise and biomechanics with 

London Blitz’s Stuart Miller and a 

clinic on the shotgun triple offense 

by Andrew Mackintosh of the East 

Kilbride Pirates and GB Lions Youth. 

Both of Hill’s lectures were as 

enthusiastically delivered as they were 

informative, including interaction 

with the audience to show techniques 

as they should be used on the field. 

He gave a detailed insight into the 

athleticism needed to be a defensive 

lineman and the task they face in 

pressuring an offensive unit into 

making mistakes. 

Following a short break, a talk on 

linebackers was given by Damian 

Anderson, also of the London Blitz, 

whilst his colleague Stuart Miller 

taught about wide receivers in the 

other room. Miller delivered his 

session with confidence, with a number 

of videos to demonstrate techniques 

wayNe hill 

Photo By NathaN sharrocks

– Coaching Clinic 2011 

that should be used by wide receivers 

and things to be avoided when out on 

the field. 

The congregation then listened to a 

talk by a representative of BAFRA, the 

Referees’ Association, on the basics of 

refereeing in the British leagues and 

how coaches and referees can work 

together to improve the game. 

After lunch Mike Callan of the London 

Blitz, Greenwich Mariners and GB 

Lions Youth, spoke on the zone, stretch 

and power aspects of coaching an 

offensive line. In the second room 

Paul Day, of the Lancashire Academy 

of American Football, held a talk on 

how to develop a quarterback in the 

UK game. Giving examples of players 

he has worked with he spoke in depth 

about how to keep a young quarterback 

confident and grounded whilst also 

speaking about throwing mechanics 

and techniques that will be useful to 

pass on. 

wayNe hill & simoN Purcell 

Photo By NathaN sharrocks 

Later a lecture on the 3 step offence by 

Andy Mackintosh and one on being an 

offensive coordinator by Pat Cullen, 

also of the Blitz, were held in room 

one. In room two Damian Anderson 

spoke on the 3-4 defence whilst Mike 

Callan chatted about the special teams 

return game. 

The coaching clinic was brilliantly 

organised with a great array of 

speakers throughout the day. Those 

in attendance, who had assembled 

from around the country to a chilly 

university campus in Liverpool to 

be there, helped to make the event a 

success too, showing up in numbers 

and questioning the speakers, 

garnering as much information as 

possible from them in order to benefit 

the players they will be coaching. In 

turn events such as this one will help 

boost the level the sport is played at 

in the UK and this can only be a good 

thing. 

stuart miller 

Photo By NathaN sharrocks 

coach DamiaN aNDersoN 

Photo courtesy of simoN Purcell 

BAFCA 


BAFA CL 

Coventry Jets Pre-season Combine 

The Jets report on their January training camp 

The Coventry Jets celebrated a return 

to action with their 2011 testing day. 

The event was open to incoming 

rookies as well as a select handful of 

young players from last season’s squad 

and a handful of players from the 

Coventry University Jets. Youth team 

Head Coach Adam Biggs oversaw the 

event and was delighted with the effort 

of those that took part. 

“We’ve got a great group of rookies 

again this year” stated Biggs, 

continuing “the application they’ve 

shown and their desire to work hard 

and improve has been nothing short 

of inspiring. The veterans will need 

to be on their toes when they return 

next month, these guys will push them 

hard.” Rookie Tom Anderton topped 

the day’s final event as he showed an 

exceptional level of fitness in the bleep 

test, smashing the standard expected 

of the Royal Marines. 

Most impressive on the day was 

second year receiver Chris Shorey. A 

star of British Open Grappling, Shorey 

is looking forward to making his mark 

in American Football after seeing his 

rookie season cut painfully short by 

a severe break to his upper right arm. 

The speedy wideout took the plaudits 

in no fewer than five events; the 20 

and 60 yard shuttle drills, the 40 yard 

coach alaN steel gives his Players a Breather 


coaches seaN martiN & Jake skeltoN measure rookies iN the BroaD JumP 

dash, the vertical jump and an NFL 

calibre showing in the broad jump. 

Alex Preece and Toby Etheridge won 

the 3 cone drill and push-up trials 

respectively. Both looked good in their 

rookie seasons for the youth team last 

year and will be looking to build on 

their impressive showings with their 

all Photos this 

article © 

alaN steel 

remaining two seasons of eligibility at 

junior level before joining the senior 

team. With a bumper crop of rookies 

and a packed pre-season schedule there 

are exciting times ahead for the Jets as 

they build towards their first fixture, 

away to the Paris Cougars on April the 

23rd. 

youth team heaD coach aDam Biggs 

oversees the BleeP test

Speaking with the Blitz Shooter 

Jon Chilton of the London Blitz spoke with their new team photographer, David Fearn 

How long have you been involved in 

photography? 

Well, I’d love to tell you I have an 

extensive and prolific history in 

photography, but the truth is I’ve had 

a go at many different art forms in 

my life so far. My childhood was 

dominated by drawing, my teen years 

by graphic design, and believe it 

or not I went on to study fashion at 

college. None of those lasted very 

long. Neither did trying my hand at 

architecture, painting, digital art and a 

fair bit of creative writing. I’ve even 

done a bit of web design too - my site 

is all my own work. What’s beautiful 

about photography is that its instant - 

you snap a perfect moment and freeze 

it in time and it lasts forever. And 

because it was instant I was able to 

stick to it better as a hobby! I’ve been 

shooting properly now for about four 

© DaviD fearN 

years, which isn’t a long time in the 

scheme of things, but I feel like its 

progressing really well. 

What other sports do you cover? 

I’ve been focussing on sports action 

photography for about a year now. 

It’s an unbelievably tricky market to 

break into professionally so I’m really 

grateful to have gotten gigs with a 

variety of different sports. I’ve been 

to Crystal Palace to shoot the London 

Grand Prix athletics, FA Cup football 

at West Ham, and the London leg of 

the Tour of Britain cycle race. I’ve also 

covered mass participation sports like 

the London Marathon and the triathlon. 

Of course they’re all different and pose 

very unique challenges in how you 

capture the action and tell the story of 

the event. I’m really looking forward 

to meeting these challenges head on 

with the Blitz this year. 

What got you interested 

in American football? 

I reckon I might annoy a 

few people by saying this - 

but it was the Madden video 

games! I remember playing 

them in the mid-nineties 

and then I rediscovered 

them about three years ago 

and really enjoyed them as 

a change from just playing 

football (soccer) all the 

time. At first I was a bit 

confused by how to play, 

so I looked into it a bit 

more, read up on the rules 

etc. and before long I was 

watching the NFL on TV 

and loving that too. To be 

honest I’m into most sports 

so it was a no-brainer that 

I would get carried away 

with the athleticism and 

pomp of the NFL - it’s 

just such a massive sport, 

it’s impossible not to be 

fascinated by it. 

How did you find out 

about the Blitz? 

Summer 2010 I was on a 

BAFA CL 

project to cover sport and games in 

London, with a focus on minority 

sport. I went to photograph horse 

polo down in Richmond (very posh - 

all the players drive around in Aston 

Martins wearing white gloves), bowls 

at Finsbury Circus, I even tracked 

down a hurling club in South London. 

I came across the London Blitz and got 

in touch with Ed who was very good 

in allowing me to come photograph 

a game. Photos here: http://www. 

flickr.com/photos/davidanthonyfearn/ 

sets/72157624731516038/). 

I enjoyed it so much I decided to put 

myself forward as team photographer 

for the new season, and here I am! 

What aspects of the season are you 

looking forward to? 

I’m really keen to make the most of 

spending a whole season with the 

team, covering every aspect of the 

operation from the backroom staff to 

the action on the field. I’m hoping 

there’ll be a full body of photographic 

work that tells the story of a year in the 

life of the Blitz - from training days 

and pushing weights to the gruelling 

5am starts at camp and travelling to 

Europe, not forgetting those pep talks 

from coach in the locker room, and as 

many hard hitting tackles and 70 yard 

punt returns as you guys can muster! 

A good photograph is very powerful 

and hopefully I’ll bring you a couple 

over the course of a year. I’m in this 

100% and I’m confident I can deliver 

to you a really strong and useful body 

of work that everyone can keep and 

cherish for years to come. I’m really 

chuffed to be on board and looking 

forward to getting to know the team 

and doing my thing. GO BLITZ! 

To see David’s first set of pictures 

for 2011 click here http://www.flickr. 

com/photos/davidanthonyfearn/ 

sets/72157625970721607/ 

Visit David’s website here http://www. 

davidanthonyfearn.com 


BUAFL 


Mini P 

Brighton 

Brighton Tsunami American 

American football team for t 

with players from Grand Par 

Falmer, Eastbourne and Hast 

in the South-East Conference 

American Football League. B 

coached by ex-player and Ts 

Martin Harrison. They play i 

a white stripe. 

Formed in 2003, the Brighto 

recruited players from both t 

and the University of Sussex 

was enforced from the 2010- 

Sussex students could no lon 

The Tsunami have enjoyed m 

inception, making the playof 

and the Challenge Trophy in 

Hall of Fame 

Name Position 

Eber Kington LB/QB/HC 

Ben Brooks DB 

Chris Emery HC 

Mike Hall LB 

Jack Lidyard QB 

Mike Hall LB 

James West DB/QB 

Sergio Sabada LB 

Simon Ritchie DE/FB 

Toyin Omodara RB 

Derrick McGriffin LB 

Ali MacKenzie DL/OL/FB 

Justin Handley LB/OL 

Martin Harrison OL/HC 

Chris Hope DB/LB 

Marcus Dilley WR/DB 

all Photos of BrightoN tsuN 

agaiNst the hertforDs 

© garry Ne

ofiles 

Tsunami 

Football Club is the 

he University of Brighton 

ade, Moulsecoombe, 

ings campuses. They play 

of the British Universities 

righton Tsunami is 

unami Hall of Famer Coach 

n Navy Blue uniforms with 

n Tsunami originally 

he University of Brighton 

. A single institution rule 

11 season meaning that 

ger play for the Tsunami. 

oderate success since its 

fs in the 2006-07 season 

the 2009-10 season. 

Inducted Years with Club 

2008 2003 - 2008 

2008 2003 - 2006 

2008 2003 - 2006 

2008 2004 - 2007 

2008 2005 - 2008 

2008 2004 - 2007 

2008 2003 - 2006 

2008 2003 - 2006 

2008 2003 - 2007 

2009 2005 - 2009 

2009 2006 - 2009 

2009 2003 - 2006 

2009 2005 - 2009 

2010 2003 - Present 

2010 2007 - 2010 

2010 2007 - 2010 

ami iN their 2011 match 

hire hurricaNes 

esam 

BUAFL 


BAFRA 

ASK THE REF - Panic Stations for the Punter. 

with senior BAFRA Official Steve Tonkinson 

BirmiNgham Bulls PuNt the Ball 

iN their Div oNe game agaiNst the 

PeterBorough saxoNs, may 2011 



4th and 10 from the Offense’s own 40yard 

line. They line up to punt the ball 

away. The long snap is a poor one and 

it sails right over the punters head and 

is bouncing around at the 20-yard line. 

A couple of defensive players have 

seen what happened and are rushing 

forwards to try to get the ball. The 

punter has spun round and is chasing 

the ball himself. This situation is what 

I call “Panic Stations for the Punter”. 

Defenders are getting close…. 

Defenders are getting real close! 

Maybe about to fall on the ball. Or 

worse, pick it up and head for the end 

zone for a TD. 

Our poor punter has a number of 

options he can try:- 

1) Fall on it himself 

2) Pick it up and still try to punt it 

3) Pick it up and try to pass it 

4) Pick it up and try to run with it 

5) Kick it forwards off the ground 

6) Knock it forwards with his hand 

(technically called Batting) 

7) Bat it backwards with his hand into 

and out the back of the end zone and 

give up a 2-point Safety 

8) Kick it backwards off the ground 

into and out the back of the end zone 

and give up a 2-point Safety 

What are the outcomes from each of 

those actions? 

I suspect that most punters don’t know 

the rules well enough to plan for this 

sort of situation and wont have any 

idea beforehand what might be the best 

(or least worst) thing to do. 

1) Fall on it himself at the 20-yard 

line 

That’ll give the Defense 1st and 10 at 

the 20. 

2) Pick it up and still try to punt it 

He might get lucky and get the punt off 

OK.

3) Pick it up and try to pass it from 

the 20 

He might get lucky and get it to an 

eligible receiver. If it falls incomplete 

near a receiver, then it’ll be 1st and 10 

for the Defense at the 40. If the White 

Hat flags him for intentional grounding 

then that penalty is a loss of down at 

the spot of the foul (the 20), so that’s 

no worse than if he had simply fallen 

on the ball. 

4) Pick it up and try to run with it 

He might get real lucky and make 30 

yards for a 1st down. If the Defense 

stop him before that, its their 1st and 

10 from wherever they tackle him. 

5) Kick it forwards off the ground at 

the 20 

That’ll draw a flag for illegal kicking. 

That’s a big penalty. What do the Rules 

say? 

Rule 9-4-4 says you can’t kick a loose 

ball (i.e. a ball bouncing around on the 

ground) in any direction and it is a 15 

yd penalty. The bad news is that it is 

marched off from the spot of the foul 

and the real killer for our panicking 

punter is that it is also a loss of down. 

The refs can’t march the full 15 yards 

so they will go half the distance from 

the 20 and because it is a loss of 

down, they’ll turn the ball over to the 

Defense. So that’ll give the Defense a 

1st and Goal from the 10-yard line. 

6) Knock it forwards with his hand 

(technically called Batting) at the 20 

Rule 9-4-1-c says you can’t bat a 

loose ball forwards. Just like illegally 

kicking, its 15yds from where you did 

it and a loss of down. So that’ll draw a 

flag and the Defense end up with a 1st 

and Goal from the 10-yard line. 

7) Bat it backwards with his 

hand into and out the back of the 

end zone and give up a 2-point 

Safety 

Batting it backwards in the field 

of play is legal, so this isn’t a 

foul. 

8) Kick it backwards off the 

ground into and out the back 

of the end zone and give up a 

2-point Safety 

Other than the punter simply 

falling on the ball, this is the 

scenario I’ve probably seen 

happen most often. Remember 

that 9-4-4 said you can’t kick a 

loose ball in ANY direction, so 

this is going to be flagged. Most 

everyone thinks that it is a Safety 

and indeed it is, but actually the 

Defense has an option. They 

can forgo the Safety and take 

the penalty instead and have 1st 

and Goal from the 10. Which is 

the better option to take for the 

Defense might be a tricky choice 

depending on the score and the 

time left in the game. 

Final thought. 

The Refs tip to Punters: Have 

your coach prepare for the worst 

by briefing you on what he wants 

you to try to do if there is a bad 

snap. 

BAFRA 

May 2011 - - Inside American Football 

93 93

BAFA CL 

The Rookie 

‘The Rookie’ is an in American football player in his first season. 

This year marks his beginning in the wonderful world of the sport. With his identity hidden, 

here we will read his views, thoughts and everything else that runs through his mind regarding 

American Football! 

I have always been a huge fan of 

American Football. I always wished 

there was some way that I could get 

involved in it somehow, but I was 

being resigned to having to wait until 

I got to university in September 2011 

to actually be able to do so. That was 

until I was told by a BUAFL player 

that there are American Football teams 

about, and that was me put in an 

ecstatic mood! 

I did some research and found my 

nearest team. 40 minutes away was the 

closest I could find, so I got in touch 

and started attending training from 

January 2011. It wasn’t until we got to 

padded sessions, where the real work 

kicked in that the reality hit. I was 

finally an American Football rookie. 

Training was always hard work. 

Classroom sessions mixed with 

outdoor sessions. A play book to learn 

too. It was something new to me. 

Something exciting though. Huddles, 

everyone having a say, team talks 

by players, managers and players 

working together and giving each other 

100% each session, each minute, each 

second. I had never experienced such a 

thing in any other sport I have played. 

I thought with me being a rookie 

the more experienced players would 

not give a damn about me. But they 

did, the experienced guys took me 

under their wings, always giving 


advice, helping me out, helping me to 

improve, even if it meant missing some 

time for improvement themselves. I 

picked up from here on that we were 

all like brothers, one big family. If one 

person struggles, then we all do. We all 

can only be as good and strong as each 

other, so we have to help each other 

strengthen our strong points and better 

our weaknesses. 

Injuries were a recurring thing in 

American Football. I really do not 

think I can point out a session where 

somebody has managed to go through 

unscathed, out of a big group of us 

there is always injuries come the end 

of a session. Already I have seen 

fractured hands, compressed spines, 

Sprains, shoulder injuries. Heck, I’ve 

even already had bruised ribs myself 

after catching a pass and getting cream 

cracked by a corner back in a practice 

scrimmage between the Offence and 

Defence. It was agony, but I had 

already learnt we get on with it. 

3 months into my American Football 

career, I can honestly say it is the best 

sport I’ve ever played. The coaches 

are absolutely amazing, they know 

when to criticise, when to encourage, 

when to empathise and when to 

give you a rollicking. The guys are 

a brilliant bunch of lads, aggressive, 

hard working, encouraging and 

willing to help. I have never felt more 

involved in a sport before. I feel like 

I have found the love of my sporting 

life, and I could not see another sport 

in the same way as this. It is already 

becoming more than a sport, and more 

of a lesson in life. 

A lesson in life because it teaches 

you somebody will always hit harder 

than you. Somebody will always be 

better than you. It teaches you that 

no matter what abilities you possess, 

if you believe in yourself you can do 

something. It teaches that when you 

get knocked down, get up and dust 

yourself of and get stuck back in. 

So now here I am. 3 months in and 

already addicted to American Football. 

Nothing beats the feeling of putting 

on some pads and pulling on a helmet 

and treading onto the gridiron ready 

to train. Here’s to being a rookie, and 

here’s to the season ahead..... 

The Rookie

actioN from the Buafl chamPioNshiP troPhy - carDiff coBras -v- hull sharks 


BUAFL 


CHEERLEADING 

So what’s Cheerleading like? 

author heather martiN iN her 

role as a hertforDshire sireN 

essex uNiversity flames iN actioN 2010 


Heather Martin, from the Hertfordshire Sirens, lets us in on her 

experience as a cheerleader 

When people think about cheerleading 

they automatically think boys throwing 

girls up into the air, dancing and 

gymnastic type moves. It’s not all like 

that, for example a lot of cheer squads 

don’t have guy cheerleaders, but still 

manage to throw girls up into the air 

and catch them. Also the attitudes of 

cheerleaders is not the stereotypical 

one you see on T.V, we are a lot 

friendlier and no, we don’t go round in 

our uniforms during the day at uni! 

My background was primarily 

coaching gymnastics before I came to 

Hertfordshire University and I thought 

I would try it out just to see what it 

was like, and after the first training 

session, I knew I was going to keep 

doing it! 

When I first joined the Hertfordshire 

Sirens, there were a lot of girls and 

each of them was really friendly, and 

the new ones of us were all as nervous 

as each other. Everyone has different 

abilities and backgrounds and if you 

need help with learning something 

then there is always someone there. 

Within our team each person has a 

position within a stunt group. There 

are two sides, a back and a flyer in 

each group, sometimes a front as well 

if they are needed. The two sides hold 

the flyer’s feet and support them, the 

back support the sides and the flyer, 

this is also done by the front. 

Training can be hard, especially 

coming up to a competition as, on 

average, we train twice a week and 

then we add further training, for 

example, we have a Future Cheer 

competition coming up and we are 

currently training 4 times a week. 

There are lots of different moves 

and stunts. These can be physically 

demanding and we work incredibly 

hard to perfect our stunt moves 

and dance routines. You need to be 

committed when it comes to training 

for competitions as if one person is 



uNiversity of east aNgliaN aNgels DuriNg half-time iN a match at hertforDshire

uNiversity of hull cheerleaDers 

at the NatioNal fiNals 

missing there is less training time for 

your stunt group and you miss out on 

putting the dance routine and stunts 

together which makes it harder for the 

other girls too. 

We not only perform in competitions 

but at our university’s American 

Football team matches, home or away, 

where we perform a half time routine 

and cheer on the boys! 

We are also competing in Spain this 

year on a university tour with other 

sports clubs from lots of universities. 

left & right, 

uNiversity of 

hertforDshire 

sireNs 

BrightoN uNiversity waves 

CHEERLEADING 

The social side of cheerleading is great 

as I have made lots of new friends 

from working with them in stunt 

groups as if you are a flyer the level of 

trust you need in your bases and your 

back to catch you is quite high. 

We also have a lot of socials through 

out the year which are also with the 

American Footballers and we primarily 

cheer at their matches. 


LEAGUE RESULTS 

BUAFL League Results 

BORDER CONFERENCE 

Date Home Score Away 

27/02/2011 Edinburgh Predators 43 - 0 UWS Pyros 

27/02/2011 Durham Saints 6 - 20 Sunderland Spartans 

27/02/2011 Stirling Clansmen 6 - 33 Edinburgh Napier Knights 

27/02/2011 Newcastle Raiders 40 - 47 Glasgow Tigers 

27/02/2011 UCH Sharks 6 - 0 Teeside Cougars 

20/02/2011 Stirling Clansmen 40 - 0 Durham Saints 

20/02/2011 Edinburgh Napier Knights 36 - 7 Teeside Cougars 

20/02/2011 UWS Pyros 8 - 42 Edinburgh Predators 

20/02/2011 Northumbria Mustangs 28 - 20 York Centurions 

13/02/2011 Sunderland Spartans 20 - 8 Durham Saints 

13/02/2011 Edinburgh Napier Knights 13 - 28 Glasgow Tigers 

13/02/2011 Edinburgh Predators 8 - 0 Stirling Clansmen 

06/02/2011 Newcastle Raiders 1 - 0 Durham Saints 

30/01/2011 Sunderland Spartans 2 - 6 Leeds Celtics 

30/01/2011 Glasgow Tigers 50 - 0 UWS Pyros 

30/01/2011 Northumbria Mustangs 20 - 9 Teeside Cougars 

Teeside Cougars 6 - 38 Newcastle Raiders 

Newcastle Raiders 40 - 6 Northumbria Mustangs 

Glasgow Tigers 58 - 0 Northumbria Mustangs 

Sunderland Spartans 30 - 38 Edinburgh Predators 

Stirling Clansmen 0 - 8 Edinburgh Predators 

Northumbria Mustangs 25 - 16 Sunderland Spartans 

Edinburgh Napier Knights 33 - 0 UWS Pyros 

Sheffield Hallam Warriors 34 - 40 Newcastle Raiders 

Durham Saints 1 - 1 Edinburgh Napier Knights 

Newcastle Raiders 30 - 12 Sunderland Spartans 

Teeside Cougars 14 - 20 Stirling Clansmen 

Glasgow Tigers 28 - 12 Edinburgh Predators 

Edinburgh Napier Knights 33 - 6 Stirling Clansmen 

UWS Pyros 0 - 48 Glasgow Tigers 

Stirling Clansmen 24 - 18 Glasgow Tigers 

Durham Saints 6 - 27 Northumbria Mustangs 

Edinburgh Predators 0 - 0 Newcastle Raiders 

Sunderland Spartans 6 - 19 Teeside Cougars 

Northumbria Mustangs 34 - 24 UWS Pyros 

Durham Saints 6 - 32 Newcastle Raiders 

Edinburgh Predators 6 - 20 Edinburgh Napier Knights 

UWS Pyros 6 - 20 Stirling Clansmen 

Glasgow Tigers 40 - 19 Edinburgh Napier Knights 

Teeside Cougars 24 - 34 Northumbria Mustangs 


MIDLAND ATHLETI 

Date Home 

Worcester Royals 

27/02/2011 Coventry Jets 

27/02/2011 Derby Braves 

27/02/2011 Warwick Wolves 

27/02/2011 Leicester Longhorns 

20/02/2011 Loughborough Aces 

20/02/2011 UEA Pirates 

20/02/2011 Lincoln Colonials 

20/02/2011 Staffordshire Stallions 

20/02/2011 UCH Sharks 

13/02/2011 UEA Pirates 

13/02/2011 Tarannau Aberystwyth 

13/02/2011 Warwick Wolves 


13/02/2011 Birmingham Lions 

13/02/2011 NTU Renegades 

06/02/2011 Coventry Jets 

06/02/2001 Nottingham Outlaws 



30/01/2011 Lincoln Colonials 


30/01/2011 Birmingham Lions 

Birmingham Lions 

Leicester Longhorns 

Staffordshire Stallions 

Warwick Wolves 

Lincoln Colonials 

Loughborough Aces 

Coventry Jets 

NTU Renegades 



Nottingham Outlaws 



Coventry Jets 

Loughborough Aces

2010/11 

C CONFERENCE 

Score Away 

0 - 33 Staffordshire Stallions 

0 - 28 Loughborough Aces 

13 - 0 NTU Renegades 


0 - 21 Nottingham Outlaws 

30 - 21 Birmingham Lions 

37 - 0 Leicester Longhorns 

0 - 7 Warwick Wolves 

21 - 7 Coventry Jets 


20 - 13 Lincoln Colonials 



0 - 36 Derby Braves 

39 - 0 Worcester Royals 


6 - 13 Warwick Wolves 


31 - 0 Lincoln Colonials 



32 - 24 Coventry Jets 


41 - 0 Leeds Carnegie 






12- 7 Leicester Longhorns 

0 - 30 Birmingham Lions 

9 - 25 Gloucester Gladiators 



53 - 0 Leicester Longhorns 


0 - 0 Gloucester Gladiators 



NORTHERN CONFERENCE 


27/02/2011 Sheffield Sabres 0 - 58 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 

27/02/2011 Leeds Celtics 16 - 0 Manchester Tyrants 

27/02/2011 York Centurions 3 - 2 Lancaster Bombers 

27/02/2011 Manchester Tyrants 22 - 13 Huddersfield Hawks 

27/02/2011 UCH Sharks 6 - 0 Teeside Cougars 

20/02/2011 UCH Sharks 0 - 33 NTU Renegades 

20/02/2011 Manchester Tyrants 0 - 80 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 

20/02/2011 Huddersfield Hawks 9 - 14 Sheffield Sabres 

20/02/2011 Lancaster Bombers 26 - 24 Leeds Carnegie 

20/02/2011 Northumbria Mustangs 28 - 20 York Centurions 

13/02/2011 Manchester Tyrants 6 - 0 UCH Sharks 

13/02/2011 Bangor MudDogs 0 -34 York Centurions 

13/02/2011 Sheffield Sabres 16 - 22 Leeds Carnegie 

06/02/2011 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 1 - 0 Bangor MudDogs 

06/02/2011 York Centurions 0 -26 Sheffield Sabres 

06/02/2011 Manchester Tyrants Huddersfield Hawks 

06/02/2001 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 1 - 0 Liverpool Fury 

06/02/2011 Leeds Carnegie 7 - 6 Leeds Celtics 

30/01/2011 Huddersfield Hawks 0 - 18 UCH Sharks 

30/01/2011 Sunderland Spartans 2- 6 Leeds Celtics 

York Centurions 8 - 6 UCH Sharks 

Sheffield Hallam Warriors 34 - 40 Newcastle Raiders 

Lancaster Bombers 20 - 6 Leeds Celtics 

Bangor MudDogs 8 - 27 Manchester Tyrants 

Loughborough Aces 56 - 0 Sheffield Sabres 

Lincoln Colonials 0 -1 York Centurions 

York Centurions 8 - 12 Manchester Tyrants 

Lancaster Bombers 44 - 0 Bangor MudDogs 

Huddersfield Hawks 0 - 0 Lancaster Bombers 

Leeds Carnegie 46 - 8 Bangor MudDogs 

UCH Sharks 20 -0 Lincoln Colonials 

Leeds Celtics 26 - 0 Huddersfield Hawks 

Sheffield Hallam Warriors 74 - 0 Huddersfield Hawks 

Birmingham Lions 41 - 0 Leeds Carnegie 

Bangor MudDogs 8 - 24 Tarannau Aberystwyth 

Leeds Celtics 20 - 14 Sheffield Sabres 

Manchester Tyrants 0 - 6 Lancaster Bombers 

Sheffield Sabres 22 - 24 Lancaster Bombers 

Huddersfield Hawks 12 - 2 York Centurions 

Leeds Celtics 12 - 36 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 

Leeds Carnegie 8 - 12 UCH Sharks 

Leeds Carnegie 20 - 6 Manchester Tyrants 

Lancaster Bombers 26 - 20 Leeds Celtics 

Sheffield Sabres 67 - 0 Bangor MudDogs 

UCH Sharks 0 - 36 Sheffield Hallam Warriors 

Sheffield Hallam Warriors 50 - 0 Leeds Carnegie 

Bangor MudDogs 8 - 27 Manchester Tyrants 



SOUTH WESTERN ATLANTIC CONFERENCE 


27/02/2011 Tarannau Aberystwyth 14 - 10 Swansea Titans 

27/02/2011 Bath Killer Bees 14 - 20 Bristol Barracuda 

27/02/2011 UWE Bullets 64 - 18 Reading Knights 

20/02/2011 Cardiff Cobras 13 - 12 UWE Bullets 

20/02/2011 Plymouth Blitz 30 - 6 Bath Spa Bulldogs 

20/02/2011 Swansea Titans 24 - 2 Gloucester Gladiators 

20/02/2011 Bristol Barracuda 49 - 0 Tarannau Aberystwyth 

20/02/2011 Bath Killer Bees 6 - 0 Exeter Demons 

13/02/2011 Exeter Demons 20 - 8 Swansea Titans 

13/02/2011 Gloucester Gladiators 14 - 36 Plymouth Blitz 

13/02/2011 Cardiff Cobras 28 - 0 Bath Spa Bulldogs 

13/02/2011 UWE Bullets 20 - 14 Bristol Barracuda 

13/02/2011 Tarannau Aberystwyth 2 - 42 Staffordshire Stallions 

06/02/2011 Exeter Demons 24 - 14 Plymouth Blitz 

30/01/2011 UWE Bullets 23 - 6 Bath Killer Bees 

30/01/2011 Bristol Barracuda 19 - 0 Exeter Demons 

30/01/2011 Gloucester Gladiators 14 - 24 Tarannau Aberystwyth 

30/01/2011 Cardiff Cobras 13 - 6 Plymouth Blitz 

Bangor MudDogs 8 - 24 Tarannau Aberystwyth 

Plymouth Blitz 20 - 34 UWE Bullets 

Bath Spa Bulldogs 0 - 28 Exeter Demons 

Bristol Barracuda 27 - 0 Cardiff Cobras 

Bath Killer Bees 42 - 0 Swansea Titans 

Worcester Royals 9 - 25 Gloucester Gladiators 

Bristol Barracuda 84 - 8 Bath Spa Bulldogs 

Tarannau Aberystwyth 0 - 6 Bath Killer Bees 

Swansea Titans 12 - 21 UWE Bullets 

Exeter Demons 32 - 8 Gloucester Gladiators 

Swansea Titans 26 - 25 Cardiff Cobras 

Coventry Jets 0 - 0 Gloucester Gladiators 

Exeter Demons 20 - 36 UWE Bullets 

Bath Spa Bulldogs 0 - 13 Swansea Titans 

Swansea Titans 8 - 34 Bristol Barracuda 

Bath Spa Bulldogs 0 - 43 Bath Killer Bees 

Plymouth Blitz 2 - 12 Exeter demons 

Tarannau Aberystwyth 6 - 12 Cardiff Cobras 

Bath Spa Bulldogs 16 - 0 Surrey Stingers 

Plymouth Blitz 0 - 27 Bristol Barracuda 

Gloucester Gladiators 6 - 28 Cardiff Cobras 

Plymouth Blitz 2 - 12 Exeter Demons 

Bath Spa Bulldogs 0 - 43 Bath Killer Bees 

UWE Bullets 34 - 0 Tarannau Aberystwyth 


THAMES VALLEY 

Date Home 

27/02/2011 Southampton Stags 

27/02/2011 Brunel Burners 

27/02/2011 UWE Bullets 

20/02/2011 Reading Knights 

20/02/2011 Southampton Stags 

20/02/2011 BNU Buccaneers 

13/02/2011 Brunel Burners 

13/02/2011 OBU Panthers 

13/02/2011 Surrey Stingers 

06/02/2011 BNU Buccaneers 

06/02/2011 Imperial Immortals 

06/02/2011 Portsmouth Destroyers 

06/02/2011 OBU Panthers 

30/01/2011 Team Solent Redhawks 

30/01/2011 Greenwich Mariners 

30/01/2001 Southampton Stags 

30/01/2011 Portsmouth Destroyers 

30/01/2011 Reading Knights 

Royal Holloway Bears 

Brighton Tsunami 

Brunel Burners 

BNU Buccaneers 

Imperial Immortals 


OBU Panthers 


Surrey Stingers 

Southampton Stags 


OBU Panthers 

Team Solent Redhawks 

Reading Knights 


Bath Spa Bulldogs 


Brunel Burners 


LSBU Spartans 




Portsmouth Destroyers 

Kings College Regents 


Portsmouth Destroyers

CONFERENCE 

Score Away 

18 - 12 LSBU Spartans 

0 - 22 Team Solent Redhawks 

64 - 18 Reading Knights 

26 - 2 Royal Holloway Bears 

7 - 36 Portsmouth Destroyers 

34 - 0 Surrey Stingers 

34 - 20 OBU Panthers 


0 - 28 Brunel Burners 




10 - 36 Southampton Stags 



32 - 14 Imperial Immortals 


22 - 24 BNU Buccaneers 



8 - 7 Kings College Regents 







28 - 13 Brighton Tsunami 





20 - 14 LSBU Spartans 






13 - 6 Canterbury Chargers 

22 - 17 Brighton Tsunami 







SOUTH EASTERN CONFERENCE 


27/02/2011 Kent Falcons 14 - 0 Greenwich Mariners 

27/02/2011 Canterbury Chargers 14 - 34 UEA Pirates 

27/02/2011 Brighton Tsunami 28 - 22 Kings College Regents 

27/02/2011 Southampton Stags 18 - 12 LSBU Spartans 

20/02/2011 Essex Blades 14 - 19 Greenwich Mariners 

20/02/2011 Kings College Regents 0 - 26 Kent Falcons 

20/02/2011 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 39 - 0 LSBU Spartans 

20/02/2011 UEA Pirates 37 - 0 Leicester Longhorns 

13/02/2011 Kent Falcons 6 - 0 Brighton Tsunami 

13/02/2011 UEA Pirates 20 - 13 Lincoln Colonials 

13/02/2011 LSBU Spartans 16 - 6 Greenwich Mariners 

13/02/2011 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 41 - 0 Essex Blades 

06/02/2011 Kent Falcons 24 - 7 Essex Blades 

06/02/2011 Canterbury Chargers Kings College Regents 

30/01/2011 Canterbury Chargers 12 - 20 Kent Falcons 

30/01/2011 Essex Blades 21 - 30 UEA Pirates 

30/01/2011 Brighton Tsunami 0 - 68 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

30/01/2011 Greenwich Mariners 26 - 0 Royal Holloway Bears 

Brighton Tsunami 0 - 32 Portsmouth Destroyers 

Brunel Burners 8 - 7 Kings College Regents 

Essex Blades 22 - 76 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

UEA Pirates 12 - 47 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

LSBU Spartans 18 - 8 Canterbury Chargers 

Southampton Stags 28 - 13 Brighton Tsunami 

Greenwich Mariners 0 - 41 Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

UEA Pirates 0 - 49 Kent Falcons 

LSBU Spartans 6 - 12 Kings College Regents 

Canterbury Chargers 6 - 7 Essex Blades 

Imperial Immortals 20 - 14 LSBU Spartans 

Greenwich Mariners 6 - 20 UEA Pirates 

Kings College Regents 14 - 6 Canterbury Chargers 

Kent Falcons 22 - 14 Essex Blades 

LSBU Spartans 24 - 29 BNU Buccaneers 

Reading Knights 13 - 6 Canterbury Chargers 

Greenwich Mariners 6 - 27 Brighton Tsunami 

Hertfordshire Hurricanes 50 - 0 UEA Pirates 

Team Solent Redhawks 22 - 17 Brighton Tsunami 

Hertfordshire Hurricanes 30 - 0 Kent Falcons 

Kings College Regents 0 - 20 Imperial Immortals 


LEAGUE STANDINGS 

BORDER CONFERENCE 

Team P W T L Pts F Pts A %age 

1st Glasgow Tigers 8 7 0 1 317 108 0.875 

2nd Newcastle Raiders 8 7 0 1 253 117 0.875 

3rd Northumbria Mustangs 8 6 0 2 162 175 0.750 

4th Edinburgh Predators 8 5 0 3 163 118 0.625 

5th Edinburgh Napier Knights 8 4 1 3 185 94 0.563 

6th Stirling Clansmen 8 4 0 4 116 120 0.500 

7th Sunderland Spartans 6 1 0 5 86 128 0.167 

8th Teeside Cougars 7 1 0 6 79 160 0.143 

9th Durham Saints 7 0 1 6 27 141 0.071 

10th UWS Pyros 7 0 0 7 16 258 0.000 

NORTHERN CONFERENCE 


1st Sheffield Hallam Warriors 8 7 0 1 369 52 0.875 

2nd Lancaster Bombers 8 6 1 1 148 75 0.750 

3rd Leeds Celtics 8 4 0 4 112 105 0.500 

4th York Centurions 8 4 0 4 76 86 0.500 

5th UCH Sharks 8 4 0 4 62 91 0.500 

6th Leeds Carnegie 8 4 0 4 127 165 0.500 

7th Manchester Tyrants 8 4 0 4 73 151 0.500 

8th Sheffield Sabres 8 3 0 5 159 189 0.375 

9th Huddersfield Hawks 7 1 1 5 34 156 0.286 

10th Bangor MudDogs 7 0 0 7 24 243 0.000 

MIDLAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 


1st Loughborough Aces 8 8 0 0 328 34 1.000 

2nd Birmingham Lions 8 7 0 1 246 30 1.875 

3rd Derby Braves 8 6 0 2 147 107 0.750 

4th NTU Renegades 8 5 0 3 127 58 0.625 

5th Nottingham Outlaws 7 4 0 3 95 47 0.571 

6th Warwick Wolves 8 4 1 3 68 115 0.500 

7th Staffordshire Stallions 8 3 1 4 103 96 0.500 

8th Coventry Jets 7 2 1 4 110 114 0.286 

9th Leicester Longhorns 8 1 0 7 61 254 0.125 

10th Lincoln Colonials 7 0 0 7 20 162 0.000 

11th Worcester Royals 7 0 0 7 35 238 0.00 


BUAFL Leag

ue Standings 

LEAGUE STANDINGS 

SOUTH WESTERN ATLANTIC CONFERENCE 


1st Bristol Barracuda 8 7 0 1 274 50 0.875 

2nd UWE Bullets 8 7 0 1 244 103 0.875 

3rd Cardiff Cobras 8 6 0 2 131 89 0.750 

4th Exeter Demons 8 5 0 3 136 93 0.625 

5th Bath Killer Bees 8 4 1 3 123 55 0.500 

6th Swansea Titans 8 3 0 5 101 158 0.375 

7th Tarannau Aberystwyth 8 3 0 5 70 175 0.375 

8th Gloucester Gladiators 7 1 1 5 69 153 0.286 

9th Plymouth Blitz 8 2 1 5 108 130 0.250 

10th Bath Spa Bulldogs 7 1 0 6 30 226 0.143 

THAMES VALLEY CONFERENCE 


1st Portsmouth Destroyers 8 8 0 0 324 21 1.000 

2nd Southampton Stags 8 7 0 1 172 91 0.875 

3rd BNU Buccaneers 8 6 0 2 229 163 0.750 

4th Team Solent Redhawks 8 6 0 2 131 70 0.750 

5th Imperial Immortals 7 4 0 3 111 100 0.571 

6th Brunel Burners 8 4 0 4 93 111 0.500 

7th Reading Knights 8 3 0 5 105 179 0.375 

8th Royal Holloway Bears 8 2 0 6 50 207 0.250 

9th OBU Panthers 7 1 0 6 86 170 0.143 

10th Surrey Stingers 8 1 0 7 29 206 0.125 

SOUTH EASTERN CONFERENCE 


1st Hertfordshire Hurricanes 8 8 0 0 392 34 1.000 

2nd Kent Falcons 8 7 0 1 161 63 0.875 

3rd UEA Pirates 8 5 0 3 143 200 0.625 

4th LSBU Spartans 8 3 0 5 81 132 0.375 

5th Kings College Regents 6 2 0 4 55 94 0.333 

6th Greenwich Mariners 7 2 0 5 63 132 0.286 

7th Brighton Tsunami 7 2 0 5 85 184 0.286 

8th Essex Blades 7 1 0 6 85 218 0.143 

9th Canterbury Chargers 6 0 0 6 52 106 0.000 


BUAFL 

BUAFL Team Directory 

South Western Conference 

Bath Killer Bees 

www.bathstudent.com/organisation/6167 

Bath Spa Bulldogs * 

www.bathspasu.co.uk/americanfootball 

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65390754760 

Bristol Barracuda 

www.cudafootball.com/home.htm 

Cardiff Cobras 

www.cardiffcobrasfootball.co.uk 


Exeter Demons 

exeterdemons01.sports.officelive.com/default.aspx 

Gloucestershire Gladiators * 

www.yourstudentsunion.com/American 

Tarannau Aberystwyth 

www.tarannau.net 

Plymouth Blitz 

www.plymouthblitz.com 

Swansea Titans 

www.suau.co.uk/titans 

UWE Bullets 

www.bristolbullets.co.uk 

Thames Valley Conference 


twitter.com/BNU_Buccaneer 

Brunel Burners * 



immortals.phannon.net/Default.aspx 

Oxford Brookes Panthers * 

www.facebook.com/pages/OBU-Panthers-American-Football- 

Team/349758531661 

Portsmouth Destroyers 

www.upsu.net/activities/sports/americanfootball 

en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Portsmouth-United-Kingdom/ 

Portsmouth-Destroyers/429508529 


www.reading-knights.co.uk 

twitter.com/ReadingKnights 


www.rhulbearsfootball.co.uk/#/home/4531350832 

Solent Redhawks 

www.solent.ac.uk/sport/Team%20Solent/Clubs/American%20 

Football.aspx 


Southampton Stags 

www.stags.org.uk/main.php 


www.surreystingers.co.uk/Home.html 

South Eastern Conference 

Anglia Ruskin Phantoms 

www.angliaphantoms.co.uk 

Brighton Tsunami 

www.brightontsunami.com 

twitter.com/BrightonTsunami 

Canterbury Chargers 

www.c4af.co.uk 

Essex Blades 

www.essexblades.com 

Greenwich Mariners 

www.greenwichmariners.co.uk 

Hertfordshire Hurricanes 

www.hurricanes.org.uk 

Kent Falcons 

en-gb.facebook.com/group.php?gid=149950118348797 

twitter.com/kent_falcons 

King’s College Regents * 

www.kclregents.com 

South Bank Spartans * 

UEA Pirates 

www.ueapirates.com 

Midlands Conference 


www.birminghamlions.co.uk 

twitter.com/BirminghamLions 

Coventry University Jets * 

www.cusu.org/amercianfootball/content/49345/american_ 

football 

Derby Braves 

www.derbybraves.com/Braves/Home.html 

twitter.com/DerbyBraves 

Leicester Longhorns 

www.leicesterlonghorns.co.uk 

twitter.com/UL_Longhorns 

Lincoln Colonials 

www.lincolncolonials.co.uk 

Loughborough Aces 

www.loughboroughaces.com

Nottingham Outlaws 

www.nottinghamoutlaws.org.uk 

twitter.com/NOutlawsBUAFL 

Nottingham Trent Renegades 

www.nturenegades.com 

twitter.com/NTURenegades 


www.staffordshirestallions.com 

twitter.com/StaffsStallions 


www.warwickwolves.co.uk 


twitter.com/WorcesterRoyals 

Northern Conference 

Bangor MudDogs 

www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/bangormuddogs 


Huddersfield Hawks 

www.huddersfieldhawks.co.uk 

twitter.com/UoHHawks 

Lancaster Bombers 

www.lancs.ac.uk/socs/bombers 

twitter.com/LUBombers 

Leeds Carnegie 

www.carnegieamericanfootball.com/ 

Leeds Celtics 

www.eteamz.com/leedsceltics 

twitter.com/Leeds_Celtics 

Liverpool Fury 

www.liverpoolfury.org.uk/thefury.html 

twitter.com/LiverpoolFury 

Manchester Tyrants 

www.manchestertyrants.com 

twitter.com/McrTyrants 

Sheffield Hallam Warriors 

www.shuwarriors.net 

twitter.com/shuwarriors 

Sheffield Sabres 

sabres.union.shef.ac.uk 

twitter.com/SheffieldSabres 

UCH Sharks 

www.uchsharks.co.uk 

York Centurions 

www.york-centurions.co.uk 

BUAFL 

Border Conference 

Durham Saints 

www.dur.ac.uk/American.football 

Edinburgh Predators 

predators.x10hosting.com/team_news.html 

Glasgow Tigers 

www.gutigers.com 

Napier Mavericks 

www.napierstudents.com/sports/american-football.php 

Newcastle Raiders 

www.societies.ncl.ac.uk/americanfootball 

Northumbria Mustangs 

www.teamnorthumbria.com/home2/index.php?option=com_co 

ntent&task=view&id=747&Itemid=1 

Stirling Clansmen 

www.stirlingclansmen.co.uk/main.htm 

Sunderland Spartans 

www.sunderlandspartans.co.uk 

University of Teeside (UT) Cougars 

www.utcougars.com 

UWS Pyros 

www.the-pyros.co.uk/index.html 

* First season in the league 


DIRECTORY 

BAFA CL Team Directory 

BAFA Premier 

Bristol Aztecs 

www.aztecsadult.co.uk 

twitter.com/AztecsAdults 

Filton WISE, New Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8LP 

Coventry Jets 

www.covjets.com 


twitter.com/CoventryJets 

Coventry RFC, Butts Park Arena, Butts Road, Coventry CV1 

3GE 

Farnham Knights 

www.farnhamknights.com 

Farnborough Rugby Club, Tilebarn Close, Cove, Farnborough, 

GU14 8LS 

London Blitz 

www.londonblitz.com 

twitter.com/londonblitz 

Finsbury Park, Endymion Road,London 

London Warriors 

www.londonwarriorsafc.co.uk 

twitter.com/londoncobras 

Boston Manor Fields, Boston Gardens, Brentford, Middlesex 

TW8 9LP 

Tamorth Phoenix 

www.tamworthfootball.com 

twitter.com/TamworthPhoenix 

Lichfield Rugby Club, Tamworth Road, Lichfield WS14 9JE 

BAFA Division 1 South 

Colchester Gladiators 

www.colchestergladiators.org.uk 

Wivenhoe Stadium, Wivenhoe Town F.C., Elmstead Road, 

Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9HX 

East Kent Mavericks 

www.ekmavericks.co.uk 

twitter.com/EKMavericks 

Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP 

Hampshire Thrashers 

www.thrashers.org.uk 

Winchester Rugby Club, North Walls Park, Winchester SO23 

7EF 

Ipswich Cardinals 

www.ipswichcardinals.co.uk 

www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=ts&g 

id=89269243608#!/profile.php?id=1517657752&ref=mf 

Northgate Sports Centre, Sidegate Lane West, Ipswich IP4 

London Olympians 

www.olympiansfootball.org 

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Maberley Road, London 

SE19 2JH 


Sussex Thunder 

www.sussexthunder.com 

facebook.sussexthunder.com 

twitter.com/SussexThunder 

Thunder Stadium, Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre, Wickhurst 

Lane, Broadbridge Heath, Nr Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 3YS 

BAFA Division 1 Central 

Birmingham Bulls 

www.birminghambulls.org 

Aston Old Edwardian’s Rugby Club, Sunnybank Avenue, Perry 

Common, Birmingham, B44 OHP 

Cambridgeshire Cats 

www.cambridgeshirecats.com 

Coldhams Common, Barnwell Road, Cambridge 

Leicester Falcons 

www.leicesterfalcons.co.uk 

twitter.com/leicesterfalcon 

Leicester Forest RFC, Hinckley Road, Leicester Forest East, 

Leicester LE3 3PJ 

Nottingham Caesars 

www.nottinghamcaesars.co.uk 

Harvey Hadden Stadium, Calveley Road, Nottingham NG8 

Oxford Saints 

www.oxfordsaints.com 

twitter.com/oxfordsaints 

Abingdon Rugby Club, Lambrick way, Preston Road, Abingdon, 

Oxfordshire OX14 5TJ 

Peterborough Saxons 

www.thesaxons.co.uk 

Stanground College, Peterborough Road, Stanground, 

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE7 3BY 

BAFA Division 1 North 

Doncaster Mustangs 

www.doncastermustangs.com 

Keepmoat Stadium, Stadium Way, Doncaster DN4 5JB 

East Kilbride Pirates 

www.piratesfootball.co.uk 

www.facebook.com/piratesfootball 

www.twitter.com/EKPirates 

Whitecraigs Rugby Club, Aurs Road, Newton Mearns, G77 6BD 

Gateshead Senators 

www.gateshead-senators.co.uk 

Gateshead International Stadium, Neilson Road, Gateshead 

NE10 0EF 

Manchester Titans 

www.manchester-titans.co.uk 

twitter.com/manchestertitan 

Broughton Park Rugby Club, 2 Houghend Crescent, Chorlton, 

Manchester M21 7TA 

Merseyside Nighthawks 

www.merseysidenighthawks.co.uk 

Formby Football Club, Altcar Road, Formby

Yorkshire Rams 

www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=YORKSHIRERAMS&s= 

football&t=c 

Leeds Corinthians RUFC, Ring Road, Middleton, Leeds LS10 

4AX 

BAFA Division 2 East 

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 

www.bedfordshireblueraiders.com 

www.facebook.com/Bedfordshireblueraiders 

twitter.com/BedsBlueRaiders 

Bedford International Athletics Stadium, Barkers Lane, Bedford 

MK41 9SH 

Essex Spartans 

www.essexspartans.co.uk 

twitter.com/EssexSpartans 

Hannakins Farm, Rosebay Avenue, Billericay, CM12 0SY 

Kent Exiles 

www.kentexiles.co.uk 

Crockenhill FC, Wested Meadow Ground, Eynsford Rd, 

Crockenhill, Kent BR8 8EH 

Maidstone Pumas 

www.pumasafc.co.uk 

New Line Learning Academy, Boughton Lane, Loose, Maidstone 

ME15 9QL 

Milton Keynes City Pathfinders 

www.mkcitypathfinders.co.uk 

twitter.com/mkpathfinders 

Bletchley Rugby Club, Manor Field, Bletchley, Milton Keynes 

MK2 2HX 

Norwich Devils 

www.norwichdevils.com 


The Hewett School, Cecil Road, Norwich NR1 

Watford Cheetahs 

www.watfordcheetahs.com 

Fullerians Rugby Club, Coningsby Drive, Watford WD17 3BD 

BAFA Division 2 West 

Berkshire Renegades 

www.renegadesafc.com 

www.facebook.com/pages/Reading-United-Kingdom/Berkshire- 

Renegades-American-Football-Club/97814424333 

Palmer Park Stadium, Wokingham Road, Reading RG6 1LF 

Bournemouth Bobcats 

http://www.bobcats.org.uk 

Bristol Apache 

http://www.bristolapache.co.uk 

Filton WISE, New Road, Stoke Gifford , Bristol BS34 8LP 

Cornish Sharks 

www.cornishsharks.co.uk 

Newquay Sports Centre, Yeoman Way, Newquay TR7 2SL 

Gloucester Banshees 

www.gloucesterbanshees.com 

Oxstalls Tennis Centre, Plock Court, Tewkesbury Road, 

Gloucester GL2 9DW 

South Wales Warriors 

www.southwaleswarriors.co.uk 

Llanharan RFC, Bridgend Road, Llanharan, Pontyclun CF72 9RD 

BAFA Division 2 North 

Carlisle Border Reivers 

http://www.cumbriabafl.co.uk 

The Sheepmount Stadium, Carlisle, CA3 8XL 

Clyde Valley Blackhawks 

www.blackhawksfootball.co.uk 

Beltane Playing Fields, Wishaw Sports Centre, Alexander Street, 

Wishaw ML2 0HQ 

Dundee Hurricanes 

www.dundeehurricanes.com 

Dawson Park, Dundee 

Edinburgh Wolves 

www.edinburghwolves.com 

Meadowbank Stadium, London Road, Edinburgh EH7 6AE 


www.tigersfootball.co.uk 

www.facebook.com/pages/Glasgow-Tigers-American- 

Football/112176064763?ref=nf 

twitter.com/tigersafc 

Lochinch Stadium, Pollock Country Park, Dumbreck Road, 

Glasgow G41 4SN 

Highland Wildcats 

www.invernessblitz.co.uk 

Bught Park, Bught Road, Inverness IV3 5SS 

West Coast Trojans 

www.west-coast-trojans.com 

King George V Playing Fields, Dean Park Road, Renfrew PA4 

Division 2 Central 

Chester Romans 

www.chesterromans.com 

www.facebook.com/chesterromans 

www.twitter.com/RomansFootball 

Chester Rugby Club, Hares Lane, Vicars Cross, Chester CH3 

7DB 

Lancashire Wolverines 

www.wolverineden.com 

Blackburn Rugby Club, Ramsgreave Drive, Blackburn BB1 

8NB 

Lincolnshire Bombers 

www.lincolnshirebombers.com 

Sultan Qaboos Pavilion, RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, 

NG34 8HB 

Sheffield Predators 

www.sheffieldpredators.com 

Westfield Sports Centre, Eckington Road, Sothall, Sheffield S20 

1HQ 

Shropshire Revolution 

www.shropshirerevolution.co.uk 

Oakengates Leisure Centre, New Road, Telford TF2 7AB 

Staffordshire Surge 

www.teamsurge.com 

Longton Rugby Club, Stanley Matthews way, Trentham Lakes, 

Stoke on Trent ST4 8GR 

NATIONAL 

GB Lions 

twitter.com/GBLions 

DIRECTORY 


DIRECTORY 

BAFA CL Team Directory 

BAFA Youth North 

Balby Carr Mustangs 

Burnley Tornados 

Chester Romans 

www.chesterromans.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task 

=view&id=5&Itemid=12 

Chorley Buccaneers 

Coventry Jets 

Sheffield Tomahawks 

Woodham Warriors 

BAFA Youth South 


Kent Exiles 

www.kentexiles.co.uk/news.php?cat=Youth 

London Blitz 

www.londonblitz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar 

ticle&id=201&Itemid=61 


Kent Exiles 

BAFA Youth Scotland 

Clyde Valley Falcons 

East Kilbride Pirates 

Edinborough Coyotes 

Highland Wildcats 


Inverclyde Phoenix 

BAFA Junior North 

Gateshead Senators 

Inverclyde Phoenix 

Lanarkshire Longhorns 

Lancashire Wolverines 

Manchester Titans 

BAFA Junior South 

Bristol Aztecs 

Farnham Knights 

Hampshire Thrashers 

London Blitz 



BAFA Junior East 

Cambridgeshire Cats 


East Kent Mavericks 

Kent Exiles 

South London Renegades 

BAFA Junior Central 

Birmingham Bulls 

www.birminghambulls.org/Pages/YouthTeamRoster.html 

Coventry Jets 

Leicester Falcons 

Peterborough Saxons 

Nottingham Caesars 

Sheffield Tomahawks 

Tamworth Phoenix 

BAFA Adult Flag South 

Basingstoke Zombie Horde 

www.rollhorde.co.uk 

Chichester Sharks 

www.chichestersharks.co.uk 

Chiltern Fyrd 

Coventry Jets 

www.covjets.com 

War Memorial Park, Coventry 

Leicester Eagles 

www.leicestereagles.co.uk 

Knighton Park Bowl, Knighton Park, Brighton Close, Wigston, 

Leicester LE18 1EF 

London Rebels 

www.londonrebels.com 

Wanstead Flats, Leytonstone, London 

South Wales Warriors 

Woodham Warriors 

www.woodhamwarriors.com 

Woodham Community Technology College, Newton Aycliffe, 

County Durham 

St Albans Kings 


Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill, St Albans

BAFA Adult Flag North 

Aberdeen Oilcats 

www.aberdeenoilcats.com 

Carluke Cobras 

www.carlukecobras.co.uk 

Glasgow Hornets 

www.glasgow-hornets.com 

East End Healthy Living Centre, Crownpoint Road, 

Glasgow 

Grangemouth Broncos 

www.gobroncos.co.uk 

Inchyra Park, Inchyra Road, Grangemouth 

Kircaldy Bulls 

www.kirkcaldybulls.com 

Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy 

Stirling Wolverines 

Tayside Raptors 

www.taysideraptors.co.uk 

The North Inch, Perth 

DIRECTORY 

the BirmiNgham lioNs (Blue) were to lose out to the Portsmouth Destroyers iN a 

thrilliNg last Ditch attemPt to wiN the game iN the DyiNg miNutes of the Buafl 

NatioNal chamPioNshiP game iN leeDs 

© aDam russell 


Team Directory Info 

All teams should check out their entry in the Team Directory pages to ensure listings are 

correct. 

Please notify us of any amendments or additions which should include your Team Name, 

Home Ground, Website, Facebook & Twitter pages. 

If you would like a team contact name, email or phone number added, please let us know. 

Deatils can be forwarded to editor@insideamericanfootball.com 

There are plenty of opportunities within the pages of “Inside American Football” for photographers to show their work; 

whether it’s a whole feature on you as a photographer in ‘Photographers in Focus’ or team-specific articles, match reports, 

full page spreads or specific requests for certain subjects. 

We can’t pay for any contributions but we can get your work out to the whole British American Football community & 

beyond. You should send ideas to the editor via email at editor@insideamericanfootball.com in the first instance. 

Most of our contributing photographers are members of the American Football Imagery Association via our Facebook Group 

which can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38580203329. This is also a place where we put requests 

out for magazine content. You can also see us at our online Discussion Forum: 

http://www.insideamericanfootball.com/forum 

110 Inside American Football - May 2011

DefeNsive eND kwaDwo “Diesel” asieDo of the 

hertforDshire hurricaNes 



Inside American Football 

May 2011 

www.InsideAmericanFootball.com 

112 Inside American Football - May 2011

May 2011 - Inside American Football 1

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