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Bristol Aztecs 33 Farnham Fast Lane Knights 9
The Aztecs headed east along the M4 corridor to
Aldershot Army Stadium for a return fixture against the Farnham Fast Lane
Knights, determined to reverse a 26-6 opening week home defeat and a 9 year
losing streak at the hands of the Knights.
The Aztecs went to work early, with their trifecta
of running backs finding their groove behind the bruising Bristol offensive
line. A methodical drive marshaled by quarterback
Dom Westwood
culminated in a 14 yard touchdown strike to ever reliable tight end
Stuart Toogood
. A low
kick saw the extra point bounce off the chest of defensive lineman Ranti
Endeley, but the Aztecs were up 6-0 in a hurry on the heavily favoured Knights.
A booming
Chris Hunt
kick
from the ensuing kick off forced the Knights offense to start deep in their own
half. An angry Bristol defense was in no mood to be meddled with, fired up by
the Aztec offensive performance they quickly got after import quarterback and
Virginia native Willie Sheird. The Knights were forced to punt and a short
return by
Nick Smith
set the Aztecs up at their own 20. A fumble on second down was recovered by the
Knights, giving the Aldershot side great field position deep inside Aztec
territory. A resolute redzone stand by the Aztec defense, saw the Knights
forced to settle for a 24 yard Steve Belcher field goal pulling the score back
to 6-3.
A 12 yard kickoff return by Smith gave the Bristol
offense the ball at their own 18 yard line. Two successive penalties pushed the
Aztecs back to their own 8 yard line before the ship was steadied and cries of
'rumble young man rumble' could be heard from the sideline again. Successive
gains of 8 and 23 yards from
Mike
Adams
took the Aztecs out of danger, before
Nick Proctor
weighed
in with a bruising 18 yard run of his own. A 29 yard pass to Toogood was
stopped just short of the Knights goaline and it was left to Nick Proctor to
punch in the ball from four yards out to cap an 82 yard scoring drive. Endeley
managed to get a hand to another low kick and the Aztecs had stretched the
scoreline to 12-3.
The Aztec defense began to take a grip on the game,
containing Jon Wyse in the Knights backfield, and bombarding quarterback Sheird
with pressure and into errant passes. The result of which was a diving interception
by
Jamie Wilkinson
right on the Knights sideline. The Aztecs failed to convert the turnover,
and were forced to punt. There was no further scoring, and the Aztecs took a
slender 12-3 lead into the break.
The Aztecs knew the veteran Knights team would be
fired up coming out of the half and that the third quarter would be key in
securing victory for either team. The Aztecs took a gamble and gave the Knights
the wind in the third quarter, hoping for a quick turnover and a time consuming
Aztec possession, to take the wind away from the Knights potent spread passing
attack.
The Aztec defense didn't disappoint, a short Knights drive buoyed
mainly by good rushing gains from Wyse and Sheird was soon ground to a
halt. Nick Smith took the Knights punt back 25 yards before the offense
got their chance to hitch the wagon. Good gains by
Egbosimba
, and a
15 yard sideline reception from rookie receiver
Nick Gallagher
which
kept the drive alive on third down, pushed the Aztecs deep into the
Knights half and chewed up valuable time. Dave Egbosimba took the ball at
the three and rumbled his way into the endzone for his first score of the
day. The two point conversion fell incomplete and the Aztecs led 18-3.
As the game clicked into the fourth
quarter the Knights were increasingly taking to the air. Sheird's second
interception of the game ended the Knights drive when Bear Patrol cornerback
Adbul 'Chocco' Bah
snagged
his second pick of the season and followed the blocking of
Tom 'Vanilla'
Slater
20
yards on the return. The offense weren't set to take their foot off the gas and
following a 37 yard run by Egbosimba, and a key reception from Smith, they
Aztecs honed in on the scoring zone again. Egbosimba took his chance and darted
past a now tiring Knights defensive unit for his second touchdown of the day.
Adams breezed into the endzone untouched to add the two point conversion, as
the Aztecs extended the lead to 26-3 on a shell shocked Knights team.
On the next drive, the Knights offense gained a first down before Egbosimba
made yet another key play, this time from rush end, where he leapt into the air
to deflect a pass from Sheird, into the arms of defensive lineman
Oliver Skuse
, for
the American's third interception of the day. They Aztecs offense didn’t waste
time on the resultant drive and were soon in the endzone once again, as Dave
Egbosimba proved too ‘dangerous’ for the exhausted Knights, running through the
heart of the Farnham defense for his most impressive score of the day, a 28
yard rumble leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Hunt tacked on the extra
point to extend the lead to 33-3 and take the Aztecs well clear of the required
head to head tiebreaker over the Knights.
There was time for a consolation Knights score when former Aztec Andy Boyle
split the rookie safeties, collected a 57 yard Sheird pass and ran into the
endzone. Defensive lineman
Steve
Davey
got his hand to Belcher's extra point attempt and
the ball deflected wide left and close the scoreline for the day at 33-9.
The Aztecs were able to blood the depth of their
squad with several young prospects gaining valuable 'big game' experience.
Aztec youth graduate
Michel
Yazbek
once again looked promising at running back,
and
Steve Hutchinson
and
Tommy Davis
showed that they are continuing to develop behind Westwood at the quarterback
position. On defense, rookies
Pat
Benson
and
Tinashe Mundeta
continued their improvement with good reps at the defensive back position.
Statistical leaders on the day for the Aztecs were
Tom Proctor
with 10
tackles, 1 sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery,
Mark Proctor
with 7
Tackles, Tom Slater with 6, and Olly Skuse with 3 tackles, and interception and
a fumble recovery. Jamie Wilkinson and Abdul Bah grabbed an interception
apiece. On offense, Mike Adams lead the stable of backs with 123 yards,
Nick Proctor added 52 from 8. BAFL Player of the Week winner ‘Dangerous’ Dave
Egbosimba stood out with 3 touchdowns and 82 yards from 11 carries, to add to
his one catch for five yards, 1 tackle, 1 sack, and 1 tipped pass which led to
an interception.
Mark Hopkins
,
Head Coach of the Aztecs, was happy the win, but keen to focus on challenges
ahead. “We have worked hard over the last 5 years to breed and develop a team
that was capable of a result like today's. We are delighted with the win, but
recognise that there are five more steps on our journey if we're going to reach
our goal for 2008. We must harness this momentum and take it forward into our
upcoming back to back games against the London Blitz."
The Aztecs continue their schedule with a home game against the defending
National Champions, The London Blitz on Sunday 6th July, 2.30 at Filton WISE in
Bristol. The Aztecs are always looking for fans, players aged 14+,
staff, and sponsors. For more information on the Aztecs visit
www.aztecs.co.uk or email
bristolaztecs@hotmail.com
Images
courtesy of Steve Pickford.