Knightime at DVS

Farnham MH Knights 47 Ipswich Cardinals 7

A jubilant Coach Rains holds the trophy aloft.

The last time the Knights had a perfect season was in 2000 - back then they went undefeated through the regular season and then defeated the Ipswich Cardinals in the Championship game at Don Valley Stadium by 41-7. They say lightening doesn't strike twice but the only difference this time was that the Knights scored six more points to become BAFL 1 Champions with a season perfect 12-0 record. The Knights were considered to be favourites as they had beaten the Cardinals twice in the regular season. Doubt however was cast on that after the Ipswich side signed a new American standout receiver just before the play offs began. The addition of 6'6" Mike Weber had pundits predicting a Knights downfall in the Championship game.

Farnham started with the ball and drove confidently into Cardinal territory, however the Cardinal defense forced a fumble at their own 25yd line and the Ipswich side had the ball for the first time. The Knights defense took the field, the Knights D had a great season and yet appeared to be under estimated by many of the so called expert commentators - the next sixty minutes of play was to go down as firm evidence that this unit are every bit as valuable to the Knights as their record breaking offense. Amani Naea and Owen Thomas got in early on the tackle stats as the Knights sent the Cardinals three and out. The Ipswich punter kicked the ball directly out of bounds to deny Jon Wyse the opportunity to return the ball - but the Cardinals short kick was to be a feature of the game that consistently gave the Knights good field position.

The Knights then embarked upon an eleven play drive that saw quarterback Ashley Heath hit Jon Wyse twice for quick gains interspersed by some strong running from Kingsley Ejiogu. The Cardinals defense stiffened again however and the Knights settled for Steve Belchers twenty nine yard field goal to put them 3-0 in the lead. The Cardinals next drive saw them stopped again in three attempts and a fourth down kick, again out of bounds, gave the Knights the ball back in good field position.
Stuart Timms who started his career with the Wight Rhinos before moving to the Knights, with Head Coach Steve Rains, back in the 80's featured heavily in stopping the drive. The former Knights standout from the early days was playing in his first ever British Bowl game having been out of the country in the USA for some time. His timely return to the Knights fold saw him record a game high 17 tackles.

It took the Knights just five plays to move the ball into the Cardinals endzone with the versatile Jon Wyse sprinting in from eleven yards out on a misdirection play. Steve Belcher kicked the extra point and the Knights lead 10-0 . The Ipswich offense then got some success as they moved the ball deep into Knights territory to the three yard line. But disaster struck for them in the form of the Knights big Andy Crowther, on this way to a stunning four sack performance, Crowther sacked the Cardinal quarterback and in the process knocked the ball loose. Linebacker Owen Thomas attempted to scoop the ball up but couldn't quite manage it, in the process however he knocked the ball clear of the pile and fellow linebacker Moses Tomas picked it up and ran fifty yards down the field to record the Knights second touchdown of the day. Steve Belchers point after kick missed narrowly left and the Knights lead 16-0.

The Farnham defense was immediately back in action with linebackers Timms, Tomas and Naea all competing for tackling stats the result was another three and out and a short punt to give the Knights another possession. Two incompletions however saw the Knights forced to punt, something they had only done five times previously in the season, the Cardinals however only managed a four play drive before another short out of bounds punt avoiding the Superman return ability of Jon Wyse and his blockers. Ashley Heath engineered a promising drive to the Cardinal thirty yard line hitting leading receiver Ally Reid on two key receptions. Unfortunately however a second Knights fumble saw them give the ball up to the Cardinals and with only two minutes remaining in the half it was to nevertheless prove costly for the Knights. The Cardinals drove into Knights territory and quarterback Jackson went deep to receiver Eddie Gray at the Knights goal line. The Knights looked certain to intercept the ball as first one and then another defender got their hands to the ball - unfortunately for the Knights the ball popped out of their grasp right into the grateful hands of Gray who then stepped into the endzone for a score. Vawder- Zanden added the extra point kick and the Knights lead was cut to 16-7

Rodney Edgerton returned the kick off to the Knights thirty eight yard line with fifty seven seconds remaining in the half. A good run from Kingsley Ejiogu nearly ended in disaster as he fumbled and then recovered the ball. On the next play the Knights were not so lucky, as their fourth fumble of the evening was recovered by Luke Box. Ipswich had just twenty six seconds to try to shake the Knights before the break - former GB defensive back Simon Kockleburgh saw to it that no further damage was done to the Knights as he batted away a last second pass to Gray. The teams therefore went into half time at 16-7

During the half time break the Knights coaching staff gave the players a reminder that the Championship had to be won and the team responded perfectly.

The Cardinals first play of the second half saw defensive end Andy Crowther make his second sack of the day, again forcing a fumble which was recovered by the Cardinals at their own ten yard line line. Quarterback Jackson scrambled out of bounds for a one yard loss on the next play and then on third down he attempted to pass the Cardinals out of trouble. Knights defensive captain Jay Cashman however stepped in front of the pass and took his interception fourteen yards into the endzone for a Knights score - the second by the defense. Steve Belcher added the point after kick and the Knights lead 23-7
Two Knights penalties either side of Crowther’s third sack of the day saw the Ipswich team making headway into Knights territory. Stuart Timms made three successive bone crunching tackles but the Cardinals still moved to the Knights ten yard line. Having been stopped with no gain on two rushing plays by the Knights defensive line the Cardinals went to the air. Continuing the excellent performance by the Knights defenders, linebacker Owen Thomas picked off the pass at the four yard line and returned it to the Knights nine yard line.

Kingsley Ejiogu, on his way to an MVP winning 182 yards, ran the ball out to the fifteen yard line but a Cardinal sack and a Knights penalty saw the Southern Conference Champions pinned back at their nine yard line. Quarterback Heath stood calmly in the pocket on the next play to find wide receiver Rodney Edgerton with a twenty yard pass play. Ejiogu then showed the form that had helped the Knights go clear all year as he broke a sideline run, following some key blocks from left tackle Peter Fields, left guard Paul Biscombe and fullback Pete Fulford, to go sixty yards for a Knights touchdown. Steve Belcher added the extra point and the Knights lead 30-7

The Cardinals desperately needed to hit straight back and Eddie Gray took over at quarterback to try to spark a change of fortune. Defensive back Kockleburgh defended Grays first down pass and then tackled him for a one yard loss on second down. Facing third and eleven at their own twenty one yard line Gray went to the air. All he found was the Knights ‘Flyin Hawaiian’ Amani Naea - he picked off the pass and went twenty six yards untouched into the endzone - Steve Belcher added the extra point after Naea's war spear celebration and the Knights lead 37-7.

Jackson returned as the Cards quarterback on the next drive. Two incompletions however were followed by Andy Crowther’s fourth sack of the day as he downed Jackson for a seventeen yard loss. The Cardinals abandoned the out of bounds punt and suffered for it as Rodney Edgerton returned a short kick thirty yards to the Ipswich twenty yard line. A good run from Ejiogu was cancelled out by a Knights penalty and the Aldershot based team decided to settle for Steve Belchers thirty one yard field goal to extend the lead to 40-7 as the final quarter began.

Five plays later the Cardinals turned the ball over on a failed fourth down attempt as they tried to fight their way back into the game. Heath found Steve Belcher down the sideline for a thirty one yard gain before finishing the drive with a three yard scoring pass to receiver Chris Reynolds. The young wide out was the Knights third leading receiver on the year - but he had not scored during the 2007 season - it was a timely situation to break that duck with just nine minutes of the season remaining. Steve Belcher reliably added the conversion and the Knights lead 47-7 . The Cardinals next drive ate up some clock as they pounded the ball on the ground. When they went to the air however Simon Kockleburgh picked off Jackson's pass to effectively end the game giving the Knights the BAFL 1 crown and a move back into the Premier division next year.

Knights Head Coach Steve Rains said, "This was a fitting end to a great season. This is the fifth time we have been to the Don Valley National Finals in eight years - we have now won three times and it still feels great! Our supporters were fantastic as always and it was fantastic to see our Youth Team here to support us - the guys all appreciated that and they made our journey up to collect the Cup one that we will always remember"

Defensive Co-Ordinator Graham Jessett said, "Defensively - four sacks, four interceptions and three touchdowns - do I really need to say more? Some people mistook our approach to playing all of our people during the regular season as a sign of weakness as we conceded some points without the starters. I think the stats today give a comprehensive answer to those thoughts"

Special Teams Co-Ordinator Ian Ellis concluded, "This was a team performance - we have had a season of team performances - we regularly tell people its Knightime and for BAFL 1 this year it has been from the start to the beginning"

  Images courtesy of Farnham MH Knights