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Redditch Arrows 6-0 Nottingham
Caesars
Sunday the 17th
of July saw the Nottingham Caesars play their first home game of the 2009
season when they welcomed the Redditch Arrows to the Harvey Hadden Stadium.
With the Caesars having an away win under their belt, and the Arrows having
lost their two opening games, the game was set up to be a close encounter as the
Caesars looked to establish themselves in BAFL 1 and the Arrows looking to
bring a halt to the stuttering start to their season. With midday kick off and
the weather turning increasingly wet the game got under way.
Nottingham
won
the toss they elected to receive the ball. Having returned the ball to their 40
yard line the Caesars offense took to the field and looked to move the ball
down field. After a slow start the offense got going and put together a series
of plays that saw them advance slowly but surely towards the Redditch goal line
gaining a number of first downs on the way. With the Caesars within striking
distance of the Redditch goal line they had 4 downs to breech the Arrows goal
line. Using up 3 plays to gain 5 yards and on the 15 yard line they attempted a
field goal. Unfortunately a poor snap meant the ball could not be teed up for
the kicker to attempt the kick and the opportunity was lost. With both defenses
then dominating the play neither offense could assert themselves.
With the pattern being laid down in the first quarter the two middle quarters
produced no scores and defensive performances of epic proportions from both
sides. Often games that produce no scores are not very entertaining but this
was an exception as these enthralling displays kept the crowd on the edge of
their seats.
With the game entering the final few minutes it became apparent that one score
could decide the game. With 3 minutes left on the clock the Arrows punted the
ball deep into the Caesars half and pinned them back on their 15 yard line.
Looking for one final effort the Caesars looked to move the ball down field, on
the second play of the series with the Caesars quarterback shaping up to throw
a pass he was sacked by a marauding
Arrows linebacker, and in the process forced
the Caesars quarterback to fumble the ball The Arrows recovered the ball that
put their offense in charge of the ball on the Caesars 15 yard line. This was
the chance they were looking for as on their first play their quarterback
handed the ball off to running back Nick Jones who for the first time in the
game found a way through the normally solid Caesars defense to score a
touchdown. Deciding to go for the two extra points the Arrows were unable to
find a way through so the score remained 6-0. With one last chance the Caesars
looked for one final effort to score but the solid Redditch defense kept them
penned back in their own half. So as the final whistle went the Caesars tasted
defeat for the first time in the regular season for a very long time. A look at
the defensive stats shows just how tight the Caesars defense had kept things
for most of the game. With the standout performances from linebacker Karl
Walkinshaw with 8 solo tackles and 7 assisted tackles, linebacker Stacey Martin
with 5 solo tackles and defensive back Shaun Chambers with 4 solo tackles.
The Caesars have
little time to recover as they hit the road on Sunday the 24th of
May as the take their longest away trip of the season as they visit the South
Wales Warriors.