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The Cambridgeshire Cats embark on a 400 mile round trip as
they head to Bedwas, Caerphilly, Wales in the first knock-out round of the
British American Football League, Division Two South playoffs.
A regular season record of 7-3 has gained the young Cats
team their first venture into the post-season during Head Coach Rick Bice’s 3 year
tenure. The Cats lead the series against the Warriors 1-0; however have
struggled on the road in the post-season, with a 2-5 record when travelling in
the playoffs. This year however the Cats boast the best defense in the nation,
allowing less than 4 points per game having shutout their opponents 6 times.
The Cats have also forced a total of 36 turnovers with 20 Interceptions and 16
fumble recoveries. The Cats regular season road record is 3-2, and the long
journey to a hostile Warriors team will be the biggest challenge of the season.
South Wales only lost once on their way to the South Western
conference title, averaging over 30 points per game. The Welsh defense itself
boasts an impressive average, at less than 10 points a game, however a potent
Cats offense (also tipping the 30 points per game threshold) boasts 1200 yard
12 touchdown running back Dom Fox alongside 16 touchdown quarterback Martin
Brown. Brown averages just shy of 6 yards per passing attempt whilst Fox drives
the team over 7 yards per run, a deadly combination in a game based around 4 attempts
to achieve 10 yards. The Cats also look to recall American running back Robert
Kibbles Jnr, who started off the season at blistering pace in tandem with Fox
until injury halted the partnership.
Cats outside linebackers James Kocherhans and Justin Royer
continue their personal battle for defensive supremacy into the playoffs, with
currently 69 and 60 tackles respectively. Whilst the teams have not met since
2002, an indirect comparison can be made by the results in inter-conference
games this season: South Wales beat Essex 14-6 in their final game of the regular
season at the Spartans, the Cats were victorious 29-0 at Essex and 68-0 in
Cambridge.
Head Coach Rick Bice is confident that the experience of
the past few years will bolster the young teams chances in such an important
game: “The majority of the squad has never experienced play off football,
however after the last few years what we now have is a young team with near
veteran experience. The players have learned so much the hard way, and having
come from painful losses have all the motivation needed to succeed now at the
business end of the season. The addition of experienced players in key roles
has furthered the maturation of the team, and I know if we give an accurate
account of our ability in Wales than we have the talent to defeat the South
West Champs!”
The 2007 Cambridgeshire Cats.
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