Cats Welcome Newcomers for Nostalgic Return

  The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders may be having their first taste of Britball as a club, but the sport of American football in Cambridge will hardly be a novelty for many involved with the fledgling team as a number of players and coaching assistants played for the Cats. Raiders Head Coach Chris Wallis’ time at the Cats was productive and successful, with the 1998 4-8 season as his only losing year. His record of 47 wins from 69 games stands him atop the all-time Cats coaching list with clear daylight over second place George Zentner, the Cats founder and inaugural head coach (15-9 in the 1985-86 seasons).

Third on this list, current Cats Head Coach Rick Bice plans to make a dent in this gap and to ensure that Wallis does not get the same impressive start he did with the Cats. Coach Bice is currently second on the all-time games coached list, and the first Head Coach in Cats history to preside for four consecutive seasons. A win over the Blue Raiders would be the Cats 16^th under Bice, a landmark that would see him leapfrog Zentner’s win tally.

Cats will look to march forward after beating the Saxons.

The Cats dominant defense may be forced to get by without a couple of key players, Justin Royer and James Kocherhans, who were last year’s 1 and 2 in tackles for the Cats. Coach Bice comment about missing these players: “While it would be great to have both on the field for this game, we have experienced depth on our squad this year that we never had before on both sides of the ball. Add to that, our rookies have worked hard and have already proven themselves as capable as some were fielded in our win versus the Saxons. While some starters may miss this game, we know we have the players capable of stepping up to fill their roles.”  

The visitors will be buoyed after the organisations first league win this past weekend, a close 12-6 victory over Watford which brought their record in BAFL 2 East to 1-1. However, the Cats hard fought 1-point victory over county rival Peterborough two weeks prior has further energised the club and will look to continue their winning start to a season they have high hopes for.

Photo courtesy of Cambridgeshire Cats.