Cats break record

Posted in: Cambridgeshire Cats, BAFL 2    By Matt Casey May 19, 2008 - 8:23:45 PM

Cambridgeshire Cats 76 Milton Keynes City Pathfinders 0

Andrews’s kicking was near perfect.

The Cats offense became a juggernaut against the struggling Pathfinders as the BAFL2 East leaders took another step towards the playoffs with their biggest victory of all time. For their part, the new Milton Keynes outfit put up a sterling effort against their more experienced opponents, and continued to do their organisation proud in its inaugural season of Britball.

After early-season misfires, the Cats offense achieved near perfection, finding the endzone on each of their 11 possessions and kicker Dougie Andrews converting 10 kicks with just one blocked. The Cats managed this with a healthy rotation of the squad, with seven of the scorers new to the Cats and many of those posting impressive stats “true rookies”, including first year player Sam Carter who opened the scoring with a 5 yard reception from Browns pass. Tight end Joe Slaughter also opened his account for the Cats on Martin Brown’s second toss of the day.

“C-Money” Sellers deserved his first Cats score.

The second quarter truly ended the contest with 5 Cats touchdowns, one rushing touchdown each from a rejuvenated Matt Kelly and Stephen “Booty” Morrison. A forced defensive change saw Brown going to linebacker so Tommy Durkin was called into takeover at quarterback, and wasted little time connecting with fellow Americans Weber and Slaughter for scores. Perhaps the most deserving scorer on the day was Cats defensive utility man, Chaka Sellers. One of the few survivors from the 1-9 2005 Cats, “C-Money” has played every position imaginable between cruel injury layoffs. Finally his loyalty to the Cats was rewarded when he returned a 14 yard interception for his first Cats score, having had several previous trips to the endzone called back on penalties throughout his Cambridge football career.

A 49-0 halftime score line would have destroyed lesser teams, however the Pathfinders demanded no let up by their opponents whilst the Cats rotated their starters the experience of the pride heaped more points against the hosts. As ever, the Cats defense was solid allowing just two first downs all day. The incessant pressure on the Pathfinders defense was matched by their spirit and enthusiasm, as they only score of the third quarter happened when Durkin was flushed from the pocket and only his scrambling ability helped him into the end zone from 5 yards out.

Spirited MK defense didn’t allow Smith an easy day at the office.

The final quarter saw three more Cats touchdowns posted, all passes from Durkin who ended the day with an outstanding 9 completions from 13 attempts and 5 touchdowns, with his 230 yards passing and 20 yards rushing accounting for almost half of the Cats 510 yards total offense. Cats newcomers Prothero and Williams both claimed their first Cats scores, whilst veteran wide receiver Jonathan Smith’s score puts him just 1 behind the all-time Cats record.

The boys from Milton Keynes played to the last, and were a credit to their coaches and the organisation as a whole. Despite a scolding day and a lopsided scoreline, a proper game of smash mouth gridiron was played between two teams with the utmost respect for one another, and the players intermingled after the final whistle to share the stories and bond that makes Britball special.

Pathfinders were noble in defeat.

Coach Bice commented, “We were in there shoes just 3 years ago. However, with some grit, determination drive, along with some good recruiting by the entire coaching staff, we have built a very good squad over these past years. I see the same with Charlie Edwards and the Pathfinders. Hopefully, in a few years they will build just like we have been able to. Last year, we played these guys in one of their associate games and we knew then that the players of the Pathfinders had heart. Our recently departed team mate John Harlow, summed up that day with a simple statement on the Pathfinders as a whole, ‘You cannot help but love those guys! They give everything and never quit!’ Hats off to them and we will be honoured when we see the Pathfinders on the return leg!”

The Cats move to 3-0 with a week’s break before hosting a Thrashers outfit with an identical record, as leaders form BAFL2 East meet their South West counterparts, in a game set to be a classic between two organisations who have turned their fortunes around in the past 3 years.      

 

Digg this story!    |     Email this article    |     Printer friendly page