New Season, New Cobras, Same Style

Posted in: London Cobras    By Gerry Anderson May 7, 2009 - 9:57:29 AM

London Cobras 52-6 Norwich Devils

 

The new season began for the Cobras on Sunday with a road trip to Norwich to meet the Devils. The Cobras have been working hard in the off season to improve and impressive undefeated team in preparation for a tough season in BAFL 1.  The team sees the return of playmakers such as Jerome Allen, Will Bryce and Ariel Mofondo to name a few but also made some great acquisitions through the winter.

Returning running back Devar Gayle.

Graduating from the London Warriors were Dale Greenfield, Ike Okonkwo, Troy Thompson, Ricky Jones and David Dooner while the Cobras also welcomed back running back Devar Gayle. New faces included Alistair Jenkins from East Kent Mavericks, James Irving, Ben Peddie and Alex Phillips all from the Southern Sundevils, and Ian Jacquet and Dion Grant moving over from the London Os. Following his graduation from Warwich University, Cobras also benefitted from the addition of Dominic Yau at corner back. Brand new faces to not only the Cobras but also the world of British American football were James Fiest, Yusuf, Richard Smith and Az Tiamou.

The game kicked off in very windy conditions, and a touch back gave the Devils the ball on the 20 yard line. A 3 and out followed, with cornerback Larry Lasisi-Lekan unlucky not to get a pick-6. With the wind in their face, a short punt by Norwich left the Cobras with a short field which was converted in to points with a 7 yard scamper from Devar Gayle for a 6-0 Cobra lead.

On the Devils second series Lasisi-Lekan made up for his previous drop with an interception which gave the Cobras first and 10 on the Devils 21 yard line. The first reception in BAFL 1 for the Cobras was for 9 yards from Jerome Allen to Matt Russell and the drive was finished again by Gayle on a 3 yard run. The Cobra’s defense looked like they hadn’t missed a beat since the win at Keepmoat back in September last year, creating all kinds of problems for the Devil’s offense. On another punt, newly acquired Al Jenkins got a hand up to block setting up the on form Cobra offense on the 17 yard line going in. Gayle wasted little time in scoring and the extra point attempt from David Dooner was good leaving the score 19-0 going in to half time.

Al Jenkins blocked a Devils punt.

Unhappy with his first half performance, safety Ariel Mofondo started the second half with two forced fumbles on consecutive drives by Norwich. The first of these was picked up by linebacker Moses Sangobiyi who ran in from 20 yards out for the score. The next Cobra series saw them pinned back inside their own half. Receptions by receivers Mark McGowan, Manny Mukoro, Ian Jacquet and Juma Woodhouse kept the offense moving and Gayle ended it in his usual style. A further interception from return to form cornerback Chin Ford gave the field to quarterback Dayle Greenfield who graduated from the youth programme where he lead the Warriors to a championship last year. He finished the day with 4/5 for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns to Munkoro and Juma, an impressive start for the youngster. The surprise twist in the game came on a Cobras kick off in the fourth quarter which was fielded by the Devils Ronald Gantt.  Gantt found a hole through the wedge and burned through the Cobras for a 48 yard score. An impressive return left the Cobras licking their wounds as it was the first kick ever returned on them.

David Donner

The day belonged to the new Cobras, special mentions to Gayle on offense who finished with 69 yards from 16 attempts and 5 touchdowns; Al Jenkins on defense who recorded 6 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt; and David Donner who had 10 kick offs for an average of 47.5 yards.

The Cobras were happy to take care of business but were well aware there in room for improvement. Head Coach Jeff Brown said, ‘It’s good to get the first win on the board and dust off a few game day cobwebs. There is a lot of room for improvement and we have a few weeks before the next game to straighten a few things out’.

Cobras now have a 3 week break before heading up to Peterborough to face the Saxons.

Images cortesy of London Cobras

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