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Chester Romans 6 Merseyside Nighthawks 60
The
Merseyside Nighthawks took on the winless Chester Romans at Birkenhead Park
determined to avoid becoming the first victims of their local rivals. Their
emphatic 60-6 victory moves them one step closer to their play offs as they
look forward to taking on the Manchester Titans in next week’s key match up.
The Nighthawks defense looked to set the tone on the Romans first drive and,
although a roughing penalty gave Chester a new lease of life on fourth down,
ex-Roman Lee Crank fell on a fumble shortly after to give Merseyside the ball. Merseyside had to punt on their first possession, but made the breakthrough
second time out through running back Barry Murphy, who ran for 6 yards, then 11
and then finally went in for the score, the 19 yard touchdown surprisingly his
first of the season. The 2 pointer was no good, but Merseyside looked to pile the pressure on,
linebacker Steven Parry recovering another fumble to allow Murphy to get to
work once more, ripping off another 15 yard gain. Due to their good field
position, Merseyside went for it on fourth down and quarterback Tim Parr found
tight end Jason Elliott, who beat 2 would be tacklers to go in for a 25 yard
score. Murphy tacked on the two and the Hawks led 14-0.
The Nighthawks squibbed the ensuing kickoff, which was duly picked up for
Chester by towering lineman Gaz Pinnington, who rumbled forward for a ten yard
gain but, unfortunately, in the ensuing pileup, the Romans lost lineman Richard
Colin with a suspected broken leg. Once again, the Nighthawks ended the drive with a takeaway, linebacker John
Allison forcing the fumble that was picked up by safety James Pinnington.
Pinnington thought he'd taken it in for the score, but a flag was thrown for a
block in the back so the first quarter came to a close with the Mersey offense
taking to the field.
Running back Mike Banks had taken over from Murphy, but the back to make the
next breakthrough was full back Andy Rose, who celebrated his birthday by
barrelling in from four yards out. On the ensuing 2 pointer, 2 flags put the
Nighthawks 25 yards back, yet they still converted by going deep to receiver
Andy Dyson, and the score was 22-0. Another Merseyside kickoff, and running back James Tootle raised Chester hopes
by picking up 15 yards, but, once again, the drive ended with a turnover,
rookie corner Neil Mingaud coming up with the pick of Chester quarterback Simon
Gibson.
The Nighthawks added yet another running back, rookie Dean Kay, to their
backfield, but their next score was a 45 yarder to wideout Graham Warby. The
ball had seemed destined to be picked off, but Warby fought off the defensive
back before racing away for the score. Murphy charged in for two more, and the
Nighthawks were up by 30.
The Romans did their best to come back on their next drive, running backs Neil
Jones and Dan Richmond both gaining 7 yards, but flags and fumbles cost them,
and their fourth down attempt fell incomplete. Banks came to the fore as the
Hawks tried to increase their lead before halftime, gaining 19 yards and then
adding 23 more. The Romans held firm however, and the score at halfway remained
30-0.
Dean Kay was the feature back for the Hawks after the break, racing for 13 and
then 8, before Parr scrambled for 10 more. Full back Rose broke 3 tackles and
but didn't break the plane, and Simon Wainwright then chased down Parr for a 10
yard sack. Despite the setback, Parr came right back to hit
Dyson on the slant for another touchdown.
Kay converted the two pointer and Mersey led by 38. Chester were still pressing in an attempt to avoid the shutout, and at the
start of the fourth quarter they found themselves in excellent field position
after dropping the Nighthawks punter on the 1 yard line after a mishandled
snap. Tootle duly forced his way in on second down and, although the 2 point
conversion was no good, the score was now 38-6.
M
ike Banks returned the ensuing kick off to the Chester 35, before gaining 10
more on first down. Barry Murphy added 8 more before rookie quarterback Nathan
Worrall found tight end Jason Elliott, who once again showed his good hands and
elusive running to give Worrall his first BAFL touchdown pass. Banks jinked in
for the 2, and the score was 46-6. Game to the end, the Romans returned the
kickoff to the halfway line through good running by Mike Wood, but once again
turnovers killed them, defensive lineman Sean Mooney recovering the fumble.
Mike Banks
went to work, running first
for 3, then for 6 and, finally for 45 as he broke a whole host of tackles on
his way to the endzone, the 2 point attempt failed.
Linebacker Allison continued the turnover habit for the Nighthawks, managing to
pick off a pass at full stretch, and good running by Dean Kay saw the
Nighthawks in the red zone once again. Due to various flags there then followed
no fewer than four fourth and goal plays before Murphy rounded the corner to go
in for the final touchdown of the day, then added the 2 pointer himself to make
the final score 60-6.