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South Wales Warriors 55 Maidstone Pumas 0
Shaking off a long road trip, first year running back Deji
Alli had a breakout day in Aylesford, scoring 3 touchdowns, as the Warriors
finished the season in style with a 55-0 victory over the Maidstone Pumas.
The win gives the Warriors some all
important momentum as they go into the playoffs on a high, having finished the
regular season 9-1.
Having made the long journey cross country the Warriors
arrived determined to hit the ground running and got off to the best possible
start.
Beginning the opening drive on
their own 20 yard line South Wales drove the ball down the field utilising the
workhorse blocking of full back Ian Buckland and fleet-footed running back
Martin Tranter before quarterback David Pruett followed ‘Big’ Ken Hughes’ block
and fell into the endzone.
After the defense shut down Maidstone’s offensive series
the Warriors offensive line and Buckland showed their dominance opening holes
which the running backs eagerly shot through.
Alli got in on the act running off left edge and showing his speed
outrunning the defense to the endzone.
More good defense got the Warriors the ball back in no time and they
wasted little in driving down the field for another score.
This time they showed their aerial prowess
as receiver Thom Rowlands showed great body control in hauling in an under
thrown Pruett pass before scampering into the endzone for a 55 yard catch and
carry score.
All three point after
conversions were made by Pruett’s steady boot and the first quarter came to a
close with South Wales leading 21-0.
Having been quietly efficient to this point the vaunted
Warriors defense decided they wanted to join the party.
Linebacker James Mackay came on a well-timed
blitz catching the Puma quarterback off guard and the hit forced the ball
loose.
It was scooped up by fellow
linebacker Tom ‘Sunshine’ Davies who ran 45 yards to the endzone.
It turned out to be a good day for Davies
who later added an interception to cap his defensive MVP performance.
On the next drive the defense, who now had their tails up,
forced Maidstone to punt.
The punter
drove the ball deep into Warriors territory where it was fielded by Alli inside
his own 20.
Keyed by a truly awesome
block from wily veteran Tim ‘Seppo’ Macy, Alli left Puma defenders grasping at
air as he raced to the endzone.
Two
more successful conversions took the score to 35-0 at the half.
The second half gave the Warriors the opportunity to go
through the depth chart, which they were able to do while maintaining the high
standard of the first half.
Running
back Hugh Pierce set up their first touchdown of the third quarter overpowering
defenders to convert a key fourth down.
It was left to fellow back Pete Allott to follow left tackle Mike
Taylor’s block and dive over for the score.
On their next drive Maidstone seemed to find their feet
and began to make yards on the Warriors defense moving the ball into the South
Wales half.
It took an interception by
Warren Coombes, at safety, to stop them in their tracks and hand the ball back
to the offense.
Perhaps inspired by the
raise in the level of their offense the Pumas defense adjusted and stiffened,
dialling up the pressure and dropping Pruett on third down to force what was to
be the Warriors only punt of the day.
Having got the ball back in good field position the Pumas
looked to be stepping up a gear until Davies interception seemingly took the
wind out of their sails.
Moving into
the fourth quarter the Warriors were able to maintain their concentration with
Alli scoring his third touchdown of the day, running in from 40 yards out.
Late in the quarter Allott notched his
second of the day making a leaping catch in the endzone on a Pruett bomb.
The only missed extra point of the day left
the final score 55-0 and the Warriors can now look forward to a home date in
the playoffs.
Other results in the league, combined with the unfortunate
withdrawal of the Plymouth Admirals for the remainder of the regular season,
mean that the Warriors advance into the post season as the third best
conference champions. As such, they must play in a Wild card game at home on
the 24th of August versus the sixth seed, most likely to be the
Colchester Gladiators. The Warriors must win this game if they hope to advance
to re-match of last year’s conference semi-final against the second seeded
Cambridgeshire Cats.