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Edinburgh Wolves 6 Lancashire
Wolverines 25
Last Sunday saw Edinburgh
Wolves travel to Blackburn RUFC to take on the Lancashire Wolverines. The
Wolverines entered the game looking for their second victory of the 2008 BAFL
season after defeating local rivals Manchester Titans two weeks earlier.
The game began with Danny
Morton kicking deep into Wolves territory for a touchback. From here the
Scottish side drove to around mid-field before a pass by Edinburgh quarterback
Campbell Lewis was intercepted by linebacker Lee Callister to give the
Wolverines their first opportunity to put points on the board. Lancashire drove
to the Edinburgh 4 yard line but strong defense prevented the Wolverines from
scoring and the ball was turned over to Edinburgh. The Wolverines defense, led
by Carl Rimmer, were in impressive form all day and quickly got to grips with
the Edinburgh offense forcing them to punt the ball away. Up stepped Sam Fogg
who returned the punt 61 yards in style to give Lancashire the lead at 6-0. Edinburgh
again received the kick off and were able to drive to the Wolverines 10 yard
line before the Lancashire defense held firm to give the offense the ball on
their own 10 yard line.
The start of the second quarter
again saw running back, Fogg giving the Edinburgh defense troubles when he
raced away 88 yards, being stopped just short of scoring his second touchdown
of the day by Pete Laird, who tackled Fogg at the 4 yard line. Two plays later
and Edinburgh had managed to escape with just their 6-point deficit when Lewis
intercepted a wayward pass in the endzone.
An interception by Wolverines
linebacker Damien Szabo late in the half gave the Wolverines one last chance to
extend their lead before the break. A pass from Wolverines quarterback Paul
Fallon was caught by receiver Iain Pearson, who looked almost certain to be
tackled by a swarming Edinburgh defense. Superb blocking by Daniel Bowles,
however, saw Pearson able to take the ball in from 43 yards to extend the lead
to 12-0 at the half.
The second half began in heavy
rain at Ramsgreave Drive but the Wolverines were in no mood to let their
performance slip. Again, the defense set the tone for the day with a fumble
recovery by rookie cornerback Danny Morton followed by superb tackling and pass
defense from strong safety and defensive MVP, Adam Purcell. This allowed Fallon
to again find Pearson on a 35 yard strike for his second touchdown of the day –
Morton slotted over the conversion to give the Wolverines a 19 point advantage.
Edinburgh quickly reduced that advantage to 13, however when Greame Kellington
returned a Wolverines punt 50 yards to make the score 19-6.
As the game entered the final
quarter, the Wolverines were only too aware that they had themselves overturned
a 21-point deficit to beat the Wolves at the end of the 2007 season
- they were determined to not make the same
mistakes as Edinburgh had made that day. Offensive MVP, Pearson rounded off a
perfect day catching his sixth pass, and third touchdown of the day from
7-yards out, this time from Jonathon Peachey.
After the game, the Team MVP
was awarded to defensive lineman Tony Stephenson. On a day that saw so many
tackles and interceptions from the Wolverines defense, it was fitting that one
of the workhorses of the Wolverines stingy defense received this award.
The next event for the
Wolverines is on the 22nd June when they host their ‘Family Fun Day’
at Blackburn RUFC. For more details see www.wolverineden.com
or email headcoach@wolverineden.com.