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Chester Romans 0 Lancashire
Wolverines 48
The hottest day of the year so
far saw the Chester Romans make the short trip North to Blackburn to take the
Lancashire Wolverines. The Wolverines stood top of the BAFL 2 North Conference
before this game and with the Romans having failed to win a game all season,
the Wolverines were hot favourites to win.
The Romans received the opening
kick off and quickly showed that they hadn’t simply turned up to make up the
numbers. Strong running from James Tootle saw the Romans drive towards halfway
before the Wolverines defense stiffened and forced Chester to punt. The
Wolverines offense took to the field and despite promising runs from Chris
Littler were also forced to punt on their opening possession. Game MVP Joe
Douglas was determined to get the ball back for the Wolverines and recovered a
fumble from the Roman’s returner to give the Wolverines excellent field
position. Wolverine’s running back Sam Fogg wasted no time as he sprinted in
for the opening touchdown from 17 yards. The conversion attempt was no good but
the Wolverines had broken the deadlock and led 6-0.
Adjustments from defensive
co-ordinator Darren Carr saw the Wolverines defense begin to dominate the
Romans offense and the Romans were again forced to punt. A 40 yard return from
Fogg gave the Wolverines the ball in Roman territory. The offensive drive
almost stalled, however, and only a great play on fourth down from quarterback
Paul Fallon saw the drive kept alive. Fogg got his second of the day from 3
yards out to take the score line to 12-0 in favour of the Wolverines.
The second quarter saw the
Wolverines defense continue to dominate and the Wolverines extended their lead
when Neil Sullivan ran in from 9 yards out. This time the conversion was
successful and the Wolverines led 19-0. Chester received the ball and looked
determined to stay in contention in the game. A lengthy drive took them into
the Wolverines ‘red zone’. The Romans were gaining in confidence and were close
to scoring when an interception from Ian Nicolson gave the Wolverines the ball
back on their own 1 yard line. Speedster Fogg wasted no time and on the very
first play raced the length of the field and looked to have scored before a
penalty cancelled out the play. The disappointment didn’t last long however as
Fogg scored two plays later on a 71 yard reception to make the score at half time
25-0 in favour of the Lancashire outfit.
The Wolverines received the
opening kick off of the second half. Strong running from Littler behind a
dominant offensive line led by MVP Mark Bentley saw the Wolverines drive the
length of the field until a forced fumble saw Chester recover the ball. The
Wolverines defense continued their dominance with some great plays from rookie
cornerback Jim Mawson again forcing a Chester punt. Fogg got his fourth
touchdown of the day on a 35 yard run to extend the Wolverines lead to 31-0.
The Wolverines started the
fourth quarter with the ball but were forced to punt by the Romans defense,
after losing quarterback Fallon, who was injured following a sack. A ‘roughing
the kicker’ penalty, however gave the Wolverines, now led by Jonathan Peachey
another opportunity. After driving downfield Danny Morton hit a 29 yard field
goal to extend the Wolverines lead further to 34-0.
Morton was not done there and
on the next series snared an interception, which he returned 22 yards for the
Wolverines first defensive score of the season. Morton has quickly established
himself as one of the Wolverines best defensive backs in his rookie season.
In a game were the Wolverines
rookies were given plenty game-time they all stepped up to the challenge and
staked their claim on starting spots. None more so than Joe Douglas who turned
his skills to offense and rounded off the scoring with a jinking 55-yard run.
Morton again converted to leave the final score: Lancashire Wolverine 48-0
Chester Romans.
The Wolverines now face a long-trip to Scottish side
Glasgow Tigers in what will be one of the Wolverines toughest games of the
season.
The next event at Ramsgreave Drive is the ‘Family Fun Day’
hosted by the Lancashire Academy of American Football on Sunday June 22nd,
from 2:00pm. Attractions for the fun day include a ‘bungee run’, bouncy
castles, face painting, raffles and much, much more…..