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Merseyside Nighthawks 20-43 Doncaster Mustangs
The
Merseyside Nighthawks made the journey across the Pennines
looking to enter BAFL 1 with a bang, however not all went to plan in their
first game following promotion, losing to a well-drilled Doncaster Mustangs.
The Nighthawks got off to a bad start when a short kick
into the wind was recovered by the Mustangs giving them excellent field
position for their first drive of the day. Doncaster came out passing, but as
was the pattern for the day, struggled to complete and the Nighthawks defense was
able to force a quick 3 and out. The Mustangs responded in kind, and when
the Nighthawks' long snap sailed out of the endzone they found themselves
2-0 down. The Mustangs made good use of their ground game from the ensuing kickoff,
and were able to find the endzone through running back
Joey Fabrizio, converting the extra point to
take a 9-0 lead. The Nighthawks offense looked to make headway now, and after a
kick return to midfield, were able to move the chains for the first time
through Mike Banks. The promising drive stalled however, when safety Nick
Tomaszowski made his first of 2 interceptions on the day, again giving the
Mustangs a short field to work with. They converted again, this time with Paul
McIntosh finding the gap in the defense to extend their lead to 15-0.
The Nighthawks offense started to click in the second
quarter, and hit back fast when quarterback Tim Parr found Joe Black down the
sideline, who outpaced the secondary for a 49 yard score. The conversion was
tacked on leaving the score at 15-8. The remainder of the quarter did not go as
well for the Nighthawks, as the Mustangs were able to turn turnovers into
points, with Joey Fabrizio again doing the damage, adding a further 2
touchdowns, and giving the Doncaster side a 29-8 halftime lead.
Merseyside started off the second half with the ball,
and a renewed purpose it seemed. Behind strong blocking, Mike Banks was able to
duke his way into the red zone. A pass interference call on Joe Black in the
endzone put the ball on the 1 yard line, where Parr made no mistake, and
connected with wide receiver Andy Dyson to make the score 29-14. The Nighthawks
defense also looked to have stepped up in the second period, and halted a
Mustang drive when Fabrizio was brought down short on fourth down. Needing to
score, the Nighthawks themselves went for it on fourth down, and it paid off
when wide receiver Jason Elliott made a great adjustment to retrieve the ball
on a tipped pass. The Mustangs resolve strengthened as they neared their own
goal line, and eventually forced the turnover on downs.
As the final quarter started, the Nighthawks paid for
miss tackles as Fabrizio was able to break free and take the ball inside the 5
yard line, before a touchdown saving tackle from Nighthawks game MVP, Dave
Eldridge. The Mustangs were no to be denied though, as Paul McIntosh again
found a gap to extend the lead to 36-14. Things got worse for the Nighthawks,
when later in the fourth, a blocked punt was returned by Martin Pepper for the
score. It was the Nighthawks who were to have the last say though, as Andy
Dyson, now under centre, found slot man Rory Mansfield inside the 5 yard line,
where Jay Grocott found the endzone for his first ever Nighthawks touchdown,
leaving the final score 43-20.
In the end it was a baptism of fire into BAFL1 football
for the Nighthawks, but they look to come out of the loss a stronger side.
Head Coach Gary Lee said, “There were mistakes made that
need to be ironed out, so we know there is more to come from us. There were
also some bright spots including a defensive backfield that gave up only 45
yards through the air, and the offensive line, which didn’t give up a sack and
provided a great platform for our running game.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Nighthawks, with their
next game away at former Premier team, the East Kilbride Pirates, who won their
season opener in convincing fashion, but with 3 weeks to prepare, the ‘Hawks
look to step up to the challenge.