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The Chester Romans Showed great spirit and determination at the weekend, in a match where the score line did not reflect the overall game. The Romans were always going to be underdogs away to divisional favourites Manchester Titans. If it wasn't for multiple injuries which mounted up throughout the game, The score line could have been a lot different as the Romans dominated the first two quarters on both sides of the ball.
Strong running from James Tootle and Dan Richmond on the
opening drive on a hot, humid day helped the Romans move the ball into Titan
territory, only to have the drive stopped on the Romans first passing attempt
which the Titans intercepted on their own 5 yard line. The strong Romans defense
forced the Titans backwards ending with Manchester punting from their own 2
yard line. Chester took over and following six consecutive rushing plays,
quarterback Jason Wilcox threw a touchdown pass to receiver JP Flanagan
who sped into the end zone for a 15 yard score which gave the Romans a 6-0
lead.
The Titans responded on their next drive with an
exceptional diving touchdown reception in the end zone, which always appeared
as though it was going to be out of reach for the youngster but great hands
levelled things up at 6-6.
The Romans failed to move the ball on their next
possession and the Titans came on, their drive ending in a field goal
attempt that was blocked by the Chester defense. The Romans took over on their
6 yard line and immediately quarterback Simon Gibson connected with JP Flanagan
for a 31yard gain, Dan Richmond then ripped through the Manchester defense for
a 44 yard run but still the Romans couldn't get into the end zone and missed
their field goal attempt as well. Titans next drive ended with an
interception from Romans cornerback Stuart McArdle inside Roman territory.
Chester then rallied and six rushing plays later running back James Tootle
ran into the corner of the end zone from 4 yards out, assisted by good blocking
from the offensive line, stunning the Titans and giving the visiting Romans a
deserved 12-6 half time lead.
The Titans opened the third quarter but their drive ended
with an interception from tom Staples at cornerback. The Romans were forced to
punt on their possession only to see the kick returned 60
After exchanging punts the Romans seemed destined to score
a touchdown with Simon Gibson throwing towards JP Flanagan who had nothing but
open field ahead, the speedy winger was about to haul in the catch but appeared
to be tripped up by a Titan, the officials saw no interference and
with luck not going their way the Romans were forced to punt following
what turned out to be the games turning point and end of the quarter.
Chester were nursing injuries to key players by the time
the fourth quarter started and perhaps this played a key factor in
the final period demise of the Romans. Poor defensive tackling on the opening
Titan drive allowed a 44 yard run deep into Roman territory, allowing the Titan's
quarterback to run the ball in for a score on the next play extending the Titan
lead to 26-12. It got worse for the Romans on their next possession with
quarterback Gibson fumbling the ball over to the Titans 10 yards from the
Chester end zone. The Titans capitalized on the mistake, punishing Chester
with a passing touchdown and adding the extra point to make it 33-12. Romans
final possession saw them mount an 8 play drive but were forced to punt and
Simon Wainwright downed a strong kick from Jason Wilcox on the Titans 15 yard
line. 4 plays later the combination of missed tackles and good Titan blocking
saw the game end with a 50 yard catch and run into the Roman end zone, the
referee called time and the final score line was 39-12 to Manchester.
The score line in no way reflected the effort and
commitment put in by Chester. It was unfortunate the Romans received so many
injuries in a game that they had dominated for the first two quarters, The
Titans had struggled to contain the Roman offense who always looked as though
they could score and the Roman's defense was solid stopping the Titans from
scoring on 5 of their 6 first half possessions. The Romans now look to
recuperate before their first home game of the season at Chester RUFC on Sunday
18th May against Edinburgh Wolves.