Day of surprises in the senior matchups

 

It was a cold blustery day not very fitting for May as London's two giants took to the field in North London. There were doubts that the match would take place in the week beforehand due to the quality of the Finsbury Park pitch. The match did go ahead but there were large divots in the turf and some very muddy areas. What played out on the field was edgy and defense led, neither offense made much of an impact as the two sides fought. Blitz got on the board first with a field goal in the second quarter. After turnovers and generally stilted offense from both sides the Warriors pushed home their narrow advantage with a fantastic run after the catch by their wide receiver in the 6 jersey who went all the way for the touchdown. The receiver had proven the most consistent target for either side all afternoon and his game-winner was deserved. The score went in with nine minutes left in the game but Blitz continued to struggle. With the ball and a chance to take the win inside the final two minutes the Blitz QB failed to make good on the talent that has seen his side unbeaten the last two years throwing the ball straight to the Warriors who were more than happy to run out the clock. As one of the Blitz players was shouting on the sidelines after the game "remember how this feels", their run is now over in this 7-3 loss. The Warriors are the new kings of London, can they take their advantage all the way to Britbowl glory?

Premiership North also saw a huge game this weekend as the East Kilbride Pirates hosted a Tamworth Phoenix side they lost to 23-0 just two weeks ago. This time out Phoenix again opened the scoring but from there it was one way traffic in the other direction as the Pirates racked up three unanswered touchdowns. Phoenix tried to rise in the second half but after closing the gap to 21-10 the Pirates scored a decisive fourth touchdown. Phoenix continued their comeback and managed to equal their points of the first enounter but they fell short with the Pirates hanging on 28-23.

Elsewhere in Premiership North the Doncaster Mustangs played their first game of the season and showed that they belong against a Leicester Falcons side that is struggling to get going. The Mustangs who fell to Leicester in the playoffs last season got their own back in this one putting up 44 points to Leicester's 14. The win and a .500 record immediately puts Doncaster third in the division thanks to the tied games of Yorkshire, Leicester and Birmingham and this result you feel puts them in good stead for the season. Leicester's next fixture is also against the Mustangs so they will be hoping they can find a way to beat Doncaster over the next three weeks.

Over to Central and South and the Kent Exiles seem to be continuing to struggle against Division 1 opposition. Is that fair? No, you look at their results and barring their destruction against East Kent the matches they have lost have been unfortunate. Their opener against Hampshire was lost with a missed opportunity at the end and finished 13-12. Sunday's game against Cambridgeshire was much the same. Both sides managed to get on the board fairly easily and the score ramped up. In the second quarter the score was 17-2 to the Cats but the Exiles clawed away at their rivals and pulled back to 23-16 at half time. The Exiles then came out in the third and tied the game at 23-23. The Cats scored again to go up 30-23 before in the dying moments the Exiles put one in the endzone. The Exiles with no interest in a tie elected to go for two points. The receiver nearly hauled the ball in as well but after it bobbled off a couple of players it fell to the turf, game over. A great division one game ended with the Exiles losing again, but again it was by a single point 29-30.

Berskhire meanwhile have had the opposite start to Kent. They went into their game against East Kent with a perfect 3-0 record. The East Kent Mavericks meanwhile are still trying to discover where they truly are in the competitive order. They made their win against the Exiles look easy but then fell badly against Cambridgeshire in their next fixture. This time they came out winners again handing Berkshire its first loss of the year in a high scoring 35-25 encounter.

The Trojans’ opening game against Coventry was hindered by grotty weather and the side went into this weekend's game against the undefeated Caesars with something to prove. The Caesars started off as they meant to go on with an early touchdown but the Trojans came back strongly and that proved true every time that the Caesars put points on the board. At the end of the half the two teams were inseparable at 16-16. The Trojans then had the best of the second half, they got on the scoreboard first then didn't bat an eye as the Caesars brought the score to 23-22. In the fourth West Coast got the job done with one more score leaving them to walk out victors 30-23 handing the Caesars their first defeat of the year and making the division take notice.

Merseyside did not expect this. Few would have. The Nighthawks have fallen to 0-4 after a 37-34 nailbiter against Shropshire. Indeed at the half the Nighthawks had the advantage going in 21-17 up. At the end of the third the gap had stayed the same with each side picking up one score but in the end Shropshire's two touchdowns in the fourth quarter were not matchable, this is looking like a tricky year for Merseyside but there is a long way to go. Meanwhile Shropshire will be encouraged that they can get the better of Division 1 opposition.

Sussex Thunder doubled their win tally for the season this weekend at Essex Spartans. The 28-0 result makes Sussex the only unbeaten team in Division 1. That said with eight games left to go there is every chance that could change. The Spartans knew they were going to be in for a tough game and so it proved to be as Thunder put up four unanswered touchdowns away from home.

The Railroaders may have won their first fixture but they are starting to look like the rookies that they are. And that is fine, they are showing a lot of spirit and are developing well in their division. Chester will be happy to have picked up a home win as well in a season where they definitely have a chance at the playoffs.

After a late start to the season the first match did not go well for Bristol's second team the Apache as they took on Bournemouth. Apache could only manage three points to counter Bournemouth's 27. The Bobcats who are hoping to improve on a 4-6 record last year have started fantastically and are unbeaten after three games. Will they be able to match up to Oxford though?

Manchester were the fancied side coming into this game between a former division 1 side and a debutant team. The D C Presidents surprised them with the competitiveness that they brought to this game though. While the Titans did come out on top that was in no way assured as the Presidents put up 22 points of their own in the 34-22 game. The rest of the division might want to look out for this new side.

Division 2 Central is fascinating with two new teams and two other smaller sides facing off against three larger squads. While the games between the teams in their own performance groups are the most interesting the other matches still have meaning and we should see a surprise or two before the year is out. While Manchester and Chester got the job done, Sheffield managed to get to the top of the division with their second win. The six points the side conceded against Lincolnshire Bombers in this 39-6 win were their only points conceded thus far. Lincolnshire meanwhile know they aren't really fighting Sheffield but would have loved to get something from the game with a tough schedule ahead and their last three games their best chances at victory as they face those at a similar competitive level.

Apart from Peterborough sitting pretty at the top of the East it is hard to see which way the Division will fall. Three teams now sit 2-2 with Watford just ahead on 2-1 after Bedfordshire fell this weekend to Colchester. The former Division 1 Gladiators are starting to play like they want to get back there again with two wins in a row. The Blue Raiders had been looking good after their win at Watford at the beginning of the month but perhaps playing three games in three weeks was too much and they fell here 49-20.

The Border Reivers suffered a home shutout 26-0 this weekend against the Glasgow Tigers. The Tigers will be pleased with the result after a challenging start to the season with losses to the Blackhawks and Wolves. They can now feel like they are on the right track again.

The Oxford Saints were pushed out of Division 1 at the end of last season and they want this year to show that it was not warranted. They certainly began on the right foot this weekend. The Centurions may well be struggling to get a win on the board but they show a lot of spirit. Oxford needed a win and they looked convincing at home, stopping Gloucester from getting on the scoreboard. Final score was 41-0 to the Saints.

In the Juniors Nottingham Caesars are continuing to look like the team to beat in the Central region, this time they beat out Birmingham Bulls to go 5-0.  In the South London Blitz also carried on their unbeaten run but it was another close run thing against the London Warriors. The game ended 18-12. In the East there are a number of teams at the top of the table, Cambridgeshire added their name to the list on Sunday with victory over Colchester while the South London Renegades defeated an Exiles team that has now lost two in a row after a fantastic start to the season. Well done to the Renegades.

Article tags: London Blitz adult - London Warriors adult - East Kilbride Pirates adult - Tamworth Phoenix adult - Doncaster Mustangs adult - Leicester Falcons adult - Kent Exiles adult - Cambridgeshire Cats adult - Berkshire Renegades adult - East Kent Mavericks adult - West Coast Trojans adult - Nottingham Caesars adult - Merseyside Nighthawks adult - Shropshire Revolution adult - Sussex Thunder adult - Essex Spartans adult - Crewe Railroaders adult - Chester Romans adult - Bristol Apache adult - Bournemouth Bobcats adult - Manchester Titans adult - D C Presidents adult - Sheffield Predators adult - Lincolnshire Bombers adult - Bedfordshire Blue Raiders adult - Colchester Gladiators adult - Carlisle Border Reivers adult - Glasgow Tigers adult - Oxford Saints adult - Gloucester Centurions adult - Nottingham Caesars junior - Birmingham Bulls junior - London Blitz junior - London Warriors junior - Cambridgeshire Cats junior - Colchester Gladiators junior - South London Renegades junior - Kent Exiles junior -