Close games and surprises in week 7

There were some fantastic games in BAFANL this past weekend and a number of surprises as well. We start in Coventry where the fast starting Nottingham Caesars were coming off their first loss last weekend against the West Coast Trojans. Their hosts the Coventry Jets had been having a troubled early season sitting 2-2 with a loss against Nottingham already in the past. Things started well for the Nottingham side, their opening drive led to a rushing touchdown. Coventry kept the pace up getting on the board themselves with a field goal. There was barely time to breath though before the Caesars had picked up another score, the offense clicking to go seventy yards in just three plays.

As the half progressed a poor punt by the Caesars put the Jets in a great position to capitalise. It was only a matter of time before Jets quarterback Joe Brammer found a receiver for a 34 yard touchdown. That brought the score to 14-10 to the Caesars. As the half was coming to an end the Jets got another chance and punched the ball in with their running game, giving Coventry a 17-14 home lead at half time.

Into the second half and the Caesars immediately regained their advantage returning the ball for a score, the Jets followup field goal brought the points deficit to a single point 21-20. When the Caesars scored again they were unable to get the full seven points leaving them with a one touchdown lead. As Coventry worked down the field and scored with time remaining the question was whether they would look to leave with a tie or go for two and take it all. The team went for the latter and Brammer found his receiver for the winner. The Caesars have now lost two in a row and have only one week to turn things around as they host Shropshire next week. Coventry meanwhile will be pleased to get back in the win column and will be looking forward to their game against Gateshead and hoping that they will be able to move from their current fourth place in what is becoming a tough division.

Over in Horsham, Sussex Thunder hosted an East Kent Mavericks team that has looked much improved over a year ago. Both sides came in with two victories but Sussex were clear favourites after two victories over the Mavericks last year. What played out was therefore unexpected. The Mavericks came out of the gates quickest, with a touchdown to start things off. Thunder tried to follow up and got themselves to six points by the end of the first quarter. The half ended with another Mavericks touchdown on the board 13-6. In the second half the scoring really started to ramp up. The Mavericks extended to 20-6 before Thunder finally found a gear. The Sussex side picked up two touchdowns without response to tie the game and with momentum on their side you would have expected them to go on and win. That was not what happened. East Kent got a decisive victory over their rivals with two more scores of their own. The game ended 34-20 in what is a superb result for the Mavericks. Thunder have another tough home game next weekend as they host South Wales. If they don't want to see their early form going down the pan they will need to get back into the win column in that game. This result also means we now have no unbeaten sides in Division 1.

Has this ever happened before? Yorkshire have now played four games, after their matchup against Doncaster in Premiership North on Sunday three of those games have gone for low scoring ties. Yorkshire appear to be a strong team, their non-tie game was a loss but it was a strong result against a great Tamworth team. Doncaster were going into their second game and are likely one of the top teams in the North. In what is a tough region to predict outside of the top two it really does remain to be seen who will pull things together to get up and into third place. This weekend's game ended a 6-6 tie with both sides coming up with extra point-less touchdowns.

In the South the London Warriors took on Bristol Aztecs and truly showed their current strength against a side that has long been amongst the top sides in the country. Coming off their huge win against London Blitz last weekend they hosted Bristol and put up 40 unanswered points. Can anyone get the better of the Warriors or are they destined to become the new kings of Britain?

The immensely close fixture between Nottingham and Coventry was not the only tight game in Division 1 North this weekend. Lancashire got off to a superb start against Shropshire, they put up four unanswered touchdowns and led into the half 28-0. From there the traffic started going the other way. Shropshire put up 10 points early in the half and then managed two more touchdowns as well. As the game neared the end the score sat at 28-22 to Lancashire where at the half they looked home and dry. Shropshire got the ball back with less than a minute and 76 yards to go. They were unable to get themselves that last score and Lancashire closed the game out as Shropshire neared the end zone. A great game but questions will surely be asked about what happened to Lancashire after the half.

The North also saw the West Coast Trojans proving their victory over Nottingham was no fluke last weekend. This time they took on Gateshead who had themselves a 2-1 record going in. The Trojans had control of proceedings throughout the game racking up points on the way to a 36-14 victory that moves them in sight of the regional lead.

Hampshire and Essex faced off two weeks ago and the result was a resounding victory for Essex. The Thrashers have looked great at home though, keeping the scores low and generally coming out on top. The same was true this time as they brought on their second one point home victory of the season yesterday finishing 7-6 against the Spartans. Elsewhere in the division we had a replay of a Division 2 playoff game from 2011. That game took place in Kent as the Exiles were knocked out by the South Wales Warriors. On their trip to Wales on Saturday the result was not any better for them. This time they fell to their rivals 55-12, the result puts the Warriors in the mix and pushes the Exiles to their fourth loss. Next weekend's game against Hampshire is key to their season and you feel a victory would be required at home.

Into Division 2 and we have an identical 7-6 score in the West. Bournemouth headed into Cornwall on Saturday already carrying a strong record and sitting unbeaten. Cornwall meanwhile were hanging on 2-1. These two met in April and the match was similarly tight with the Bobcats picking up a 6-2 win at home. Unfortunately for the Sharks it was a similar story this time out. The Bobcats' extra point the difference between the two squads this time out. The Bobcats needed this confidence boost as they now prepare for two games against the leading Oxford Saints. The Saints meanwhile have to take on the Saints next weekend before they have the an opportunity to pick up a couple more wins.

Up North now, both Dundee and Edinburgh entered the weekend unbeaten. Dundee on the face of it would be the team expected to maintain that run but it was not to be. Edinburgh are in great form so far this year and appear to have improved over the winter, they showed that this weekend shutting out the Hurricanes 20-0. In what is looking like a very tight region that result will prove important down the line as both sides battle with Clyde Valley.

Considering Milton Keynes and Watford are always so tight together in the standings it is surprising that Watford have lost the last three times the rivals have faced off. The third of those games was Sunday with the Pathfinders getting a home win 25-7. Watford's season started strongly with two wins but they have now had two losses on the bounce. With their next two games against Peterborough there is every chance that they could fall to 2-4. Would that be enough to kill their playoff hopes, or in this competitive division would that still be enough? Milton Keynes with this win go 3-2 which moves them towards the top of the chasing pack. The region now has one unbeaten side, two on 3-2 and two on 2-2. It is very tight.

The other fixture in the East saw Colchester complete the double against Maidstone. Colchester are rolling now and this win has pushed them up to second in the division. The score 67-10 at home. Stats time, at this stage Colchester have scored the most points of any team in Britball.

Now to Division 2 Central. The key fixture saw two of the smaller teams face off against eachother. The rookie DC Presidents side hosted Staffordshire Surge. It has been a tough start for Surge while the Presidents have been looking better with each game. And so it was that the Presidents got their first win since their return to the league putting up 52 points to Staffordshire's 14. The result pushes the Presidents to the head of the small teams in the division. They will now be anticipating their matchup against fellow rookies Crewe in two weeks.

Crewe faced Manchester over the weekend, Manchester are certainly amongst the top squads in the division so went in clear favourites. They proved that they were the smart money by shutting out Crewe 58-0. The Railroaders take on Chester next week but they will likely also be looking forward to travelling to Durham to take on the Presidents as well.

Chester pushed themselves up to second in the region with a 38-3 win over Lincolnshire and in the West the Oxford Saints finally got a chance to take on Bristol Apache this weekend. The final score was 42-6 and allows the Saints to show their strength to the rest of the region.

In the Juniors the matchups that took place were high scoring affairs and the results themselves seem to favour the better teams. Colchester picked up a big 47-0 win over East Kent. Lancashire took out the Manchester Titans 40-6 and Gateshead pulled off a 22-2 win over Leeds Varsity Bobcats.

Article tags: Nottingham Caesars adult - Coventry Jets adult - Sussex Thunder adult - East Kent Mavericks adult - Doncaster Mustangs adult - Yorkshire Rams adult - London Warriors adult - Bristol Aztecs adult - Lancashire Wolverines adult - Shropshire Revolution adult - West Coast Trojans adult - Gateshead Senators adult - Hampshire Thrashers adult - Essex Spartans adult - Bournemouth Bobcats adult - Cornish Sharks adult - Dundee Hurricanes adult - Edinburgh Wolves adult - Milton Keynes Pathfinders adult - Watford Cheetahs adult - Colchester Gladiators adult - Maidstone Pumas adult - D C Presidents adult - Staffordshire Surge adult - Crewe Railroaders adult - Manchester Titans adult - Chester Romans adult - Lincolnshire Bombers adult - Bristol Apache adult - Oxford Saints adult -