They came, they saw, they conquered. The Wolverines got back to winning ways on Sunday with a 20-6 victory away to the Chester Romans. It was a great team display by the Wolverines with the defence particularly impressive, forcing many sacks and turnovers. Seventeen of the Wolverines first half points were scored directly after turnovers, the offence working in tandem with the defence by capitalising on the short field afforded to them.           

The Wolverines covered the opening kick off well forcing the Romans to begin their first offensive series on their own 14-yard line which instantly set an aggressive tone. This tone carried over to the defence who forced a fumble on the Romans opening set of downs. Philip Rowbottom quickly recovered presenting a golden opportunity for the Wolverines offence to get on the scoreboard early. Duly obliging, running back Chris Littler scurried into the endzone with a run to the left. Danny Morton added the extra point as the Wolverines darted into an early 7-0 lead.

With the Romans back on offense Michael James Wood caused some problems with his scrambling ability but just as they were approaching the half way line the Wolverines defense again imposed their will, forcing another fumble. Philip Rowbottom was the beneficiary once more. The Wolverines wasted no time in capitalising on the defences’ good play. On first down, quarterback David Mead accurately elevated a pass down the left sideline connecting with Neil Sullivan in stride for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Danny Morton again notched up the extra point making the score 14-0.

Buoyed by the rapid start they had made the Wolverines continued to dominate the first quarter proceedings. With the Romans on their third offensive series the Wolverines defence constantly hounded the Chester outfit and when Ian Nicolson successfully got to the quarterback on a cornerback blitz, he forced a third consecutive fumble by the Romans offence. Linebacker Damian Szabo was the latest recipient of a loose ball at the 23-yard line. The Wolverines couldn’t find the endzone with another short field although did get in range for kicker Danny Morton to add another three points with a successful field goal attempt. This pushed the Wolverines lead out to 17-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.

Moving into the second quarter the Romans engineered a drive into the redzone but the Wolverines responded by turning up the heat once again. Ken Langham, whose dominant display was as noteworthy as any great legionnaire, recorded a sack and a tackle for a loss on consecutive plays, completely ruining the Romans’ 1st and goal and then 2nd and goal offensive plays. On 3rd and goal ever reliable Damian Szabo collected his second fumble recovery ensuring that the Romans offence left the field unable to cut the deficit.             

Just before the half time break the Wolverines opted for a 40-yard field goal attempt with confidence in the strong leg of Danny Morton. That confidence was not unfounded as he sent the kick sailing through the uprights clearing the seemingly daunting distance easily in the end. The successful field goal gave the Wolverines a 20-0 lead at the half.

The second half only produced six points as the battle was continually ground out. The points belonged to the Romans. Running back James Tootle negotiating a path into the right hand corner of the endzone for a rushing touchdown which cut the Wolverines’ lead to 14-points. However, the Wolverines prevented the two-point conversion attempt, applying great pressure resulting in a sack by Phil Rowbottom.

Both defences remained on top throughout the second half and when the offences did get a sniff of the endzone they were thwarted by turnovers. First was a tidy interception by Mark Donald at the right corner of the endzone for the Romans which was soon followed up by a tremendous individual play by Adam Purcell for the Wolverines at the other end of field. Purcell recorded both a forced fumble and the resultant recovery as the Romans went in search of another touchdown score.      

After the game Head Coach Paul Horsburgh expressed his pleasure with the performance, “It’s a good feeling today. We came out fast and had a great first half. A lot of people stepped up and some people played where they didn’t have to. It was a good job by them”.

Defensive captain Ian Nicolson praised the great defensive performance. “We were outstanding from the start. We took the pressure to them from early on in the game and worked well as a unit. We did ourselves proud. We had lots of forced fumbles and recoveries and so it was a great day”.

Heading into the final game the Wolverines undoubtedly need all the chips to fall exactly right in order to squeeze into the playoffs. However, the team can only control what they can control and this win against the Romans was a great start. The playoff hunt will now go right down to the wire and the only thing left firmly in the Wolverines hands, or rather their paws, is the final fixture of the season. A must win game away to the Clyde Valley Blackhawks on the 16th of August.

For more information on the Lancashire Wolverines, including details on how you can join the team in a playing, coaching or management position for the 2010 season, please visit http://www.wolverineden.com/

 Report by Chris Ollett

The Wolverines aimed to claw their way back into the race for the BAFL Division 2 North with a win against the division leading and local rival Manchester Titans but unfortunately came out on the wrong side of the 46-7 score line. The damage was done in the first half as the Titans put an insurmountable 33 points on the scoreboard leaving the Wolverines with just too much to do. With the win the Titans move to 7-0 winning the division and guaranteeing a playoff berth. Despite the disappointment of the first half the Wolverines did regroup and show tremendous character with a gritty and determined second half performance.   

Both teams stuttered on their opening series and failed to score but the Titans took advantage of good field position to get on the scoreboard on their second series. The drive was capped off with a 6-yard touchdown run by the Titans running back who displayed good speed and power throughout the game. Kicker Ryan Farrell could not extend the lead with the PAT attempt as his kick floated wide.

Looking to counter the Wolverines opened their second series moving the ball with some success both through the air and on the ground, assisted by the scrambling ability of quarterback David Mead. However, as the Wolverines approached the redzone in search of an equalizing score the Titans were quickest to react to a fumble which was gobbled up by Keith Lees. The Titans ruthlessly capitalized on the turnover by marching down the field with passing and rushing gains before a pass by quarterback Alan Mead was thrown deep into the left corner of the endzone and completed with a catch for a Titans touchdown. The Titans followed up their second touchdown score with a two point conversion, a rush to the right corner of the endzone, to establish a 14-0 lead.

Moments later the Titans forced another turnover with an interception of David Mead as he attempted to throw down field. The Wolverines’ turnover again went punished as the Titans found the endzone for the third time, David Barnett catching a short and neat pass at the left side of the endzone on first and goal. Ryan Farrell then added the extra point to extend the lead to 21-0. The two consecutive scores resultant of turnovers assisted the digging of a first half hole which proved to be too deep for the Wolverines to climb out of.

Throughout the second quarter the Wolverines persisted with their search for some answers but offensive drives continued to stall, coming up just short. On the other hand, the Titans added two more scores before the half as they continued to finish drives where the Wolverines could not. Chris Heap collected two touchdown passes from quarterback Alan Mead. The first of which was a 40-yard touchdown reception closely followed by a 17-yard touchdown reception as he found himself wide-open in the Wolverines endzone. The Wolverines, still fighting on every play, did prevent both of the Titans’ subsequent extra point attempts placing the score at 33-0 heading into the half time break. Heap would later add his third touchdown of the day and the Titans final score of the day in the second half making the score the 46-0.

After the break the Wolverines persevered and produced a much better second half and although the first points of the half belonged to the Titans, the noteworthy point about their score, from a positive standpoint, was the way in which made the Titans fight ever so hard for the score. Twice they held the Titans inches away from the endzone, Carl Rimmer instrumental in both stops, before the home team eventually punched the ball in. The Wolverines also got much more pressure on the Titans quarterback in the second half. This point reinforced when debutant Russ Waddell and Damian Szabo each collected sacks and each for large losses of yards.

On the other side of the ball, the Wolverines moved the ball in much the same vein as the first half but this time managed to find a way to come up with some points. For the second consecutive week Jon Peachey connected with wide receiver Neil Sullivan for a 71-yard touchdown score. The extra point was good making the score the final 46-7. The Wolverines did have some other large gains and the Titans increasingly struggled to cope with the tight end motions utilized by Head Coach Paul Horsburgh.     

The mettlesome second half performance of the Wolverines despite the adversity of the first half is the positive they must take as they move forward. The determination and character shown by the players and coaches alike bodes well for the remainder of the season. Vowing to fight on, clinging to any last threads of playoff hope, the Wolverines now have three weeks to review the positives, eliminate any lingering negatives and prepare for another divisional encounter when they face a road game at the Chester Romans.  

Report by Christopher Ollett

The Wolverines suffered a setback to their playoff aspirations this weekend with a disappointing 34-14 defeat to the Glasgow Tigers. The game was a well-fought encounter hanging in the balance for the majority of game but a Tigers interception return for a touchdown sealed the Tigers victory, proving to be just too much for the chasing Wolverines.

After a touchback on the opening kick-off, the Tigers speedily got themselves on the scoreboard with a touchdown on their opening series. Some good early running, interspersed with some effective passing, culminated in a nine-yard touchdown run by Kieran Phillips on a sweeping option play. With a successful PAT to follow the Tigers raced into an early 7-0 lead.

Throughout the remainder of the 1st quarter both teams failed to construct a scoring drive. However, as the game moved into the 2nd quarter the Tigers did again find the endzone on a 1st down play at their own 35-yard-line with a quick-fire 65-yard touchdown pass from Matt McCusker to Ruaridh MacDonald down the right sideline. Derek Russell’s extra point attempt was again successful giving the Tigers a 14-point lead. Moments later McCusker and MacDonald again connected with an almost carbon copy of the earlier touchdown as MacDonald found himself behind the Wolverine secondary and sprinting into the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown. This time the extra point attempt was blocked by the Wolverines who made sure that the game was no means beyond reach at 20-0 midway through the 2nd quarter.

Indeed the Wolverines clawed themselves closer before half-time with two huge plays. Firstly, a well-sustained drive was capped off with a QB sneak by Wayne Glover for a touchdown inches away from goal line. After a successful extra point the Wolverines then prevented the Tigers, who had good field position, from re-affirming their 20 point lead, firstly by forcing a difficult looking 40-yard field goal attempt and then smothering that field goal attempt. At the break the Wolverines entered the changing room trailing 20-7 but did so having finally gathered some momentum to take into the second half.

The third quarter was dominated by penalties and suffocating defence and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that either team added to the first half points they had tallied. With the minutes on the clock ebbing away Carl Rimmer emerged with a huge interception for the Wolverines as the Tigers looked poised to extend their lead with 3rd and goal. With awkward first down position inside their own 10-yard line as a result of the turnover, an untimely play unfolded for the Wolverines. The Tigers unleashed good pressure and when the Wolverines fumbled in the endzone the ball was recovered by the Tigers defence for a touchdown. The call did seem questionable as it appeared the Wolverine knee was down before the ball squirmed out which would have resulted in the play being adjudged as a safety rather than a touchdown. The further two points are less insurmountable than a further seven when you are chasing a game and fighting for playoff lives.

Nevertheless, with 8 minutes to go in the final quarter the score stood at 27-7. The Wolverines, refusing to lie down, set about trimming the deficit and set up a frantic finale when Jon Peachey connected with Neil Sullivan in-stride who then showed the Tigers defence a clean pair of heels as he raced to the endzone for an 83-yard score. The point was good and with time left on the clock the score sat at 27-14.

The elation generated from the electric score soon descended into disappointment as it proved to be too little too late and when David Carney emerged with a timely interception for the Tigers, his prompt return for a touchdown, put the game beyond all doubt.

Sitting with a won 4, lost 2 and tied 1 record, the Wolverines must now wipe away the anathema of this defeat and instead approach their final three games positively, looking for a clean sweep, starting with their away fixture to division leading rivals, the Manchester Titans. The play-offs, despite this untimely defeat, still remain very much in sight for your Lancashire Wolverines.   

Report by Christopher Ollett